The Mall Won't Die Alone (Part 2)

Thankfully, nothing unusual awaited us at the escalator. They even appeared to be operating, unlike prior to us visiting Claire’s. I was doing my best to keep the kids calm while trying to wrap my head around whatever the hell was going on. Nothing since the brief blackout made any logical sense. The mannequins in the elevator I could possibly chalk up to a prank; the Rocky Horrors weren’t out of my sight long enough to move the models but that didn’t rule out other pranksters in the mall. But all of the stores near the Claire’s being shuttered and empty when we exited was, as far as I could reason, physically impossible.

I was trying to come up with any explanation I could offer to the club when we saw the first bug.

“Did that part of the escalator railing just move?” Veronica asked.

“The railing always moves,” Tyler said.

“Okay, but I don’t think the railing usually climbs away,” Carter said, pointing.

A dark shape about a yard long and as thick as a firehouse had skittered from the escalator up the wall, stopping ten-feet above us. It was hard to tell from the distance and in the new, strained light, but the creature reminded me of a millipede, only much, much larger and with a hard, black shell..

I felt Tyler bump into my side. He was staring at the insect, mouth working silently. I’d never seen him so pale.

“No,” he whispered. “No. No, no, no, no*.*”

The creature repositioned slightly, dozens of sharp legs clicking against the wall. It hissed. Someone screamed but I couldn’t tear my eyes away from the thing long enough to see who. As if bothered by the sound, the giant bug shot across the wall until it disappeared around a corner.

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