No Safety In Numbers Summary

Boredom is usually felt when there is nothing to do. But can this situation be inside of a mall? Well some people may say that they are never bored, or they are always bored at the mall. But one’s perspective on boredom in a mall can change if one is stuck in the mall for over seven days. “No Safety in Numbers” written by Dayna Lorentz shows that being stuck in the mall can be not only boring but dangerous at the same time. The four protagonists, Shay, Marco, Ryan, and Lexi all have their own story to tell inside of the mall. On Saturday morning, a bomb was found attached to the air vents which caused chaos to occur in the mall. The senator at the time requested that the mall was quarantined to make sure that the bomb did not affect anyone

First of all, the biochemical bomb proved that the biggest enemy is not always on the outside but can be hidden on the inside. The bomb was hidden a ventilation compartment in the parking garage. Later, they found out that it released a chemical through the vents and is circulating around the mall. “On the first floor, as they passed the main entrance, Shay noticed that the windowed doors were now blocked by concrete barriers and that sand bags were being laid against the glass” (Lorentz 41) to protect the deadly bomb in case of explosion. When the citizens were trapped inside of the mall, they all thought that there was something outside that was preventing them from leaving the building, but it was actually the bomb inside that was keeping the people in. This shows that the enemy (bomb) was actually hidden on the inside. Even though the senator knew about the bomb, it was hidden to stop chaos from happening. Hence leading the citizens to diligently find their way out. In addition to the bomb being a key symbol, the mall itself was an important symbol. The mall represented a wall dividing people who were on the inside of the mall and society outside. It was like a prison, the people inside had no idea what was happening. Furthermore, the people on the outside did not know what was happening either. One of the protagonists stuck in the mall wanted to get out as fast as he could, “But no, the security situation had to shut down the mall and here he was, stuck with the emo kids between racks of studded collars, fake leather pants, and T-shirts” (Lorentz 23). The mall created a barrier between civilization and people inside of the mall. People were very unhappy when they heard the news but it did not know the reasoning behind it. But due to the feeling of being trapped, people started to question the senator and her decisions. The trapped