The Long Fall of Night: The Long Fall of Night Book 1 by AJ Rose

front of the entrance to the Bass Pro Shop, the mall’s main attraction. Unlike the grocery store, no one was visible inside, and there was no sign of life anywhere. The quiet was eerie, and Elliot shivered.
    “You know what’s kind of odd?” he mused. “Haven’t seen a single cop. Don’t they usually come out more in times like this, not less?”
    Ash shrugged. “A lot of them are on backup duty for the prison. I bet if we were to go over to the electronics store or Walmart, there’d be at least a couple directing traffic and keeping an eye on possible looters.”
    Elliot shook his head ruefully. “That’s so stupid. Here, lemme steal this TV, but I have nowhere to plug it in that might work.”
    “Maybe they think they can sell it later or something. Who knows?” Ash shut off the engine and got out.
    They approached the glass doors, beyond which were visible several variations of fishing boats in the outdoor shop’s main showroom. But the doors didn’t glide open, and Ash tried to wedge his fingers in the miniscule crack and force them apart to no avail. Cursing under his breath, he pointed, and Elliot could see the deadbolt lock in the crack between the doors. It was fully engaged. Cupping his hands around his face, he peered into the store, hoping to see movement inside. Without a clue as to where a payphone might be, Elliot had hoped at least the mall would be open, but it didn’t seem everything would work out on this day.
    A sign he hadn’t noticed before was posted beside the doors: Closed until further notice. No loitering. Premises watched by closed circuit camera.
    Elliot chuckled derisively, and Ash walked up behind him, reading over his shoulder.
    “Cameras running on what fucking power?” Ash groused, shaking his head. Elliot saw his entertained expression reflected in the glass.
    “Maybe there’s a hamster on a wheel running for his life and powering the lone camera that works in this entire parking lot.”
    “That would have to be a big-ass hamster,” Ash grinned, playing along. He trailed a finger across the back of Elliot’s hand and tilted his head at the car. Elliot followed, the glare from the sun making him squint once they passed from the shade of the entrance’s massive overhang.
    “Haven’t you seen the size of the fish they keep in the tanks in these stores? The hamster is the size of a beaver.”
    “Who is feeding the hamster?”
    Elliot shrugged. “Should we call animal control? Maybe they’d intervene.”
    Ash chuckled and started the car, not bothering with his seatbelt while they circled the building slowly, scouring the exterior for something or someone useful. Maybe one of the other stores was open. Elliot was so intent on scrutinizing for signs of life, he missed it.
    “There!” Ash practically shouted, slamming on the brakes. Elliot kept himself from kissing the dash with a stiff arm, trying to see the reason Ash was excited. The engine gave a high-pitched whir as Ash reversed quickly and parked in the movie theater’s fire lane. The marquee proclaimed a movie that had been out for several months, and Elliot shivered, overcome with a sudden, overwhelming feeling of abandonment. When Ash pointed, his misgivings vanished.
    “I could kiss you!” he exclaimed, throwing the passenger door open and striding purposefully to the payphone, yanking the receiver off the cradle. The buzz of the dial tone made him laugh with a touch of hysteria. He shoved a hand in his jeans pocket, looking for quarters to feed the machine and realized he had nothing.
    Ash thrust his hand out, palm open to the sky, several quarters gleaming flatly. “Exact change from Sheila.” He grinned.
    “God bless Sheila,” Elliot said, grinning back. He deposited fifty cents and dialed his father’s satellite phone number from memory. A recording came on and said if he wanted to complete his call, he’d need to deposit another dollar fifty in quarters. Groaning, Elliot scooped the rest of