The Mall (Evenstad Media Presents Book 2) (6 page)

JOURNAL 10ALEXA

ENTRY 003

DATE: 1/13/2075

The big guy who's been living over in the Mitchell's at the
end of the mall came out of hiding. I'd seen glimpses of him once or twice, but
nothing more than that. He's big. Really big. And he's over with some woman in
an adult store up here. I don't know why they’re together. It could be just
happenstance, or one of them wanting to kill the other. But if they are working
together, then I think a lot of us might be fucked, myself included. Two of
them working together aren't good news, as far as I'm concerned. No matter who
they are. It's probably more than twice as dangerous as either of them would
have been alone.

I'm just going to stay tucked away in here until the threat
looks less. It won't be less, and I know that, but I'd like to lie to myself
about it, if I can.

ENTRY END

JOURNAL 12IMRAN

ENTRY 002

DATE: 1/13/2075

I saw something very odd and had to document it. It's still
happening. I hope I can type to keep up with it. Two people ran past my shop,
toward the stairs. A man and a woman went by, and the guards were tracking them,
but not firing. No. Wait. Guns up. They both stopped. They’ll die, I’m sure of
it.

He pushed her. The man pushed her toward the guards and ran
into the shop across the way from me. And of course she died. I wish I could
unsee it. But more, I wish I could undo it. I wouldn't wish death on anyone, no
matter their crimes, and here we are all victims, not criminals. Even the man
who murdered her, though I would say he walks a fine line.

I hope there is peace for her, if any afterlife exists.

ENTRY END

JOURNAL 03BILL

ENTRY 003

DATE: 1/13/2075

I scared the guy I was trying to get on my side. The little
Asian-looking one. But only a first. Once I explained, he got it. Or decided
that I was too scary to mess with. It probably looked like that, the way I
threw Lia off to the guards. But it worked. It was like we hit a switch and
they turned their attention to us, so I tossed her away. They focused on her
and I ran my ass into the makeup shop.

It's kind of weird that I don't feel worse about getting her
killed. I figured I would. I'm more upset that I don't feel bad than I am about
her dying. Guess that's something I can deal with later, once I get out of
here. I can get a good therapist with twenty million bucks to play with.

This guy, Kim. I made a good choice. He's definitely gay,
and he's coming onto me, which I didn't necessarily expect. But that's going to
make it easier for me to use him, and to get him out of the way when the time
comes. Both of which are good things for me. I'm planning to keep him around
until the very end, but we'll see how well that all goes. If I have to get rid
of him early, I'll go back at my plans a different way.

Need to get back to him. He's over there trying to turn me
on and get my attention. Not subtle at all. Not saying it isn't working,
either. I just couldn't have asked for a better tool to get dropped in my lap.
He wants me, and I can make good use of that.

ENTRY END

JOURNAL 11KIM

ENTRY 003

DATE: 1/13/2075

I was pretty sure I was going to die. Some huge musclehead
came in here. Says his name is Bill. Bill. It's such an ugly name. Much uglier
than him. He's totally not my type, but I saw the way he was looking at me,
after we got past the part where I pleaded for my life. I know that look, used
to get it all the time in the clubs and bars back home. If he thinks I'm cute
enough to fuck, I'm going to use that to my advantage. That's how Rita won last
season, so there's no reason it can't work this time around, too. I'm going
into full on slut mode with him. He's a big, strong guy. He can keep me safe,
once I’ve won him over. Should be easy enough. Most guys are pretty easy to
figure out. All I have to do is get him to blow a few loads and I should be set.
So I guess I'll be fucking on national TV. Or international TV. Hell, I'd do it
live and in person, if it was life or death like this. Plus he's not the worst
looking guy I've slept with.

He's eyeing me. Got to stop the journal and get back to
work. Have to pay the bodyguard, after all.

ENTRY END

JOURNAL 04DANA

ENTRY 003

DATE: 1/14/2075

It's quiet in here. It's night time, so all the overhead
lights are off, and there's just a little moonlight coming in through the windows.
I like it. It's as close to peaceful as I’ve seen in here. There's a girl who
runs around about this time, but she hasn't tried to kill me, so I just ignore
her and she ignores me. At least that’s how it’s worked so far. Besides her,
most everyone is just asleep or holed up in their stores. Except the woman who
died over there.

The young man from the pet shop is still there on the floor,
too. He's starting to reek. You can't get away from the smell. It's probably
not very healthy to be breathing in whatever comes off a dead body when it's
decomposing, but there's not a lot I can do about it. No place to bury him in
here.

I've been watching someone else, lately. He's not as close,
but I think I could like him, maybe even enough to risk asking him for help
instead. Just looking at him makes me feel more peaceful. I don't know why,
exactly. He's older than the pet shop one, though clearly younger than me. He's
down in a toy store at the opposite end of the mall, past the fountain. And the
men with guns. But I'm playing with a notion. It's kind of crazy, but with
things going the way they are, and all of us apparently up for death, I don't
think any of us could make it to the end alone. I know for a fact I can't. Two
weeks trying proved that fact to me.

Looking at him, I just can't help but think that maybe I
should go over there, risk be damned. We could do our best to just live this
all out in peace. It won't last, but I could make it a little longer over there
with him, I think. I just have to wait for the right time to actually make it
over to him without getting shot at. I'm still working on just how to do that.
I’ve started throwing what I could find out to try and attract the guard’s
attention to see how far they would go. I’m sure there has to be some safe
space for us to move, otherwise the show would be horribly boring. I don’t know
if I’ll learn anything or just look like a fool doing it, but it’s better than
simply thinking.

If I ever do figure out a way to make it across to this new
man, that’s definitely where I’ll be.

ENTRY END

A Plea into Emptiness: On Evenstad Media's 'The Mall'

Posted 1/13/2075

I'm putting this up knowing full well what might happen. And
knowing full well how few people are really going to pay any attention to what
I have to say. When Evenstad Media put out 'The Park' last year, a lot of
people posted about how wrong it was, how disappointed they were in society for
relishing in the death, the flat out murder. Anyone who said those things with
any sort of following didn't make it, always ended up dead relatively soon
after posting about it. So I can fully expect this to be one of my last posts,
if not my last post. But I still feel like it needs to be said. The detractors
could all go hide and stop voicing their opinions, but then Evenstad wins. And
if Evenstad wins, society loses. I would rather die for being a lone voice than
live knowing that I was lying.

'The Mall' is evil, and society is worse for having it. The
fact that humanity as a whole watched this once, and now is watching it unfold
again? That makes me weep. Have we fallen so far? I don't want to believe it,
but the evidence is too clear. We must have. Otherwise, Evenstad Media would
never have renewed this bloodbath for another season. And again, this season is
one of the top rated programs on any channel, and will probably take the number
one slot before too long. That just adds to the depression of this whole thing.
It's not just back on the air, but it's been embraced once again.

Nothing I say here is going to make a difference. I know
that. But maybe this can inspire one more person to take my place, to voice
another dissenting opinion. And maybe they can convince two others after they
'mysteriously' die. Then each of them two more, and on and on until there's
finally a movement against the sins of Evenstad Media.

Signing off, hopefully not for the last time,

Tim Butler

JOURNAL 06TESS

ENTRY 003

DATE: 1/14/2075

I don't quite know what to make of what just happened. I
heard footsteps come up and stop, then something dropped on the floor and the
footsteps went away. I sat there for a long time, just to make sure that
nothing bad was going to happen. But when I finally looked out there, I saw…
food. A bundle of food, tied together with bungee cords. Like a care package or
something. I don't think this is part of the game. That letter didn't mention
anything about us getting food delivered. So somebody came along and gave it to
me, is the best I can figure. I started eating it before the idea of poison
occurred to me. But I feel all right, and it's been a few hours. I should be
feeling at least a little sick if someone was poisoning me. At least I think
so.

I don’t know who it is, but I owe them. This food's going to
last for a while, if I stretch it out. And it means I don't have to leave the
shop, which is good, too. I don't want to risk going out there, but I would
have had to, if this sadistic game went on too long. I would have at least had
to go far enough to find something to eat, if I didn’t want to starve. I
probably would have gotten myself killed on the way there.

So whoever my mystery benefactor is, I thank you, and I hope
I can get the chance to help you out, someday, the way you did for me.

ENTRY END

JOURNAL 08QUINN

ENTRY 004

DATE: 1/14/2075

I think I need to at least try to get through the guards
around that one door. It wouldn't be the first time I've been outnumbered and
made it out the other side okay. I don’t exactly feel right about killing them,
but I never exactly feel right about it. I still do it. I still need to keep
myself alive. I just have to get back into the right mindset for this kind of
thing. I have to separate this from who I am. But I'm finding myself having a
lot harder time of it than normal. When I'm doing it for work, I can do it for
work. It's my job, it's for the good of my country, but it's not me. This time…
I can't say that in here. It’s definitely for me, and only for me.

I just can’t get past it. There's got to be some reason that
back room needs guarding that heavy. Half a dozen of them. It's got to be big.
Maybe some kind of controls. I doubt it's anything that useful, but I guess I
don't know until I actually get through them and get back there.

I've trained to do this. I just need to get started and
it'll all come. I know that. I just need to make the first step out there. It'd
be a hell of a lot easier with a gun, though.

ENTRY END

TO: Edward Andel

FROM: Niels Evenstad

SUBJECT: New Project

SENT: 1/14/2075 AT 11:18 a.m. EST

Edward,

I'm glad to see that you haven't yet decided to leave. It
gives me hope that you can do this. I gave you the assignment I did, watching
the cameras, in the hope that you would have to see someone die. I wanted to
make certain that you could stomach the kind of work necessary. And I feel like
you can, now. So I won't make you sit and watch the footage, anymore. I'm confident
you can do that part if necessary. But there are so many other parts of this
job I need you to do before I can really turn anything over.

I'd like you to start working on The Park: Live and Breathe,
now. You'll need to take the lead on this project, and delegate the work where
necessary. We've already implemented a basic update to coincide with The Mall.
We have the option for the new playing field, complete with the guards, and
have made the use of the CESUs optional. While I leave this in your hands as to
what all changes should be made to the game system, one thing the fans are
asking for already is a way to play as the guards. Personally, I don’t know how
to go about that. They have very specific areas in which they shoot, and very
specific areas in which they don’t. Perhaps as a sort of a challenge attached
to standard gameplay? I’m not sure at all.

You'll need to conceptualize it and then work with the staff
here and at Evenstad Technologies to mesh everything and make it happen. You
can pass all your correspondences through me, and I'll get them out for you,
but I won't make any changes. This is your project, so do your best. If you can
do this, it'll be a big step toward the kind of independence and leadership I'm
looking for from you.

Niels Evenstad,

Chief Operating Officer, Evenstad Media

JOURNAL 01MARCUS

ENTRY 003

DATE: 1/15/2075

I think I've worked out a way to pay proper respect to the
dead, even if they can't be buried. Most of these stores will probably stay
empty, and more of them will go unused with every death. It's not perfect, and
it's not pleasant, but I can get them in the stores, use them like mausoleums.
I feel like it needs to happen, and I can't trust that anyone else will try to
give the dead here any sort of dignity. But to me, it seems so wrong to have
them rotting away on television the way they are now.

Someone needs to try and preserve some of our humanity while
we're in this hellhole, and burial rites are among the most human things we
have. I won't be able to hold a service to let his family grieve, but I can do
this small thing for his memory, whoever he is. And later, the woman, too. But
she's… it's more important to hide this man from view, before he rots any
further. No one deserves to be seen like that, and his loved ones certainly
don't need to see him in that state any more than they already have.

All I need now is something to distract the gunmen Evenstad
Media sent in. I have to keep a close watch. Eventually, someone else will
leave their safety behind. That's when I can go out and grab his body. I just
hope that doesn't earn me my own mausoleum.

ENTRY END