text: [Themes: Horror, scatological, horror, America, romance, ghost, occult]
  
  > look around
  The ceiling in this room is unique within the basement, as it is actually enough up where I don't have to hunch. At the top of the ceiling is a single, lit torch, held at a diagonal against the wall with a bracket. All available light is strongly reflected from the coffin, which sits quietly in the corner of the room. The walls are made out of a flecked brick, and a support beam stands to the right of the coffin.
  
  Exits are south towards the stairs and east into a tight alcove.
  
  > Shout
  I scream like a banshee. Nothing seems to happen.
  
  > look at the bracket
  It's a very small piece of metal designed to keep the torch in place along the wall.
  
  Inside the bracket is the torch.
  
  > feel the wall
  The bracket is too far away for me to get my greasy paws on it.
  
  > throw the menorah at the torch
  I knock the torch off of the bracket! The torch falls to the ground, where the cold fog quickly extinguishes it.
  
  > Go east
  Mall, First Level, Eastern Edge
  This bit of hallway features an enormous and beautiful fountain. There are exits in all four primary compass directions.
  The spectre is here.
  
  Audrey follows me.
  
  > press down
  Nothing happens since I am already on the first floor of the Mall. Pushing the down button doesn't get me anywhere.
  
  > press up
  I press the up button. After a few seconds, the elevator transports me to the second level of the Mall.
  
  > press up
  Nothing happens; I'm already on the second floor.
  
  > go outside
  The floor of the Mall comes up against a rail, forming a barrier which prevents further (sane) western travel. The bottom (ground floor) level can be viewed with ease, though, as the guardrail mainly prevents kids -- future productive Mall denizens! -- from ragdolling their way off the edge.
  
  There is a badly-cracked kiosk in the center of the hallway. At the far end of the rail is an elevator.
  There is a crystal ball holder here.
  
  > examine holder
  It's a wooden stand, roughly four feet in height. It has three protruding grips on top to hold a smallish crystal ball (which is present). The base is circular in shape and rather thick.
  
  The stand is broken, and cannot be used effectively as a weapon.
  
  > get the holder
  I'm carrying too much to take that.
  
  > look at what you're carrying with you
  I am carrying my glasses (being worn), the gaming glove (being worn), a pleather purse, the Magic: The Gathering cards, Gibs's lacrosse stick, the phone, the aged text, the blue balloon, an urn, the menorah, and the mirrored shades. Inside the menorah are the crimson candle, the cyan candle, the jade candle, the umber candle, the indigo candle, the canary candle, the black candle, the slate candle, and the white candle.
  
  > examine the purse
  It's one of those cheap, black pseudo-leather purses that you can get in any Imitation Fabric Store in America.
  
  > drop it
  (assuming you mean the pleather purse)
  Dropped.
  
  > Go north
  The Jewelry Store is of average dimensions for the Mall, with significantly less maneuvering room due to the long tabletop display that snakes about the room. They sell all manner of jewelry (ear rings, bracelets, watches) but as they close much earlier than everybody else, it's all under lock and key.
  
  On the east side of the store, against the wall, is a large safebox.
  
  > open the safebox
  Done -- it's open.
  
  > examine it
  (assuming you mean the safebox)
  This is a towering cabinet, in which all the valuable jewelry is kept when the store closes down at night. It is about seven feet tall and compartmentalized into different sections, one of which I can get to easily at my own relatively meager height.
  
  It's open.
  
  > go south
  The floor of the Mall comes up against a rail, forming a barrier which prevents further (sane) western travel. The bottom (ground floor) level can be viewed with ease, though, as the guardrail mainly prevents kids -- future productive Mall denizens! -- from ragdolling their way off the edge.
  
  There is a badly-cracked kiosk in the center of the hallway. At the far end of the rail is an elevator.
  Some socks, Barnaby's Big Gulp drink, a pleather purse are here.
  
  > go south
  There's not a path in that direction.
  
  There are exits north to the Jewelry Store, in towards the Elevator and east towards the east side of the Mall.
  
  > go east
  There's only one more stretch of corridor on this level before one gets to the elevator, which leads down to the ground floor. To the south of this area is the Bead Store, exits otherwise lead west and east.
  
  > Go south
  The Bead Store smells strongly of incense and stale joints, and it almost overpowers every other sense. There are shelves on all sides of the store, but none in the middle of the store due to the drawn pentagram.
  A postcard, the X-box are here.
  Sydney and the skeleton are here.
  
  > talk to Sydney
  I can't think of anything to say right now.
  
  It's really cold in here.
  
  > open the xbox
  I should really avoid opening the box, mostly because I don't want to lose anything that comes with it, but partly because lifting this monster in its entirety makes me feel like a real man.
  
  It's really cold in here.
  
  > examine table
  Some of the stores have tables on the outside, in an attempt to entice customers to come inside. This table is one of them, for Choad's Sporting Goods Store. Usually only extremely cheap items are set on them, so as to minimize shortages and loss.
  
  > go north
  Choad's Sporting Goods exists under the unfortunate circumstance that the owner's name translates into Bengali as 'fuck.' Once or twice a year there will be a demonstration or protest from a bunch of local student Hindus, but nothing ever changes.
  
  The store is one of the larger ones in the Mall, about 40' wide and 140' long. Ski jackets take up almost all the area towards the front of the store, as far as I can see, with the entire western wall filled with displays of discount tennis sneakers.
  
  There doesn't seem to be any rifles or shotguns for sale. (It appears as if Gibs's intuition was incorrect.)
  There is a circular jacket rack here.
  The ghoul is here.
  
  > Go outside
  Mall, First Level, East Edge
  This is the first level, or ground floor, of the Funtime Teen Mall. The lone Mall Exit leads in a westerly direction, past a few more stretches of darkness-enveloped corridor, and the Food Court. There's also a few more stores to the west, with the Mall passageways expanding to all four directions at that point.
  
  Exits lead west to the rest of the Mall, and inside to the elevator.
  
  In the center of the corridor is a sculpted marble statue.
  Audrey is here.
  
  > go west
  Mall, First Level, Eastern Edge
  This bit of hallway features an enormous and beautiful fountain. There are exits in all four primary compass directions.
  
  Audrey follows me.
  
  The spectre arrives from the north.
  
  > examine the fountain
  The fountain is rich limestone artifact that was discovered years ago in a poured-over closet in Italy and flown out here at great expense. It has been converted from its original state as a Renaissance-era commissioned sculpture to a marketing tool for the Mall.
  
  It's about six feet at the base and rather shallow -- water would only come up to one's ankles in its normal, calm state. The spout extends a couple of feet up from the dead center of the base. There are a few inscriptions and symbols on the thing, but nothing I can decipher.
  
  Inside the fountain is some water.
  
  Inside the fountain is some water.
  
  > Climb fountain
  I can't climb the fountain.
  
  The spectre heads off to the north.
  
  > go to the north
  A fair bit of ether has snaked itself into the room. It combines with the hand-picked and market-researched atmospheric lights that still function to give off a very deep, defracted and soothing look to the room. Vibrant purples and deep blues dominate the walls and counters of the Sunglasses Hut.
  
  I worked at this place for a week once when I was fighting with my manager at the D&D store. I acquired a little bit of trivia regarding this place (for instance, the center display case will open if it's tapped upon) but nothing useful otherwise.
  The spectre is here.
  
  Audrey follows me.
  
  > check what you're carrying
  I am carrying my glasses (being worn), the gaming glove (being worn), the Magic: The Gathering cards, Gibs's lacrosse stick, the phone, the aged text, the blue balloon, an urn, the menorah, the mirrored shades, and the crystal ball holder (broken). Inside the menorah are the crimson candle, the cyan candle, the jade candle, the umber candle, the indigo candle, the canary candle, the black candle, the slate candle, and the white candle.
  
  The spectre heads off to the south.
  
  > wear the shades
  I take off my glasses and put the shades on. Things get considerably darker.
  
  > talk to Audrey
  Please select one:
  
  (1) "Well, what is fun, then? Educate me."
  (2) "Whoa, that was you in the vision! What does a plus mean?"
  
  > 2
  "What does a plus mean?" asks Audrey. "On a home pregnancy test? It means that you're not pregnant. Thank God."
  
  "Did you have a close call or something?"
  
  "Yes, we had a close call. Don't you remember? It wasn't that
  long ago. I had got off ICQ talking to one of your ex-girlfriends the night before. She told me that you, quote, 'wig out' when spoken to in Elvish or some other made-up language along those lines."
  
  Audrey continues her story, but I start to get a flood of memories back from that night. I had actually deigned to go out clubbing with her for a night a few weeks back. (I usually don't, as I am such a lousy, self-conscious dancer.) She was wearing this tight little gray dress with slight horizontal lines across it, made out of this fuzzy fabric -- the outfit practically squealed 'do me' by itself.
  
  Audrey was grinding her way up against me every time I went onto the floor. I just seizured out. That's the only way I know how to dance. I almost never really consume much alcohol, but that night I was taking pull after pull of some Safeway Vodka that Sydney had smuggled into the club as if the contents of the bottle were nothing more innocuous than Mexican Kool-Aid. Audrey and I took a cab back to her place, and we were all over one another before we could find the light switch.
  
  She was on top of me for what seemed like the better part of an hour when she dipped down and whispered something into my ear.
  Tye-mela'ne. It's Tolkein Elvish for 'I love you.' We don't
  seem to say that to each other very much, but even drunk I instantly translated what she said and I... well, I went off like a Soviet Catapult: unexpectedly, unpredictably, and altogether quite messily.
  
  I hadn't thought about it -- about the consequences of it -- until just right now. I didn't mean for her to go through a pregnancy scare like that by herself. I just wasn't thinking about the details.
  
  (For what it's worth, the story that Audrey related as I had this flashback was pretty much exactly like mine, except that she said that we only jammed for something like fifteen minutes. She's got this crazy, post-Einsteinian view of how time really works though, so don't believe her.)
  
  Please select one:
  
  (1) "Well, what is fun, then? Educate me."
  
  > examine the gate
  The gate is made up of interwoven metal links, but due to the lack of power over here it can't be opened.
  
  The spectre heads off to the south.
  
  > read the book
  I flip through a few pages, but nothing really catches my eye. I'm sure that some long dead monk or priest who nearly acquired whatever the 14th century version of repetitive motion syndrome in writing this thing is revolving in a European Potter's grave at my disinterest, but the words just seem to roll off my eyeballs in a splash of drama and desperate Calligraphy.
  
  > go to the south
  Mall, First Level, Southern Edge
  This is the southern-most section of the Mall. There's a large block of impenetrable cement to the south, which covers over the failed Outlet Store, and two paths to two other stores: the candle store (west) and party favors store (east).
  The spectre is here.
  
  Audrey follows me.
  
  The spectre heads off to the south.
  
  > go west
  The Candle Store is the second-most picketed store, right after Choad's. It used to be a lot worse when it was a nail and board emporium, though. Some old and independently wealthy latin guy owns the place, though, and he just doesn't care about the Cash-In of the Christ.
  
  Christ's Candles is decked out in a similar manner to the Bead Store, hippie stuff and dark shadows even when the power isn't completely out. This isn't the kind of city where one can set up a number of candles on stands like in the video to 'Wrapped Around Your Finger,' so instead all the candles and other objects are on shelves.
  
  The floorspace towards the rear of the store is completely taken up by the long display table against the western wall.
  
  Audrey follows me.
  
  > Go east
  Mall, First Level, Southern Edge
  This is the southern-most section of the Mall. There's a large block of impenetrable cement to the south, which covers over the failed Outlet Store, and two paths to two other stores: the candle store (west) and party favors store (east).
  The spectre is here.
  
  Audrey follows me.
  
  The spectre heads off to the west.
  
  > Go east
  This store is mostly unfurnished, with a low, bare ceiling, cold floor covered in cheap carpeting, and blankets and rugs thumb-tacked up to hide the peeling wallpaper and crumbling drywall.
  
  The contents of the room are a cluttered mess, as this place seems to be more of a craftsman's think-tank and construction area than pure chamber for commerce like so many other shops in the Mall. There's a workdesk and mirror along the northern wall and a file cabinet across from it. A small window is visible behind some junk, and directly across from the entrance are seven masks attached to the back wall in a proud display. Attached to one of the naked support beams is a disco laser pointer.
  
  Audrey follows me.
  
  > examine the workdesk
  This workdesk is just a worn and cheap table that any office supply store would carry and sell for around sixty bucks.
  
  > examine the pointer
  The laser pointer is out there jivin'! It's scattering laser light everywhere and it's turned this placed into a Block Party Central! Whoo-hoo!
  
  The spectre arrives from the west.
  
  > get the laser
  I can't take that.
  
  The spectre heads off to the west.
  
  > throw the menorah at the laser
  Nothing happens.
  
  > take the menorah
  I take it.
  
  > Go west
  Mall, First Level, Southern Edge
  This is the southern-most section of the Mall. There's a large block of impenetrable cement to the south, which covers over the failed Outlet Store, and two paths to two other stores: the candle store (west) and party favors store (east).
  
  Audrey follows me.
  
  The spectre arrives from the south.
  
  > go to the north
  Mall, First Level, Central Corridor
  This stretch of the Mall hallway is covered with just a bit of rubble. There are clear exits to the west and south. The gate to the Record Store is down to the north.
  The cross is here.
  
  Audrey follows me.
  
  > Go west
  Mall, First Level, West Edge
  The area is free from the wreckage. Gibs, though is just standing up, completely motionless, facing the inky blackness that shrouds the Food Court from here. Casey is nowhere to be found.
  Gibs is here.
  
  Audrey follows me.
  
  "She was here, Duffy. She was beautiful."
  
  "Who was? Casey? Where's Casey?"
  
  "Casey... " Gibs turns and looks at me for the first time since I came back. "No... not poor Casey. We finished up getting all the wreckage out of the way and as I looked up Casey was entranced by the most beautiful creature I have ever seen. Her skin was so pale, so fragile. She had this dark shock of bangs that framed her perfect face. As soon as I looked up, I froze. But she had locked eyes with Casey. I knew her name was Kali, but not how. Casey didn't seem to be able to move, at first, just like me. Then -- "
  
  "It was a vampire, Gibs. I was hoping we'd avoid one, but -- "
  
  "She took Casey by the hand and they both walked that way... into the darkness."
  
  > go to the south
  The gate to the Sneaker Store is down.
  There are exits north to Discount Novel Shoppe, East to the Central Corridor, South to the Sneaker Store and West to the Food Court.
  
  > go north
  I hate going in here, but I have apparently been a patron enough times to notice how peculiar the store is without its overhead fluorescent spotlights. The low light received from outside produces oddly-angled little shadows, albeit (apparently) non-sentient ones.
  
  There are two long rows of shelves along the north-south orient of the store, and a cashier's counter in back.
  The crucified girl is here.
  
  Audrey and Gibs follow me.
  
  > look at the girl
  The crucified girl seems to be of mild Hispanic descent. Her features are slightly olive, her hair dark and her eyes stained all the round by blood. She is wearing a torn black tank top, blue bandana with floral print, and sleek pair of tight shorts. Her build is slight -- she is probably about five foot five at most, with slim, athletic legs.
  
  She has not been dead long as she is just a few degrees cooler than living human flesh ought to be.
  
  She is dead.
  
  "I don't think Casey has a lot of time," says Gibs. "I don't remember as much D&D crap as you do, Duffy, but I'm thinking she has maybe fifteen minutes."
  
  > Go north
  I can't go that way. I can go south to the corridor.
  
  > Go south
  Mall, First Level, West Edge
  The area is free from the wreckage. Gibs, though is just standing up, completely motionless, facing the inky blackness that shrouds the Food Court from here. Casey is nowhere to be found.
  
  Audrey and Gibs follow me.
  
  > Go west
  The Food Court is a vast, open area and I can only see about half of it from here due to the lack of light -- the entire western end of it is cloaked in darkness. There are a number of cheap square tables and static plastic chairs bolted to the floor here, although a few have somehow broken off and are loose.
  
  To the northeast is a Nutrition Store. They carry a large assortment of tabs, pills, drugs and spices. The Court has another section to the west, and there is an exit east from where we came.
  
  Audrey lets out a little surprised 'yip!' and runs over towards me.
  
  "Jarret!" she says, "I felt something brush up against my leg! Something's here, in this area with us!" Before I can pooh-pooh her objections to this area, a metal chair comes flying at us. It appears as if a poltergeist has infected the food court.
  A fluorescent light, a garbage can, a brown table, a short gray table, a plastic chair, a metal chair, a broken chair, and some chair parts are here.
  Casey is here.
  
  Audrey and Gibs follow me.
  
  Some chair parts come flying right at me!
  
  Some chair parts strike me, and I take a little bit of damage.
  
  I notice something moving over in the far corner of the Food Court. It's a girl. She is wearing a reserved violet dress and has the most perfect, slim little figure I have ever seen.
  
  The vampire, I guess. It has to be; she's just as stunning as Gibs said.
  
  Focusing harder, I see Casey beside her, unmoving, defeated, completely obedient. The vampire whispers softly to her -- Casey snaps back into proper consciousness, and after a moment begins to look at her with loving trust. They are both several yards away, but I can make what the vampire says to her perfectly: Follow me, my
  pet.
  
  The vampire heads off to the west.
  
  Casey heads off to the west.
  
  > listen
  I hear nothing unexpected.
  
  Some chair parts are drawn up from the floor and thrown at me!
  
  I dodge the item, though.
  
  > examine table
  Which table do you mean, the brown table or the short gray table?
  
  > Brown
  This table is a longish one, six or seven people could sit on a single side of it and eat comfortably.
  
  Something roughly picks up a fluorescent light and throws it at me!
  
  A fluorescent light strikes me, and I take a little bit of damage.
  
  > go north
  I can't go that way. I can go west to the food court's west half, east to the corridor, or northeast to a health store.
  
  > go to the north-east
  The Nutrition Store is dominated by a series of five-foot high shelves that make up four distinct aisles. The walls are a sickly shade of green which some junior ad exec no doubt thinks promotes quick sales decisions, when all it truly does is make customers eager to get the hell out before they add an equally off-putting color to the surrounding by use of their own acrid vomit.
  
  In the rear of the store is a modest plastic counter and an ancient analog cash register. Further behind that is a closed metal door that really clashes with what's going on otherwise, stylistically.
  
  There is no front gate to the Nutrition Store, only a ten foot cut in the wall. The opening is not quite centered, however, and a 5'x3' pane of glass has been placed into the southern wall.
  
  Exits lead to the southwest and through the door.
  
  "There should surely be some garlic here," I say to myself...
  
  Audrey and Gibs follow me.
  
  > Break glass
  But!! This is INNOCENT glass!
  
  > get trestle
  I can't take that.
  
  The sound is so soft, but I hear something brush up against the coffin walls. I... I can't bear to turn my head and look at what it is.
  
  > Go west
  The ceiling in this room is unique within the basement, as it is actually enough up where I don't have to hunch. At the top of the ceiling is a single, lit torch, held at a diagonal against the wall with a bracket. All available light is strongly reflected from the coffin, which sits quietly in the corner of the room. The walls are made out of a flecked brick, and a support beam stands to the right of the coffin.
  
  Exits are south towards the stairs and east into a tight alcove.
  The lid is here.
  
  The mummy exits the coffin.
  
  The mummy slowly begins to moan, seemingly within a weary, endless pain. It quickly shifts this to a scream. Its keen is of a deep tenor, and it begins thrashing about. Small scraps of deteriorating bandages fall from its person and onto the floor.
  
  The mummy strikes the support beam! Chunks of the ceiling fall downwards and it sounds as if the entire Mall has collapsed a little.
  
  The mummy attacks and hits me!
  
  I feel awful after that last touch.
  
  > hit the mummy with the stick
  I attack, but miss the mummy!
  
  The mummy attacks and hits me!
  
  > hit the torch with the stick
  I cruelly break the torch!
  
  > throw the menorah at the torch
  I knock the torch off of the bracket! The torch plummets to the ground, but on the way down it strikes the mummy! The mummy quickly catches fire and lets out a set of horrible screams. It begins to flail about wildly, but I'm able to stay out of its way. Within moments the fire consumes most of the mummy and I give the charred skeletal and bandage bits that are left a helpful kick.
  
  The mummy is reduced to extinguished, dusty chunks.
  
  > get the menorah
  I take it.
  
  There's a flash of pain right where the mummy first struck me.
  
  > examine the mummy
  It's covered in strips of treated linen, except for the face, which is exposed completely. The skin on its face is stretched tightly over the angular and hardened skull, which at one time, millennia ago, may have been handsome.
  
  It is dressed in dry, crisp rags that crackle with every movement. The rags look dusty, pained... without a hint of humidity and with no possibility of moisture.
  
  Modern myth indicates that mummies are riddled with diseases that cause a quick and painful rotting in their hosts.
  
  It  is dead.
  
  > get the mummy
  The mummy is too heavy for me to lift.
  
  > examine the mummy
  It's covered in strips of treated linen, except for the face, which is exposed completely. The skin on its face is stretched tightly over the angular and hardened skull, which at one time, millennia ago, may have been handsome.
  
  It is dressed in dry, crisp rags that crackle with every movement. The rags look dusty, pained... without a hint of humidity and with no possibility of moisture.
  
  Modern myth indicates that mummies are riddled with diseases that cause a quick and painful rotting in their hosts.
  
  It  is dead.
  
  There's a dull, raw ache on the left side of my jaw. I try to rub it away, but it doesn't help.
  
  > Go south
  This stretch of corridor is little more than a narrow, forgotten passageway. Soft earth makes up the floor, a distinct change from the cement seen to the south.
  
  > go south
  The temperature of the air down here in the basement is quite cold, probably no more than thirty degrees Fahrenheit. The ceiling is just over five feet high, and the walls have a very rough texture to them, as if they were blasted away and then poorly sanded.
  
  My right hand has started to throb, and I take a closer look at it -- it's starting to blacken a little bit. I suspect this is from the mummy.
  
  > Go upward
  The Nutrition Store is dominated by a series of five-foot high shelves that make up four distinct aisles. The walls are a sickly shade of green and contrast with the subdued nature of the shelves and all the jars of pills placed upon them.
  
  In the rear of the store is a modest wood counter and an ancient analog cash register. Even further, behind the counter and register, is a metal door.
  
  There is no front gate to the Nutrition Store, only a ten foot cut in the wall. The opening is not quite centered, however, and a 5'x3' pane of glass has been placed into the southern wall.
  Audrey and Gibs are here.
  
  "Jarret, are you okay? What happened down there?"
  
  "The mummy... it touched me," I say. It's tough to get the words out of my throat as it seems so dry and craggy.
  
  "Do you think -- " Audrey pauses for a sec -- "Did it infect you with something? Oh, goddess. Okay, let's find something to put on it. Something's got to help the pain."
  
  > go to the southwest
  The Food Court is a vast, open area, and I can only make out about half of it from here. (The entire west end is shrouded in darkness.)
  
  To the northeast is a Nutrition Store. The Court has another section to the west, and there is an exit east from where we originally came. A fluorescent light, a garbage can, a brown table, a short gray table, a plastic chair, a metal chair, a broken chair, and some chair parts are here.
  
  Audrey and Gibs follow me.
  
  Something roughly picks up a short gray table and throws it at me!
  
  A short gray table strikes me, and I take a little bit of damage.
  
  My hand has begun to rot away.
  
  > go east
  Mall, First Level, West Edge
  The area is free from the wreckage. Gibs, though is just standing up, completely motionless, facing the inky blackness that shrouds the Food Court from here. Casey is nowhere to be found.
  
  Audrey and Gibs follow me.
  
  > go east
  Mall, First Level, Central Corridor
  This stretch of the Mall hallway is covered with just a bit of rubble. There are clear exits to the west and south. The gate to the Record Store is down to the north.
  The cross is here.
  
  Audrey and Gibs follow me.
  
  The rotting sickness has spread to my body.
  
  > go to the east
  Mall, First Level, Eastern Edge
  This bit of hallway features an enormous and beautiful fountain. There are exits in all four primary compass directions.
  
  Audrey and Gibs follow me.
  
  > enter fountain
  Entered!
  
  Mall, First Level, Eastern Edge, in the fountain
  This bit of hallway features an enormous and beautiful fountain. There are exits in all four primary compass directions.
  Inside the fountain is some water. Audrey and Gibs are here.