Invasions and Accusations

Craggy the cashier yawned.  Nearly midnight. It was his own fault, really.  Thought he could still take working overtime as a business owner despite in his fading age, and gather some more money by staying open twenty-four hours a day.  Yet all he had done was attract oddballs (or how he referred to them to his wife) to walk into his store.

 Craggy watched as a rather gracious young lady trying to enter paused and held open the door for a rude and suspicious character.  She’d acted out of pure courtesy, but her smile weltered like a dead flower as the man stormed inside.  This odd individual had a gaunt-like face, torn jeans, a graying coat, and filthy, worn-out shoes that, from the looks of them, almost deserved pity.  Craggy peered at the man, slightly curious to say the least, and, now knowing who had entered his shop, resumed his work.  He cleaned the counter while watching the security cameras on the television screen he had perched to the right on his check-out desk.  The usual motley lot, thought Craggy dully.  He discreetly watched the screen showing the cranky man grabbing four six pack beer holders from the drink aisle and making his way to the check-out desk.  Craggy, realizing this tore his gaze away from the television screen to find the man staring at him. 

“So you’re Craggy?”  The customer was picking his nose and pointing at the name tag staked into the table.

“What’s that? Oh, erm, yes, that’s what my friends call me…” muttered a flustered Craggy.

“Funny things, aren’t they,” the man jabbed a finger toward the screen, “Those TVs see everything.”

“Quite… well… going to a party, I see?”

“Not really. More a pick-me-up is how I consider it, but either way I get it free.”  Before Craggy could have interpreted the words, the man had drawn a Glock pistol, flicked off the safety, and fired. The three-round burst hit Craggy squarely in the chest, brutalizing him.  As he smashed into the wall, flying backwards, blood spewing and dribbling out of his chest, death was imminent.

Zoie, Corner Store, 11th Avenue West, Main Street