Black Sun by Clifford Beck - HTML preview

Chapter 32

The pain in her shin was beginning to ease and as Abigail ducked her head, she put a hand on the cold steel door frame, bracing herself as she stepped through. The small glass fragments from the front door crackled underfoot as she placed a foot on the smooth linoleum floor. With Ryan following close behind, she stood gazing down the broad expanse of the eastern end of the mall. Abigail had been here many times but devoid of power it seemed oddly quiet and somewhat larger than she remembered. Surmising that this may be a trick played on her by fear, she did her best to shake off the anxiety that had, once again, crept into her mind.

Having safely stepped through the shattered glass, Ryan stood next to Abigail, listening to the silence that seemed to scream through the abandoned expanse of the mall. Its pristine appearance did nothing to comfort Abigail's anxiety. In fact, her fear only seemed to grow.

“I don't hear anything,” Ryan said. “Do you?” Abigail listened intently, but heard nothing more than her heart pounding in her ears.

“No,” she whispered.

After a few more moments, they carefully stepped away from the shards of glass still blanketing the floor and began their silent walk through the mall. On any other day, Crossgates Mall was an enormous, often busy shopping center. Now, its emptiness gave it a surreal appearance, making its broad expanse seem to go on forever. Abigail crossed her arms and, pulling her shoulders forward, quietly expressed her anxiety. “Jesus Christ,” she began. “It is fucking creepy in here.” Ryan felt it too, but tried to remain strong and confident. “I know,” he replied. “But we shouldn’t be too long. We just need to figure out where we’re going.”

Peaked by fear, Abigail’s senses picked out a sign in the distance. There were only a few directories scattered around the mall, and they were relieved to have found one. “Over here,” Abigail said.

Walking quickly, she led Ryan to the directory and pointed out several places of interest where they might find. At least, some of the things they needed. Ryan studied it carefully. They had no need for fancy clothes or expensive trinkets. Their only goal was to procure what was needed to survive – warm clothes, blankets, and food. They could get bottled water at any convenience store and that was certainly important, but they knew that cooler weather would be upon them soon enough, and they needed to be ready.

Searching over the first level map, Ryan found the mall's camping store. Certainly, it would have nearly everything they required. His concern, however, was that it may be too early for cold weather gear and that they may have to return in a few more weeks. That was not something he was in favor of. His plan was to get in and get out as quickly as possible, and would only go back for the essentials – food and water. But the one thing he was glad for was that the mall was close by and if they needed to go back they could do so quickly.

Having a direction to follow, Ryan and Abigail quietly, but quickly, made their way to Eastern Mountain Sports. But unlike the last mall they explored, this was well-lit, and they could easily find their way around, quickly getting what they needed. Ryan would carry whatever heavy items they retrieved while Abigail dealt with lighter objects.

“What do we get first?” she asked.

Ryan already had a mental list and pointed out the items they should take with them.

“See those really big backpacks?” he began. “We’re going to need two of those.”

Abigail questioned why they required something of that size, being concerned about how much weight she could carry. “We don’t know how much we’re going to need,” Ryan answered. “Better to have something that’s too big than not big enough.” Although it made sense, Abigail couldn’t help but be anxious about how much she could bear. She had never even gone camping, much less carried something of this size on her back. “Alright, if you say so,” she replied.

Having sensed her concern, Ryan consoled her, saying that he would carry anything that might be too heavy for her. “Oh, thank you,” she said. “So, where do we start?” Ryan glanced around and centered his attention on the racks of dehydrated food. It would be easy to carry and only require water and heat to prepare. Having relieved the store of two trekking packs, he gave one to Abigail and asked her to hold it open. In it, he packed as much food as it would hold. “Turn around,” he said.

Without a word, Abigail turned her back to him as he helped her on with the backpack. Putting the straps around her arms, he placed them down her chest, clipping them together with its plastic buckle. However, as he adjusted the straps, he couldn’t help but place his thumbs between them and her breasts. It was only for a moment, but even though they routinely shared her bed he was briefly overcome by arousal, as was Abigail. But there were still many things to be done, and both were eager to return to the anonymity of Abigail’s apartment.

Having filled up the backpacks to capacity, they started back to the mall’s directory. Camping equipment wasn’t the only thing they needed and Ryan wanted to briefly explore, at least, the lower level. On their way back, Abigail brought up the issue of the eventuality of colder weather.

“Oh,” he replied. “Well, I don’t think we’re going to find anything. It’s still spring.”

Slowing in her step, Abigail was struck with something that should have been obvious.

“Hey,” she began.

She had stopped in the middle of the hallway as she called Ryan back.

“The camping store we just came from, there should stuff for cold weather, parkas, and jackets?”

Even before he turned around, Ryan was already answering her question.

“I don’t think they would’ve had any winter gear when it’s just spring.”

Abigail had been to Crossgates numerous times when money and time allowed. She had never worked there, but she remembered something. Stores usually put unsold stock in the stockroom. However, the thought of wandering around in a large open area, surrounded by complete darkness made her feel more than uneasy and looking down, she saw that her hands had begun trembling. She thought that if she had to do this again, she would press Ryan to find something that could light their way. “Yeah, you’re right,” she began.

She wanted to tell him but, at the same time, she vowed never to find herself in that situation again. But her conscience gnawed at her and within mere seconds she cracked. “Wait,” she said.

Now, Ryan saw an anxious, almost fearful expression on her face. Should her evasion of his question come up later, it could quickly stand as a wedge between them, and the last thing she wanted from him was resentment. But in all probability, Ryan would be mildly irritated but would also insist they go back to the mall. Better to tell him now.

“Um, back here,” she continued. “When the next season comes around, the last season’s stock is stored in the back.” Ryan understood her hesitation, but was happy that she decided to share this I spite of her fears.

He walked back to her, and seeing the anxiety in her face, wrapped his arms around her. Ryan knew that she did not want to be left alone, nor did she want to go back into the lightless space of another store-room. If they only had something to light their way, but with all power sources rendered useless, they would, once again, resort to feeling their way through an unfamiliar darkness. “I know you don’t want to do this,” he said. “But if we want to be ready for the cold, we don’t have a choice, okay?” Abigail’s eyes teared up at the thought of again being buried in the smothering terror of absolute blackness. Even a candle would help, if not to pierce the darkness, then to settle her nerves. “Okay,” she replied.

For a moment, Ryan thought that it might be better to simply leave and return a day or two later, but that would not change the fact that the darkness would be waiting, hungry and eternal.

Ryan felt her body tense as he tried to console her while attempting to gain her confidence that they would spend as little time as possible in getting what they needed. It had to be done and turning back toward the store, Ryan decided to have one more look around. If he could find some candles, they could rummage through the stockroom much easier and be out far sooner. Still, he kept a constant ear trained on the silence that surrounded them, remembering that the last mall they visited met them with unidentified vandals, seeking to destroy anything out of simple amusement. So far, he had heard nothing. “What are you looking for?” Abigail asked. Ryan scanned the different areas of the store, thinking that there must be some small device that would give off just enough light to see by. Any resourceful outdoors man would never rely solely on batteries. They would certainly carry something else, something to act as ‘back-up’. He didn’t know quite know what he was looking for, but soon his eyes fell upon something that looked like a palm-sized flashlight. Ryan wondered why it was still intact, given what had happened to anything powered by batteries. Pulling it off the display rack, he turned it over and glanced at the instructions. To his surprise, this particular item didn’t need batteries as it was operated by a large white trigger mechanism. “Hey, Abby,” he began. “Look at this.” As someone educated in engineering, he found it fascinating that someone could conceive of such a device that could light one’s way without the need for batteries.

“What did you find?” Abigail asked.

She wandered over to him with her arms tightly folded in front of her, still haunted by the fear of walking back into a black nothingness, a place devoid of everything. Ryan opened the package and, removing the flashlight, held it with his fingers wrapped around the trigger. “Jesus, I hope this thing works,” he thought. Giving the trigger a gentle squeeze, the light gave off a whirring sound as its small bulb lit up, shining a broad beam onto the floor in front of them.

Both breathed a sigh of relief as Ryan held what would be their salvation, a literal beacon in the darkness of a world gone blind. And what’s more, it didn’t need batteries. “Holy shit,” Abigail said. “We need to get some more of these.” Ryan was in complete agreement and proceeded to pull the rest of their display rack and pack them into his backpack. “I think we’re ready to get some winter clothes now, don’t you?” he asked.

Abigail nodded with a grin and as they made their way toward the stock-room door, Ryan felt relieved that she appeared more relaxed now that they had discovered a way of escaping what had previously seemed like endless darkness.

Opening the door, they squeezed the trigger on their flashlights as they scanned the stock-room's interior. However, in order to keep the light on, they had to continue squeezing the trigger. But it was better than cowering in the dark. Now, with their flashlights giving off a continuous whirring sound, they wandered closer to what they discovered was, in fact, the previous season’s stock. “We should just get what we need and leave,” Abigail said. Ryan agreed as he went down the list he had tucked away in the back of his mind – heavy jackets, hats, gloves, boots, socks, sleeping bags.

It didn’t seem like much, but it was all they required, at least, until there was something else they would have to return for.

With their flashlights still running, Ryan and Abigail quickly made their way among the half-open boxes until everything on Ryan’s list had been procured. Ryan made it a point to take far more than he thought they would need in order to avoid returning to the mall. He knew that Abigail was less than fond of being in places such as this. For her, they reeked of abandonment, with a pungent scent of haunting isolation. Nothing frightened her more. But as Ryan tried to stay strong for her, he couldn’t help but feel the same way. The condition of their new world he found to be terrifyingly quiet, and therefore unpredictable. In his imagination, he saw all manner of creatures leaping out from the dark alley-ways, crawl spaces, and open doorways. There were times when hiding his fear was difficult and Abigail had already seen him in a moment of weakness, but he vowed never again to let her see that side of him. He needed to be strong, someone she could lean on.

Having found everything they needed, Ryan saw it necessary to get a couple of large nylon ruck sacks. As they had filled their packs to capacity and without removing the tags, they stuffed them full of the clothing they had acquired. As they walked toward the store-room door, Ryan motioned Abigail back as he quietly opened the door a few inches and glancing around the door frame, he saw nothing. This, however, did nothing to sooth his nerves, knowing that beyond the store’s glass doors anything or anyone could be lurking about, out of sheer curiosity or malicious intent. But as sure as he was that they had not been followed, he would be vigilant none-the-less and with Abigail behind him, they stepped carefully to the front of the store. Once there, Ryan again peered around the corner, seeing nothing. He was almost in favor of encountering something or someone in the hallway that could be quickly dealt with. But there is no defense against the maddening silence of empty space. It teases at one’s sanity with muted laughter and tricks the mind with the victim's own imagination. The horror of silence offers mercy to no one.