Helen arrived with the belts, and Allistor used one to tie the outer door handles together.  Then he used a second belt to reinforce the first.  He tried the doors, and they barely moved.  “It’s not perfect, but it’ll do for now.”  Stepping inside, he turned the deadbolt, then just to be safe he wrapped a belt around those handles as well.

“You realize you just cut us off from our escape route?” Helen snarked at him, nudging him with an elbow.

“Yeah.  But I can’t have things sneaking in behind us from outside.  Let’s clear this place and lock it down.” Allistor raised his shotgun and took the lead as he walked to the main exit into the mall itself.   Here they found a roll-down gate that stretched the entire twelve-foot width of the doorway.  Allistor found a metal pole with a hooked end leaning against one wall and used it to pull the gate down.  It made a huge racket and scared Fuzzy into backing up and hiding inside a circular rack of ladies coats.   Once the gate was down, one needed a key to lock it.

Allistor shrugged.  “Good enough for the moment.  Anything tries to get in, we’ll definitely hear it.”

Over the next twenty minutes, they moved through the store, first closing the other set of glass doors exiting the opposite side of the store, then clearing the main floor area and the restrooms, dressing rooms, offices, and finally the stock room.  The stock room had two more exits, one a standard metal door, the other a roll-up loading dock door.  Both were securely locked.

“If we need to, we can sleep in here tonight.  We can secure the door leading out to the store, throw some blankets and pillows down, and sleep in shifts.”  Helen observed, echoing Allistor’s exact train of thought.

“Yep!  You read my mind.  Okay, let’s see if we can find some keys.  Check the office first, then start searching the drawers at the cash registers.  Some supervisor might have left keys we can use to lock up.   Those glass doors won’t stop humans with guns or any of the large monsters, but they should be fine for canids and killer rats.”

Helen found keys sitting atop the very first desk she checked.  Along with a hand-written note dated two weeks earlier.

I’m leaving the store open for anyone who needs it.  There are warm clothes, shoes, and other things you might need.  The dog-things took my wife and daughter yesterday.  I should have brought them here instead of keeping them home.  This place, the whole mall, seems clear so far.  I’m going out to hunt those things.  If you are reading this, make yourself at home, and good luck to you.  May the Lord protect you, if he’s still watching over us.”