One Night In A Supermarket

Is Hell Finally Coming To An End?

Chapter Sixteen... Is Hell Finally Coming To An End?

Nathan's POV

Out in the mall, there was a flashlight.

The worst part about being on the receiving end of the light that came from a flashlight was that you were unable to see who was on the other end of it. And the mall was pitch black. My nerves had gotten one hell of an experience tonight. I'd become jumpy. I'd become afraid.

And once again, I was afraid.

It could be the killer. In fact, I was certain that it was. I mean, honestly. Who else would it be? We were trapped in here with a maniac, and nobody knew.

But then the figure with the flashlight stepped into the light cast out into the mall from the supermarket lights, and I breathed one massive sigh of relief.

It was a police officer.

"Sir?" he asked, looking worried. He had his gun out, which made me feel nervous.

"I thought you were him," I breathed.

"What's your name, sir?" the officer questioned.

"Nathan," I replied. "Nathan Harrison."

"I take it you work here," he stated. "And you're injured. Maybe you should sit down, sir."

"No, I need to get the hell out of here!" I hissed, but sat down on a nearby customer courtesy seat. "I need to get out of here..."

"How many people were here tonight?" the officer asked, taking out a notepad. He was taking a statement from me, I suddenly realised.

"There were nine of us at the start of the night," I began. "There was me, Brian, Lily, Lisa, James, Cameron, Sarah, Ella and Vincent."

"How many of you are still here?" he asked.

"All of us, as far as I know," I breathed.

"One young girl escaped earlier," he informed me. "Uhm her name was... Lisa Kesby?"

"Yeah, Lisa was here," I confirmed. "She works in the Deli. She didn't really wanna be here, you know. Her son... he's only like, one or something. She wanted to be home with him, and needed the money so she couldn't turn down the shift, if you know what I mean. It was pretty much that her hand was forced. She's a single mom, so she had to take the overnight shift."

"Okay," the officer wrote down what I'd just said.

"Is she okay?" I asked. "She's only young... is she okay?"

"Yes. She was injured, and passed out a few times. But she managed to fight her unconsciousness and has been taken to hospital. Last I heard, they were getting ready to take her into surgery."

"That's good... That's good..."

"Was anybody else hurt here that you know of, Mr Harrison?"

"Yes. Vincent... Uh Vincent Plummer... he died. He was uh... he was stabbed first. Well, actually, no. James was stabbed first. But he was still alive the last time I saw him. Lucky guy. But Vinnie? No. He wasn't so lucky. He just... he died."

"Were there any other casualties?"

"Cameron Bright. His body... he died, too. I found his body about ten minutes ago, maybe more. He was in the office. Ella, she was dead, too. Umm... Ella Storm, I think her name is. She's only like, twenty or something."

"Okay," he said, writing down notes. "Thank you. For all the information you've given us."

"There are a couple missing," I said thoughtfully. "Brian. He's our manager. Duty manager. Anyways, he's the boss. And I don't know where he is. And Sarah. She's probably with Brian, though. They're close, them two."

"So where's the other one?"

"Sorry?"

"You said there were nine of you. So far, you've only mentioned eight. There's one you didn't mention, where are they? Uh... Lily, is it?"

"Lily's fine," I answered, coughing. "She's hiding, man. She's a smart girl. And I love her."

"Where is Lily?" he asked.

"She's out in the Fresh Produce coolroom," I told him. "She's been hiding in there all night. She's gonna die from hypothermia soon, if she stays there any longer."

"We'll make sure that doesn't happen," he smiled weakly.

"No, I have to go get her!" I snapped, standing up. But it hurt...

I sank to the floor in pain, and the officer stood over me. It hurt now, my stab wound. The cold had let me not feel the pain as much, but now I felt it all. I wanted to cry again, because I'd just previously blabbered like a girl.

Before I knew it, there was another officer here. He was accompanied by a paramedic.

"Okay, sir, we're gonna help you," the paramedic smiled at me.

I don't remember much after that. I'd been waiting for this wound to make me fall completely unconscious, and it did.

Sarah's POV

I'd ran up the street, away from the evil eyes. But now I was surrounded by a bunch of houses... old houses. To be honest, I had no idea where I was. This place... this town... it was unfamiliar to me. I lived in a nearby town, but had worked in this store for a little while.

I decided to turn back and go the way I came, hoping that what I'd seen... what James and I had seen... was just a figment of our imagination. Or that at least I wasn't being stalked.

So I headed back in the direction I'd come from, hoping it would lead me back to the supermarket. I would get in my car, drive away, and never return.

While I was pacing on the roof, I'd already decided I'd be handing in my letter of resignation when things went back to normal. I couldn't work in a place where I'd been frightened like the fright I'd experienced tonight. I hated not knowing how everyone else was doing, though. Well, those of us that were still alive.

Where had James gone? Where had he run off to?

Would I ever see him again?

The thoughts that ran through my mind were unnerving. And now I definitely had to go back. It was probably a foolish thing to do, and I could picture someone watching something in a movie like this, telling the idiot bimbo to not turn back and go the way she came, but screaming at the screen for her to keep running. Hell, if I were watching this in a movie, I'd be telling me to keep running the way I was going!

But I was a foolish person.

And I knew I'd come to regret my decision when I saw a dark figure approaching me.