After the last person left, five people made their way to Burger King to have an affordable and delicious dinner together. Rons, Royces, Kyle and her two sisters, sat down at a table and ordered their food.
At approximately 7, Kyle’s father notified them that he would be arriving in around 45 minutes. They finished up at 7:30 and walked to the restroom before leaving.
“Let’s go back the way we came in so we don’t get lost, it’s much safer that way,” Rons suggested.
“But that’s boring, let’s just go the other direction since it’s more adventurous that way,” Kyle protested.
“Fine, but you’re responsible if we get kidnapped and get our organs harvested.”
“Whatever, you’re being overly dramatic, let’s just go on an adventure.”
They got out of the restroom and walked to the left, but little did they know, they should’ve turned right instead. Kyle was wrong, they were on for an adventure.
As they traversed through the cold interior of the mall, they soon realised that none of the shops looked familiar. It was then Kyle started to get anxious. Were they really going the right way?
They went down the escalator and were met with more unfamiliar sights. It was a basement, there was no clear exit and no turns, just a circle with shops around.
“Kyle, I swear if I die it’s on you,” Rons said.
“Me too, I still want to live,” Royces agreed.
“Stop worrying, we’ll find our way out. Look, there’s a directory over there,” Kyle pointed to a white thing with a big screen. It was beckoning for them to go over, to finally escape the building to freedom.
They walked over, the dirty screen reflected the bright white lights on the ceiling. The screen showed where they were, but they realised that they could not understand the map or remember what they saw when they came in. Their efforts were futile, they had to either find a way or accept their fate as humiliating little kids lost at a mall.
“Let me go see if there’s an exit on this floor, maybe by some miracle we’re on the right floor,” Kyle said, desperate for some miracle to happen. She walked quickly around, her eyes darting to every single wall, searching for an exit.
“I see one, but I don’t think this leads us outside. There’s only one way and that’s going back up. Hurry!”
An announcement rang out, but none of them understood what it was saying.
“They seem to be telling us to look out for something,” Kyle’s sister said, “My Malay’s bad too.”
“Hurry, let’s run!” Kyle said, leading the way up the escalator that’s not moving. They ran up the escalator like stairs, not caring about the noises they were making. There were workers standing outside their shops, which supported the theory that Kyle’s sister came up with.
“I see the place where we came from!” Kyle pointed to the huge Christmas tree. They bolted towards it, desperately seeking the light in a dark tunnel.
People glanced at their way, wondering what drove these five little kids to be this crazy. They ran down the escalator, the alarm ringing in their ears.
“The emergency door is open! Quick, let’s follow them!” Rons shouted.
They went down another floor and followed a group of people out, the door closing behind them and stopping the alarm.
“Uhhhh, guys? I don’t see a way leading outside. Are we in the basement again?” Royces asked, sparking worry in the others. There were other groups of people walking, but they seemed to be unfazed by the situation.
“I think we should go back and go up a floor, this is the wrong floor,” Kyle suggested.
Royces turned around to open the door, but to his dismay, it wasn’t budging at all. He stuck his finger into the big keyhole and tried to pull it open. It was locked. They were all locked outside.
“What!” Everyone exclaimed, shocked at their situation.
“We should follow the ‘Keluar’ (Exit) sign, there must be a way out no matter what,” Kyle said.
“Good idea, but the arrow is facing the other way, are you sure?” Rons asked.
“Absolutely.”
“Whatever you say…” Rons and Royces said together.
“This is feels so adventurous!”
“No! I hate this!” Rony yelled.
They walked together in a group until Kyle spotted a guy walking to a big white car.
“Let’s follow him! He must know where the exit is!” Kyle excitedly suggested.
The group waited for the man to get in the car, then as the car took off, they all ran after it.
They saw the car exit the parking lot, through the ticketing barrier and out in the open.
“There!” Kyle shouted, “Let’s go!”
They ran towards the exit, and emerged outside. They breathed in the fresh air, relieved to be finally outside.
“Oh my gosh, we actually made it outside,” Kyle breathed heavily.
“I can’t believe we’re out!,” Rons said.
“Yeah but we’re still on the wrong side…” Royces said, dejected.
“It’s okay, there’s a pavement for us to walk on, we just need to walk on it to get back to the front,” Kyle recommended.
The group walked slowly together along the side of the road, passing by a few couples until a red car stopped beside them.
“Guys? Uhhh I think we should hurry up and go. I think we’re getting kidnapped, Kyle turned around, making sure that no one gets abducted.
They managed to get away without getting snatched away, luckily.
They walked and walked until they finally reached the front, with the familiar sight of Kyle’s dad, standing over the railing.
