Stuck in China for the Zombie Apocalypse

The Mall

I never knew exactly what Fox did to keep the man unconscious but he did share with me that he has the mental power. It's the first time he used it offensively – mostly he's used it project calm and peace in the hotel. He has also used this "blanket" projection a few times with the survivors who are particularly traumatized but this time he actually used it to specifically attack one person. He was quite pleased that his ability had another use.

"I wonder if you can level it up to the point that you can control zombies," I mused with carefully projected nonchalance.

I had a theory that the powers people awakened had a lot to do with their strongest desires. Fox seemed to have a strong desire for control but fortunately for everyone, it was benign. He didn't feel the need to be a tyrant controlling everyone – he just wanted to be able to influence the people around him to be in harmony with each other. It would definitely help the survival of Haven that he was part of their group.

Fox looked thoughtful as I walked away to encourage people to get ready to leave.

The teenage girl, Shen Rou, shared that the alley behind the store would let us bypass the street still crowded with zombies. She had visited the store often and the owner would let her run out the back when her stepmother would come looking for her. Apparently, Shen Rou's insecurity came from more than just her encounter with the creep upstairs.

She was correct – there were very few zombies in the alley. We snuck away and continued towards the mall. Fox asked her if she wanted to check on her family on the way since she lived near where we were but she shook her head firmly. I couldn't blame her. It is really terrible what a malicious caregiver can do to an innocent child.

The rest of the journey was not easy but we encountered no major issues reaching the mall. I had returned Sarah and the other non-combatants who would be traveling on with us to my space so we had less to worry about protecting. Before we left the grocery, I gathered all of the frozen and refrigerated goods into my stasis warehouse when no one was looking. The power would go out sooner or later so there was no sense wasting the food.

The mall was a bigger challenge. There were many more people there when the shards hit which meant there were many more zombies to deal with. We had gotten pretty good at fighting by now, though. We cleared the zombies outside of the Mall and gathered the nuclei from their heads. Tank's abilities were growing quickly because he used them almost constantly crafting weapons and creating barriers. He worked together with two earth powers to create a sturdy wall of earth and metal around the mall. They knew that they couldn't clear out the mall in one trip but they didn't want to have to clear it again every time they went for supplies. Fox planned to bring a core group of people to claim the mall after he returned to Haven.

When the perimeter was secured, we began clearing the first floor the same way we had cleared the hotel – by luring the zombies out in batches. Except for the people injured in our first big fight by the grocery, we had no injuries. The sun was going down by the time we had eliminated most of the zombies on the first floor. The lights were still on but no one wanted to keep fighting after dark. For one thing, we didn't know when the lights would go out but everyone expected it to be any time now. For another, we were all tired. We choose a nice restaurant on the first floor and cleared it out.

Tank threw up some more metal in front of the windows and the door and we cleaned the place thoroughly. By the time the sun was completely down, we had a space to sleep and a nice hot meal to eat. There weren't enough blankets or sleeping bags for everyone but people doubled up. The children and teens all grouped together in the center with a few blankets while the adults lay down around them. Fox set up a night watch schedule with four people watching each hour. Sarah found the hotel lights and turned them off but I pulled out my solar lamp to keep the children from being too scared in the dark.