“... I’m not asking you again. Wake up.”
The incessant buzzing of overhead fluorescents vibrated through Alba’s skull like a swarm of wasps. She struggled to open her eyes, her lashes crusted shut with blood and uninvited slumber. Frigid, peeling laminate floor bit into the exposed skin of her arm, creating an uncomfortable tackiness as she sat up from laying on the filthy ground. She squinted, fighting the urge to shut her eyes again to shield herself from the harsh lights.
“I wanted to speak with you before watching you get ripped apart. I think I’ve earned that much.”
That same condescending tone cut through the buzzing once more, a bit muffled, and Alba lifted her head just enough to look towards it. Dari stood across from her, scrutinizing brown eyes unblinking and barely visible from underneath the steep shadows of the space where she stood.
Alba opened her mouth to reply, her tongue heavy and dry, saturated with the unmistakable taste of blood. She breathed in, coughing at the ragged intake of breath.
“What did you do?” Alba finally managed, brows knitted in a combination of anger and pain as she struggled to her feet.
“What you were supposed to do.” Dari frowned, as if it were the obvious answer.
Alba stood, breath uneven and labored. The room she stood in was empty and cold. The walls seemed far too close together, painted in a gaudy assortment of primary colors and patterns. Dari approached her with a blatant show of nonchalance, growing more visible as she drew nearer to the panel of glass which separated the two.
A birthday party room. The arcade.
Attempting to focus her vision, Alba looked beyond where Dari stood. A sprawling expanse of arcade machines and game booths stretched further than what she could see, some mostly untouched and others in heaps of broken glass and scrap metal. Trash littered the floor in the areas that were just illuminated enough for her to see.
As far as she could tell, she was alone with Dari. And after what she’d seen her do, she would rather be alone with the undead.
She touched the tender skin on the back of her head, a pulsing bump on her skull and a wet ooze of blood present on her shaking fingers.
“I knew Veronica was wrong about giving you a chance.” Dari chimed, her words taut with anticipation. “But I wasn’t going to tell her that. It was better for her to find out for herself. And it took less than a few days for you to prove that, so I guess it’s only fair that I commend you for your efficiency.”
She spoke like a debate student. It pissed Alba off.
A beat of silence passed, Alba glaring at Dari wordlessly.
“Did you know that this section of the mall was built before the rest of it?” Dari lifted a hand to press her palm against the glass of the window which separated them, as if in admiration. “This building used to be an animal shelter. Each of these rooms has an electronic lock, and a nice big window so everyone could walk right by and look at all of the dogs.” Dari’s eyes darkened as she studied Alba, no doubt drawing the comparison in her mind. “People say that it was a pretty well-run adoption center. Before the fire, that is.” The excited lilt in her tone had a sickening contrast with her words.
Alba lowered her brows, her vision snapping across the room. One door stood behind her, without a handle. Dari glowered from the opposite side of the glass panel, a subtle grin playing on her lips. It baffled Alba how she looked almost untouched by the filth of the apocalypse, her skin and clothes free of dirt, her straight hair pristine and flat against her shoulders. She would have considered her pretty if not for the aura of wretchedness that accompanied her.
Despite the confusion and irritation bubbling behind her lips, Alba remained silent. That didn’t seem to bother Dari.
“The rooms themselves are incredibly secure. But the fire prevention system was programmed to open all of the doors in case of a fire, which makes sense before you realize that the fire would have to get into the rooms in order to hurt the dogs.” Dari dropped her hand, her stare flitting to a camera in the corner of the room before it fell back to Alba. “There was a fire in one of the employee offices years ago, keeping all of the exits sealed, but opening all of the rooms.” For a moment, she almost appeared remorseful. It was quickly extinguished by a smirk. “Not a single dog survived. The shelter closed down after that, and only two years later the building was restored and bought out by a couple of Nashville guys who turned it into an arcade.”
Alba stared back, her stomach turning at her words.
Impatient for a response, Dari tapped against the glass.
“But don’t you worry. The arcade floor has been secured, so I’m totally safe.” She grinned. “You, however…” She waved at the surveillance camera behind Alba, struggling to suppress a hum of excitement when a loud buzzing sound cut through the ambient noises of the building. “... are directly down the hall from the side entrance to the mall.”
Startling her, the metal door behind Alba groaned, swinging open.
Alba’s head snapped between the door and a glass, the pounding in her head overshadowed by that of her pulse.
“And you called me a coward, bitch.” Alba snapped, suppressing the tremors of panic in her legs as she fought against her instinct to run out of the room. Though quiet, she swore she could hear the sounds of a horde in the distance. And not a small one.
Dari scowled. “I don’t think I did, explicitly,” she said, “But I can’t say that I disagree with that.”
“You really couldn’t come in here and kill me yourself?” Alba snapped, stepping forward to slam a palm against the window.
Dari’s flinch was minute, but just detectable enough to elicit a pang of satisfaction from Alba.
“I think you’re mistaking hubris for pride, Alba.” Dari said. She set one hand on her hip, fighting to restore the arrogance she’d fumbled for a moment. “I could have killed you when I met you. You could have killed me, too. The difference is that between the two of us,” she leaned into the window, her breath fogging up the glass, “You’d never have the guts to do it. Even if it was between your guts or someone else’s on the fucking pavement.”
The sounds of urgent footsteps and gnashing teeth were fast approaching. A bead of sweat slipped down Alba’s forehead.
“You’re an awful person.” Alba breathed out. It was obvious, and a lame insult, and she knew it. She should be running.
“Yeah, and I’m fine with that.” Dari scoffed, taking a step back and crossing her arms. “Are you fine with the fact that you’re no better?”
The sound of glass shattering in the distance cut through the tension, breaking Alba’s focus as the panic began to set in her gut. What she wasn’t expecting was to find the window had become a mirror, the same expression of dread and horror etched into the glass.
Except for that those eyes, so round and full of fear, were not looking back at her. They were looking over the arcade floor, whipping across the room as the lights began to flicker on.
The sounds of the arcade machines pulsed to life, a cacophony of music and cartoonish sounds piercing the dead air of the building like automatic gunfire. Dozens of walking corpses flooded into the arcade, beelining towards the fluorescent glow of the party room windows.
Dari backed into the window with a fearful thud, and for a moment, Alba could only watch on in horror, forgetting who it was she was observing on the other side of the wall and seeing only a terrified young woman.
It was exactly how she felt when she’d first met her only days ago. Right before watching her slam the stairwell exit shut on the group of survivors she’d navigated through the city with. Right before listening to them be torn limb from limb and eaten alive on the other side of that door. Right before she decided to follow Dari, and do nothing about them.
Alba let go of the breath she didn’t know she was holding. She turned on her heel, slipping out of the door before Dari could turn around.
She didn’t stop moving until the sound of her screams were drowned out by the hum of the lights.