I hadn't seen him sitting there before when I came in for my morning coffee. He sat there, legs crossed, reading some polish novel. His shoes were colored an odd red, his tie an even grey. I locked sight on him as I walked passed him towards the Quick Stop on Duckner St. As I reached the door, he evenly tilted his head up from his book and nodded to me. I thought he was lost at first. Why would such an odd character be seated in front of a normal store such as the Quick Stop on Duckner. I wondered if anybody inside knew who he was. I doubted it. So I stood there with my hand of the handle of the door pausing for a second, snarling at what I saw. I saw that his fingernails were cleanly cut. His hair had been freshly cut which pleasantly laid to rest on the collar of his black coat. His shoe laces were evenly tied. He dabbed his lit cigarette with care. Something was wrong here. Not long before my surveying of this unlikely customer of the Quick Stop of Duckner Street, Evan, owner of the Quick Stop, yelled to me from inside. "Hey boy, it's says PULL, not PUSH.' I slipped out of my concentration. I swung the door open to hear a piecing ring above the door. 'Ah jeez, whats with that crap Ev?' I tilt in pain gripping my ringing ears. Evan chuckles 'I kinda like it.' I shake it off and walk into the Quick Stop.
The Quick Stop doesn't have much, but the people inside it serve as the reason I keep coming back. Its been here for 6 years now and has been on a steady decline ever since its doors opened. The smell of the place is quite comforting. It was once explained by a disturbed first time customer as smelling like a dead cow wrapped in a burning rug. I didn't understand it but it sounded right. It's a homey store. Right where we belong. I start to my left where the front windows are, when I see a good friend scurry across the floor. 'Hey Rattus!' He looked well groomed today, something was different in his stride. 'Aye pal! Nice to smell ya! Samantha's doin her thing again' Samantha, another regular, comes to the Quick Stop to play the jukebox and memorize the info on the albums. I chuckle as I glance at Samantha across the store then back to Rattus. 'Has she... You better stay out of it this time Rus.' Samantha has always had an odd talent. She described it vaguely one morning, saying she can feel and alter power sources. We all shrugged it off as some experience she once had in the 60's... She's a solid chick though.
I passed the magazine shelf that lay across the front wall. I usually take a look at whats new but today I had a different item in mind. Bullets. Thankfully Evan was able to pick them up from a local supplier. I couldn't find any decent stores on Duckner St that could supply me with my need. Many letdowns when living in such a small town. I neared the end of the isle when I notice the back of the freezer doors resemble a red tint. I saw her precious feet sit snug into bright red high heels through the glass. She wears them well. Her milk white colored legs travel far and dense up into a burgundy skirt that rests calmly against her upturned hip. 'Hey Gabby.' She smiles at my request for her attention. 'Hiya doll, how are you?' I look up and down once more to collect the moment. 'Im alright, bit hungry. But puttin' along. How's the freeze treating you?' The freezer, her favorite spot, is lined with sale slogans for drinks all over the glass. Her upper half is covered by a bud light stamp that she placed there for a mysterious effect,my favorite freezer girl. 'The Boondocks of this spot always keep my calm inatct.' She lands a wink and slowly closes her eyes to her default pose.
The sight is inspiring but I'm quickly pulled from my concentration by Willy, he's been her since the opening as well. Every day I find him in front of the muffin tray seeking the perfect one to eat yet never finds it. He screams 'I've found it! My thoughts can finally rest!' He startles Evan who looks up then shakes it off. I had forgotten it was Wednesday, the day Willy usually comes close to finding the one. Such an intimate seeker of the perfect muffin. I've learned much from him. I learned how to pick the perfect car. A 1998 red Chevrolet Minivan-Pickup with the speakers blown out, hub caps tossed, steering wheel torn to bits with one side mirror. A perfect fit for the Duckner St asylum. I turn down isle 4 toward the middle of the store and find what I've been looking for. What I came here in the first place for. Sweet British Mark Sevens. They roast the best, slide down the pipe the best and release the best. I spot a big 7 on a white box on the middle shelf, just about to tip over the lip. I grabbed a full case of British Mark 7 .303, Full Metal Jacket. They are the ones that go down easier.
As I hold them in my hand the lights in the store growl a quick dim. Then again. They start to return with a pace that suceeds the normal brightness. They start to squeal with electricty. 'Damnit Samantha! I told you, stop screwing around with my lights!' With my reward right in front of me, my attention squints towards the front of the store. Evan has Samantha suspended in the air by her throat with his hand. She's hysterically laughing. Tears run down her cheeks. The lights dim again. I see Rus run through the isle towards the front where they are. Willy, gripping tight his muffin, never loses concentration of his catch. Rus gains the center of the floor. He gazes up at Evans strength, Samantha's shaking body in Evan's grip, 'That damn fool, she's gotten better ya know.' Rattus seemed scared at what he knew could happen yet contempt with what he saw, what he had been waiting for. Both Evan's physical strength and Samantha's mental strength can give quite a show when challenged. Nobody knows why she does it but she loves to press Evan on his poor wiring throughout the store.
Chuckling, Samantha struggles but whispers 'I can't change your strength darling.' Evan smiles with pride. His arm, popping with bloody veins, slowly lowers Samantha towards the ground. Her feet catch the tiled floor yet Evan's grip holds tight. 'My lights dim again without me touching a switch, you'll need Ruttas here to change your diapers hourly. Understand?' Samantha's grin slowly changes from a giggle to a thwarting stare. The lights in their sockets above us all being to vibrate in a impressive fashion. The light above the bathroom towards the back suddenly breaks from the ceiling, crashing to the floor. Two placed over the magazine windows crash to the tiles underneath, turning the whole isle dark. Evan growls, Samantha's throat still in the spectacular grasp of Evan's hand , 'I will devour every bone.' The light above me explodes with such force it blasts me to the floor. Bullets everywhere. I can't hear anything. I can see Rus still gazing up, his fearless gaze has gotten him into trouble before but this time, he doesn't have a choice, he must see. I scramble back to my knees from my back and start to crawl towards the front. My knees press hard into bullets lying on the ground, my hands show blood streaming down from my arm from somewhere I cannot identify. The lights that follow me down the isle continue to vibrate and explode one by one. I am yelling at full force. I drop to the front of the isle. My forgotten senses from the explosions rush to me in an instant. Loud forceful screeches of electricity blind my sight with bursts of sparks flowing from the ceiling. Samantha's body has risen several feet over us. Evan has unhinged his jaw in preparation. His neck has grown two feet in diameter. The complexion of his skin is unrecognizable. Samantha lets out a demonic howl that turns her eyes blood shot red. Her hair has frozen in sight, stretched out towards the heavens. I can no longer hear, see or feel. The sounds and sights coming from the front of the store has truly crippled me. All reality is lost.
Only my mind is compatible with this mess. I remind myself of Gabby. She must be dumbfounded with terror; in total anguish of this happening, trying to contemplate everything with no comprehension of what is going on through the glass. I turn around and crawl down the isle. I search my front, waiting for the numb touch of the freezer doors. I can feel the ground thundering through my knees and the palms of my hands. Gabby must be close. I reach an opening and gather the freezer doors are close. I turn to the left and reach far out in front of me. I feel soft skin, rich silky, soft skin. It is Gabby. She's crawled out of her door and fell to the ambush of events. I push myself towards her to shield her from the hot searing sparks coming from the ceiling. I can feel her racing heart pounding against my chest as I hold her. Everything happening around me settles into madness. Vision lost. Hearing Lost. Everything is lost. I can no longer provide meaning nor reasoning from what's happening. Samantha and Evan have lost their bearings. They have finally met their ends. It has always come close but never this close.
I suddenly hear the ring for the front door. Silence. It stops all action within the store. I open my eyes to a tiled floor littered by bags of chips, vitamin bottles, soda bottles and bullets. I feel Gabby holding me tight. Who is it? I find my knees and start to gather Gabby to hers. I pull her up and she's heard it too. We both look down the isle, afraid to look further. We both find our feet and slowly peer over the shelf of cookies towards the front door. The man in the black coat has entered. The man takes a few steps into the store and softly asks, 'Sorry to disturb you but, would you happen to know the time?' . I see the man has an average height, slim, medium build. He has an average chin, neck line, ear shape and eye shape. Willy looks up from his muffin towards the far wall which holds a clock. Blinking tenderly '3:45P.M. Sir.' The odd man surveys the store which has surrendered all normalcy, groceries scatters every inch of the tile, some isle separations have fallen over, an angered man with his large arm and jaw controlling the body of a girl who's fiery red hair sways in the breeze coming in from the opened door. His scan of the store stops at the front, down towards the floor. A rat scurries towards him a few steps. 'Is that all?' The man smirks at the greased rat and evenly nods. 'That'll be all, Good day.' The man turns and leaves the store continuing his stride down Duckner Street. Rus turns to Evan and Samantha who haven't moved an inch in shock, Willy and his muffin, Me and Gabby and shrugs, 'What a creep huh?'
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