Supermarket(65)

“About time, holy shit! I’ve been freaking out!” Mia said.

“I had to sneak out, and there was a guard, but Red helped me and—”

Mia interrupted me with a passionate kiss, her warm hands covering my cheeks.

“Wait,” she said. “Where’s Red?”

Shit! I thought he was right behind me. I opened my door and peeked my head out . . . “RED, LET’S GO!” I hissed. As I saw Red jogging forward I spotted a security guard exiting the building.

“Security, who’s there?” the guard said.

Red jumped into the car. Mia started the engine and we were off.

“What the hell happened? Why were they chasing us? Someone must have been sloppy,” I said like a smart-ass, all the time looking at Red through the rearview.

“Hey, I did my part, okay,” said Mia.

“Kid, I’m not as fast as I used to be,” said Red, still out of breath.

“Yeah, I hear you,” I said.

“It’s about an hour and a half drive,” said Mia, putting her right hand over the heater.

“Mia, why the hell didn’t you answer the phone all day?” I asked her.

“We just kept missing each other, and I eventually had to go to work. I checked my voice mail every hour, so I was getting all the updates from you, but every time I called you on the hallway phone in the hospital . . . you were never around to answer.”

She was right. I had been going over the plan with Red.

“I’m sorry,” I said. “Thanks for coming through.”

It was a long ride back to town. Red quickly fell asleep. Mia and I sat in silence for a while. It felt like a dream. I stared out the window, watching the road signs flash by. I was overcome by a wave of emotion. You know when you go through some shit, but never have the time to process any of it, and when you finally pause for a second, it all rushes up to the surface, letting itself out in a kind of cathartic release? That’s what this felt like.

“Mia, thank you. I don’t know what to say. You are the only thing that got me through the past two years. And now you are helping me get out. I don’t know how to repay you.”

“Flynn, you don’t need to repay me. This is what people do for one another. I know you can do this. Whatever it is you have planned, I support you. I’ve seen you fight this. I’ve seen you suffer and struggle. I’ve watched you grow and transform. I’m proud of you. I love you.”

“I love you, Mia.”

As the adrenaline wore off the exhaustion set in, and I dozed off to sleep for the rest of the drive.

Snow fell as Red, Mia, and I stood outside the supermarket entrance. I looked at my watch.

“Ten till,” I said.

“Almost midnight,” Red responded. I took off my costume and looked around.

“How do we get in there?” Red asked. Still looking around, I spotted a brick on the ground.

I picked it up and hurled it.

“No, Flynn!” Mia shouted, but it was too late.

The brick smashed through the glass of the automatic door like the comet that had wiped out the dinosaurs. Mia covered her face as shards went flying.

“Flynn, you idiot! I still work here!”

“So?” I said. Then she reached in her pocket . . . revealing keys to the store.

“So . . . I could have opened the fuckin’ door, dude!”

Embarrassed, I walked past her and into the store. “Sorry ’bout that,” I said.

The entire store was dimly lit. I could barely see ten feet in front of me.

“What now?” asked Mia, stepping around the glass so as not to slip.

“Frank’s here,” I said. “I can feel it.”

We were walking near the cash registers when . . . I felt something. I stopped, a confused look on my face.

“What’s wrong, Flynn?” Red asked.

“Flynn, are you okay?” said Mia, putting her hand on my arm.

“I’m okay, I just . . . listen. I have to go on alone.”

“I really don’t think this is the time for a Scooby-fuckin’-Doo moment, Flynn. We should stick together,” Mia replied.

“She’s right, boy,” agreed Red.

“Listen, okay?” I said, looking in their direction. “I can’t explain it, but I have to go on alone. You guys stay here.”

“What?!” said Mia. “Wait, what do you mean, you guys stay—”

“Look, Mia,” I said. “Just trust me, okay. I can’t explain it. Just stay here and I’ll be back in a few, okay?”

She looked worried, but she agreed.

“Okay, but hurry up. I’m . . . I’m scared, okay?”

“Don’t worry, son. I’ve got her,” Red said.

“Okay,” I said to him.

As I walked down the aisle, I started to feel like I was being guided by an invisible hand, toward some predetermined place.

I felt an energy as I kept walking, like lost memories trying to return. I hadn’t been here in more than two years. It was like visiting your childhood home as an adult.

I passed the produce section, where Frank had taken all his bananas. I passed the bakery, where I fell for Mia. I neared the break room and tried to enter. The door was closed.

To the left, there was a ladder and some maintenance equipment. I grabbed the door handle and began to slowly turn it. Pushing the door open, I expected to hear an ominous creak, but it was actually rather quiet.