Turning back to the man on the floor, I heard him exclaim again,
"I've always known this weakness would be the end of me!"
'Wait, what weakness?'
"This weakness would prevent me from fulfilling my duty!"
'Is there any duty that has to be fulfilled in the cinema? Apart from having a nice time? I don't know of any...'
"I am a warrior!"
'Huh!'
Turning to my side, I immediately grasped Anna by the arm.
"We need to leave here, now!"
Anna still had tears in her eyes from laughing so hard. I didn't even know when she stopped looking amused and started laughing. Taking a closer look at her, I realized she had been laughing for a while now and I had failed to notice when she started — which had never happened before because the sound of her laughter is so melodic to my ears that I am always aware of it. The fact that she had been laughing so hard without me noticing is a sign that every cell in my body is no longer comfortable here.
With a playful smile on her face, she studied my face and burst into another round of laughter.
"Okay, Anna, your laughter might be melodious enough to put even the heavenly angels to shame. But this really isn't the time."
"Why are you looking all panicky and jumpy? Jeez! I've never seen you this terrified. Look around you, people are really enjoying his theatrics."
Just as I was about to refute her claim, she added,
"I feel like the man is the appetizer we get before we get served the main dish. Let him entertain us before the movie comes on."
Looking around me, I noticed most people were now openly making mockery of the man. A huge sense of bewilderment overcame me as I said at the top of my voice,
"Am I the only one harboring suspicions here? He just said he has a duty to carry out and called himself a warrior! I don't know about you guys, but I'm definitely not waiting to find out the kind of duty a warrior hesitates to carry out!"
Tightening my grasp on Anna, I jumped to my feet.
"We're leaving."
Abruptly, she stopped laughing. She wanted to protest, but upon seeing the seriousness in my countenance, she decided against it, then quietly nodded.
"If that's what you want."
Still holding onto her arm, I pulled her up while she simultaneously grabbed her bag. I was walking briskly to the entrance before the muscular man called my attention.
"Hey, skinny chap! Why are you in a hurry? Don't let his ranting get to you, he's just one man."
He turned his head to the bearded man, smiled mockingly, and continued,
"I don't know anything about warriors, but I'm certain they don't bawl their eyes out in public like a two-year-old throwing a tantrum."
Looking away from the man, he stared at me with his arms folded. A haughty expression overtook his face.
"Do you want my candid advice? Ignore this riffraff and enjoy what you came here for."
As I locked eyes with the muscular guy, I briefly regretted not succumbing to the urge to ignore him when he beckoned to me.
"Hefty chap, thanks for your concern, but—"
"No one is leaving!"
Everyone in the room turned their attention to the source of the declaration.
"Huh!"
A blonde-haired woman laughed loudly, scanned the room, and laughed more before quoting the bearded man.
"You just said you were exercising your right to movement. Why are you denying ours? You're not just unwell but also a demented fool!"
The bearded man gave a self-deprecating laugh. He shook his head slowly while whispering something only he could hear. In the blink of an eye, he went to his feet and took off his top.
Strapped on his body like survival kits a soldier or boy scout would take with him to the forest were explosives. This man was never short and stocky. He was just short. The stockiness came from having bombs strapped around him.
'I thought we were thoroughly searched before entering the mall?'
Logically speaking, it should be impossible for a person to come in this well equipped. There are two possibilities. It's either the securities in charge of searching customers collaborated with him, or during those times he was going to the restroom he was going there to strap them on. If he was going there to get the explosives, someone must have already left them there. So either way, he had an accomplice.
However, if he was strapping himself and coming back in, the muscular guy must have been noticing the difference in his stockiness. If there is one thing muscular guys are good at, it's noticing people's muscle growth. The fact that he said nothing means he noticed nothing, and the fact that he noticed nothing means the stockiness was brought in all the way from the entrance.
'Damn, we were played.'
Thinking deeply of it now, the commotion we've been making should have attracted some of the security officials, but still we haven't seen any.
'This was a coordinated attack. Can't believe I once thought the procedures for safety were getting unnecessary.'
Taking a closer look at the strap, I realized they are the kind that explode on a smaller scale. I'm already closer to the entrance. Maybe if I run pulling Anna behind me, we might be able to make it out injured but not dead. Suddenly, moving at a speed unfit for his size, the bearded man jumped towards the front row seats. I immediately hastened my movement towards the entrance, roughly pulling Anna — who was behind me, making attempts to run.
Noticing I might not make it out of the entrance with Anna holding me back, I decided to take a quick glance at her in order to motivate her to move quicker.
Stealing a quick glance behind me, I unexpectedly saw the bearded man already landing from his jump to the front. The wide room was already in chaos. Almost everyone was trying to use the exit doors, while a few, with horror and fear all over them, were also approaching the entrance doors. The bearded man had already at some point pulled out a detonator prior to his jumping.
Hoping to quicken Anna, I was greeted by the sight of the short bearded man landing clumsily from his absurd leap. Smiling devilishly, he eagerly pressed the detonator in his left hand.