- Elaine Dang was at Nairobi's Westgate mall during last month's terror attack
- She was injured; at least 67 people were killed
- Dang moved away from the crowd, pretended to be dead
- She says the attack strengthened her love for Kenya
(CNN) -- Elaine Dang pretended to be dead, and maybe because she did, she is alive to tell her story.
She survived last month's terror attack at Nairobi's Westgate mall. At least 67 people were killed during the four-day siege.
Amid the chaos, Dang, 26, an American expat, said she managed to keep her wits.
"In my head I was thinking, like there needs to be an answer to this. So for me, it was like, this is not it. I need to keep on thinking and find a way out," she told CNN's Anderson Cooper during an interview that aired Wednesday night.
Relatives of Johnny Mutinda Musango, 48, weep after identifying his body at the city morgue in Nairobi, Kenya, on Tuesday, September 24. Musango was one of the victims of the Westgate Mall hostage siege. Kenyan security forces were still combing the mall on the fourth day of the siege by al Qaeda-linked terrorists. 
Ann Gakii reacts at the Nairobi City Mortuary after identifying the body of her father, who was killed in the mall attack on Saturday. 
A Kenyan soldier runs through a corridor on an upper floor at the Westgate Shopping Mall in Nairobi, Kenya, on September 24, shortly before an explosion was heard. Sounds of heavy gunfire erupted from the mall Tuesday, even as authorities said they had the building under their control. But four days after Al-Shabaab terrorists stormed the swanky mall, several gunmen -- including snipers -- were still inside, two senior officials said. 
Kenyan Defense Forces walk near the mall on Monday, September 23. 
Kenyan Defense Forces leave the mall on September 23. 
Stephen, center, is comforted by relatives as he waits for the post mortem exam of his father, who was killed in Saturday's attack at the mall. 
A Kenyan police officer guards the entrance of a building near the mall on September 23. 
A Kenyan security officer takes cover as gunfire and explosions are heard from the mall on September 23. 
Heavy smoke rises from the Westgate Shopping Mall on September 23. 
Medics take cover behind a tree as gunfire and explosions are heard from the Westgate Mall on September 23. 
A Kenyan police security officer runs for cover as heavy smoke rises from the mall on September 23. 
A paramedic runs for cover outside the mall on September 23. 
People run for cover outside the mall after heavy shooting started on September 23. 
Kenyan security forces crouch behind a wall outside the mall on September 23. 
Soldiers take cover after gunfire near the mall on September 23. 
Kenyan paramilitary police officers patrol the area near the mall on Sunday, September 22. 
Soldiers from the Kenya Defense Forces arrive outside the Westgate Mall on September 22. 
A woman shields a baby as a soldier stands guard inside the Westgate Mall on Saturday, September 21. 
A rescue worker helps a child outside the mall. 
People who had been hiding inside the mall during the gunfire flee the scene. 
An armed official takes a shooting position inside the mall. 
An armed official crouches on September 21. 
Bodies lie on the ground inside the mall. 
Men help a wounded woman outside the mall. 
Officials carry an injured man in the mall. 
Soldiers move up stairs inside the Westgate Mall. 
Armed police leave after entering the mall. At least one suspect has been killed, a government official said. Police have said another suspected gunman has been detained at a Nairobi hospital. 
Armed police take cover behind escalators as smoke fills the air. Witnesses say tear gas was thrown in the corridors. 
A woman who had been hiding during the attack runs for cover after armed police enter the mall. 
A body is seen on the floor inside the smoke-filled four-story mall. 
An injured person is helped on arrival at the Aga Khan Hospital in Nairobi after the attack at the upscale mall. 
A soldier directs people up a stairway inside the Westgate on September 21. 
An injured man is wheeled into the Aga Khan Hospital in Nairobi. 
People run from the Westgate Mall. 
A Kenyan woman is helped to safety after the masked gunmen stormed the upscale mall and sprayed gunfire on shoppers and staff. 
Crowds gather outside the upscale shopping mall. The interior ministry urges Kenyans to keep off the roads near the mall so police can ensure everyone inside has been evacuated to safety. 
A policeman carries a baby to safety. Authorities said multiple shooters were at the scene. 
Bodies lie outside the shopping mall. 
A security officer helps a wounded woman outside. 
Elaine Dang of San Diego is helped to safety after the attack. The military asked local media not to televise anything live because the gunmen are watching the screens in the mall. 
Paramedics treat an injured man outside the mall. 
Medical personnel carry a body away. 
A body lies outside the mall. Gunmen shot people outside the mall as they entered it 
A woman is pulled by a shopping cart to an ambulance. 
A wounded man is escorted outside the mall. 
A police officer carries a baby as people keep low and run to safety. Crowds dashed down the streets as soldiers in military fatigues, guns cocked, crawled under cars to get closer to the mall. 
People run away from the scene. 
Armed Kenyan forces take position to secure the area around the shopping mall as ambulances move in to carry the injured. 
A woman reacts after she is rescued from the mall. 
A couple flee the area. As night fell, authorities said they had cornered the gunmen in the mall. 
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Photos: Kenya mall attack 
What did Westgate mean to Kenyans? 
Video shows gunmen inside Kenya mall 
This photo taken Friday, September 27, shows the scene at the Dormans coffee shop on the ground floor of the Westgate Shopping Mall in Nairobi, Kenya, days after an attack and siege left 67 people dead. Click through to see images of the mall after the four-day siege. 
Bottles and dishes sit in the Artcaffe restaurant and coffee shop on the ground floor of the mall. 
Forensic investigators work on the ground floor of the mall. 
Wallets and purses sit on tables inside the Artcaffe restaurant and coffee shop. 
Debris is scattered around the FoneXpress computer shop. Photos: Westgate Mall after the carnage "I said, this cannot be it."
Dang was at a children's cooking competition when militants stormed the mall on September 21. She heard screaming and what sounded like distant booms.
One of the presenters from the competition told everyone to run to the parking lot. At first, Dang followed, but then she stopped.
"My instinct said, don't go with the crowd, move away from the crowd because the crowd is going to be the most vulnerable place. And so I actually moved away and hid behind one of the silver kitchen counters," she said.
Kenya identifies mall attackers, including American
Dang fell on top of a woman and then people fell on top of her. The shooting continued.
At one point, the woman screamed, "I've been shot!" and blood flowed onto the floor.
At another point, Dang saw a friend stand up and raise his arms, as if to surrender. She readied herself to do the same.
But before Dang could stand up, another woman did. That woman was shot.
Dang stayed down.
Zain Verjee: I can't get image of Westgate bodies out of my mind
After a gas canister blew up, she ran to another counter where a couple was hiding. Both the man and his wife had been shot.
Dang thought she had been too, though later she found out she was struck by shrapnel.
"I remember her looking at me and saying, 'Are we going to die?' It was actually the first time when I was thinking to myself, I think we are. And I told her, 'I think we are going to,'" Dang said.
Thoughts of her family -- her brother, sister and mother -- raced through her head.
She laid still and pretended to be dead.
After a while, a man walked by and told Dang that people were going downstairs. She followed them to a lobby area, where the doors were open and people were running out.
"I don't hear gunshots so I'm thinking this is safe. So I start going," Dang said.
Moments immediately after that were captured by photographers and broadcast around the world. In the images, Dang is seen dazed, holding a phone, with blood streaked across her face.
"I talk about it, like, sometimes like I'm very removed from the situation, but when I see the photograph and other photos of victims or people that I knew, that's when I realize I was there," she told Cooper, her voice breaking with emotion.
In spite of the attack, Dang said that she still considers Kenya her second home and hopes to go back. The University of California, Berkeley, graduate worked as the general manager for Eat Out Kenya.
"If anything it's increased the love that I have for the country," she said.
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