Death's Awakening

Chapter Twenty-Two: Karmen

Karmen was bored. And completely lonely.

How could Aaron be dead? She hadn't heard from her mom since her flight had been canceled. Were her parents okay? Her brothers? She didn't even know what was going on anymore. Out of all her friends, only Kate was even still responding to text messages. Her mother was sick and her little brother was dead, but the rest of her family seemed to be okay.

Karmen kept expecting this whole thing to blow over and life to go back to normal. Well, as normal as it could be after so much sickness and death. But how long could this thing really last, anyway? It had happened so fast that it only seemed logical it would pass just as quickly. Like a tornado or something. It comes in, does its damage, and then goes away. There's a period of rebuilding and getting back to normal, but eventually, everything turns out okay.

So when did that rebuilding part start?

Karmen got off the couch, tired of watching Buffy reruns. She went up to her parents' bedroom and fished her mom's credit card out of her jewelry box. Shopping always made her feel better. Plus, if she didn't get out of this house soon, she was going to go insane. She'd turned into a slob, eating peanut butter with a spoon and wearing the same pj's for three days. She'd actually forced herself to take a shower and put on some make-up this morning and she wasn't going to waste it.

She started down the stairs, but then turned around and went back into her parents' bedroom. Since no one was here to tell her no, she might as well make the most of it.

Karmen went into her mom's walk-in closet and stared at the large handbag collection. With a triumphant smile, she chose a black-patent Valentino bag with a large bow. She loved this bag and her mom never even let her so much as touch it. She tossed her black flip-flops to the side and stepped into a pair of Prada Mary-Janes. Her mom's feet were exactly the same size as her own and the shoes fit perfectly.

She practically bounced all the way down the stairs. Instead of the keys to her own Toyota, she grabbed the keys to her mom's sporty Audi. Her dad had bought this car as a surprise for her mom this past Christmas. It only had sixteen hundred miles on it, because her mom had been babying the darn thing. Well, today, the Audi was going to the mall.

Karmen slid into the leather bucket seat and closed the door. She breathed in deeply, the light scent of vanilla combined with new car smell. She gripped the steering wheel and smiled. This was exactly what she needed today. Why hadn't she thought to get out before this? There were plenty of ways to have fun even if her friends weren't here to see it. Besides, she'd probably run into a few people she knew at the mall. She always did.

And this time she'd have this super cute bag to show off.

She revved the engine and hit the button for the garage door. She pulled onto the street and squinted at the bright sun. It had been several days since she left the dark cave of her living room and the sun hurt her eyes. She opened the glove compartment and reached for her mom's cherished Versace sunglasses. Nice.

Karmen put the large shades over her eyes and took off, her foot heavy on the gas pedal.

It took her about forty minutes to get to Tysons Galleria. The highway was a mess and she wished she'd taken the side streets instead. She checked her watch. It was ten in the morning, so there was no way this was still rush-hour traffic. Where were all these people going? Most of the cars looked completely packed, like summer vacation preparation on crack.

When she finally pulled in to the mall parking lot, she was surprised to see the place was almost dead. What the hell?

She parked just outside the main entrance and walked up toward the double glass doors, dread growing in her stomach. All she wanted was a few hours where she could forget all the crap that was going on in the world. She wanted to take her mom's credit card and do some serious retail therapy. But from the looks of the parking lot, she wasn't sure the stores were even open. Had they closed down the mall?