“Bye!” Lynn’s manager, Tom yelled as he walked through the glass doors of his variety store.
“Bye” Lynn said, her voice trailing to silence.
She watched Tom get into his truck and drive away. The sound of his voice repeated over in her head as she looked around the empty variety store. The silence rang in her ears and a shiver ran down her spine.
She’d always hated this part of the job. She’d never liked the night shifts, the loneliness and silence were sometimes too much to handle. But each night she was called to work, she came without argument, she needed the money.
Tom was a good sort though, he really cared for how she felt and made sure she didn’t have much to do on her night shifts. He’d always made sure all the work had been done during the day, so her only task was to stay awake and guard the front desk.
Lynn glanced at her watch, it was 8:05 p.m.
“6 more hours,” she said out loud, breaking the silence of the empty store.
She never could understand why someone was always required to be at the store until 2 in the morning. Not many people came in that late at night, and those who did only ever came in for a bottle of coke or cigarettes. If she didn’t know any better, they could wait until morning.
Either way, she had to stay so she sat down behind the register and pulled out her book.
The bells at the door rang and Lynn looked up from her book. There was an elderly man standing inside the door. He looked scared and shocked, maybe because there was no one else there, or maybe because of the loud noise the door made when he opened it.
“It’s alright, we’re open, come in,” Lynn said,
“Oh, thank you, I...uh… thought you were closed.”
“No, we’re open until 2 in the morning,” Lynn responded, hoping he would stay a while.
“You are staying until 2?” The man asked surprised. He still hadn’t taken a step from the doorway.
“Yeah, I’ll be here,”
“Oh… Well I need to pick up some things for my grandkids, they’re coming in the morning. What do kids like?” He asked.
“Candy,” Lynn replied, standing up and leading him to the shelf that was filled with candy.
“Thanks,” He said, picking up a few things. He carried them all to the register and handed them to Lynn. He hadn’t taken very long and Lynn was a little disappointed, however she rang everything in and gave him his purchases.
“Have fun, until 2,” He told her winking, “I don’t know how you stay awake, I’m already to go to bed and it’s only 8:45!”
She laughed and waved as he walked towards his car. She pulled out her book and wished someone else would walk in, and take a little longer.
***
The bell at the front door rang and Lynn was brought back to reality. She looked up from the book she was immersed in and was face-to-face with an evil looking man.
“W-hat c-c-c-an I d-d-o for you?” Lynn stuttered.
He pulled his hand from the large pocket of his ugly black jacket and displayed a gun. With one quick movement, he held the gun against Lynn’s head. He smiled again, and very calmly said, “Give me the money… Or else…”
Lynn looked into his eyes and fought back tears. She couldn’t give him any money; she knew that the money was Tom’s only hope for survival.
“Did you hear me? I said give me the money!” the man said less calmly.
Lynn tried to run, but she couldn’t. It was as if her feet were glued to the floor and she could only stand still. So she tried to talk, but her voice was mute, she couldn’t say anything.
The man pressed the gun hard against Lynn’s head. She could feel the cold metal pushing into her skull. “You do know that the bullet is going to make a whole in your head?” The man laughed
Lynn nodded.
“Do you want that?”
Lynn shook her head and whispered, “Don’t kill me.”
“Then give me the fucking money you idiot! How dumb can you be? Just give me the money… All of it… and I won’t kill you, I’ll leave.”
“I can’t.”
“Then I’ll pull the fucking trigger. The whole town will mourn for you and you’ll know that you can stop all their pain by just giving me the money NOW!” He screamed at her.
“Don’t kill me!” Lynn said more forcefully.
The man threw down the gun in frustration.
“I will kill you, give me what I want… NOW!”
Lynn glanced at the gun still laying on the floor and debated on picking it up, but she left it alone and hoped someone would walk in right now.
The man walked around the counter and stood right in front of her. He gave her one punch across the face that made her want to cry. She could feel her nose begin to bleed and reached for a tissue, but his hand grabbed hers and pushed her backward. He twisted her wrist and she slapped him, but that just got him angrier. He reached for her pocket, but she guarded it knowing that held the key of the safe, which held the money he wanted so badly.
“Are you still sure you don’t want to make it easy and give me the money now?” He whispered into her ear.
“You are not getting any money,” Lynn said sternly.
He punched her again and she fell to the ground clutching her stomach.
“Oh did that hurt baby?” He asked, “Well, the bullet is going to hurt a lot more than that did, don’t you know?”
She couldn’t talk.
He kneeled down and began kissing her viciously. She tried to push him backward but she had no strength.
“Stop” she tried to say, but she couldn’t get the word out.
He undid her belt and pulled down her jeans. She grabbed his hand and twisted it, making him yell in pain.
“What the fuck is wrong with you, young lady?” He said and punched her in the face, causing her nose to bleed more and she bit her lip so hard it started bleeding too.
“Look at what you did to yourself, you’re such a bloody mess”
He kissed her again, his saliva mixing with her blood and tears.
He undid his own pants and pulled them off saying, “You don’t know what you’re in for.”
He ripped her underwear off and did the same to his. She closed her eyes and wished it would all just disappear, but he was still there.
He leaned down, beginning with a kiss, then biting her lip harder than she had herself.
She screamed in pain and he pushed himself into her.
“Stop screaming you idiot,” He said covering her mouth with his hand. She bit hard, but that made him punch her in the face once again.
He moved around inside her to his own satisfaction. She lay there lifelessly, not sure what to do next.
When he finally withdrew, she sighed.
“Oh, it’s not over.” He got up and walked around the counter. He picked up the gun he threw and came back to her. She laid there naked and lifeless and wondered if he was going to kill her right then and there.
He held the gun at her head and pushed himself inside her once again.
“Do you want me to pull the trigger?” he asked as she felt him come.
“no,” she mumbled, but she wasn’t sure. It was already bad enough, how could she tell Tom or her parents.
Satisfied, he withdrew again, “Well then maybe you should give me the money?” He said.
“No,” she said, still thinking of Tom.
He punched her, her head slamming against the cold floor of the store.
“Fuck!” She screamed.
He punched her even harder in her stomach and she screamed out loud, until the pain silenced her.
“That’ll do it,” he laughed, “for now…”
He reached for her pants and dug his hand into the small pocket. She held her breath, wondering if the key was still there. When he came out empty handed, she breathed a sigh of relief and assumed it had probably fallen somewhere.
He grabbed the gun again and held it at her head, “Give me the money!”
“I’ve given you enough,” She told him, then she thought more of it and shut up.
He shoved his hand into the pocket of her sweater and came out holding something shiny, she groaned in defeat.
“I found it,” He said, as if she hadn’t already figured that out.
He got up, leaving the gun sitting beside her and walked toward the safe.
She picked up the gun and aimed it towards his back. Her finger found the trigger and debated whether to pull it.
Just as she was about to pull the trigger, the man turned around and stared at her coldly.
He dropped the key, breaking the silence and began walking towards her.
Lynn closed her eyes and held her breath as she started to pull the trigger. She pulled as hard as she could, but it wouldn’t budge and no bullet went flying. She opened her eyes in surprise and he was standing right in front of her.
She kept the gun aimed at him and tried with all the strength she had left, but it still wouldn’t budge.
When he was close enough, he grabbed the gun out of her hand, “You thought you could kill me, didn’t you?” He laughed, “You’re such an idiot.”
She stayed silent and prayed he wouldn’t kill her after what she’d tried.
“Do you want to know how it really works?” He asked her,
“no”
“Too bad!” He roared, the sound echoing throughout the store.
He held the gun up to her head, “any last words?”
She let one lone tear fall down her cheek and wished she could tell her family she loved them, one last time. She wondered who would find her and what they would do. She wondered who would tell her parents and what they would do. She wondered who would attend her funeral and who would give a speech. She wondered who would cry. She wondered who would care.
“I said any last words?” He screamed, interrupting her thoughts.
“no” She whispered, not wanting to say what she was thinking.
“Good. Do you believe in God? He can’t save you this time. Even the angels looking over you can’t, it’s all in my hands.” He said.
She nodded her head and tried to grab for the gun helplessly. He punched her again and put the gun back into aim at the side of her head.
“The end” He said and he pulled the trigger.
***
There were tears running down her face and her heart was racing.
‘Just a dream’ Lynn told herself breathlessly over and over, ‘just a dream’
© 2009 Bailey Thompson
Author's Note: This story came to me very randomly but for some reason I felt the need to write it. In a conversation, my Dad mentioned a girl who was murdered in a variety store when he was younger. Immediately, I said, I'm going to write about that! and I did!