Write to Rank 2022 [Genre - ACTION]

3. Come See The Softer Side...

Prompt: Urban exploration is a hobby, but tonight something feels...wrong. What happens? You can use any characters and any setting as long as it's action-packed. Oh, and you only write in an active voice.

Required Word Count: 750 (min) - 800 (max)

"Hey guys, it's your girl Mila-Zero-Zero here back again with another Urb-Ex, this time we're out at—"

"J-Bag-Donger reppin' too," Jayden interrupted loudly. "Your boy comin' atcha live, shout out to all the Dongers in Donger Nation on the rise up, told y'all I ain't nothin' without the—"

"Jayden!" Mila hissed. "Stop it! It's my video."

The two made their way through the dim, abandoned mall. Glass crunched under their sneakers as they walked, their voices echoing through the empty corridor. They passed an empty "Bed Bath & Beyond" standing silent and menacing, rubble strewn across the moldy carpet. A sweet and fruity fragrance wafted past them.

"It's a collab, Mila," Jayden whined, adjusting the Go-Pro strapped to his head. "That means both of us."

A loud bang exploded through the mall.

They ducked down. The roar of the sound bounced and echoed around them before quickly falling silent again.

"Holy shit, bro," Jayden said in awe. "What was that?"

"I don't know," Mila whispered. "Maybe we should leave."

"Come on, Mila," Jayden said. "Walking through these dead malls used to be sick but the community is over it—Morgantown was the last good one." Jayden's eyes glittered in the dim light. "Don't you want the views?"

She did.

They crept their way forward. They passed by a huge cracked and crumbling concrete fountain, a large hole in the ground where the drain used to be. A series of red, tiled blocks artistically towered over the fountain, precariously close to toppling over and collapsing into the large drain.

A long, thick cut electrical cord lay on the floor.

"Some girl did a video on that fountain last month," Mila whispered after they passed. "You can get outside the mall through the drain. Let's go back and get out of here—"

"Look!" Jayden interrupted.

He pointed towards a huge black maw that used to be a department store entrance. A big blue "S" hung above, the only remaining letter of the name.

A dead body lay out front.

"Yo guys, J-Bag-Donger here," Jayden whispered. "Guys, you're not gonna believe this, show your boy some love right now and hit that thumbs up if you wanna see the craziest—"

"Jayden!" Mila hissed.

Two men exited the storefront.

"See?" Jayden said. "Just some—"

They were holding guns.

Mila and Jayden immediately ducked behind a pile of rubble. They heard low voices, too faint to make out. Nobody noticed them...

Yet.

"Come on," Mila whispered, turning around.

"This is our chance for some real clout, Mila," Jayden said. "How are you just gonna run away?"

"They have guns! We have to call the cops!"

"We'll be careful. Besides, they don't even—"

"Hey!" one of the men suddenly shouted.

"Run!" Mila shouted.

Another deafening BANG! exploded through the mall. They took off, sprinting over broken debris, bits of glass and drywall bouncing and puffing up from their quick steps.

Mila slid to a stop at the crumbled fountain—the entire concrete block tower next to the hole looked like it would collapse if she so much as breathed on it. The long electrical cable laid nearby, a long thick snake, loosing wrapped around the bottom of the block tower.

What's worse: dying by rubble, or by gunshot?

Jayden slid to a stop next to her, panting. "We can't leave."

"What?"

"The Go-Pro!" Jayden shouted. "It fell off!"

"Who cares!" Mila shouted back. "You'll die!"

Jayden looked back, face in agony. "But the clout!"

"Clout? You have three followers!"

BANG! A piece of tile above their heads exploded in a tiny puff.

"They'll shoot us if we crawl in that drain!" Jayden yelled. "It's a trap!"

But what else could they do? Mila looked around. Try to hide? Where?

Jayden's words echoed in Mila's head: "It's a trap!"

That's it!

"Grab the end of that electrical cable," Mila said quickly.

"What? Why?"

"The drain!" Mila hurried over to the other end of the cut electrical cord. She heard footsteps getting louder as the men closed in on them. "We can get out through it!"

We just have to trap ourselves first!

She snatched up the end of the cable, running into the cramped drain as Jayden did the same. The cord pulled tight, wrapping neatly around the base of the concrete tower spout. More gunshots filled the air.

"Pull!" Mila yelled.

The electrical cable wrapped taut around the base of concrete blocks. Bits of crumbly rock began to tumble down.

"It's working!" Mila shouted.

The concrete tower suddenly collapsed, filling the hole in the floor and sealing Mila and Jayden inside the drain. They covered their ears until the loud rumbling stopped, surrounded by total blackness and breathing in dust.

"We made it!" Mila exclaimed, checking to make sure her own Go-Pro was still attached to her head. "My heart's beating like crazy, I'm so scared but holy crap, that was amazing! I've never done anything like that before in my life!"

Jayden's voice floated out of the darkness. "Your boy J-Bag-Donger here, guys, you're never gonna believe..."