Hazel confidently took a step into the mall, followed happily by Kaitlyn. The pair both needed new clothes urgently. The entrance was grand and imposing, the mall contained five sprawling floors filled with shops and vendors. Even at a glance, Hazel could tell the mall had everything they were looking for, in abundance. Wow… it's so similar to an American mall, from the fountain in the middle to the layout, I feel like I've been teleported back home!
"Where do we even start?" Kaitlyn asked from his side. Hazel could tell she was just as amazed by the sheer size and extravagance of the mall as he was.
"I suppose we'd better start with clothes no? That way we look a little less… strange." A sharp smell suddenly filled Hazel's nasal cavities. Holy… what the heck is that?! The smell was heavily laden with the scents of countless spices. It was almost intoxicating, his stomach couldn't help but let out a loud growl. The pain from his hunger was now gone, replaced by a sickening feeling of emptiness. "I lied, we're starting by stuffing our faces."
Hazel looked to his side, expecting to find Kaitlyn there. What the… where is she?! A feeling of dread and panic filled his empty gut. Hazel knew he was being childish, but he was in a land completely foreign to him, and he'd just lost his only guide.
"Kaitlyn?" He called out to nothingness, Hazel was already drawing stares from the throng surrounding him, but his outburst nearly increased the glances twofold. He let out a worried sigh and looked around for a bathroom. He hadn't had the chance to properly… release himself since before waking up. Hazel spotted signs presumably representing a man and a woman, he made his way towards the restrooms at a brisk walk.
The bathroom smelled rank, excrement was left in many of the stalls, par for the course. The lights were flickering rapidly, only further adding to Hazel's anxiety. This is like a scene from a freaking horror movie! Is someone gonna jump out and mug me now? Hazel quickly made his way to the only stall without a pile of crap in the toilet. After covering the seat thoroughly in five layers of toilet paper, he relieved himself with a satisfied breath.
Hazel stared at himself in the bathroom mirror, frankly, he looked terrible. Dark circles had formed under his eyes from restless sleep and his skin was pink and peeling because of his time in the desert. With a sigh, he quickly washed his hands and face, trying to relax, even a little bit would help. Hazel quickly dried off and started walking towards the door. Creak! The restroom door barreled open and Hazel was grabbed and restrained by his arms.
"What the hec—"
"You better shut up if you know what's good for you!" A voice snarled in his ear, spittle flying everywhere. Hazel watched as the man brought a knife up to his neck. I knew it! I freaking knew it! I'm getting mugged! Holy crap, I've got a knife to my neck! What do I do… am I screwed?
"Empty your pockets, pinky!" Every time the man spoke, spit went flying everywhere, it was disgusting. Hazel slowly began to comply, lowering his hands toward the pockets of his pajamas, it's not like I've got anything to steal, I literally have nothing now.
"Speed it up or your guts are going on the floor!" Hazel began to tremble, I'm scared.
The memory of his fight with Kaitlyn flashed through his mind. Sheer uncontrollable terror, a primal fear resonating throughout his body. Kaitlyn's presence alone had been enough to ignite those feelings within him, and she hadn't even been going for the kill. This guy is like a bug next to her frightening aura! I'm tired of being useless!
Hazel grabbed his assailant's arm and pulled forward as he bent, flipping the man over and on to the ground with a thud. He kicked him in the family jewels as hard as he could. It's a low blow but… this is life or death. Nobody gives a crap about fighting fair. Hazel grabbed the man's knife, taking a minute to observe his attacker. He was tall and slim, seeming to have almost no muscle mass at all. He had a small black beard, wearing tattered clothes and a baseball cap pulled low over his face to hide it from his victims.
A fire ignited in Hazel's stomach, how many innocent people had this man stolen from, assaulted, injured, or worse… killed?
"If I ever hear about you doing crap like this again… I will find you," Hazel grabbed the man's wallet from his pocket, checking his ID, "Adhmani Khalil. Got that?"
Khalil nodded vigorously, tears falling down his face from the pain, and with a final punch to the face, Hazel knocked him out. The fire in his belly was soon replaced by nausea, I just beat up a guy. I hurt somebody, pretty badly too, I think. He puked all in the stall he'd just used.
"Did I take that too far? Did I do too much damage? If I take his knife am I as bad as he is?"
A hand patted him on the back comfortingly, "no, Hazel, you didn't. Good job, partner." Kaitlyn said, relief flooded Hazel, all he'd needed was affirmation that he'd done the right thing.
"Thanks," he wiped his mouth, already turning red with embarrassment.
"Looks like you did a number on him!" Kaitlyn observed, "I'm assuming he jumped you?"
"Yeah." Hazel started to wash up again.
"Hey uh… I'm really sorry, I shouldn't have ran off like that. I'm so used to working alone I kinda forgot you woke up here and have no idea what's going on."
"You believe me?" Hazel asked, somewhat shocked.
"It's only right that I believe my coworker, no?" She said with a grin.
Hazel finally noticed her new outfit, he could barely restrain his jaw from dropping. It was definitely his type, a black tank top and gray sweatpants. She had a knapsack presumable containing her bodysuit strapped to her back.
"Nice clothes. By the way… you said you've been here for a week right? How come you didn't just grab clothes from the car or something?"
"Thanks homeless man. I kind of forgot to bring any clothes with me… and then the stuff I bought got ripped yesterday so I chucked it." She said with a sheepish grin. "I don't think we should put off eating any longer, let's go get something! Then we can get you some stuff."
"Sounds good to me!" His stomach let out its four-hundred-and-sixty-seventh growl of the day. Wait a minute… what about my phone? I fell asleep with it in my pocket so… shouldn't I have woken up with it? Sure enough, Hazel just now noticed the weight in his left pocket.
"Yes!" He said victoriously, pulling the dead device out of his pajama pants. I guess I just didn't notice it throughout all the confusion. Thank gosh it didn't fall out!
"You have your phone?!" Kaitlyn exclaimed, "well that saves us a lot of time. I'll give you my number once we have the opportunity to charge it."
"Okay," Hazel was starting to get tired of the bathroom, he just wanted to forget about Adhmani already. The pair walked past the unconcious man. I can't just leave him here like this… with a sigh of annoyance at his own consciousness, Hazel picked him up and sat him down on the bench outside the men's restroom. Hopefully it looked like he was sleeping.
"You're too nice." Kaitlyn said, eyeballing the man disapprovingly.
"I couldn't just leave him…."
"He tried to rob you! Even held a knife to your neck!"
"How do you know he held a knife to my neck?!" Hazel was flabbergasted.
"Simple reasoning, most thieves carry one around, and if it's not a knife… it's a gun. And they usually don't hesitate to use those."
"Mmm." He nodded in agreement.
"I'm glad you're good, you made the right choice. But for real, let's go eat now. If I don't get some food in my belly I think I might fall over." She smiled and beckoned for him to follow, Hazel closed his eyes, opened them, and complied with a smile.