Mutagen

As they arrived, Mark cautiously looked around and noticed the retractable gate sticking out from the ceiling. He tapped the shoulder of the employee carrying the mother and pointed at the gate.

"You know how to close this one?"

Everyone looked up to what Mark is pointing at above them and saw the metal gate on the ceiling. They thought that it could serve as another assurance for their safety and also looked that the man. The expectant gazes that turned to him made him somewhat uncomfortable so he immediately shook his head.

"I don\'t know how to pull that down."

When the man saw their downcast eyes, he hurriedly explained.

"My work here is to deliver cargo from the warehouse. Most are boxes delivered to stalls, so I never had the opportunity to enter other workplaces for utility staff. And, it hasn\'t been long since I started working here."

The others immediately understood when he explained.

"It\'s a pity. Can\'t we look around? Maybe we can find how to close this. If we can hole up here then we don\'t need to go there? There should also food here right?"

Without minding their expression, Ange started blurting her own opinion. But only to be rebuked by Mark who shook his head.

"We don\'t have much time to look around. There are just too many rooms here. And it is a totally bad idea to hole up here."

He then walked away, put his duffle bag on the food counter and jumped over it. He then opened a refrigerator and took some cola and drinks and put the beverages on top of the counter urging the others to take one before looking at the entrance of the cinema.

Outside, he can still see the zombies that are still chasing after them though these guys are the typical slow moving ones. They should arrive in a few minutes. They still have time to take a breather.

The employee let the mother down and Paula sat the child on the counter. The mother picked up a bottle of fruit juice while she helped her daughter punch a straw on her kiddie drink. The employee and Paula both picked up a can of cola while Ange stared at Mark for some reason.

"What are you staring at?"

Of course Mark would ask that.

"I want the same drink as yours."

What Mark is drinking is a bottle of energy drink. He didn\'t put the same drink on the table since it very rare to see females consume this kind of drink and the employee is looking at the can of cola. Still, since she requested, he just picked up another bottle and threw it at her which she agilely caught.

Ange immediately downed a few mouthfuls from the bottle without any regard on how she looked like. After releasing a satisfied breath, she turned to Mark and is about to ask something what he said earlier but he disappeared. She leaned over the counter and saw him crouching under the counter looking for something.

"What are you looking for?"

"We should pack up some of the food here so I\'m looking for a bag or something we can use. They only have small paper bags and carton boxes here."

"Bags huh? We left ours in the fast food on the second floor when we escaped." Ange reminisced as she looked at Paula who also felt downhearted.

Mark then forcefully opened a cabinet door on the adjacent counter. Inside were two knapsacks and a small strap bag. He then immediately poured out the contents inside the cabinet only pulling the bags out. He put the bags in front of Ange.

"You guys fill these with food."

Mark looked at the counter and other containers filled with food though there are parts of the snack bar that are definitely ransacked. He then remembered the group of employees earlier that he saw coming from this direction carrying plastic bags and boxes of food.

Taking the gbaseball bat that Ange leaned in front of the counter since it was dripping with blood, he took off to the Cinema\'s entrance. Several zombies already closed in and needed to be dealt with.

Ange pouted while Paula frowned a little. Mark\'s attitude is a little overbearing but they can\'t really say anything. It is him who saved them and now is not really the right time to argue about it. On contrary, the employee and the mother did not really care about his attitude. The employee sees Mark as someone capable of leading them to safety while the mother views everyone in this group as her and her child\'s saviors. If they did not come to her, then she would already be dead or even worse.

As for the child, nothing can be said. She only knew that something scary is happening and those frightening monsters will eat them if they are caught. She just sipped her kiddie drink as she watched her mother silently. It is already a good thing that she isn\'t crying anymore.

By the time Mark returned, his metal bat is dripping of blood and his black jacket had slightly reddish liquid splatters. If the zombies where not existent at this moment his appearance is enough to give weak hearted people a good scare.

The bags are already filled with food and several bottles of drinks. The two bags are knapsacks are already being worn by the employee and Paula while the smaller strap bag is being carried by the mother.

Mark looked at the mother who was standing in front of her child. He noticed the mother\'s sprained ankle is now plastered with a cooling pad.

He then looked at Ange with a questioning look.

Ange on the other hand also saw him look at the others and the backpacks they are carrying before he looked at her with that look. Of course, she immediately understood what his stare meant.

"I can\'t fight properly if I carry something heavy you know?"

Mark walked past her as if ignoring her righteous sentence. He then picked up the duffle bag on top of the counter and donned it on his shoulder before replying.

"I\'m not really asking anything though."

This time, Ange\'s face turned red. Even though what Mark said isn\'t really offensive, she took a hard blow along with Mark donning a heavy duffle bag on his shoulder which made her feel a little shameful.

In her head, she heard Mark said something like "I\'m also fighting and I\'m carrying this.", even though he never said anything like that.

As she was lingering in her own space, a hand patted her shoulder making her sober up.

"Hey Ange, what are thinking about?"

Paula asked as she patted Ange\'s shoulder.

Ange who just snapped out of her daze saw Mark and the others already walking away, she swallowed up her emotions and replied to her best friend beside her.

"No-nothing, let\'s go."

She then pulled her confused friend and followed the rest of the group.