Jonnae v. The Friggin' Apocalypse

Mallory

Mallory stood in the checkout line, impatiently tapping her feet to the rhythm of the music that was being played over the store speakers. She looked at her phone to check the time, "10:30?!- Ugh... they need to hire more help." she groaned.

The cashier finished up with the people in front of her and Mallory began to place her items on the conveyor belt. As she was unloading her cart, she was rammed in the back by something cold and hard. She turned, it was a shopping cart. Had it not been for the glimmer of light radiating off his head, she would've completely missed the boy standing behind it. He hung his head low with a gloomy expression, "Sorry..." he said.

Mallory went around the shopping cart and knelt down beside the boy, "Hey, kid, where are your parents?" she asked. He shrugged. Mallory sighed, she wondered if his parents had even noticed their son had gone missing. She smiled at him, "How about we go find them then?" she said as she held out her hand for him to hold. She looked back at the cashier, "Hey, where's the manager's office?" she asked him. He pointed in the direction of the money order window and Mallory started towards it. She knocked on the door, "Hello, I need some help." she yelled through the door. There was no answer, she knocked again. "Hello? Is anybody in there?"

Mallory layed her forehead against the door, "Awesome..." she said sarcastically, "Alright kid, why don't we-" she stopped. The little boy who was barely an inch away from her had now vanished. Looking around, she suddenly realized that the store was a ghost town. Not a single employee, no customers- nothing. The shelves were empty, the flooring was dirty and cracked, the paint on the walls was chipping, and the broken lighting fixtures swayed back and forth like a pocket watch in the darkness. Had she dreamed it all? How had she gotten there?

She was startled by the ringing of her phone. "I think I'm having a mid-life crisis right now, so if you could make this snappy, that'd be great." she answered. The voice on the other end sighed heavily. "Mallory..." it weeped. Mallory's eyes widened, "Taki? Taki, is that you?!"

Taki sniffled, "It's me..." she said, "I need your help. I'm- we are in trouble."

Mallory felt as though a lump had formed in her throat, "Trouble..? We?" she repeated. 

"Me and Jordan..." Taki said, "We're at this house in the middle of nowhere and neither of us have the slightest idea how we got here... I'm scared, Mals."

Mallory put a hand over her mouth, "Oh my God... Taki, don't move" she said, heading out of the abandoned store, "I'm gonna trace the call and I'm gonna come and get you two." She looked around and spotted the only car in the parking lot- hers. She pulled the keys from her pocket and unlocked the trunk to get her laptop. "This might take a minute, but as soon as I get the location, I'll be on my way to come get you two."

"Mallory..." Taki said, "Don't come alone..."

Mallory sat down on the edge of the trunk and put the phone on speaker, "Taki, I can't put together a search and rescue at this time of night and I find it highly unlikely that they'd be willing to get up out of bed and head to the middle of nowhere... I'll be fine on my own."

Taki yelled frantically, "NO!" she said, "You can't come alone... it's not safe."

"Is somebody holding you hostage? Do you want me to call the police?" Mallory asked, "Because if you're life is at stake-" Taki interrupted- "No, no, NO- you can't call the police."

Mallory shook her head, "Taki, I don't understand... tell me what's going on."

"The sirens... it will come." Taki warned. 

Mallory shook her head, "It will come..." she repeated, "What the hell does that mean, Taki?..."

Taki took a deep breath, "I don't know what it is... but... it was trapped inside the house, and Jordan... he let it out by accident, and it took him- it dragged him through the crawlspace..."

"Just breathe. I've got the location. Is there somewhere safe you can wait for me?"

"The only place I could go is in the house... but I don't know where that thing is, and I doubt I can hide from it. I'll just have to wait here until you get here." Taki informed.

The call had been traced back to what appeared to be an old, abandoned house. She looked closer. Not just an empty house, a murder house. That house had been witness to six murders and a suicide... it was a horror show. She held the phone back up to her ear, "It looks like its surrounded by trees, Taki, how am I supposed to get to you?" she asked. 

"The only way is through the woods... but be careful. You never know what's out there in the dark." she said, "And I mean it, Mallory, don't come alone..." 

Mallory shook her head, "Okay, I promise, I'll find somebody to come with me." she lied. All of a sudden, everything went quiet. The whispers, no breathing, no nothing- just quiet. Taki finally broke the silence, "Mallory... is it windy where you are?" she asked shakily. The air around her was alarmingly still... even the clouds seemed to be frozen in time. "No... why?"

Taki went dead silent as if that was the answer she was afraid of, "Because I hear something in the woods..." she said. Mallory felt her heart stop, "Taki, you need to hide right now, I'm on my w-" she was interrupted by the sound of Taki screaming in terror. "Taki?!" she yelled. But there was no answer, "Taki, say something! Are you okay?!" she ran to the driver's side and opened the door. The call was dropped. "Shit!" she said. Mallory started to get in the car when she noticed something strange in the distance. It looked like- but it couldn't be... she looked closer. It was. 

She stared in disbelief. Her dead friend, Savanna. Mallory couldn't believe her eyes. She took a deep breathe and hesitantly began to move closer to the figure. "Savanna?..." she said. 

She turned around and smiled, "Mallory, it's good to see you."

Mallory smiled with tears pouring down her cheeks, "God, I missed you!" she said, hugging her tightly. "I missed you too." Savanna replied. Mallory released Savanna from her embrace and immediately noticed her worrisome expression, "Of course something is wrong..." she sighed. 

Savanna nodded, "I wish these were better circumstances, but we don't have much time. The apocalypse has begun, and everyone is in danger. If you fail to fight in this, the last stand for humanity, then it- and you- will surely perish..." 

"It's good to know that even in Death, you haven't lost that delightful sense of humor." Mallory laughed. She paused, "But you're not joking... are you?" 

Savanna shook her head, "I wish I were, but sadly no. I wish I could've told you sooner, but I couldn't... not until my soul was freed from the vault of the Earth. You have to stop it, Mallory. It's in your hands..."

Mallory cried, "But what if I can't? What if I'm not strong enough?

Savanna took Mallory by the hand, "Mallory, you don't have to believe in yourself, just believe in me... because I believe in you..." she assured her. Savanna slowly beginning to fade away... "I don't have much time" she said, "Find Jonnae, she'll know what to do. Goodbye, bestie."

And with that, Savanna vanished. Mallory wiped her eyes and got back in her car, "This literally has to be the worst day of my entire life..." she groaned, "Ugh, I need a vacation."

Mallory glanced in her mirror as she adjusted it. There was someone, something- in the back seat... Her heart felt as though it had completely stopped. She quickly turned her head, and there it was. She tried to scream, but it covered her mouth- slowly, everything turned black...