The Store

Running through downtown, darting from car to car, pausing only briefly to look for nearby monsters. Eventually coming to his store, 

“Damn, I didn’t expect it to be this bad,” X thought as he approaches his store. The “X”s Hunting and Gun Supplies” store had seen better days, all of the storefront windows were shattered and the door ripped off its hinges. With a sigh X stepped into his store, walking past the empty fallen shelves and behind the counter. 

“What a wreck, at least they didn’t get into the back,” pulling out his keys, he hears a car alarm go off in the distance. Startled, he drops the keys and hits the floor, pulling out his sawed-off, he hears thumping and footsteps approaching him. 

Yelling is followed by shooting and screams, 

“Shit shit shit shit,” yells someone who runs past the store, peeking over the counter, X sees , X slowly sinks down quietly grabbing his keys. As quietly as he could X picks up and slides his key into the lock, steadily turning it. 

Standing with his back against the wall he put one hand on the door knob and his other on his holster. Turning the knob and pressing on the door, a loud squeak comes from its hinges, despair fills X’s mind and body as the creature instantly runs through the door, as it jumps time for X appeared to slow down. Staring into this creature made X’s whole body feel as though it weighs twice as much. X stares into its mad hungry eyes, its split slimy agape jaw, and its grotesque burn scars.

As time appears to speed up, X raises his gun and the creature inches closer, he pulls the trigger, click, boom. In an instant the creature’s face explodes from the impact and crashes into X, knocking him into the wall and soaking him in its blood. Dazed X sits there with the creature’s corpse in his arms.

A single tear slowly rolls down his cheek, another follows and another, soon X starts to sob intensely. In this moment all of what he’s seen and done, his thoughts and feelings flood his mind as he processes everything that happened. 

X gradually rises, walking over to the back room door, his mind still dull from distraught. He grabs some bags and fills them with ammo, extra guns, food, gun accessories, and camping supplies.

Walking out of the store, X stops, turning to look at the mutilated corpse. He stares into the eyes of the corpse, their terrified expression on their half eaten face unfazed X, bending down, he closes their eyes. X leaves without saying anything, and continues down the lifeless street.