I sighed. This was the third time this week someone decided to try their luck and rob the store. Oh sure, the fear was still there. What if this is the time they actually shoot me? But, after so many so close to each other, the fear is no longer in the front seat of his mind.
I furrowed my brow to keep it from shaking a bit, “Sir, you’ll want to see our neighbor store for this. They possess what you’re looking for.”
Now, this may be a bit of a long shot, but the guy hasn’t actually pulled a gun on me yet. This is still a secret between us, as the thinner man slid a card saying ‘this is a robbery’ over the counter. Plus, if he can screw over Ben, over in the Shell station, then the day may even be looking up!
The man paused, looked down at the card, then back up at me. The man frowns and taps the card again.
Shit. Didn’t work. At this point, I’m just buying time for security to get in here. It takes them a minute to get their weapons and out here, so just a bit longer now.
I shrugged, a light quiver crawling over my arms during the movement, “I’m sorry, Sir, but we don’t carry that product. The Shell station down the road a bit might, though.”
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The man frowns deeply, face contorting as he bares his teeth. His hand goes into his jacket.
My eyes widen as his hand pulls out the gun. I don’t know what kind of gun it is besides a pistol, but that’s all I need to know this is going south. Where’s Security?!
I start to duck away as I hear a door slam open, Paul, the Security guy runs out. Unfortunately, this startles the man trying to rob us, and when you combine poor trigger discipline with panic, well, what would be a stray shot, by some cosmic coincidence, nails me dead on.
As I fall, a hole through some part of my brain, I think. Probably not the best thing to do at that moment, but it’s what I did. I remember reading that if a person gets their head cut off, they have seven seconds to watch their life flash before their eyes while they bleed out and they really die. I thought back to my empty apartment, my mattress on the floor. My dog, Sal. My parents. My friends. All that suffering throughout my life, only to end on a footnote to a robbery gone wrong. It’s almost funny. I had plans to go to college to major in English. I always loved books. One of the few escapes from reality that I could really get swept up in. My body finally hits the floor, thankfully, the shock of it all should let me die in peace, of a sort. Oh well. You know, maybe I should have put more stock in religion.
A moment before I truly slip away, as I hear another gunshot and yelling, something pops into view.
Welcome to the System! Please stand by for assessment of the baseline Status.
The fuck…?
My eyesight fades…