After the Mall Closes

The last thing seventeen-year-old Minaret Carter expected to hear that Friday night was the sound of the mall's security gates locking.

She and her boyfriend, Jackson, had been inside Westbrook Mall for nearly three hours.

They'd gone shopping after school, grabbed dinner at the food court, played games in the arcade, and wandered through the stores while talking about everything from college applications to their favorite movies.

Neither of them had noticed how quickly the evening had disappeared.

By the time they left the movie theater, the mall felt strangely quiet.

Minaret looked at her phone.

"Wait."

Jackson stopped walking.

"What?"

"It's nine fifty-eight."

"So?"

"The mall closes at ten."

Jackson laughed.

"We have two minutes."

They hurried toward the main entrance.

But when they reached the atrium, Minaret stopped.

The stores were dark.

The food court was empty.

The escalators had stopped.

And the enormous glass doors at the front entrance were covered by metal security gates.

Minaret stared.

"Jackson."

He looked at the gates.

"Oh."

"That's your entire response?"

"I didn't think they'd lock everything exactly at ten."

"It's literally their job."

They tried another exit.

Locked.

Then another.

Locked.

Jackson checked his phone.

"No signal."

Minaret's stomach tightened.

"Mine either."

They walked toward the security office, hoping someone was still working.

The hallway was silent.

Too silent.

Then they heard something.

A metallic clatter echoed somewhere behind them.

Minaret froze.

"Did you hear that?"

Jackson nodded.

"Yeah."

They waited.

Nothing.

"Probably a cleaning cart," Jackson said.

"Probably."

But Minaret didn't sound convinced.

They continued toward the security office.

The door was open, but the room was empty.

A computer monitor glowed on the desk.

Minaret stepped inside.

"Hello?"

No answer.

Jackson pointed toward a chair.

"Someone was just here."

Minaret looked at the chair.

A half-empty cup of coffee sat beside a stack of papers.

Then the computer screen flickered.

A map of the mall appeared.

Several sections were highlighted in red.

Minaret leaned closer.

"What is that?"

Jackson walked beside her.

"I don't know."

One of the red sections was labeled:

LOWER SERVICE LEVEL — RESTRICTED

Minaret frowned.

"I didn't even know the mall had a lower level."

"Maybe employees use it."

"Then why is it restricted?"

Before Jackson could answer, the computer screen went black.

Both of them jumped.

Then the lights in the hallway flickered.

Once.

Twice.

And went out.

Minaret grabbed Jackson's hand.

"Okay," she whispered. "I officially hate this."

Emergency lights flickered on, bathing the hallway in a dim red glow.

Jackson squeezed her hand.

"Stay close."

They headed back toward the main atrium.

But something had changed.

One of the stores that had been closed was now partially open.

Its metal security gate was raised about three feet.

Minaret stopped.

"Jackson."

"I see it."

They stared into the darkness.

A faint light came from inside.

Minaret shook her head.

"We're not going in there."

"Agreed."

They turned around.

Then a voice came from the store.

"Hello?"

Minaret nearly screamed.

A girl stepped out from behind the counter.

She looked about their age and wore a mall employee uniform.

"Who are you?" Minaret asked.

The girl looked relieved.

"My name is Jordan."

"Are you working here?"

Jordan nodded.

"I was closing the store when the power went out. I heard people walking around."

Jackson looked confused.

"Why didn't you leave?"

Jordan gave him a nervous look.

"The doors locked before I got there."

Minaret exhaled.

"So we're not the only ones trapped."

"No."

Jordan lowered her voice.

"But there's something else."

"What?"

Jordan glanced down the empty hallway.

"Someone else is still inside."

Minaret's heart began beating faster.

"Security?"

Jordan shook her head.

"I don't think so."

"Then who?"

"I don't know."

A loud bang echoed through the mall.

Everyone jumped.

Jordan pointed toward the second floor.

"That's where I heard it before."

Jackson looked at Minaret.

"We should stay together."

Minaret nodded.

The three of them moved through the mall.

They passed dark storefronts, silent restaurants, and the abandoned arcade.

The arcade was especially creepy without its usual noise.

The machines stood frozen.

Prize shelves were covered in shadows.

Then one machine suddenly turned on.

Minaret jumped.

The screen displayed a bright message:

PLAYER TWO READY

Jackson stared at it.

"Nope."

Jordan laughed nervously.

"Probably a power surge."

Minaret noticed something underneath the machine.

A small keycard.

She picked it up.

"What's this?"

Jordan's face changed.

"That's an employee access card."

"Can it open the main doors?"

"No."

"Then what does it open?"

Jordan examined it.

"The service elevators."

Minaret looked toward the back hallway.

A strange feeling settled over her.

"Maybe that's how we get out."

They found the service elevator behind a locked employee door.

Jordan used the card.

The doors opened.

Inside was a small panel with buttons labeled:

P1

P2

P3

B1

B2

Jordan stared at the buttons.

"The mall doesn't have underground parking."

Minaret swallowed.

"Then what are B1 and B2?"

Nobody answered.

Jackson pressed B1.

The elevator doors closed.

Minaret watched the floor numbers.

P1.

P2.

P3.

Then—

B1.

The doors opened.

A dark concrete hallway stretched ahead.

Minaret's voice became quiet.

"This is definitely not part of the mall tour."

They stepped out.

Their footsteps echoed.

Along the walls were old photographs showing the mall during construction.

Jordan stopped beside one.

"Wait."

Minaret looked.

The photograph showed the mall being built decades earlier.

But behind the construction workers was a large underground structure.

"That was here before the mall," Jordan said.

Jackson pointed toward a sign.

WESTBROOK ARCHIVE

"What is an archive doing underneath a mall?"

They followed the hallway.

Eventually they reached a metal door.

It was slightly open.

Inside were shelves filled with old boxes.

Minaret found a newspaper clipping.

The headline read:

LOCAL SHOPPING CENTER BUILT OVER ABANDONED TRANSIT TERMINAL

She looked at Jackson.

"This whole place was built over an old train station."

Jordan looked around.

"Why would they keep it secret?"

A sound came from deeper inside the archive.

Footsteps.

Minaret froze.

Someone was walking toward them.

Jackson whispered, "We should go."

They backed toward the door.

A figure appeared at the end of the room.

Minaret's heart jumped.

But then the person stepped into the light.

It was an older man wearing a security uniform.

He raised his hands.

"Don't be afraid."

Jordan stared.

"Mr. Alvarez?"

The security guard sighed.

"Jordan? What are you doing down here?"

"We got locked inside."

He looked surprised.

"All three of you?"

Minaret nodded.

"What happened to the security team?"

Mr. Alvarez's expression became serious.

"The security system malfunctioned. The doors locked automatically, and I'm trying to override them."

"Then who's been walking around upstairs?" Jackson asked.

Mr. Alvarez hesitated.

"That's what I'm trying to figure out."

Everyone went silent.

Suddenly, the lights flickered.

Mr. Alvarez looked at his radio.

"We need to leave."

"Why?"

He pointed toward the hallway.

"Because the old electrical system is coming back online."

A deep rumble passed through the walls.

The building shook slightly.

Minaret grabbed Jackson's arm.

"Is that bad?"

"Very."

They hurried back toward the elevator.

But when they reached it, the elevator doors were closed.

The panel showed an error message.

SYSTEM LOCKED

Mr. Alvarez pulled out his radio.

"I can get us out through the maintenance stairs."

They followed him through a narrow corridor.

The stairs led upward.

B1.

Then P3.

Then P2.

Then P1.

Finally, they reached the mall.

The emergency lights were still glowing.

Mr. Alvarez unlocked a maintenance exit.

Cold night air rushed inside.

Minaret stepped outside and breathed deeply.

They were free.

A few minutes later, police and mall management arrived.

The doors were finally reopened.

Minaret stood outside with Jackson and Jordan as employees began flooding into the building.

Jackson looked at Minaret.

"That was the strangest date we've ever had."

Minaret laughed.

"You call that a date?"

"You were holding my hand."

"Because I was scared."

"Still counts."

She rolled her eyes.

Jordan laughed.

Mr. Alvarez approached them.

"Before you go, there's something you should know."

Minaret looked at him.

"What?"

"The archive."

"What about it?"

"The mall management has known about it for years."

Jackson frowned.

"Why?"

Mr. Alvarez glanced back at the building.

"Because there's more beneath this mall than an old train station."

Minaret's smile disappeared.

"More?"

He nodded.

"But that's a story for another night."

Minaret looked at Jackson.

Jackson looked at her.

Neither said anything.

They both knew exactly what they were thinking.

There was no way they were going to forget about the hidden levels beneath Westbrook Mall.

As they walked toward the parking lot, Minaret glanced back one last time.

The mall looked ordinary again.

Bright.

Safe.

Empty.

But on the second floor, behind one of the dark windows, a light suddenly flickered on.

Minaret stopped.

"Jackson."

He turned.

"What?"

She pointed.

The light went out.

Neither of them moved.

Then Jackson smiled nervously.

"Maybe we should never go shopping again."

Minaret laughed.

"Definitely."

They started walking.

But neither of them believed it.

Because somewhere beneath Westbrook Mall, an old secret was still waiting.

And now Minaret and Jackson knew it existed.