Pteranodon Mall (3 page)

His pet sure was hungry. There were a few mouse carcasses on the floor as well. No wonder none of the traps had been full. All that remained to check, was where it had gone to, and that large pile of flesh and bones that was right behind him. Desmond decided not to examine that too closely, in case he found something he didn’t like.

Desmond had to face facts, his pet could be anywhere by now. There were over a dozen pipes wide enough for it to scurry through in here. Not to mention the hatch that he came through, as well as another pipe on his left that was large enough for even Desmond to squeeze into.

He felt his anger beginning to return. Why the fuck had he left it in here in the first place? He should have taken it home with him last night. Thanks to his incompetence, Desmond had lost out on what could have been a potentially large amount of money.

To make matters even worse, he now had to find another set of overalls to change into. He couldn’t exactly walk around Hopeview Mall looking like a murder victim. They’d certainly notice him dressed like this as he pushed that trolley with the fucking squeaky wheel.

“What a mess!”

As he turned to climb back through the hatch, Desmond froze as he heard what sounded like scratching coming from that large tunnel. Could his pet be returning? A smile broke out on his face. Of course it was returning. The bird had been out rat hunting. It was always going to return, after all, this was its little home, its den.

Still grinning, Desmond turned and walked over to the large pipe and stood beside it, getting ready to catch it when it poked its little head through the opening. It must catch them and bring its food here to eat in peace. At least he knew what to feed it now. Desmond looked across at the cage he’d used. It wasn’t too badly damaged. He could fix that up while it ate the rat, and then use the food in his special bag to lure it in the fixed-up cage. It sounded like a plan with no faults.

He listened to the sound that of those claws tapping against the inside of that pipe. It sure sounded bigger now, a lot bigger. Desmond found his feet moving back a couple of inches as a large shadow hit the wall above the cage. He heard a noise too, and it sure as fuck wasn’t a chirp. This sounded more like the growl of a bear.

His instinct for self-preservation was a lot greater than his greed. Desmond ran back to the hatch just as a feathered muzzle poked through that pipe exit. He almost had a stroke at the sight of what resembled his pet, only much larger. This thing was the size of a pony. Its amber eyes focussed on Desmond. It dropped the severed arm it held in its jaws and leaped out of the pipe.

He shrieked and tried to climb into the hatch, hot piss streaming down both his thighs. Desmond’s feet skidded on some gore. He crashed onto the floor, still sobbing and crying. He turned onto his back and watched this brightly coloured nightmarish creature pick up its severed arm, and take it over to the corner, ignoring the fact that he was even there. Desmond sat up, not too sure how he was still alive. That current state wouldn’t be permanent if he didn’t get a move on. He shuffled backward until his spine hit the wall before slowly standing, keeping his attention on the big bird while it daintily bit off the fingers one by one.

Something in the corner of his eye caught his attention, and Desmond found that he and big bird weren’t the only things in this chamber that moved. The pile of bones and flesh in the corner suddenly shifted. Big bird’s head lifted at the same time as Desmond turned his head. He groaned in terror when the bones and flesh fell away as what could only be described as a man-shaped animal covered in bright yellow feathers rose.

“I’m dreaming this,” said Desmond. “This can’t be fucking real.”

The bird man lifted its arm and pointed a silver pipe at Big Bird. A high-pitched whistle filled the chamber, and Big Bird fell on its side.

Desmond was already in the hatch crawling away when the high-pitched noise filled the air one more time. He screamed out in utter agony when it felt as though somebody had set every nerve in his body alight.

Chapter Four

Leaving the mall for lunch had been the best decision that he had ever made. Jefferson couldn’t believe that he hadn’t done this before. To think that he’d worked there for almost two years and never set foot outside the building once at lunch. He pushed in the last piece of his Cornish pasty and idly brushed the crumbs off his lap before taking a sip of coffee. The food hadn’t been that great, and this coffee was instant, but none of that mattered. For the first time in two years, he was able to enjoy his meal in relative silence, as well as being able to watch those clouds roll across that beautiful blue sky.

“Silence is definitely golden,” he whispered, smiling as a startled pigeon flew past the cafe window, almost crashing into a lamp post. “Stupid bird.”

The last straw, the one that did break the camel’s back and cemented his decision to ditch those losers and leave the mall, happened at morning break when David came out with yet another one of his lies and told everybody at their table that he heard some kid had been taken to hospital because some stray dog had bitten this kid on the leg.

Although it did sound weird, something like this happening wasn’t beyond the realms of possibility. What pissed off Jefferson was David’s inability not to jump into
bullshit land
. He then leaned across the table, and in some conspiratorial voice, told everybody that this dog was covered in bright blue feathers.

This had to be his best idea yet. He already felt the stress and misery sloughing away. He’d already decided to visit the library tomorrow after grabbing a burger from the Wimpy bar on Needle Road. He’d have gone there today if it hadn’t been for that annoying old bloke campaigning for some charity, who accosted him as soon as he left the mall.

Jefferson drained his coffee, stood, and smiled at the pretty waitress who’d served him before leaving the cafe. It was time to return and face the music. With some luck, David would get in a strop on not talk to him for the rest of the day for abandoning them. “I can only hope.”

He stopped just outside the shop and watched a parade of soldiers marching past the city hall. Jefferson would have to mention this to Sandy; she had a thing for men in uniform. Especially ones carrying guns. Obviously, he would wait until he was in the company of David before he opened his mouth, just to enjoy the fleeting look of extreme jealousy on his face while Sandy told them how they made her go weak at the knees.

Would Sandy have noticed Jefferson if he had been in uniform? That thought made him smile, considering how close he’d been to joining up. His dad, brother, and two uncles were in the military. Jefferson still remembered his dad’s look of disappointment that the old man had tried so hard to hide when Jefferson had told him flatly that he had no intention of getting himself blown up or shot at.

Looking back at his rather rash decision and how his future had panned out, perhaps joining up would have been a better choice. “I should have dragged Sandy out here. She’d love this.” The parade had drawn quite a crowd, mostly women. The officer at the front looked so much like his old man it was unreal. Jefferson found himself waving and was a little surprised when the officer winked back at him.

Jefferson sighed when he noticed the city hall clock gently reminding him that if he didn’t get his arse in gear, he’d be late for work. He turned around and hurried back towards the shopping centre, while trying to remember what rank three diamonds signified. Bloody hell, his dad would have had a heart attack at his dire lack of knowledge. Come to think of it, David would have a go at him too.

He walked down the pedestrian walkway, passing the two banks, a music shop, and a pizza joint. The closer he got to the mall, the more people there were cluttering up the path.

He turned the corner and stopped dead, staring in disbelief at the metal shutters across the entrance. “What the hell?” No way could the mall be shut at this time. They didn’t even pull down the shutters when it did close at eight. There was always somebody in the building.

Shutters or no shutters, he still needed to get in there somehow. Jefferson pushed his way through the gathered crowd, trying to spot anyone else who worked in the mall. He couldn’t be the only worker who’d gone out for his lunch. This just didn’t feel right.

Jefferson had noticed somebody with whom he’d had prior contact. He groaned at the sight of that charity worker enthusiastically heading towards him. It did cross his mind to turn around and get away before that charity worker reached him. He could always use this opportunity to visit that library, either that or go home. Jefferson couldn’t do that, though. His friends were inside and because, like a fool, he’d left his phone in his coat pocket, he couldn’t contact them until he’d got home anyway.

“Isn’t this a bit weird, buddy? Nobody has a clue what’s going on here.”

So much for the charity being able to update him. He listened to the dreadlocked youth rattle on about some couple being separated when the shutters came down and how nobody could get close to the shutter because they all went a bit funny. This was unreal. Just because this guy tried to fleece him out of his money, they were now fast friends?

“I think it’s a fire drill.” The youth assumed the air of authority when two other shoppers gazed in his direction. “Yeah, that’s got to be the reason. Give it a few more minutes, and the shutters will go back up.”

Jefferson nodded and smiled before pretending to look at his watch. He spun around and lost himself in the crowd, squeezing his way through the throng, and headed for the edge of the walkway where the crowds were thinner.

Where were all the police and the fire engines? He skirted around the crowd, deciding to go around the other side of the building. The emergency services should have already got here by now, if only to reassure the shoppers.

It wasn’t a fire drill, that much Jefferson did know. Every staff member was supposed to escort the shoppers out of the building; they sure as hell didn’t lock them all in. “This doesn’t make any sense,” he repeated.

On a brighter note, it looked like all the shops in the town centre were about to receive some much needed custom. The crowd was already dispersing, leaving the charity worker leaning against the wall with only a couple of pigeons for company. He picked up the pace, in case the guy tried to collar him again.

What did that clown mean about people feeling weird when they got too close to the shutters? Did it mean anything, or was that guy making up rubbish so people would listen to him? Jefferson hurried past the huge window displays belonging to Martin’s Department Store, still unnerved by the complete lack of explanation to why the mall had just closed itself off from the rest of the town.

There should have been somebody around to explain what was going on. Indigo’s Furniture Store had another entrance at the back on the mall. Jefferson would try to get inside through there. He knew there wasn’t any shutters installed over those doors. He slowed his pace, and then stopped dead at the sight of another set of metal shutters over the furniture shop entrance.

“No, no way,” he said. He and David came through those doors this morning. Had they really installed a set of shutters in just over four hours? Jefferson walked over to them and placed his hand on the metal.

His anxiety melted away. Jefferson loved his job. He had great friends and was really happy with his life. He ought to see this as an unexpected holiday. Why not visit that library? Maybe he’d meet a pretty girl in there?

He snatched his hand off the shutter. “What the fuck was that?” he cried. It felt as though something had just melted the surface of his brain. Jefferson clamped his hand over his mouth, trying not to throw up. His handprint now stained the shutter. Through the shape, he saw what looked like glass. Despite his whole body suggesting otherwise, Jefferson put both hands on the shutter and pressed. Jefferson loved his job. He had great friends, and he was really—

He fell to his knees and bent over. Jefferson slammed his hands on the tiled floor and groaned as nausea slammed through his guts. He managed to open his eyes to find himself in the store’s lobby. Holding his hands against his stomach, Jefferson turned his head to find the automatic doors leading outside were wide open. He slowly got to his feet and burped, grimacing as the taste of that pasty filled his mouth.

Two young girls came into view. They stopped opposite him and stared, only they weren’t looking at him.

“Oh, it’s closed,” said the blonde girl.

Her companion swore before she took a lump of pink gum out of her mouth. Jefferson gaped in incredulity as it looked like she was about to give it to him. Instead, she pushed it against the fresh air. He saw the gum flatten out. It just stayed there, defying gravity, while the other girl let out a loud sigh.

“Fuck it, let’s go to McDonald’s then.”

The girls ran over the road, narrowly avoiding a speeding white van, leaving him standing there gazing at that piece of floating gum. He reached for it then stopped. Whatever was there had already made him feel like he’d dropped his guts into a cement mixer. Did he want to go through that again? Jefferson decided it wouldn’t be worth the pain.

He turned around and slowly walked into the furniture store.

If it wasn’t for his stomach behaving like he’d just spent the past few hours on a roller-coaster, Jefferson would feel pretty chilled. Better than he’d felt for weeks. Even the mall looking closed, or he’d just walked through a metal shutter, or seeing floating gum wasn’t dinting this weird high.

“I love my job,” he said, strolling through the empty showroom. “I have great friends.” He stopped to admire a corner bookcase, thinking it would look great in his bedroom. Jefferson was aware that something was seriously wrong here, that nobody was about, and the coffee table next to him had four deep scratches across the previously polished mahogany surface. There was also the small matter of that lake of blood by the till-point number one. Yet all Jefferson could think about was that he was really happy with his life.

The mall’s generic annoying music competed with this store’s own choice of classical. He found himself humming to Strauss while admiring a double bed. He was thinking he should still go to the library. Maybe he’ll meet a pretty girl in there.

Jefferson looked over at the entrance which led outside the mall, then at the mall concourse behind the till-points, and wiped away hot tears. “I love my job. I have great friends.” He dropped to his knees again, and this time, he did empty his guts across the tiles. He fell onto his side and rolled under the bed while thinking that someone had just detonated a grenade between his ears.

He screwed up his eyes, feverishly wishing that this weird nausea would leave him alone. What the hell had just happened to him? His thoughts were trapped in thick glue. His recent memory had separated into fragments, and no matter how hard he tried, they refuse to coalesce. His last reliable image was of sitting in some cafe while watching a pigeon crash into a building, then, pick itself up as if nothing had happened before pecking at the pavement in search of food. Even with his eyes shut, Jefferson could still hear it pecking away.

He snapped open his eyes, realising that the sound wasn’t in his head. He looked in confusion at bedsprings a couple of inches from his nose before turning his head to the left. The question as to why he was lying under some bed flew out of his head when he saw some two-legged lizard with a long neck and tail pushing a lump of brown mush with its tiny head through a puddle of vomit.

It jerked its head up, fastened him with a brief stare, and let out a squawk before returning to its previous task. Was that a…? Jefferson couldn’t even bring himself to utter the name, but what else could it be? He did know that if David was here, he’d be able to tell him for sure. The lad was almost as obsessed with dinosaurs as he was with toy cars and Star Wars.

He thrust his hand into his pocket and pulled out a chocolate bar that Sandy had given to him at morning break. The rattling had already caught the attention of the little animal. It swallowed the brown lump first, and then slowly approached the bed, with its head bopping up and down. It took effort for him not to smile at its antics. The behaviour reminded Jefferson of the nodding dog that his dad had stuck on the back window of his car.

“You want some of this?” he asked, peeling back the wrapper. “Sure you do, little guy.”

It took one more step towards him then stopped, it froze.

“Come on, don’t be shy.” Jefferson dropped the chocolate and clamped his hand over his mouth, this time to muffle a shocked scream as a huge pair of jaws appeared from nowhere and clamped over the little dinosaur’s neck, snapping off the head. He shuffled back when those jaws lowered again and scooped up the rest of the corpse.

Jefferson kept his hand against his mouth, watching as his narrow view revealed some more of this new arrival’s body. A pair of thickly muscled legs, covered in dark red feathers, walked past the bed. They stopped beside that pool of vomit for a moment. He heard it gulping down its food before the creature moved over to the till-point. Jefferson found enough courage to move a little closer to the edge of the bed so he could get a better look.

There was no mistaking it, this one definitely shouldn’t exist anymore. He vividly recalled David going absolutely ape-shit after watching a certain dinosaur movie set in a park. He went on for weeks, banging on that raptors were feathered like birds. Jefferson telling the lad that it didn’t make any difference went through one ear and out of the other.