Supermarket(66)

The door swung open. The room was completely dark. I flicked the light switch. It took a few seconds for my eyes to adjust, and as they did, I began to walk, making my way to the long row of dark green lockers against the wall. My fingertips glided along their metallic surface, like a surfer reaching out to the wave he was riding. My hand stopped. It was my locker.

I knew there was something inside, and I knew it was something I had forgotten long ago. When I opened the locker, though, it was empty. Or so it appeared.

I realized this wasn’t just my locker; it was also Frank’s.

In that moment, I knew what he knew. I remembered. At the base of the locker, if pushed at the right angle, it would give. And underneath was another ten inches of space.

I reached my hand into the dark hiding place. My fingers met a freezing object. I lifted it from the darkness, where it had lain dormant for years. It was the snub-nose .357 Magnum revolver Frank had kept inside his locker.

I flashed back. It was the gun he said he would need “the day some disgruntled schizophrenic nutjob employee shows up and stalks the aisles with an AR-15. Pumping rounds into customers and employees. Or even himself.”

I pocketed the gun and stuck my hand back inside—to my surprise, there were a few more items. A pack of cigarettes and a silver Zippo lighter with the words Vanilla Sky engraved across it. I jumped when I heard a whisper.

“Flynn.”

I heard it again, but no one was around. “You can’t run,” the voice whispered.

It was Frank.

“He’s here!” I yelled out, making my way into the main part of the store. “You guys, he’s here!” I raced to the front where I had left Red and Mia together, only to find . . . they had gone.

The lights went out. It was pitch-black and completely silent.

“Mia!!” I called out. “Mia, Red?!” I took a few steps, but my shin collided with a wooden table I knew held pies and different baked goods. “Goddamn it!” I cried out. “I can’t believe they still haven’t fixed these lights! Where the hell is everyone?” I screamed. I couldn’t see a fucking thing.

And then I remembered. I had the Zippo in my pocket! I struck the lighter open, revealing a bright and steady flame.

I headed back to the break room, toward the ladder. Using the flame to illuminate my surroundings, I realized the maintenance tools were for the breaker. DayDay must have been working on the lights again due to bad weather. That was probably why only half the aisles were lit when we’d walked in a few minutes earlier.

First, Dr. Cross’s husband had an accident on the icy road, and now this. I was starting to hate the winter.

I put my left hand on the ladder, holding the lighter with my right—the ladder was twelve feet high. While nearing the top, I realized I would be able to see the whole store from up there if I could actually fix the lights. It was a perfect vantage point.

My hands reached the breaker. I opened it up and gripped a switch that said POWER/LIGHTS. I pushed it down. CLICK. I pushed it up to an even louder click and . . . nothing. I tried again, nothing. My arms grew heavy. It felt like I was holding a bag of cement over my head. I decided to get level with the breaker box. I climbed one step, then another, and lastly a third, finally reaching the top of the ladder.

I held the lighter high over my head. I was now able to read another button that said EMERGENCY BACKUP POWER. Then suddenly— “Oh, shit!” Water began spraying everywhere. “You fucking idiot!” I yelled at myself. I had held the flame under the fire sprinklers! My flame immediately went out and I was now in the dark. Drenched in freezing cold water, I reached out my hands to the last thing I had seen before the flame went out—the emergency backup power button. I pushed the button down on the breaker. Click! Then I pulled it up as hard as I could. CLICK! Instantly, I heard a generator starting, the system booting, and . . . the power came back on! Each aisle began to light up, one by one. I looked at the entire store from atop the ladder. Aisle one, two, three, four . . . all had lights. Then five, six, and before I knew it, the entire store was back in business.

I looked around.

“Mia!” I screamed. Where the hell was she?

“Get out of your fuckin’ head, man!”

Frank. It was Frank, yelling.

“Where the hell are you?” I yelled. The call was met by the sound of the sprinklers still raining overhead. I began to descend the ladder. “What have you done with them? Answer me, Frank!” Hopping off the last step onto the floor, I looked around.

“This way!” Frank yelled. I grabbed the gun from my pocket, pulling it out.

“Where the fuck are you?!” I screamed, making my way past the aisles.

It was like a hurricane inside Muldoon’s Grocery! I wiped the water from my face, searching for Frank.

Aisle four! I saw him. Wait . . . aisle six! He was running down aisle six . . .

I shot in his direction. A loud blast. “Show yourself, you coward!” I screamed.

“Shoot me already!” Frank said. I turned. He was standing in front of aisle nine, dressed in his supermarket uniform.

The water in my eyes blurred everything around me. He ran up the aisle, and with my gun pointed at him, I ran after him . . . but I couldn’t see him! I turned around to face him, and he was running, nearly at the end of the aisle. Gun in hand, I raised my arm, took aim, took a deep breath . . .