It was a bitter cold day in the suburb of Mahwah, New Jersey, which meant that most were indoors where one could find heat from the oppressive winter that had gripped most of the tri-state area. Snow was in the forecast starting tomorrow and communities were bracing for what the meteorologists were calling the worst snowstorm the northeast has EVER seen. Norman snorted at the thought. He had lived in the northeast for all of his thirty four years on the earth and from what experience had taught him, disaster was usually never in the cards. People would inflate their discourse with hyperbolic phrases and utilize rhetoric to ensure that small talk stayed alive, but actual disaster, endangerment of life? No, that didn't happen very often, and when it did, it was unexpected. But enough about that. Norman's dark blue irises found what they had been directed to look for just a few minutes ago: an elevator in this maze of a mall. There was a new shopping mecca that had been erected just last week and it's doors remained open to the public even with the prognostication of doom and destruction. The mall was bustling with people dodging in and out of stores, the whole spectrum of emotion both visible and audible. All Norman was concerned with, however, was purchasing new dress shoes for work. He was on his feet most of the day, teaching his students the merits of Shelley's Frankenstein and Emerson's Transcendental movement, so his footwear tended to wear out. Heh. Wear out. Cause he wears...shoes... He laughed slightly at his terrible pun, arriving at the elevator, the doors sliding open to allow the denizens of the metallic cubicle to exit and for Norman, the lone passenger, to enter. The doors slid closed, Norman turning around to note the well decorated interior: faux wood varnishing was complimented by an obsidian colored metal that had advertisements for other portions of the mall. He was surprised to see that the typical glass encasing was not at the rear of the elevator, but he supposed that those who designed the supermall knew that if the glass broke and someone tumbled to their grisly doom, they would have the pants sued off of them. Smart move. The elevator went up one floor before the doors slid open once more, a woman entering. He gave her a polite smile before staring ahead. As the elevator ascended, Norman began to absent-mindedly tap h... There was a jarring halt to the elevator's ascension, the lights in the elevator growing dim. "So much for a smooth opening for this place."

When Alison stepped into the elevator with she gave the man a polite smile in return carrying her briefcase from work. She was still in her work suit and needed to grab something from the mall before heading home. Oh how she wished she thought to bring a change of clothes with her. Her heels were starting to hurt her feet, and it was far too cold out for her skit to offer any kind of warmth. Alas, she would have to suffer. When the elevator suddenly stopped she blinked unsure of what was going on. She looked up just as the lights dimmed around her. Feeling a breath catch in her throat she stepped back into the hand rails in the elevator car. She heard the man next to her speak breaking her out of her own thoughts then turned to him. "I hope guess so. How odd that the elevator stopped. I didn't think the show was going to be that bad." She was sure that it wasn't that bad outside for the snow to take out the power, or was it something else. Trying to wrap her head around the situation she took out her cell phone but oddly she didn't have any service. "That's odd, I have no service on my phone ether." She knew that something was wrong at that moment.

Norman mirrored his inadvertent companion's gesture, withdrawing his iphone(because he was an English teacher, he felt obligated to give into the liberal arts stereotype and own an Apple product) and checking for service. Not surprisingly, there was none. He shook his head before placing his phone back into his pocket, walking over to the series of buttons on the control panel and hitting the red one labeled "EMER". A loud squawk came over the speaker just above the control panel, then another, then...silence. More silence. "Hello?" Norman brought his face closer to the speaker. "Hello? Can anyone hear me? Another person and I are trapped in one of your elevators and..." Another squawk hit Norman dead in the ears, the teacher backing away from the offending device. Finally, he thought he could hear human voices, but they were muffled, discreet. He looked over at the woman and asked: "Can you make out anything they're saying? I'm having trouble understanding what they..." A moment later, one of the voices shouted: "LOOK ON CAMERA NINE! It's a..." The voices became garbled again and the lights in the elevator flickered for a few moments before they returned to their dimly lit state. "Ok then..." He looked at the woman with a slight smile. "Looks like we're on our own. Got any ideas?"

Alison listened to the speaker, but all she was able to hear was garble. Ether way, it didn't sound promising to her. She looked around trying to see if there was by chance anything they could us, but she had no such luck. Alison thought for a moment. "We need to get out of here, but that should go without saying. I'm not sure if we can force the elevator door open, and even if we could it doesn't mean we're near a door on the outside. Maybe if I can get thru the hatch at the top I can take a look and see it there's a maintenance latter in the elevator shaft we can use, but that might be a stretch." She was on to something though. If they could find a latter in the shaft they would be in luck, but this was a mall elevator so only the sides were enclosed. Ether way, it was worth a look. Ether way they couldn't say in the elevator that much she knew. "God, why didn't a bring a change of clothes from home? This skirt will not be helpful for getting out of here. Anyway, I'll need a boost so I can reach the hatch above ours heads. I don't think anyone is coming for us. It sounds like they have other things to worry about right now." She slipped on her heels feeling sweet relief in here feet, but that was to be short lived as they were still trapped and so far no way out.

Norman listened to the woman's suggestion and nodded when she mentioned her needing a boost. It was worth a shot, right? If the elevator starts when she's up there, though... Well, maybe he should go up there. Oh, right, like her shoulders could hold a fully grown man's feet, especially his size FOURTEEN skis. Alright, she's going up there. He centered himself below the outline of the hatch that led up to the elevator's corridor, cupping his hands together to serve as an impromptu platform for the woman to climb onto his shoulders. "If your skirt gets snagged, I can always buy you a new one. You know, kind of like a 'Hey, we survived an elevator crisis' present. I hear it's all the rage these days." He laughed for a brief moment before allowing a few beats of silence to pass. "Right then! Up through the hatch." The speaker, which had gone silent, went live again as a clear female voice semi-shouted: "CLEAR THE ROOM! CLEAR THE ROOM! WE NEED t..." More warped sound, then a final declaration from a male voice: "We won't make it ou...he...just get to...she...ter!" Wonderful.

Alison just shook her head at the rather terrible joke letting out a soft chuckle. "I'm not really that fond of this skirt. I was more meaning that it's cold outside, and climbing with a skirt is never... pleasant if you will." Alison was about to climb up into the hatch when she heard the woman. "Well, that can't be good to say the least. Anyway, let's get up there." Alison put her foot in his cupped hands and her hands on his shoulders boosting herself up with her legs moving to his shoulders. With her head in the hatch she looked around and smiled seeing a latter. It was dirty up there, but at that moment it didn't matter, they had to get out of there. She pulled her self up all the way into the hatch and popped her head back into the elevator. "We're in luck. There is a latter up here. Would you mind handing me my briefcase then I'll help you up. Not that I mean to say I won't help you up unless I get it mind you." Alison laughed a bit to her self. "Anyway, it looks like we can get out of here from the latter. I'm a bit worried about what's going on out there. It can't be good if people are sounding panicked. We can deal with that when it comes though."

He chuckled at her remark about the briefcase. "Yeah, well, I suppose it would be a safe trade. Briefcase for survival." He hoisted the briefcase up to her before he jumped up himself, grabbing the edge of the hatch with both hands. With a labored grunt, he heaved himself up onto the platform, mumbling a derivative remark against himself for choosing to wear a black fleece on the one day that he would be climbing through metal hatches that could catch the zipper. Norman spotted the ladder that led up to a steel door maybe one floor above theirs. "Up we go." After ensuring that the woman was on the platform, Norman took a deep breath, the air in the shaft reeking of mechanical oil and dirt(yes, dirt had a smell) and even a slight coppery tinge. He nodded to his companion before opening the door, which led to a darkened hallway illuminated by dim red lighting that ran along the lower sides of the wall. Norman withdrew his phone and turned on the handy flashlight app he had installed upon day of purchase, a small cone of light emitting from the camera. The hallway looked like a services corridor, no doors visible except for what looked like a set of double doors at the very end. Norman thought he heard what could have been...scratching? Maybe? "You hear that?"

With her briefcase between her teeth(why not) Alison climb the ladder. The ladder made a few noises as they climbs, but nothing that was too worrying; a creak here and there wasn't going to bother her at the moment. After all, it was far better then being trapped in an elevator. The dust got all over her as she climb and couldn't help but cough at a few points. She reached her hand up when she was right below the door, and pulled herself up into the hallway. Getting back on her feet she dusted her self off then took a look around the hallway. It wasn't anything special, just a service hallway for maintenance workers to use when they needed it. She didn't see anything of note other then the doors a head of them. She paused, hearing the scratching noise from the same doors. It wasn't something she wanted to hear after escaping the elevator. "Yea, I heard it, and I'm kind of wishing I didn't." Then, there was a growling sound as someone pounded on the door violently as if they were trying to break it down. That wasn't... normal. Alison was not trilled about opening the door at all, but it had to be done. Just in case something went wrong she opened up her briefcase on the ground, and retrieved a knife and pistol that she always kept with her. "Well, this just got worse. Here, I have something we might need, gun and a knife; because when you're prosecuting a member of the mob you better expect people trying to kill you. Anyway, I better take the gun since I have a permit for it if you don't mind. I don't plan on killing anyone, but the noises aren't.. normal at all. I'd rather be safe."

"That's the legal system for you." A half smile crept onto his lips as he took the knife, his brow raising at the sheer bulk of the thing. It certainly looked like a blade that a military officer or a mercenary would use(like he had experience with mercenaries...). He held the blade in his right hand as he continued walk to walk forward, eyes darting all over. Once in front of the double doors, which could be quickly deduced as the source of the scratching, Norman took a deep breath and opened the door. A soft moan and gurgle came from Norman's feet, his eyes looking down to spot what was once a man, his back covered in blood, hair matted to his head. The man turned on his side to reveal a slightly torn open sternum, ribcage protruding. Norman spun around on his heel and quickly walked a few feet away from the atrocity, hands on his knees. "Tell...tell me that's fake!" He looked back, the body now still on the ground. From within the mall, faint screams could be heard along with popping noises and even...moans? Norman breathed in sharply, the stench of blood and decay bludgeoning his senses. He stood up erect now, breathing shallow as he turned around. "What caused this?" He mumbled, walking past his companion and the body into the mall itself. The massive glass ceiling gave little light due to the cloudy nature of the day, dim red lighting running along the carpeted walkways serving as the only illumination. He could see smoke billowing from one of the stores below, bodies strewn across the lower and upper floors. "What nightmare did I walk into?"

Alison looked around trying to take in the hell that was in front of them. It looked like something out of a horror movie. She witnessed a man running from a growling woman missing an arm. It looked like she was diseased and she had bite marks all over her body as if someone had taken a bites out of her. The man ran right into a corner but before he could react the woman was on top of him sinking her teeth into her neck as she started to devour him alive when others joined her. It was like a feeding frenzy and it made her stomach turn. In all her years of being a lawyer, nothing was as revolting as what she just saw. She gasped and looked away feeling sick trying to keep her composer. "My god." She turned away from her companion feeling her last meal coming back up and vomited on the ground while propping herself up on the wall right next to her. Something was seriously wrong and it wasn't safe in the mall anymore. She wiped off her face and gasped for a bit. "I remember hearing on the news something about in illness spreading around but I didn't think it did this. What fresh hell is this? We need to get out of her before the same thing happens to us. God.. what are these things? They can't be human any more."

(So sorry for the late post! I need to figure out how to get RPG to give me notifications when you post here xD)

Norman wanted to vomit himself, but somehow kept it in check, even after his companion decided to let loose. After her episode, she commented on a sickness that was spreading.
"No, it couldn't be that, right? I mean, we would have heard SOMETHING about a disease that would turn people into Resident Evil knock-offs. Hope we don't run into Wesker..." He smiled, then shook his head.

Bad joke.

"So we just have to get out of here, police are probably on their way, so just mak..." He could hear the scraping of footsteps behind him, Norman whipping around just in time to see the outstretched arms of what was a mall security guard, a guttural moan emitting from his mouth.
"GAH!" Norman dodged left, casting a glance at the knife in his trembling hand. A moment later, he voluntarily commanded his hand upward, thrusting the knife into the undead's head. He withdrew the now gore-laden knife, the would-be attacker crumpling to the ground, Norman breathing rapidly as he told the woman:
"I just did that...did I just kill a man? No, he was dead already...right?" He shook his head violently.
"Ok, ok, ok, just get out." He looked to his left, noting the double doors leading outside to the parking garage.
"We can get out through there."

(Eh, it's fine. I'm in finals week right now.)

Alison looked at him slightly discussed at the joke, but part of it was still feeling ill. "This morning I heard a report about people after death reanimating. I thought the CDC was on top of this..."

She looked over seeing that he was being attacked. She had her gun ready but then her companion took care of the danger. She knelt down to check the body and when she got close she could smell death wafting off it the body. On further inspection she saw bullet wounds that would be fatal to anyone but he was still able to walk.

"This body has been dead for quite a while. Notice the bullet holes in the chest around the heart. No one could survive that. We're dealing with the reanimated dead."

She looked to the doors her companion mentioned and noticed they were the doors she entered the mall in. That meant her car wasn't far away.

"If we go out that way we can get to my car unless yours is closer. Ether way, I agree we need to get out of here as soon as possible and find some place safe until we hear a news report. As of right now being alone is a bad idea."

Alison knew something like this just wasn't going to blow over. They had to keep safe because if corpses are walking around then there had to be more outside of the mall, much more. She pulled out her keys holding them in the same hand as her briefcase and her gun in the other. She ran to the doors looking around her to make sure the path was clear first.

"God it's going to suck to run bear foot out there but it's better then being in here waiting to die."