The Mall (Evenstad Media Presents Book 2) Read online

  All the more reason for me to keep my eyes open for the little blonde one. I don't need that kind of distraction, with such a dangerous opponent lurking around. She’s not much, but if I’m splitting my focus, it could very easily end badly for me.

  ENTRY END

  TO: Niels Evenstad

  FROM: Stian Evenstad

  SUBJECT: Damage Control

  SENT 2/10/2075 AT 9:44 a.m. EST

  Niels,

  I wanted to let you know that I have my best writers working on an article about your illness. We need to get this whole mess under control as quickly as possible. I wanted to keep you up to speed, because anything that ends up in there, you'll have to work into any public appearances, where applicable. Let me know if there's anything you absolutely don’t want in the article before we run it.

  As always, I wish only the best for you, and I hope you stay well through all of this.

  Stian Evenstad,

  Editor-in-Chief, The Cruise

  —

  TO: Stian Evenstad

  FROM: Niels Evenstad

  SUBJECT: Damage Control

  SENT 2/10/2075 10:16 a.m. EST

  Please don't worry about the article, Stian. Trying to cover up my illness is only going to draw more attention to it. It's happened, and the truth is out. I appreciate your concern, believe me, I do. Nothing fills me with more joy than knowing I have people who care so deeply about me. However, I don't want any sort of a cover-up for this. Eventually, the news would have come out. I would have preferred it go public on my own terms, but that wasn't in the stars.

  Besides, if an article like that was published, it would catch Uncle Magnus' attention. He's stayed mercifully quiet about the whole ordeal this far, and I'd like to keep it that way as long as possible. You understand, I'm sure. It was bad enough for you when he wanted to revamp your systems. Imagine how bad it would be if he took an even greater interest than that. It wouldn’t be the first time he’s inserted himself at the head of one of our companies, after all.

  Thank you for your concern, though.

  Niels Evenstad,

  Chief Operating Officer, Evenstad Media

  JOURNAL 08QUINN

  ENTRY 013

  DATE: 2/16/2075

  We're safe, I think. The one I'd been helping out before—her name's Tess—ran when she heard the gunfire from me killing Bill. That was his name. Bill. He asked me to kill him for what he'd done, and I obliged. Not that he would have said anything to stop me anyway, but it felt better knowing he was at least remorseful for his crimes.

  But it scared Tess enough for her to get stupid and abandon her cover. Then when she ran out, the first thing she saw was me holding a gun. Not the most comforting image, I can imagine. Honestly, when she ran, I was surprised she didn’t get the guards firing on her. Sheer dumb luck that she ran in one of the safe zones. I was horrified that she might run again and not be that lucky. But I finally found her and got her into the back room with me.

  From almost the very beginning, she just sat in that shop, according to her. Apparently my food was the only thing she ate the whole time. Once she found out I was the one who gave it to her, it took another twenty minutes to get her properly calmed down again.

  She's nice, and she's definitely appreciative of my help through the game, which makes me all the more glad I did it. I would have done it anyway, though. Shit, I never even expected whoever was in there to stay alive, especially not after that jackass lit up the bookstore. I thought for sure he'd repeat that in other stores, and that clothing shop would have been perfect. A lot of fabric. If I was going to play the game that way, it's what I would have done. I guess I’m just smarter than him. Or less humane.

  I’m going with smarter, to make myself feel better. Besides, if I was less humane, I would have done it, not just thought about it, right?

  None of that matters, though. I'm back in the security room, and I can keep an eye on his movements. Tess agreed to help, so at least I'll be able to get a little sleep, with the door blocked up. It's going to come down to the two of us, just Tess and I. I plan to make sure of that. Then we’ll figure something out so we can both stay safe.

  ENTRY END

  JOURNAL 06TESS

  ENTRY 009

  DATE: 2/16/2075

  Quinn says we're safe. I want to believe her, and believe that she's going to keep me safe and keep me alive, just like she did the whole time with her food packages. But I know full well that there's not a chance we can both stay okay. I brought it up to her, the rules of the game, and she didn't want to talk about them. I don't know how she can be like that. They're important. Really important. It says right in that letter that only one of us can leave this place, which means we can't both stay alive. Eventually, one of us is going to die. We'll run out of food or something like that, and then that's it. All that work to probably end up with both of us dead? It just doesn’t make any sense.

  I can see why you wouldn’t want to talk about it. I know I don't want to, but sometimes that's the way it works. Sometimes things aren't easy like you think they should be. And sometimes, at times like this, things are just plain nasty. Quinn's stronger than I am. She's a stronger person, but she's avoiding it because it's not something nice to deal with. I'll try my best to respect that. I owe her my life, after all, so it’s really the least I can do for her. But eventually, one time or another, it's going to have to come up again, and she's going to have to not brush it away. Personally, I think that’s coming awfully soon, too.

  ENTRY END

  JOURNAL 05EVAN

  ENTRY 011

  DATE: 2/16/2075

  I've been through all the shops looking for anyone, even Mitchell's. Neither of them are out here, which means they're probably both in the back room. It's a stupid move, camping out together. Unless she killed the blonde one. Or the blonde one's a lot more dangerous than I was giving her credit for. That would make for good TV, a sleeper hiding out the whole time just to take out the biggest threat in the whole damn game.

  But more likely than anything else, they're both hiding out. They're both trying to escape reality. I know what that's like. I fought against the true nature of the universe and the true nature of humanity for years before coming here. But not anymore, and especially not now. It’s a stupid risk to take at this point.

  I doubt there's any way to escape, for them. Not from back there. If there was, I can't see the scary one not taking it. She seems smarter than that. And more importantly, the TV company seems too smart to let there be any kind of exit. They probably think they're safe, holed up back there, away from things. They think it will give them time to figure out their next move, their escape.

  In reality, they're just trapped. I intend to go make sure they don’t slip out of that trap.

  ENTRY END

  JOURNAL 06TESS

  ENTRY 010

  DATE: 2/16/2075

  Quinn saw someone coming on the screens. She told me to just stay put and not leave, then she left me alone in the room. I don’t know what happened, then, but I heard more gunshots. I know she has a gun. It was probably her doing the shooting, not her getting shot. It had to be her gun going off. It had to. But if she could get herself a gun, that means whoever was coming could probably get one, too.

  The security cameras. I could look over at them and see. All I have to do is find the right one. Just a quick look.

  It was her gun. He's on the floor.

  ENTRY END

  02

  The Mall: Sick Game or Unjust Punishment?

  Posted 2/15/2075

  I say it's both of the above. See, there's no denying that The Mall and The Park are both sick, twisted games. Anyone who's paid the slightest bit of attention can tell you that much. But now, with the new information that one of Evenstad Media's uppermost executives, Niels Evenstad, has a terminal autoimmune disease, the punishm
ent explanation rears up and can't be ignored.

  A sick man, a man with no real chance of survival and angry at the world. But not just any man. A man with huge power, huge money, and now very little time left to have to deal with the consequences of his actions. He creates a show, a show about death. About killing. Not just one person. No, this man is angry at the world, wants the whole human population to feel his pain, deal with his problems. But he starts with twelve. Twelve people in a trailer park, and only one can leave. True, the victor wouldn't die. That would make for a pretty awful game show, after all. But would they really be much better off, after the things they would have to do?

  And then he does it again, and he's allowed to do it again. And now, when people are starting to really wonder about this, to question it, we get the revelation of his illness. Because it's okay, if he was sick, if he was dying. We can let him do that, right?

  I say no. Not at all. We can't let the powerful and the rich continue to use the rest of the world this way, no matter their sob story. We're not there to serve as mere objects or, in the case of Niels Evenstad, toys he can crush, little plastic army men to pit against one another. Because where does it stop? With one city razed? A nation brought to destruction? The world eaten to nothing, all because one man got sick?

  Feel bad for him, if you want to. He's terminally ill, and I wouldn't wish that on a single soul. But don't support his vendetta against the living. Don't let us be his therapy.

  JOURNAL 08QUINN

  ENTRY 014

  DATE: 2/16/2075

  It's done. I finally got rid of that bastard. I can’t undo the damage he’s done, but I’ve kept him from doing any more. Now it's down to just Tess and I. I don't know how we're both going to get out of this place. I haven't made it quite that far, but I'm sure there's some way to do it. There's always a way, even when it seems impossible. Or almost always, I guess. But this time around, I'm sure there's a way. I know it. There has to be, because I'm not going to kill Tess.

  She seems to think that's the wrong decision, on my part. It's not that she wants to die, but she doesn't want me to have to die. She keeps telling me how I saved her life with that food, as though it's some kind of justification for killing her. I would have done it for anyone, but apparently she thinks I'm some kind of saint because of it. I don't know why. Well, I do, given what I've seen of everything else in this hellhole mall. But I can't see any way that my life is somehow worth more than hers, just because I helped her out. It's what I do. It's what I've always done.

  Her whole obsession with this is putting me in a tricky situation. I need to figure a way out for both of us quick, I think. Otherwise I don't know what she might do to try and pay me back. Stupid, but I guess it's kind of flattering. In the stupidest way possible.

  ENTRY END

  JOURNAL 06TESS

  ENTRY 011

  DATE: 2/17/2075

  Quinn finally fell asleep. I think it's pretty relaxing for her, things being this peaceful. She knows I won't kill her, and that we're the only two left. At least, that’s what she tells me. I wasn't here to see it. Which is why it wouldn't be right for me to be part of winning this game or getting out of here or anything else. I didn't do a damn thing to earn it. Not like Quinn did, or any of the others who died. They all played the game a lot more than I did. Even if I had tried, I wouldn't have made it this far. I wish I could call it a strategy, could say I was doing my best to look helpless until the end. But I wasn't. That's the honest, helpless me. I was a debutante, and I never did figure out much about real life, let alone whatever you want to call this nightmare.

  Quinn's a good person, though. She's a soldier. Protecting people is what she does, no matter what anybody has to say about the army. I'm sure there are plenty of bad people in the army, just like there are anywhere else. But I wouldn't call them soldiers. They're just bad people with guns, and that's that. I've spent time with Quinn and, before that, she took care of me even though I was just some scared stranger. So I can happily say that she's a soldier, and one I can respect. The country and everyone living in it needs her back. The world needs her back, and it needs a whole mess of people just as good and kind and giving as her, too. I can’t do much about that, but I can damn sure do something about getting Quinn back out there.

  The world doesn't need another rich girl with too much time on her hands. So I'm going to do something useful. The last useful thing I can really do. Maybe the first useful thing I’ve ever done. Useful for the world and for the country and for Quinn.

  I'm going to let her win. Which means I have to let me lose.

  I was worried I’d get buried in the wrong place, that I wouldn’t end up with my family. Now? It doesn’t really matter to me so much. I’d rather have something come from my death and not be with Momma and Daddy than waste more time out in the world.

  So goodbye, I guess.

  ENTRY END

  01

  JOURNAL 08QUINN

  ENTRY 015

  DATE: 2/17/2075

  Damn it all. I shouldn't have fallen asleep. I was going to work something out, and I didn't do it in time. I was going to keep Tess safe, keep her alive. But I was so tired, after everything, and I could just… I just fell asleep. And now she's dead. The gunshot woke me up. I should have pulled the magazine or something. Anything. There were so many things I could have done to try and prevent this, but instead I just fucking slept.

  It's not the blood that got me. I've had blood. It's not the body or the big hole in her head. It's… this whole thing is just wrong. There are some people who should die, people like that asshole I killed in the hallway out there, or the guy with the baseball bat. They were killing for themselves, and that's never the right reason. Their deaths were heavy. All deaths are heavy. But not like Tess' death. That's a heavy weight hanging from my neck, choking me out. I can barely draw breath because I know she shouldn't have died. She could have stayed alive and we would have figured a way out eventually, damn it. We would have. I would have.

  Now there's no hope for her. All I could do was cover her with my jacket. She deserves a little respect, even in death. I may not agree with it, but she died for me. She killed herself for me. For some fucked up reason, she thought I was worth it, even though she only met me a few days ago.

  If she thought I was such a wonderful person, then that's what I'm going to be. I owe it to her to try, if nothing else. I’m making a vow here and now to be the person Tess thought I was.

  ENTRY END

  TO: Niels Evenstad

  FROM: Magnus Evenstad

  SUBJECT: Update

  SENT 2/16/2075 AT 12:38 p.m. EST

  Niels, I'm very sorry to hear about your health, as is your Aunt Hilde. Please, let us know if there's anything we can do for you. I'm sure it's a very trying time, particularly with this show in the works. You're starting in on the third season soon, correct? You’ll have quite a lot of work to do to make up for the reviews coming in on season two. Very unhappy people, unfortunately. They thought the guards made it a very unsportsmanlike game, and it was generally just not as well put-together as The Park.

  But that’s not important right now, of course.

  I'd actually like to meet with you in person. I know it's been a while, and I realize we haven't always had the most peaceable relationship. But we're family nonetheless, and I do care about you. You're my nephew, after all. But not only that. I understand the stresses you go under, trying to maintain a company. Before my promotion, I was in your exact situation. Leading Evenstad Media on to where it was, preserving the glory of our family name, moving us into a new stage. And I'm in a unique position to help you in what promises to be a trying few years in your life.

  I hope you'll join me at my house over the weekend. I'll be inviting as much of the family as I can, but we can find time to slip away and talk in private, I'm sure. If nothing else, though, come for the celebration. For another successful show
on your end, and the launch of what promises to be a wonderful new product by your brother. The robotic guards were something I and my generation could barely have dreamt of, and yet here they are, on the cusp of release. It's truly a glorious time to be alive.

  Magnus Evenstad,

  Chief Executive Officer, Evenstad Enterprises

  The Park: Renewed Again?

  Posted 5/20/2075

  It’s no secret that I’m a huge fan of The Park and even The Mall, as hard as that might be to believe to some people. I mean, when you do a search for ‘The Park Blogger,’ I’m the first one who comes up. It wasn’t my intent, but there it is. I’m not about to complain about the extra traffic.

  I’m also a realist, and being a realist, I was pretty damn sure this was it. The Mall would end the whole thing. It had some appeal to die-hard fans, but I don’t see where it would be terribly exciting for a newcomer. At least not compared to The Park. If I’d seen this one first? I wouldn’t even have really cared.

  So, to have Evenstad announcing that they’ve got a third season in the works… well, it’s a shock to this viewer, let me tell you. Welcome, but definitely a shock. I mean, even I thought it was dull, by comparison. Evenstad went too far in turning this into a commercial., and those damn robot guards are priced way beyond most people’s capabilities, anyway. It just felt messy. Which I guess makes sense, given what was going on in the creator’s personal life. I do think that the information leak was a bit too conveniently timed, but whatever it takes to save ratings, I suppose?