Not So Abandoned After All

Greenfield mall was the crown jewel of the little town. A population of just under ten thousand, and they all used that mall at least twice a week. It was a bustling hub of all sorts of shops. Little boutiques and the chain stores the town and tourists craved. It was said you could find anything, from hand-cut soaps to boots to designer bags. Of course, the small farming town had no need for designer, but it had been a treat nonetheless.

This was all, of course, before the tragedy.

No one talked about it. It was almost as if the generation had written some unspoken rule to never mention the Greenfield mall ever again. Fifty years ago, the lot was roped off and windows boarded, which was quite a feat considering the size of the place. News headlines told tales of mysteries and bankruptcies and robberies confused and dazed the public - burying a mystery soon to be forgotten. Soon, the months would turn to years and turn to decades. The windows would be smashed in, the lot cracked and overgrown, and abandoned objects inside victim to mold and moths. No one would touch it. No one would tear it down. It would just sit a respectful distance outside of town, and watch helplessly as the world moved on.

Until the twins came into the picture. More than fascinated by the mall frozen in 1972.

“It looks straight outta that show Marv is obsessed with -” Carter stood in the parking lot by the mildew moss-covered front doors, hands on his hips, taking it all in. His twin, Alex, stood beside him. Arms crossed and scowling. Much less amused. “What's it called?” Carter continued, eying the smashed-in hole - sizing it up.

Alex ignored the question. “Doesn't matter. We won't be eaten by any of those alien things.”

“Demogorgon’s.” A voice corrected them. Alex winced, and Carter lit up - spinning around to see his best friend. Marv threw his bike to the ground and floated over to the two, clearly excited. Carter noticed he was in his adventure shoes (Marv wore those vans to anything that required, in his words, sweat or blood or running) and laughed out loud. “Exept at Star Court they got attacked by the Mind Flayer - not a Demogorgon.” Marv pushed his glasses up on his nose.

“Same difference.” Alex snapped back. He didn't even look back at either of them before starting towards the crevasse in the door. He slipped his backpack off - threw it in with a distant thud on the dusty tile. Then, sideways, shimmied through the opening. Coughing upon arrival to the interior, a cloud of dust and rotting air spilled out behind him. Marv and Carter were close behind, holding their breath like divers and stepping in.

And the sight before them… well… it more than took their breath away.

They had seen it through the windows before, but never dared to actually go inside until the storm broke that glass a few days ago. Still, the food court of the mall was exactly as they remembered. Frozen in time. Oozing 70’s character and strange decoration. Everything had deep wood accents and all the shops were marked by weird neon signs of all colors. At least, they imagined. It was pitch black exept for the light streaming in from the huge glass-pitched roof. They could see the oddly curved sofas and a leopard print patterned bag crumpled on the ground. Marv wandered over to the nearest food place, passing an incredibly creepy horse ride. The little plastic ones that ate children's precious quarters and merely rocked up and down for about a minute. Not even.

Marv wrinkled his nose and staggered back. Food rotted beyond recognition and was still trapped inside the counter. Ice cream, he thought.

“Marv come on!”

He turned to see Alex and Carter starting up the huge zig-zag staircase, and jogged over to join them. The trio made their way to the second food, which just scraped around the perimeter. After carefully ascending the stairs - more than a few of the steps were caved in - they found themselves in front of a Sears. A very, very old sears. It looked like nothing but bell bottoms and hippie clothes, which got all of the boys a good laugh. Still, they couldn't help just how empty and strange their laughter sounded echoing back at them. No other sound but the breeze whistling through and pushing dead leaves across the floor.

They moved to the next store. Directing their flashlights into the glass display window to find a manakin missing his head and an arm. And they just as quickly paced over to the next store.

On and on they went like this. Mostly creeped out and definitely on edge. Some of the treasures were interesting, but then a light would flicker and they’d practically run down the hall.

Finally, they stumbled upon the movie theater. No one dared to go inside, but they each plucked one of the vintage movie posters off the wall. Tucked them in their bags gently. Satisfied - they turned to leave. All but Alex, who had suddenly become very fascinated with the contents of the garbage.

“We got popcorn at home if your hungry,” Carter called, laughing. Alex said nothing. Only stared quietly at something in his hand.

“Guys…” His voice sounded different. Scared. “What's the uh, what's the date today?”

“December 15, 2022.” Marv and Carter inched closer, anxious to see what Alex was holding when he turned around. Nothing but a little paper movie stub in his hands.

It said, in type-written style lettering: The Wizard Of Ozz (1970). 2 Seats. And it was stapled to the receipt, which had nothing stamped on it except for the date of purchase.

“Purchased December 14, 2022.” Marv read breathlessly.

No one moved for a good minute. Until they dropped the thing and walked a bit faster than usual back to the main hallway of the mall. Dismissing it completely. Convincing each other it was a prank or a typo or something. There was no way -

Carter stopped by the fountain. Another trash can, overflowing with little white receipts. Normally they would have all been tempted by the glittering coins at the bottom of the dried-up fountain, but instead, they encircled the garbage. Reached in, and all pulled out a crumpled receipt.

Each one was from a different store. Each one had a different amount. Thirty dollars, ten, four. None of the boys could tell what had been purchased either, they were in some abbreviation. But each receipt… had the same abbreviations. And all of them - all of them - were purchased within the last month.

They were about to run. To react, to do something. Find their way out of that mall and never look back. Try desperately to forget what they had seen. Dismiss it as some sort of prank.

But then there was a sound. A mechanical whirring. A very old printer. They snapped their heads towards the sound, coming from the shop above them just out of sight. No one breathed as it stopped. And the sound of someone picking the paper from the teeth of the printer echoed louder than a freight train. Then the paper was crumpled. Carelessly.

Carter and Alex and Marv pointed their flashlights in the air above them as a crumpled-up receipt was thrown over the edge. It landed with a light smack in front of them. The small fragile little thing. And it caused all of their hearts to skip a beat.

They listened, terrified, as footsteps receded down the hall just above them.