After the virus hits and ninety-nine percent of humanity is relegated to compost, there will be a few enterprising survivors combing through the wasteland doing what we’ve always done for millions of years – survive.

There is a strange fascination in viewing a world whereby we no longer reside. I have no idea why we like to see our abandoned buildings litter the countryside like long forgotten tombstones. On a personal note, it is deeply painful to see a place you love go apocalyptic. My college closed after two hundred years and visiting the campus not to long ago felt like I myself were a wanderer from the wastes.

That said, it is quite interesting to see other places dilapidated from time and neglect. Science fiction website io9 has posted a photographic montage that shows our malls in various states of decay. From a destroyed KFC to an overgrown parking lot — these are places you do not want to go without your trusty twelve gauge at your side. There might be zombies in the ruins. Or even worse, other people.

The Retail Ruins of America’s Ghost Malls (io9.com <- new window)