Page 12 of Bullet Unleashed

I blow out the air in my lungs and shake my head. “Fine. I won’t go looking for it, but if something falls in my lap, then I’ll see how far it takes me. That’s all I can promise. Liam won’t let me go after the big stories, but I’ll see what I can find as I do my job and cover the little ones.”

“You do that, and I’ll see to it that you’re covering the big ones in no time.”

“And you do that, and I won’t go any further. I’m going to reach my goals not based on handouts or bribes, but on the strength of my talent and convictions.”

The crowd cheers as the two men cross the stage and shake hands concluding the debate. I study both men as they interact and wonder how long it took them to rehearse. It may not be visible to the naked eye, but to my eye? I can see the dirt dripping off them like wax on a lit candle.

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IT’D BEEN A FEW DAYSsince the Pig Fest, but my body still ached as if the man who slammed into me not only knocked me over, but then backed up and delivered a leg drop as well. The antiseptic Chase handed me had worked to help my knee, but I needed some ointment to help massage these dull pains out of my shoulders and back. Between editing the fest story and presenting it to Liam for approval, and accompanying the team for the debate, I’d been too tired to go grocery shopping, let alone get some first aid. The free time I had I’d filled with feeble attempts to locate the owner of the cellphone in my possession, but mostly seeing if I could crack the six-digit code it was locked with. Unsolved mysteries are something of a hobby of mine, or obsession depending on if you were asking me or my brother. So, the mystery of the unexplained cellphone needled my mind like a single thread of yarn dangling from a woven tapestry, begging to be pulled. But once again déjà vu abounds as I find myself at the Pik N Run for a quick medical fix while contemplating the mysteries of the cellphone.

The same teenager from the night before worked the counter as I enter, and I ask him where the rubbing ointment is.

“Over there,” he points. “Aisle twelve.”

Who says customer service is dead?

When I reach aisle twelve, I stomp my foot into the tiled ground. It’s the first aid aisle from before, and just as before, the items I think I need are out of arms reach. I glance down and frown. There’s some off-brand ointment on the low shelf, but changing levels doesn’t agree with my leg muscles. As I ease down, I catch a glimpse of a man dressed in a black t-shirt, and the hairs on my arm jump. I swivel as he walks by the entrance to the aisle I’m in and we make eye-contact. He’s not from Sance. He has a much harder demeanor than the creampuff men in this town, and his gait is one of confidence. Everything about him says he’s not to be trifled with.

He pauses and stares at me, and my breath catches in my chest. Everything inside me is screaming, so I snatch the first ointment on the bottom shelf and rise to my feet. When I’m at my full height, I pivot back to the aisle’s entrance, but the stranger is gone. My heart continues to pound in my chest and my stomach is churning. It’s time to leave.

Creeping to the edge of the aisle, I peer over and see nothing but the white tile lining the floor ahead of me. With a brisk pace, I leave the first aid aisle behind and make my way to the entrance.

Aisle eleven.

Aisle ten.

Aisle nine.

There he is again. The stranger is in the aisle ahead with his back to me and in my direct path to the counter. He rotates around as if he knew I was behind him and glares at me. Time for a redirect.

I choose an adjacent aisle to go through to circle around and reach the counter. There are large circular mirrors in the Pik N Run situated high to prevent theft, and as I pass by one I notice the stranger in black is trailing me. My pace quickens and matches my heartbeat as it races within me.

I go down the adjacent aisle and when I exit out the other side, I come face-to-face with a second stranger. Dressed in similar fashion, this guy is more intimidating than the first. He’s bigger in both size and stature and has a scar running down the side of his face to accompany the sneer he’s giving me.

“Excuse me,” I stammer. “I...I didn’t see you standing there.”

He answers with nothing but a sneer on his scarred face.

Behind him is the counter and the front door, but the only person manning it is the teenager, and he’s playing with his phone and paying no attention to my situation. This is the city of Sance, the Pik N Run doesn’t have a security guard because it doesn’t need one. I could call to the teenager, but he’d be no match for these men. My only option is to find another way out.

Backing away as the second stranger eyes me, I shift on my heels to head back down the adjacent aisle I came from, but the first stranger is heading towards me at a menacing pace. That’s a no-go.

The sound of my blood rushing in my ears deafens me and I spin and head to the back of the store. There’s got to be a back exit to this place.

Passing by another mirror reveals the second stranger is in pursuit and I begin to run.

What did I do to these guys?

Mama’s words play over the rush of blood in my ears and I’m wondering if her cause to worry is about to come true. Are they looking to rape me? Why me?

This is no time for caution. I sprint down the aisle towards the pharmacy in the back of the store. If I can’t find a way out, maybe I can find a weapon.

Around the corner and up another aisle in full flight I go. There’s another man in this aisle, but he’s not one of them. He’s dressed in a white t-shirt and gray sweatpants and in a kneeling position reaching for an item on the lower shelf. My plan is to sprint behind and past him, but he chooses to rise at the exact moment I approach and I slam into him. Hard. It hurts, but he caught me with one arm around my waist, preventing me from spinning out and crashing into the rows behind him or the unforgiving ground.

“Sorry,” I say.

The man narrows his eyes, and gives me a once over. “Hope?”

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