Gunshots echoed through the high ceiling of the food court and faded out.
As the smell of gunpowder slowly spread, three men were on the ground.
They were not dead. But they were in no condition to stand up.
One had his shoulder shattered, another had been shot in the knee. The third had dropped his gun and was clutching his stomach with both hands.
Boran, in anger,
"You're finished!" he said.
Karel walked toward them with calm steps. He pushed the guns away one by one. There was neither haste nor panic on his face.
He knelt down.
"How many are you?"
One of the men clenched his teeth. He did not answer.
Karel pressed the barrel of the gun against his kneecap.
"How many."
"Twelve!" the man shouted. "There are twelve of us!"
"How many are armed?"
"Eight…"
"Is there any other cleared area?"
"No! I swear there isn't! We were only watching this place!"
Scraping sounds began to come from the lower floor.
The gunfire had awakened the city.
Riven called out from the top of the stairs:
"They're coming."
Boran grunted.
"What are we doing with these?"
The men began to beg.
"Brother, tie us up…"
"We'll leave…"
"We swear…"
Karel stood up.
"I don't like lies."
"And I don't leave threats."
The men's eyes widened.
He grabbed one by the collar and dragged him to the glass railing. The first zombies were visible below. Slow but crowded.
A scream rose for a moment.
Then he fell down through the glass.
The second.
The third.
The sounds of flesh tearing echoed below.
The female cook turned her face away.
The female doctor among the couples trembled and whispered, "Was that necessary?"
Without turning around, Karel said,
"No threat remains."
⸻
The next hours passed with nonstop work.
Karmara Forum was searched floor by floor.
Cinema halls, emergency exit corridors, storage rooms, staff areas…
Until not even the smallest growl remained.
Two more zombies on the lower floors were cleared.
The parking connections were checked.
Boran was tired but grinning.
"Man, we reset a whole mall."
Riven looked down the stairwell.
"Clean."
⸻
When they moved to the Karfursa side, the sight was like a massive treasure.
Pallets of canned goods.
Water stocks.
Cleaning supplies.
Mountains of flour, rice, pasta.
Boran whistled.
"This place alone could feed a city."
Riven smiled.
"We had stocked for eight lifetimes, but this is another level."
Karel walked between the shelves.
"There is nothing at home."
"Everything we gathered is in a void."
"This place will be the center."
Boran burst out laughing.
"So if someone breaks into the villa, they'll think we're poor."
"Real wealth is invisible," said Karel.
⸻
Entrances were closed one by one.
Main doors were sealed with steel shelves.
Heavy pallets were stacked in front of the glass facades using forklifts.
Emergency exits were secured from the inside.
Side doors were locked and reinforced.
Nothing would open anymore.
The only active exit:
The closed parking ramp.
Controlled. Defensible.
⸻
When night fell, Karmara Forum was silent.
No zombies.
No civilians.
Only their footsteps.
Boran leaned against the railing.
"Man… we actually did it."
Riven took a deep breath.
"The mall is ours."
The lower floor lights were turned off. The upper floor remained dim.
Karel looked outside through the glass. The city was dark.
Inside, however, was now their world.
"Today, we survived," he said.
At that exact moment, the mechanic shouted:
"Brother… there's movement on the screen!"
The monitor in the security room crackled.
Headlights appeared on the parking camera.
One vehicle.
Then a second.
Then a third.
Five vehicles in total.
And all of them slowed down in front of Karmara Forum.
Engines stopped.
Doors opened.
And this time, the ones arriving were far more crowded.