Mall Rats Return

[Danni]

DANNI

’I don’t think the sewers,’ I comment after a moment, ’we don’t know what traps there are and, let’s be honest, if there are people in there I’d rather walk through the front door than surprise them from below.’ I glance at Cloe’s friends for a moment ’at least there are a few of us, so we aren’t going in alone, and your friends all seem level headed.’

I turn towards the mall, ’we can do this,’ I’m not sure if I’m trying to reassure myself or Cloe but it doesn’t really help. I sigh again, before shutting my eyes for a moment, just one step… that’s all I needed to take.

I don’t know how long I stand there, it’s probably not even seconds but it feels like a lifetime before I’m able to lift my foot and take that first step towards the mall. One step at a time, find out what’s going on and then go home… or somewhere new, without the baggage.

@Tribelover15

[Tribelover15]

Cloe

Danni was right, going through the sewers might not be the best idea. We had no idea what could be waiting there. “Yeah, you’re right, our safest bet would be walking through the front door plus it shows more that we come in peace rather than sneaking in” I nodded my head.

I glance over at Danni and smiled a little, “Yes, we can” though just like Danni I didn’t move at the exact second I had said it, I was still building up the courage. “Here we go” I started to talk slow steps towards the mall knowing my friends were there and now Danni too which made me feel better. At least we were not going in alone.

@Danni

[Danni]

DANNI

Cloe agrees about going through the front, it’s a relief that we are on the same page, it made the process much easier.

We slowly start to walk towards the mall, a journey that probably shouldn’t take us very long seems to take a lifetime but we keep moving.

I’m glad I’m not doing this alone, in truth I wasn’t sure I would have actually made it to the mall if I hadn’t jumped into Cloe, I’d probably have just stood here staring all day and then changed my mind.

The mall looms, sad and grey, and it almost feels like it gets colder as we approach. It’s probably all in my mind but I grip my bag tighter, using it to hold myself together.

We reach the mall and slowly make our way towards the grille, the presence of Cloe and her friends offering some reassurance to my frantic mind. Unsurprisingly the grille is down and for a brief moment I consider this a sign and contemplate turning around but the red letter burning a hole in my bag gives me pause and after a brief moment I bang on the grille. ’Hello… uhm… anyone home?’

@Tribelover15
(OOC moved Cloe with permission)

[Zandra]

Luc

I hear shouting coming from the grille area “I think until we know who knows who we should ask their letter so we know its a Mallrat” I tell Callan before walking out to the grille. Another two girls, did this tribe have any guys except for carrot top? “Welcome to the Mall, if you’re here by invitation please show it” I tell the girls.
I wasn’t going to tell them straight away to go to the sewers until I was sure they were in fact Mallrats, as tempting as it was to make a comment about them I bit the inside of my cheek. Holding my tongue wasn’t a natural feeling for me and it was already proving hard to not just be me.

[Zwenja]

Tally

I am relieved when Callan shows a bit more friendliness by telling me they know that a baby cries sometimes without you doing anything wrong. I mean, I remember that soneone told Andy and I how people often were annoyed by the cries of newborn Brady.

Suddenly energy runbd through people as it gets settled the old Mall Rats should be staying in the shops around the fountain and stairs. Callan suggests those of us who are there take a room and get it fit to stay, while the serpents look what to do about the other shops, thinking other Mall Rats might appear anytime.

I look to Andy who looks rather lost at me. I sigh. So he doesn’t exactly remember the rooms around here. Just like me.

"We should be close to the cafeteria…" I whisper to him. "And close to run if necessary… Wasn’t there are smaller room around…"

I am already pulling him with me. “Hah! This!” I point at a small place on the coirner, with fading gold letters above. Rossini’s shoes. "It’s next to the new cafeteria… And around we just have to go around the corner to get into the sewers… It should be enough space for the both of us and Leo!"

Andy nods “That’s my sister! Quick mind! Good thinking… Close to food and close to the way out…” He smacks a kiss on my cheek and bopd Leo’s nose “Always listen to mom. Mom knows best…” I laugh and kick his butt "Don’t joke around, better open that door!"

The room is covered up with some boards, but nothing Andy cabt manage. He easily rummaged in his rucksack and gets out a small hammer. Of course he had stored his tools in the garage where his motorbike was put. Guys and their tools… ()

Will hurries to help and together they open up the place for us.

Will then goes back discussing with the rest where to go and Andy steps in the place. “Uff… Need a broom…” He coughs as a cloud of dust twirls astound him. I shield Leo "Yeah… But looks like there is a matress… Pillows… I can’t remember if someone stayed here before… Maybe in the time after us…?!"

@Jack @Salene

(moved and let Andy act and talk with permission from @Jack)

[Tribelover15]

Cloe

My heart was beating away so fast I was surprised that no one else could hear it besides me, it was the mall I could remember but at the same time, it wasn’t. I didn’t feel that same warmth it had once in the day, though mostly that warmth I could remember was the peace before the chosen.

I stopped when hearing a male voice and blinked as i looked at him before i started digging around for my red letter. ”We both have one” i Said eyeing him before glancing at Danni with more questions in my mind.

@Danni @Zandra

[Danni]

DANNI

A guy I don’t recognise comes to the grille and asks for our invitation, ’we do,’ I agree as Cloe tells him we both have them, I blink for a moment before pulling out the red envelope from my pocket. It’s obviously been screwed up a number of times but you can see it’s obviously red, I just hope he doesn’t ask to read it.

Biting my lip for a moment I look through the grille into the mall, the feeling in the pit of my stomach grows and for a moment I think I’m either going to pass out or vomit. Maybe this was a bad idea… I really want to turn and flee, my flight or fight response was going haywire and my sense of self preservation was telling me to just leave, but the letters had made it clear we needed to be here and obviously we weren’t the only ones who had had them if this person was asking for our invitation.

Taking a moment I try and focus on my breathing, ’Im Danni,’ I say after a moment, ’I wasn’t a mallrat for long and then…’ I pause, ’and then I went away.’

@Zandra @Tribelover15

[Salene]

Salene

Zandra and Lottie leave the Cafe to go and find a room each, then Andy, Tally, Eciov, Will, Dawn, Dee and myself get up and start looking around down stairs…

"We should stay close to the grille" Will suggests "That way we are close enough to fix it and keep a check while we are here"

"I agree" Dawn and Eciov agree

"So why dont we take the spa area" Dee suggests "If memory serves its pretty big with treatment rooms so we will be together but also have our own sleeping area’s"

"Sounds good" I smile

"Hold on" Will smiles

We watch as he walks to where Tally and Andy are… Andy is pulling boards off the old show shop… When he comes back to us, voices echo from the grille area… Two of the mall residents go to investigate, I listen to hear who it is…

"Hello… uhm… anyone home?"

"Welcome to the Mall, if you’re here by invitation please show it"

"We both have one”

"Wait!" I whisper to Ecoiv and Dee

"Sal?" Dee asks "Do you know them?"

"I think…" I pause and listen

"Im Danni, I wasn’t a mallrat for long and then…" theres a pause "and then I went away"

"It can’t be" I whisper

Leaving Dee, Eciov, Dawn and Will I move towards the grille…

"CLOE!! DANNI!?" I say surprised

Dee, Eciov, Dawn and Will are watching from the shops…

@Danni @Tribelover15

(I copied what they said so Salene could react, hope thats okay, I’m not trying to mod them in any way)

[Salene]

Lex

Ryan and Alice are as surprised as I am, we shake hands and some how end up in a group hug…

"It’s so good to see you, Lex!" Ryan grins

He then tells me that he and Alice are heading to the mall themselves…

"Have you been recieving red letters?" I ask "I have been getting them but have been throwing them in the fire"

Ryan and Alice both know about my issues with reading… Before they can answer there’s a voice behind us…

"Well well well look what the letters are dragged in” the male voice says "Lex, Ryan, Alice!.."

I turn and see the face of a kid I once knew…

"KC?" I say surprised

"It’s mental to see you guys again! I thought our last farewell would actually be our last” KC adds

"I guess you have recieved these red letters as well?" I ask

@Tribelover15 @Zandra @Trudy

[Zandra]

Luc

I look at the ‘invitations’ and give a nod, before I can say anything I hear Salene over my shoulder “Well that confirms it. I’d say welcome to the Mall and let you in however currently the grille isn’t working so you will need to come through the sewers” I tell the two girls on the other side of the grille.

“The traps have been deactivated for now though I am going to leave one of my guys by the door to make sure its just you lot that come in” I pause “Some of your friends have already arrived, I’m sure one of them will fill you in when you get inside” I looked over my shoulder at Zane who I knew had been listening and watched as he headed towards the entrance of the sewers.

[Tribelover15]

Cloe

Danni’s letter looked a lot like mine. I had opened and closed it so many times, I had also folded it up a lot so it had started to wear out a bit but the bright red wasn’t easy to miss. I tried to steady my hands a bit as they were almost shaking when I pulled out the red letter.

I didn’t know that just standing outside the grille would make me feel this way, if only just being there made me get all these emotions I could hardly imagine what would bring me if I got inside the grille.

I didn’t get the chance to say my name before I heard someone yell out mine and Danni’s name, “Salene?” I say with my voice thick with emotions. I sniff a little before I look back at the unknown guy. “Alright, I’ll guess if we want to come inside that’s our only choice” I say more to Danni and my other friends as I turned to look at them.

@Zandra @Danni @Salene

[Jack]

Eciov

Will says we should stay near the grille which initially I think is a good suggestion as I did say between Will and Dawn they would hopefully fix it for the Serpents. Dee suggests the Spa at the front. Sal says sounds good. Before I agree Will assists Andy. They have found their room.

We then hear voices. Dee asks does Sal recognise the voices and she says she thinks. Salene goes to investigate. To Dee I say, “I even think we might know one of them.” Salene then screams CLOE and DANNI. “Told you we knew one of them.” I nudge her.

"And we just keep coming," I smile. "We can reunite with Cloe once she is in. First I want to settle on a room. As convenient as the Spa is to the grille, Dawn, Will and I don’t belong inside. So as their leader I have decided we will be making our home on the roof. You and Dee are more than welcome to join us, or you could bunk in together somewhere else or maybe you could have smaller rooms next to each other? I think Sal is just so overwhelmed and after seeing her beautiful little cottage maybe her having her own room is what she does need after all."

@Salene

[Danni]

DANNI

I’m struggling to process the situation when someone comes towards the grille and says our names, I look at her for a moment ’Salene?’ Cloe responds almost at the same time and I hope the emotion in her voice covers the lack of emotion in mine.

The guy tells us we need to go through the sewers and I nod robotically. ’Yes, if we want to,’ I agree trying to decide if I actually want to. Being here, seeing these faces, it was a lot.

I nod after a moment, and without really consulting Cloe, turn and walk back out of the mall. Reaching the outside I pause and lean back against the wall, my heart and mind racing. ’I can’t do this,‘ I whisper quietly. Coming here was a bad idea, I should have turned and gone in the opposite direction to the mall rather than towards it.

[Salene]

Salene

Surprised that it is Cloe and Danni I stand with a tear running down my cheek, this is sooo overwhelming, who else will be making their way back… Danni and Cloe agree to come in via the sewers, they turn and talk to each other, I make my way back to Ecoiv, Dawn and Dee… Dee grins at me, I stand looking at her…

"So Eciov and I were talking" Dee begins "The spar is outside the mall so I was thinking perhaps you and I can share the boutique, unless you want a room on your own, I mean I completely understand if you need space, you have been living alone for a long time."

I stand and stare at Dee, I can hear and understand what she is saying, but something just hit me… Ryan…

"Sal" Dee says touching my arm "Salene are you okay"

"Stay with me, don’t leave me alone" I swallow

"Okay" Dee smiles "We will take the boutique, Eciov, Will and Dawn are going to set up camp on the roof, we can join them if we want too"

Both Dee and Eciov stare at me, I still stand still just breathing hard…

"Every thing okay?" Will asks

"I don’t know" Dee says worried

"Here" Dawn says and hands Dee some water "Get her to drink"

Dee

I take the water from Dawn and hand it to Salene, she takes a couple of gulps…

"Thanks" she says quietly

"Sal, what is it?" I ask

"Zandra and Danni, we were told they were dead but they have come home"

"Yeah, but thats good isn’t it?" I ask

Salene’s eyes move to me…

"Ryan… Baby…" Sal swallows

Suddenly it hits me…

"Oh shit"

"I don’t know if Ryan knows I lost the baby" Sal swallows "What if he gets a letter and comes home expecting to find a 17 year old son or daughter, he might still think I betrayed him for the Chosen"

"Sal its been over 20 years, not even Ryan can hold a grudge for that long" I assure her "I promise you won’t be alone when or even if he gets here"

"I promise, where ever you and Dee are, I will protect you" Will smiles his hand resting on Salene’s shoulder

Sal seems to relax a little…

"I should never have come back here" she whispers "I should have stays in the serenity of my cottage, where nobody knew who or where I was, these letters are stupid, I want this over and done with"

"We all do" I tell her "But right now this is what we have to deal with, and we can face it togethe"

I put my hand into the middle of us, Will and Dawn place their hands on top, the Eciov follows…

"Sal?" I say quietly

She hesitates then places her hand on top… I smile at this little secure group we suddenly have become, along with Tally, Andy and baby Leo… We can face anything as long as we are together

[Tribelover15]

Cloe

Even if me and Salene towards the end of when I last saw her had some arguments I had loved her so dearly and had so many fond memories of her. She along with Ryan had taken care of me and Patsy and they had become almost like parent figures to me.

I nodded my head gently looked at Danni, my feelings were all over the place but seeing Danni walk out i did wonder a bit how she was doing. Maybe I was misreading the whole thing but something felt well not right. “The sewer entrance is around that way, you guys can start walking there. I’ll be there” I told the others pointing towards the way. Radar looked at me unsure before he sighed and walked with the others.

"Danni…? you okay?" I asked her softly.

@Danni

[Tribelover15]

Ryan

I still smiled but the smile turned into a more confused one along with the rest of my face when Lex mentioned red letters, I eyed Alice before looking at Lex. “As the matter of fact…yeah we did” I say still looking confused. So we were not the only ones, did Lex also get a letter asking for help?

But my thoughts were cut short by another original Mallrat joining us, I grin seeing who it was. "KC, part of me is not surprised while the other isn’t. I hope you haven’t gotten into trouble again. Either way it’s good to see you"

@Zandra @Salene @Trudy

[Danni]

DANNI

Closing my eyes I take a moment, trying to centre myself, but it’s so hard. Hearing Cloe’s voice I open my eyes and look at her, the worried eyes of the young woman starting back at me. ’Not really,’ I admit after a moment, not that it would be any surprise to her.

’Coming back, I think it’s going to be harder than I expected.’ I shake my head again, trying to stop my brain from swirling, ’seeing you, Salene… others,’ I pause. ’Ill be ok, just need to take a moment.’

Fisting my hand inside my pocket I grab I red letter, and after pulling it out I stare at it for a long moment, ’theres a reason we are being pulled back… maybe we’d have been better to stay away!’

[Zandra]

KC

“Me? Trouble?” I say shaking my head “Never” I cant help but grin “I just happened to acquire some nice new blades but the previous owner was a douche and he wasn’t using them” I look down proudly at my feet. I wasn’t bothered that they know I stole them, they’ve always known who I am.

I pulled out my own red letter “Someone is making a statement and they want to make sure its heard” I pause “But I was leaving my last hang out so thought why not just do as the letter says and come back, you guys any idea who’s sent them?”

[Salene]

Lex

Kc geins as he proudly shows off the rollerblades he ‘aquired’ we know he stole them, he learnt from the best on how to hustle people

"You can’t teach an old dog new tricks" I laugh

KC then pulled out some red letters…

“Someone is making a statement and they want to make sure its heard” he pauses "But I was leaving my last hang out so thought why not just do as the letter says and come back, you guys any idea who’s sent them?”

"Nope, I have no idea, but when I find out I have a few words I want to say to them, how dare they demand we all come back" I say then smile "Not that it’s not good to see people again"

I look between Ryan, Alice and KC…

"Shall we?" I sigh and look towards the city

[Patsy]

Patsy
With everything ready to go, we set off on our way to the mall. Aurora sits still in the boat looking at the houses as they are getting smaller and smaller. Luckily there is some wind so we can use the sail to get us going. I look at the sail before looking at Aurora who’s looking down into the water. mommy, can the fish get cold like we do? she questions.

Sighing at her question, I pull out her jacket. put his on I tell her and helps her on with the jacket.