We had escaped one bad situation only to be put in another one.

Sure, we got away from being eaten alive but now we were stuck out in the open where we could easily be attacked again. Not to mention it was only a matter of time before the ones inside figured out that all they had to do was go back out the way they came in order to get to us.

"Where are we going to go?" Arden asked as she glanced around nervously.

I couldn't blame her either. It wasn't a matter of if but when more of those things were going to show up and we were out here like sitting ducks.

And Arden asked a really good question. Where were we going to go?

It was obvious when we first came into town that people weren't exactly holding their doors open for people seeking shelter. If Arden hadn't found us when she did a couple of days ago we would've become dinner for those things.

"Our best bet until we can find somewhere else to stay is to get in the truck." Cory stated as he glanced up and down the street.

"I thought you said the truck attracted too much attention." Arden pointed out.

"It does, but it's our safest option right now. Just wandering around out here in the open is going to get us killed."

Cory didn't give Arden a chance to reply as he quickly turned on his heels and started walking towards the back of the store. Without much else in terms of options we all silently followed behind him.

Once we rounded the corner we found a black SUV parked a few feet from the store where Cory was already throwing his bag in the trunk.

"What a perfect time for a road trip." Arden muttered as she tossed her own bag in the back.

"Mhmm. Think of all the beautiful sights we'll get see along the way." I replied sarcastically.

Arden smiled slightly and shook her head. "Oh, yeah. It's going to be a blast."

Biting back my own smile I turned to my dad and took his bag from him before placing it in the trunk with the others.

"You know my arms work perfectly fine." I'm sure the exasperation in his voice could've been heard from a mile away.

"Yeah, and so do mine which is why I'm helping. Now, do you need help getting in the truck?" I shot back with an over the top cheesy grin.

He shot me a deadpan look before making a show of getting into the truck by himself.

I guess that was a no then.

With all the bags inside the trunk I found that I was the last one outside the car so I quickly closed the door to the trunk before heading around the side of the car.

It was only after I had opened the passenger side door and came face to face with Arden that I realized that all the seats in the back were now occupied.

I raised by eyebrows at Arden who simply smiled at me and nodded towards the only available seat.

The front passenger seat.

Next to Cory.

I mouthed a quick "Really?" to her before shutting the door and opening the front passenger door instead.

I dutifully ignored the stupid grins that both Arden and my dad were sporting in the rearview mirror as I climbed inside.

What was wrong with them?

***

We had been driving for around twenty minutes now and I was no closer to figuring out where we were headed than when we first set out.

Arden chose that exact moment to poke her head between the front seats. "So, are we just going to drive around until we run out of gas or what?"

I glanced at Cory out of the corner of my eye and unsurprisingly he looked like he was ready to jump out of the car while it was moving.

I had to bite my tongue to keep from laughing.

"No, I'm not just driving until we run out of gas. We don't just have to find a place to stay. It has to be big enough for all of us, safe, easy to protect, and unoccupied by other people. So, please if you know a place like that feel free to let me know anytime now."

Arden quickly turned and glanced out the passenger window before turning back to the front with a grin on her face.

"I know a place."

Cory almost swerved off the road.

"What do you mean you know a place?!" He quickly turned to look at Arden before fixing his eyes back on the road.

"I mean exactly what I said. I know a place." Arden said with a self-satisfied smile.

"And why are you only saying that now?" Cory said through gritted teeth. I was pretty sure he was only seconds away from either strangling Arden or going through with my earlier suspicion and jumping out of a moving vehicle.

"Because I just thought of it. Now, just shut up and take the next exit."

***

We sat in the parking lot of the place Arden had directed us to in silence.

Tense silence.

Between Cory and Arden at least.

"The mall." Cory deadpanned. "That's the place you were talking about?"

"Yes, isn't it great? I didn't even think of it until I saw the sign while we were driving. It's perfect. It's big enough to hold all of us, plenty of supplies, and safe."

Arden looked extremely proud of herself that I didn't have the heart to tell her she had missed two major things.

"How is a mall easy to protect Arden? And how do we know that no one or nothing else is already inside?" Cory demanded.

Well, I guess Cory had the heart to tell her.

Arden opened her mouth but then seemed to realize Cory's point and quickly shut it.

"We'll I don't see you coming up with anything better." She grumbled before folding her arms across her chest.

I turned to look at Cory and gave him a small pleading smile.

"She was only trying to help. It can't hurt to check it out right? If we can't stay there then we can find somewhere else."

Cory turned to me and opened his mouth probably ready to tell me no too but I quickly cut him off.

"Please?" I prompted.

He blinked once, slowly, before quickly turning back to face forward.

"Fine." He grumbled.

From somewhere in the backseat the sound of  someone mimicking a whip lash with their mouth could be heard.

Three guesses on who it was.

I chose to ignore it as Cory glared into the rear view mirror at the culprit before putting the truck into drive and pulling around to the back of the mall. 

Once we were parked again everyone unloaded their bags and we found ourselves standing in front of one of the back exits to the mall.

"How are we supposed to get in if the door is locked?" Cory asked, looked pointedly at Arden.

Arden flashed him a grin before reaching inside her bag. After a few seconds of searching she pulled out a key ring.

"You obviously forgot that I worked at one of the stores here. Perks of working the closing shift is having a key to lock up. Or in our case get inside."

Cory rolled his eyes as Arden inserted the key, turned it in the lock, and slowly pushed the door open.

She took a step back and held her hand out.

"After you dear brother."

I'm not sure what Cory mumbled underneath his breath as he walked inside but it couldn't have been anything nice.

Once inside we were bathed in darkness and silence once again.

"Just give me a second." I heard Arden whisper from somewhere to my right before the glow of a flash light lit up the corridor we were now standing in.

"Okay, now just follow me. I'll take you guys to the store where I work."

At the end of the corridor another door opened out into the mall. Arden pushed it open slowly checking to make sure the coast was clear before she beckoned us to follow.

Just like the town, the mall was quiet and deserted.

Or at least it seemed to be.

We followed Arden up the escalator to the second floor of the mall before she turned a corner passing stores left and right before she stopped in front of our destination.

As I looked up at the store my eyes instantly fell on Cory and just as expected he looked about ready to murder Arden.

"Victoria's Secret?" He practically hissed. "This is the store where we can get all of our supplies huh?"

If the situation didn't call for us to be quiet I'm pretty sure he'd be yelling right now.

"If we need to eat or God forbid actually protect ourselves let's just grab a couple of bras." he continued, the sarcasm dripping from his voice like syrup.

"We don't just sell bras. There's perfumes, jackets, and-"

"We can always go to the other stores to look around for things we need." I said to Cory cutting Arden off before she really got herself killed.

Cory simply sighed and shook his head. "Just open the door."

Just like everywhere else, it looked like most people had left in a hurry so while most of the store's doors were closed they weren't actually locked, as we found when Arden simply slid the doors open and walked inside.

Once everyone was inside, Cory slid the doors closed again before turning to do a once over of the store with his eyes.

After running a hand over his face as if to clear his frustration he said, "Let's set up camp first then sort through our supplies to see what we need."

Everyone nodded and set about going through and emptying their bags.

I had just sat my own bag on a display stand that showcased a cute black and blue lingerie set that in any other circumstance I'd be giddy over, when I felt the heat of someone else against my back.

Before I had time to turn around, I heard Cory's voice right next to my ear, causing goosebumps to rise on my arms and the fine hairs on the back of my neck to raise.

"It can't hurt to check it out right?" He mimicked my earlier statement.

Trying to ignore how close he was standing I turned around only to come face to face with him. Or face to chest given that he was taller than me.

I swallowed hard and tilted my head up to look at him, making sure my face was completely neutral.

"We haven't even looked around yet. At the very least we can stack up on clothes."

Cory glanced around the store then looked back at me with a raised brow.

"Not in here." I said in a rush, resisting the urge to face palm.

"You sure?" He looked up at the lingerie set we were standing in front of before once again looking down at me, this time with amusement in his eyes.

Two could play this game.

I raised my own eyebrows.

"By all means Cory, if you like the lingerie set then wear it. I won't judge. I'm sure you'd look great in it."

Cory surprised me by giving me a full blown smile and laughing.

Jesus Christ.

I know it wasn't the time to be thinking such things given our current predicament and everything but he had a gorgeous smile. In fact he was gor-

No!

I put a clamp on those thoughts and quickly turned around to continue going through my bag.

I didn't relax until I heard his footsteps recede to the other side of the store.

What was wrong with me?

The situation we were in right now was one of the most traumatizing things to ever happen to me. I should've been focusing on how we were going to survive the next few hours and yet here I was acting like a horny teenager who didn't know how to act around a cute boy.

I glanced around the store myself trying to ignore the sudden images that my mind decided to conjure up.

Maybe this wasn't the best store for us to set up camp in.

***