back bitches
I settled into the therapeutic leather seat, watching the road as our vehicle pushed through the fog, soft blue low beams charging forth into the night. Off the cool concrete before us there lay an occasional abandoned farm, overgrown grass swaying softly in the darkness. In the moonlight, run-down trailer homes sat unoccupied, windows shattered and doors boarded. A harsh flicker as lightning struck far to the south.
And there I lay quietly on the rain-soaked concrete, stunned by the events that had just transpired before my eyes. I listened to the soft rain falling and the SUV speeding away, the sound of its engine fading away like an ascending space shuttle. I wanted to fall asleep, to believe that the bullets had indeed struck my chest, and that everything was lost - that my purpose in life had become forfeit.
To be honest, I had expected a storybook ending. In the end, I hoped desperately for one. I hadn't yet accepted that the man was dead. Perhaps I would never accept that his crimson blood stained the very ground that I stood upon. Yet I couldn't seem to resist embracing the truth. The truth satisfied me.
The hail had worsened, and my entire body felt as though it were being slashed by a razorblade. I shivered with repulsion as the terror before me continued to edge closer. I watched as lightning flickered in the distance, and then turned to the creature.
There was a hint of lightning and a slight rumble of thunder in the distance. I turned from the horizon to face Robert, who was standing to my right. We stood before the luminous Wal-Mart banner. A noisy cluster of insects swarmed the fluorescent light nearby, their innumerable buzzing and clicks penetrating the silence.
âoeThere is a storm approaching,â I whispered to Robert. âoeWe should prepare the store for an emergency situation.â
The aroma of premium Samâ(TM)s Choice coffee infiltrated my nose as I sipped a cup delicately. Robert would be arriving momentarily, and I would request a situation report. He and I are, of course, the guardians of a Walmart Supercenter located inside of the prosperous community of Jasper, Texas.
Walmart Security
Chapter 9: The Two Madnesses
Robert sat nearby on one of the visitor chairs, his face decorated lightly with bandages. The chair was but a silhouette against the fulgent morning sun.
"I dreamt," he said, his eyes narrowing, "of thousands of unchained rabid monkeys." Robert sunk lower into the well-cushioned chair.
"Doing what?" I replied.
Walmart Security
Chapter 8: Return of the King
Physician: One upon whom we set our hopes when ill and our dogs when well. -- Ambrose Bierce