• A lone ringing of the doorbell in my apartment woke me that day. As I tumbled out of bed and passed the hallway mirror, I happened to catch a glance in the reflection there: A young asian woman, tall in height and athletic. Her naturally black hair had been bleached a dark brown from too many hours in the pool and the sun. A lifeguard. An athelete. A night owl. Not a morning person. But, I was an undercover cop.

    Currently, I was working under the name of Niley Jung, a mall employee at a jewelry kiosk. There had been some complications with the mall cops as to a series of pickpockets, robbers and even a mugging. And even if it was a minor case, I accepted it.

    My tousel of dark, tangled locks had already been tied up in a messy bun by the time I'd reached the door. No makeup, I realized, but it was too late. I had already swung the door open. There stood the UPS guy. I was fully clad in my baggy shirt and shorts, thankful for them at the moment.

    "G'morning!" I managed to chirp out, one hand rising to shield my sensitive eyes from the sun; I wasn't even wearing my glasses so I could barely make out any definite shapes.

    "Jung?" He barked, his callous words stinging the serenity of the morning air around us. Suddenly, I realized that he had said my last name, and was in turn thrusting a small brown package at me. A package that had been addressed to me as simply 'Jung', not my first name.

    I took the package in one hand a smiled softly in my tiredness, "Thanks." He asked for my signature, which I gave, and he left.

    As soon as he had left, I grew curious as to what the box contained. I glanced at the clock to see if I had enough time to indulge in the present and get ready for work; it was 6:50. I had to get ready for work. And since I worked at the mall, I had to arrive earlier to prepare.

    Soon enough, I had dressed in my work jeans and a simple shirt. My hair had been curled and slight makeup applied. It was a Thursday, not that much of a busy day at the mall. I was prepared for a slow, dragging, uneventful full-time shift. My black heels clacked hard against the pavement as I made my way to my car.

    Within thirty minutes, I arrived at the mall and unlocked the kiosk where I worked. I glanced around, waving hello to the fellow employees within the area where I stood; Meagan at the Coach(c) Store and Christian at the SunGlass Hut (c).

    Everyone seemed to be in a good mood. Perhaps it was best that I tried my best not to be pessimistic as well. I unveiled the kiosk, arranged the jewelry pieces so that it would be appealing to the customers. I pulled the lone chair to me and then sat, waiting for customers to walk into the vicinity.

    The store had opened at ten, and it was now twelve. I had not been able to sell a single penny. In the meantime, I had bought breakfast and coffee, leisurely waving at the other mall employees.

    By 4:00, I had sold my margin and was chatting away with Meagan, relishing in the latest fashions. Then, I made my way back to the kiosk and sat, reading a book for some time.

    Without realizing how much time had passed, I paused to take a stretch, hopping off the high chair as I reached up, yawning.

    Suddenly, there was a shrill, blood-curling scream that echoed throughout the mall. "What was that?" "What happened?" A number of voices arose throughout the tense air.

    "A murderer! He's out to get all of us! A monster of a man!" A person screamed repeatedly as he ran past me, his face livid and frightened at the same time.

    "Oh my gosh. What you suppose happened?" Meagan called to me as I was still trying to find who had caused the usually loud building to shush within an instant. I grabbed my purse and my sweater, a steady expression on my face, calming my frayed nerves. The scream was still reverbrating off the walls.

    I glanced at Meagan, painting my face so that it would mirror her worried one, "I have no idea. I guess maybe a murder?" I gasped in between sentences, adding a more dramatic effect. I usually would rush to the scene, but that would be too risky.

    "Why don't we go down there?" Meagan suggested, her curiosity winning over. The shock of red hair complimenting her blush as she admitted that she was indeed curious.

    "I'm a bit scared, but I'm curious too." I managed to laugh, I followed her as she started to walk towards the area where the scream had originated from. It was a bit of a far walk, but I could tell that her imagination was running wild with possibilities.

    When we arrived, we could never have possibly imagined anything like what we encountered.