by Gabi Moore
School wasn’t much of a relief from what he endured at home. In neither place was he deprived of any material needs, but, as a certain book said, people do not survive on bread alone. His school system was over-loaded and understaffed, a victim of the massive enrollment increase, which came with the bloom of the suburbs. The teachers didn’t know how to handle the hormones exploding in teenagers, packed forty to a classroom. The school administrator was stuck with a township that didn’t want to pay much for their children’s education. And the school buildings were repurposed every year from elementary to junior to high school and back again. It was not a shining moment in the education field.
Sean soon discovered when he entered high school that you only counted if you were a jock, genius or a troublemaker. If you didn’t fall into one of these categories, you were one of the teaming masses of students who ran from one class to another when the bell rang, which it did seven times a day. He learned to keep his mouth shut and avoid any stare at the toughs, who didn’t need a provocation to punch you. What if the teacher saw them? So what? They were sent down the office several times a week anyway. Their parents were beyond concern by this stage.
What he could not understand was why these bad boys were so popular with the girls. Every single one of them strutted around the hall as if he owned it. All he had to do was glance at one of the girls and she would swoon. This wasn’t always the case, but it happened enough for Sean to understand the basic inequality in the human race. Worse, it seemed the nicer you were to one of the hot girls, the nastier she was to you.
This is what drew him to the literary journal at the school and the crowd which surrounded it. It allowed him to indulge in his love for books and play at being a writer. Best of all, there were some girls involved who would give him the time of day. It was at the school’s journal where he met Lilly and Emily. They seemed to merely tolerate him, but it was more time than any of the other girls in school would give him. It was also fun to see his name on the masthead. Needless to say, his mother considered it a waste of time and belittled him for never making the honor roll.
Emily he adored.
She realized after a few months of his attention she could get Sean to do anything she wanted, just so long as she paid him some compliments. She thrived on the attention too, although the relationship was always determined by her. Sean tried to raise the “girlfriend” topic at one point, but she put a stop to it. Emily wasn’t ready for any kind of relationship after she saw what the broken one had done to her father.
But Sean longed to tell Emily how he really felt about her. He would write stories where she was the maiden and he the knight. Then he would ball them up and throw them into the trash. He would instantly fish them out of the trash and tear the stories into shreds before flushing them down the toilet. His mother had found one of his stories in the trash one morning and read it aloud to the family as an example of why “There had to be something wrong with him”. Sean knew he would remember that slight until the day he died.
So he was thrilled when Emily called him from her father’s house with a secret mission. This would allow him to show her that he was worthy of her attention. It would permit him to enter into the adult world, which in both of their cases was due to take place when they left for college. She wouldn’t tell him what it was about and they agreed to meet early in the day before the mall opened at one of the local breakfast places near where they lived.
Sean was transfixed after she finished with her story as to what occurred the day before at the mall. He felt one of his high fantasy novels come to life as she sat there and told him what happened over a coffee. He didn’t know what to do. It all seemed so surreal.
What he didn’t want to do was tell his family. His dad would roll his eyes and go back to watching TV; his mom would wail and get the pastor on the phone, if he was lucky. They might take him to a shrink if he even let on about this story. In no way would he allow any of them to know. At least his sisters were left alone. They seldom found reason to stay around the house.
“So, how do you want me to help you?” he said from across the table. Sean picked a small booth toward the back where they would less likely be noticed. He didn’t need the sneers from the jocks who found reason to come inside from time to time.
“Just come out there with me today as back-up,” she told him. “I need you to run cover for me. It’s all I’m asking.” Emily slid one hand over his.
When she did that, Sean made up his mind he would do anything for her. He was gone to the world, madly in love with the girl who faced him, even if he couldn’t tell anyone.
“So he knows it all,” Emily told Dion and Lilly. “I told him every detail what happened yesterday. Sean is here to help too. Why don’t you let him?”
“Do you have any idea what we’re up against?” Dion asked Sean. “You have any idea at all what could be on the other side of those doors?”
“I’ve talked with Emily,” he said. Dion noticed Emily gave Sean’s hand a little tug with hers.
“I see. Well, let’s get moving. Just watch me and listen to anything I have to tell you. It might appear to be a normal mall on the outside, but the place is the entrance to hell.”
As with the other entrance, there was as small water fountain outside the entrance to the “Air” section of the mall. Dion stopped and watched the water play out. He wondered what he could do to make the dangers of the mall real to Sean, but his full power extended only over the earth element.
And then he saw the bull again.
The plastic bull, which came to life the previous day and tried to stop them from reaching the Grandmaster of the Earth Element, was on a cart. The cart was sitting on the curb next to the fountain, although the plastic bull was tied down to it. Next to it was a uniformed maintenance man who was in the process of finishing his morning cigarette. Dion stopped to look at the bull on the cart.
“They’re taking it out?” he asked the man.
The worker finished his cigarette and tossed the butt on the ground. At least there had been a rain the night before, so there were no worries about the ground catching fire.
“Not working?” Dion asked again.
“Somebody said it came loose and slid off the mount upstairs. I don’t see how it happened, but it was in the cooking store when we had to move it out. The company is replacing it. Can you believe that? This damn mechanical bull came loose and slid all the way into the store.”
“I’d have to see that happen to believe it,” Dion told him.
In fact, he had, but now it was just another cheap ride for the curious.
“Yeah, I find it hard to believe too,” the man said.
Dion felt the earth elementals moving beneath them. These were the basic ones; he could do a lot more with them now though. They weren’t too complicated and could be easy to work with. He found two playing in the soil beneath the plastic bull and connected with them. Would they be willing to help him in return for something they might need? Yes, but what did he need? Dion told him and they were delighted to help.
“It that strap very tight?” Dion asked.
“Tight as it needs to be. I don’t think there’s much trouble with it. Statue doesn’t weight that much, in spite of how it looks. I don’t foresee it bucking out of the truck.”
“I wouldn’t’ be so sure about that,” Dion told him just as the plastic strap around the middle of the bull snapped.
The maintenance man turned and looked at the bull behind him. He dropped the second cigarette, which he was on the point of lighting, and starred as the bull stepped off the cart. It walked straight up to him. It turned its head, looked around and noticed the green grass on the ground. As the rest of the group looked on in wonder, the plastic bull walked over the grass and began to gnaw on the ground.
“But, it’s fake!’ is all the man could sputter out.
“Are you sure about that?” Dion said to him. “I don’t recall too many fake bulls which eat grass.”
The man walked over to the bull and starred at it a bit longer. He could see the painted nose snort and the artificial eyes look at the ground. The bull was black in color and wasn’t transparent; although it had a shine on it from the way the sunlight struck it. The bull continued to munch on the grass.
“It’s some kind of machine,” the man concluded. “Has to be. Now I see why people thought it had walked into the china shop. Can you imagine that? A plastic bull inside a china shop.”
The bull reared back up. It reassumed the position it had before the it animated. The earth elementals thanked Dion in a voice only he could hear. They left the bull statue, traveling back into the ground. The bull turned back into what it was before the elementals entered it: a metal and plastic statue designed for the entertainment industry.
“I think your bull is back to normal,” Dion told the man as it froze back into position. “You need some help getting it back on the cart?”
The man walked over to the bull statue and pushed it. It wobbled, but showed no signs of moving again. He looked at it all over until he decided it wasn’t going to walk away. With one hand, he lifted it up. The front section bucked up into the air.
“I don’t get it,” he said. “I watched this thing walk off the cart by itself and eat the grass. There are even grass stains on the mouth. How did it happen? I can’t feel any heavy gears inside it.”
“Who knows? Maybe they’ve put something inside the bull you don’t know about.”
“Now I have to be concerned about it climbing of the cart,” the maintenance man grumbled.
“I don’t think you have to worry,” Dion smirked as he and his friends headed in the direction of the mall entrance.
Chapter 3
If a true believer needed to be created, it was found in the form of Sean.
Lilly and Emily had watched all kinds of miracles the day before and didn’t have the least trouble with a plastic bull, which walked on its own. Sean, on the other hand, had spent his formative years listening to his mother babble on about demons, spirits and the end of the world.
He was forced to attend church meeting where elderly pastors screamed damnation on the sinful world of rock music. He watched respected women of the choir divorce and re-marry. By the time he was fifteen, Sean decided it was all a pile of nonsense and there was no magic in the world. It was all protons, electrons, smoke and mirrors. But a walking plastic bull had made a believer out of him in seconds.
They continued to the mall entrance. It was now unlocked and the crowds which had waited outside were on their way inside.
There was always a sense of excitement by these shoppers as they worked their way into the mall to greet the new shopping day. It resembled a tribe of hunters who had spotted their prey and were intent on closing in as soon as they could. They would form groups of hunting parties to swarm across the grounds of the mall in search of the best sources of game. They pursued their quarry based on tracks marked by sales flyers and images on the wall, which told them of the daily specials. When they were ready to pounce, the hunters approached with shopping carts in front of them, ready to acquire the target.
The four were soon inside the mall, walking through one of the corridors, which connected with the main concourse. Benches and planters ran through the middle of the corridor and smaller shops lined the sides. These were small stores that seldom had more than a thousand square feet on the inside with one or two windows. It was the start of the workday and the window cleaners were busy at work with their squeegees.
Dion noted the window cleaners were human and with a local company that used a seahorse as its logo. He hadn’t seen a ghoul cleaner yet and didn’t think he would. The ghouls wouldn’t touch him since he had full earth elemental power. However, officer Karanzen and his officers were a different story.
And just as Dion stepped into the main concourse, he encountered his nemesis. Karanzen, in his uniform, stood and blocked Dion’s way into the mall. On either side were two of Karanzen’s security guards.
Dion stopped and looked at him directly in the face. “And good morning to you, Officer Karanzen,” he said to the shaven-headed former army officer. “Is there something I can do for you?”
“You can watch yourself in this mall. I don’t want a repeat of yesterday. Do I make myself clear?”
“You do, Officer. Now if you will please move aside? I have an appointment I need to keep.” He stepped around the head of mall security and led his friends to the rest of the mall.”
“That’s right, you little snipe,” Karanzen mumbled to himself, not caring if his guards heard or not. “Just continue on your happy way. We’ll see how far you get this time.”
“Who was that?” Sean asked Dion as they continued on their way. “The guy didn’t seem to like you at all.”
“The feeling is mutual. We had a confrontation the last time I was here.”
“More like multiple confrontations,” Lilly added. She made sure to be at his side in case Dion needed anything.
“He won’t be of much trouble today,” Dion continued. “Unless we do something stupid. And I don’t intend to do anything stupid. We’ll see what happens.”
The mall was busy already. The shoppers heard the news on TV, radio and in the local papers about the big spring sales that drove them to the mall. Already the lot filled with cars, which brought even more shoppers out to sample the wares from all over the world. There was even one store which specialized in imports from the vast reaches of the planet and beyond. Eager faces of energetic aspirants to the wealth of the world could be seen as they walked between stores and feasted their eyes upon the treasures that lay inside. The bonus checks arrived last week from many of the large companies where the families drew their income.
“We lost the map of the mall when we had to trade it for Emily,” Lilly pointed out. It was the only way they could get her back from the ghouls without violence the previous day. “It’s not going to be easy to find our way around.”
“Why should it be hard?” Sean asked them. “There is a directory on the other side we can use. If not, I’m sure one of the kiosk ladies has a map.”
“Different kind of map,” Emily said. “Dion got this from a special store. It shows places the other maps don’t.”
“Why would that make a difference?”
“The map we had showed the passages the ghouls used to get around the mall. You’ll never find them on any other map. Plus, many of these stores, which are closed to the general public, have a very particular clientele base. You won’t see them anywhere else.”
“Like what?”
“Like a store which sells pollution control equipment for water sprites. They still have to live in that mess and want to keep their part clean.”
Dion went on to tell him about the cafeteria for vampires and the anti-surveillance store for ghosts. It seemed the specters were fed up with paranormal investigators who wouldn’t leave them alone. They invested heavily in auto-intrusion technology to have a decent afterlife.
“They’re pushing for a lot of the counter-surveillance equipment on the market. The specter detectors still don’t understand why they were able to get voice recordings in graveyards up to three years ago, but can’t get a thing anymore. The ghosts found ways to jam their devices. They buy new equipment every chance they get.”
Soon they reached the waterfall, which marked the center of this section of the mall. It was built to serve as a wishing well and combination fountain with a goldfish-reflecting pond. Like many of the other aquatic attractions in the mall, it had a ledge where people could sit and relax. It was early in the day and the only shoppers relaxing where young mothers who’d brought their children.
“I could walk to the other side of the mall,” Dion said. “It’s a haul to get over there. Besides, the hobby shop we need to find shouldn’t be so hard to locate.”
As they sat there, a small balloon floated down from the skylight to them. No one saw who release
d it and all four of them were surprised by the sudden appearance of the balloon. I was red in color and had a small piece of paper attached to it. When the balloon descended in front of them, Lilly grabbed the paper on it.
“It’s a letter,” she said as she looked at the paper. “It’s addressed to you, Dion.” She detached the letter from the balloon and handed it to Dion, and she gave the balloon to Sean.
Dion slowly opened the letter while Sean tried to figure out what to do with the balloon. Sean turned to Emily. “Is there any reason we need to keep this thing?” he asked her.
“I can’t imagine why.”
“Good,” he said and popped the balloon. Several women near the waterfall turned and glared at him. Dion continued to read the letter.
“You didn’t have to make so much noise,” Emily snapped at him.
“Sorry.” It was a problem he’d always had, not knowing when something was appropriated to do or not. Somehow, Sean just never knew the social cues that guided most people through life.
“So, what is in the letter?” Lilly asked Dion.
“It was from my parents.” Dion folded it up and placed it in his pocket. The rest of the group became quiet.
“So what did it say?” Emily asked. “Can you tell us?”
“It said that they’re proud of what I’ve done and want me to continue with the quest. They look forward to being with me again. They’re all right, but still imprisoned at the center of the mall in the clock tower. The managed to get the one letter out, but they don’t think they’ll be able to do it again. They told me I need to have all five elemental powers to free them.”
“Pretty much what you already knew,” Lilly said.
“Five elements?” Sean spoke again. “I thought there were only four.”
“The fifth is the source of the other ones,” Dion explained. “It has to do with the abyss; I’m just not sure how.”
