We returned to the top of the escalator again.
The steps groaned beneath our weight, metal teeth still smeared faintly with old blood, but no goblins. None of the bodies we'd left behind were here either. There were no drag marks, blood smears, or anything else but silence and the faint flicker of damaged overhead lights. It was like the fight had never happened.
I narrowed my eyes.
"They're gone," Amber murmured behind me.
"Or moved," Liam added from the rear.
I stepped onto the top platform, scanning the area below again. My katana was strapped to my waist, ready for anything. "Stay alert," I said quietly. "No signs doesn't mean no threat."
The escalator still worked, albeit in a choppy, stuttering rhythm. I took the first step down. Amber followed close behind, then Karen, Sol, and Liam bringing up the rear. We moved slowly and quietly, only the whine of the motor could be heard.
The first floor opened into a wide corridor with three paths split ahead: left toward the food court, right toward a retail wing, and a middle lane lined with dim storefronts and shattered display windows.
Amber leaned in. "Should we check the food court first? Might be supplies or survivors."
"Exactly why we're not going there yet," I said, keeping my voice low. "If there are survivors, they'll be on edge. If it's overrun, we're not ready for that many."
She didn't argue, just adjusted her grip on the blade strapped to her hip.
I pointed right. "We start with the retail wing. Sweep the stores, watch for signs of movement, and don't wander. If we're lucky, we'll find a few goblins, small groups we can handle. We grind, we level, and we learn what Karen's made of."
"Copy that," Liam muttered.
Karen stiffened slightly at that last part, but she didn't speak. She just nodded and followed my lead.
The air was colder down here. The kind of cold that didn't come from the AC, but meant something had shifted.
I kept walking.
We moved deeper into the right corridor, boots muffled against the broken tile and discarded clothing. The silence pressed in thick, heavy, and wrong. The kind of quiet that made your instincts itch. I could feel the others reacting too. Amber's steps slowed and grew more deliberate. Sol's head turned at every creak. Karen stuck close, eyes scanning every shadow in nervousness.
The first store we passed had its shutters half-pulled down. A child's sneaker poked out from under the metal slats.
"Leave it," I said before anyone could move. "Too exposed."
The second store, an old beauty supply, was torn apart. Shelves overturned, empty boxes scattered, and the smell of rot barely masked by old perfume. No movement. No goblins. Nothing.
The third store was a toy shop.
Its sign hung crookedly above the entrance, half the letters missing, and the display window was webbed with cracks. Inside, colorful boxes and plastic bins lay overturned, stuffed animals torn open like they'd been gutted. Dolls with cracked porcelain faces stared blankly from high shelves, some missing limbs or eyes, their smiles frozen in chipped paint. A broken music box somewhere inside played a warped, off-key melody that stopped and started at random.
Something skittered behind the counter making us all freeze.
I caught the glint of its eyes just as we crossed the threshold. My hand went up, a clenched fist.
Goblins.
Five of them crouched near the back of a store. They hadn't seen us yet. One was gnawing on something, flesh and tendon stretching from its jaws like chewed rubber.
Then the System revealed them, red text flickering to life above their heads:
[Goblin – Level 3]
[Goblin – Level 4]
[Goblin – Level 4]
[Goblin – Level 5]
[Goblin – Level 5]
Higher than the ones we faced upstairs. Stronger, better equipped, and judging by the blood stains across their chests, more experienced.
Amber whispered, "What are they doing?"
"Sounds like they are feeding," Liam said, voice low.
I gripped my katana tighter, watching their twitchy movements and the glint of metal in their hands—rusted blades, broken toys repurposed into weapons, even a steak knife clutched in one bony hand.
I eased my katana free with a soft hiss. "Form up. Karen, stay behind me. Sol, flank left. Liam, watch Karen's back."
Amber moved without a word, circling right, low and swift. Sol went left, quiet despite the sound of his boots. Liam shifted to Karen's flank, baton angled like a wall.
I struck first.
My blade sang as it cut the distance cleanly, silently, and efficiently. One goblin's head snapped back with a spray of black-red blood. The others shrieked, startled dropping the corpse they were sharing. One looked at us and bolted to the side trying to escape or maybe get reinforcements.
"Don't let it run!" I snapped.
Sol lunged, catching it in the thigh. The goblin collapsed with a grunt, but two others surged forward. Amber intercepted one, the blade sliding cleanly across its chest. Liam met the second with brute force, slamming it against the wall and burying his baton in its gut.
The last one turned toward Karen.
She froze, just long enough for the goblin to scream and lunge. Karen lifted her knife, but her hands were shaking too much to use it properly.
I moved first tripping it, sending it off-course just enough for Karen to stab it in the chest.
Her knife connected and the goblin fell on top of her. She kept stabbing it in a panic not noticing that she killed it and I let her.
This was her first kill and It wasn't clean or graceful, but it was a start.
I pulled the goblin off her and she stopped stabbing it when she noticed I was in front of her. Karen lay there, wide-eyed and breathing hard. I watched her chest rise and fall, watched her hand tremble, but she didn't drop the blade.
"You alright?" I asked, kneeling beside her.
She swallowed. "Yeah. Just… yeah."
I nodded once. "Good."
Sol wiped his blade and gave her a sideways glance. "Not bad… for a beginner."
Karen didn't respond but stood up standing a little more confidently.