DESPERATE

12

Randall and Kenzo had been playing cards until the sky turned dark. "Let's go. Don't back out now. This is for you, kid. You ready?" Randall asked.

The boy nodded, feeling a mix of fear and thrill. They walked around the block and saw a convenience store with its lights on. The owner was at the counter, counting the cash in the register. The store was empty.

Randall faced Kenzo and locked eyes with him. "Here's the plan. You go in there and ask for money. Keep the owner busy while I slip in. When he's gone, I'll let you in.”

Kenzo closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He had to do this for his new friend. He limped into the convenience store and approached the owner. "Please, sir, can you spare some change? I'm starving."

The owner snorted and pulled up his collar to shield himself from Kenzo's smell. "Get lost, kid. I don't have anything for you."

Kenzo felt tears sting his eyes as he wiped his runny nose with his ragged sleeve. "Please, sir, just a little bit. I can't go to bed hungry again. I'm scared I will die from hunger.”

“The owner glared at the frightened boy and said, “If you don’t leave, I will call the cops and tell them you stole something.”

Kenzo burst into tears, making the owner feel a pang of guilt. He reached for some coins in his pocket, while Randall slipped in unnoticed and hid behind a newspaper and magazine stand.

The owner tossed the coins on the floor, not wanting to touch the kid. Kenzo scrambled to pick up the coins and ran out of the store. He hid behind a nearby trash bin and waited for the owner to close up his convenience store.

Randall emerged from his hiding place and scanned the area for any security camera. He grinned and said, “Good. We don’t have to worry about being caught on camera.” He leisurely browsed the aisles and snatched some beef jerky. He sat down and savored every bite.

When Kenzo saw the owner’s car drive away from the parking lot, he knocked on the glass door and shouted, “Open the door, Randall. He’s gone.”

Randall was so engrossed in his plan that he forgot about Kenzo. He jumped when he heard the boy’s voice outside. He quickly opened the door and let him in. “You were amazing, Kenzo. You really fooled the owner.” Randall praised him.

They wasted no time. They snatched plastic bags and stuffed them with all kinds of snacks. Randall felt tired and cracked open a can of cold beer. He drank it in one gulp, but then a car light flashed through the window.

They grabbed their loot and ran to the back room. They didn’t expect the owner to come back so soon.

Kenzo was terrified and his jaw dropped. Randall was still dizzy from the beer and tried to think of a way out.

The store was a mess and they had no time to clean it. He told Kenzo to crawl under a table. He searched for something to defend himself. He spotted an umbrella and held it tight.

The owner gasped at the sight of the mess on the floor. He reached for his phone in his pocket, but it slipped from his fingers and shattered on the ground. "Dammit! There goes another phone." He crouched to collect the fragments of his device.

The store was still dark; he didn't notice the little man running towards him with an umbrella. Randall jabbed the owner's groin repeatedly with the sharp end of the umbrella.

Kenzo cringed as he heard the owner howl in agony. The owner collapsed on the floor. Randall grabbed a bottle of whiskey and smashed it on his head. The owner lay motionless, blood seeping from his skull.

Glass shards glittered on the floor. Randall's thumb throbbed from a deep cut. His blood mingled with the convenience store owner's, who lay motionless on the counter. Randall sucked on his wound and scanned the room for a way to dispose of the body.

The store was eerily quiet. Kenzo crawled out from under a table. He had witnessed the brutal attack. He crept towards Randall, who looked tense and nervous. Kenzo gasped when he saw the bloodstained floor. "He might still be alive," he croaked. "We can save him if we call an ambulance."

Randall's face twisted with anger. He slapped Kenzo hard. "Are you fucking crazy? We just rob the place and killed him. Do you want the cops to arrest us?”

Kenzo shrank back and cowered in a corner, feeling Randall's murderous glare on him. He didn't want to interfere with Randall's plan. Randall grabbed the man by his ankles and hauled him to the restroom. He was surprisingly strong for his size.

Randall told the frightened boy to collect all their loot and stash it outside. He wished he could drive a car to dispose of the body in the river. "I have to make sure he's completely dead like the others," he muttered, wiping the sweat from his brow. "Kenzo, get over here. I need your help."

Kenzo ran to the restroom. He gasped when he saw Randall stripping the man of his clothes. "We can't leave any prints on him. He has a shower in his office. Help me wash him up."

They lifted the unconscious man and carried him to the shower. Kenzo scrubbed soap all over the bulky body and rinsed it off. They wore plastic bags as makeshift gloves and left him on the floor outside his office.

The owner slightly twitched and moaned. Randall and Kenzo looked at each other. It was a bad idea to give him a cold shower. "I saw some clothes in his office. Let's get him dressed before his eyes open," Randall said. Kenzo rushed back to the office and grabbed the clothes. It didn't take them long to get the owner fully clothed.

"Open the car door. We need to get him in there. He can't be seen like this." Randall instructed the boy.

Kenzo searched for the car key in the pockets of the bloody pants on the floor. He finally grabbed it.

Randall and Kenzo lifted the owner out of the store and laid him in the driver's seat. He slumped over, so Randall buckled his seatbelt. He told Kenzo to find something in the store to siphon the gas.

Kenzo returned with some colorful straws and an empty bottle. Randall scanned their surroundings nervously while the boy did the dirty work.

The bottle was full. Randall poured some gas into the owner's mouth and all over the body. The owner choked and his foot hit the accelerator.

Randall jumped out of the way. The car smashed into the convenience store. He stuffed a cloth in the bottle, lit it and tossed it into the driver's seat.

He sprinted to the safe spot next to Kenzo. The convenience store burst into flames. They heard a shrill scream. People ran from everywhere to witness the inferno.

Randall and Kenzo high-fived each other and took their loot back to the shack. When they got there, Randall was exhausted from their daring escapade. He wished he could go back home and rest. Kenzo felt a surge of joy as he arranged the loot in the small room. He turned around to thank Randall, but he was gone.