Alone (10 page)

Mandy had laughed and said something about Americans and their silly expressions, but she agreed with Ralph.

“I would not be surprised to read about him in the papers one day. With a headline that says something like Serial Killer Caught.” She laughed.

Ralph gradually became aware that he and Jason still sat in the truck on the gravel lot. He had been flashing back to times in the past more and more and he suspected it had something to do with the isolation.

It seemed like everything that happened to him had some mysterious quality about it. Almost as if he were trapped in some science fiction movie.

“Whatever that thing in the store was.” He said out loud. “It was big. It’s getting so I dread to go out because I’m never sure just when I’ll cross over into the twilight zone. Things sure are getting strange out here.”

Ralph and Jason sat as the dust from the parking lot swirled around them. Ralph really didn’t want to open the door and get out, but he knew that if he didn’t do it now, he was going to have to do it later. He needed shells for the shotgun and he wanted to pick up a good high powered rifle and ammo.

“What do ya think?” Ralph said as he turned toward Jason. Jason looked at him and then looked around as if to say “Are you talking to me?”

A loud bark filled the cab and Jason scratched the door.

“OK! That’s good enough for me.” Ralph said as he leaned over and opened the passenger door. of the truck and sniffing around. Ralph followed, but a little bit slower. He had the riot gun clutched tightly in his hands. The truck popped as it cooled and Ralph nearly shot it as he spun around and the shotgun fired into the air. Jason jumped and looked up at Ralph.

“I’m sorry.” Ralph said.

“I’m a little jumpy. I’ll be more careful. Dang near scared myself to death.” he muttered. The kick from the shotgun had punched him in the side.

“That’s gonna leave a mark.”

Ralph studied the building but could see no obvious signs of anything wrong.

“Course” he thought, “I didn’t see anything wrong a little while ago either.” He looked around for Jason and found him happily wandering around the side of the building. He walked to the front door and tried the handle.

“Locked.” he said. He looked at the door and decided to kick it in.

“I’ve always wanted to try this.” he said. “All the cops on TV used to open locked doors like this.”

He carefully laid the shotgun on the ground and braced himself and then launched a kick at the door. His foot hit solidly and the door did not budge. Jason came around the side to see what all the noise was.

“One more time.” Ralph said. He braced and then kicked the door again. Nothing.

“I know what it is.” he said looking at Jason. Jason sat wagging his tail. This was fun.

“I need to get some momentum. That’ll bring this door open. And I need to hit it with my body instead of my foot. I’ll use my shoulder.”

He backed up a few feet and studied the door.

Jason looked at Ralph and then over at the door. His expression said “I don’t think this is going to work.”

“If I hit it just there, it will pop right open.” he said pointing to a spot on the door. Jason looked at the spot and then looked back. His expression was not one of confidence.

“You just watch! This is going to work.” Ralph said.

He took a deep breath and then flung himself at the door. He hit the door, which was as solid as a rock and then bounced back into the parking lot. His feet flew out from under him and he slid on his behind across the gravel. Dust flew around him as he skidded to a stop.

Jason watched the whole thing.

Ralph looked over at the dog as he sat still.

“I’d swear,” Ralph thought as he studied the dog “That he’s grinning at me.”

“OK maybe that won’t work.” he said rubbing his shoulder. He was sore from slamming into the door and the gravel had torn his jeans. He got unsteadily to his feet and brushed himself off.

“Now what, smarty pants?” he said to Jason. Jason sat for a minute, then huffed and rose.

“Don’t you sigh at me. At least I tried to get in. I didn’t see you doing anything.” Ralph said as Jason looked at him.

Jason then padded around the side of the building. Ralph looked disgustedly around and then walked over and picked up the shotgun. Jason stuck his head around the corner and barked softly.

“I’m coming.” Ralph said in exasperation and then followed.

Through the empty lot next door, Ralph followed. Jason weaved around the animal cut outs and finally stopped near the rear of the building. There was a small window and it was open!

“Why didn’t you show me this sooner?” Ralph asked. He stopped and laughed, “What am I saying?”

He shook his head.

“Sorry boy. I don’t know what got into me.”

Jason softly woofed.

The small window was partially open, but was covered with a piece of chain link fencing material. Ralph looked around and could see nothing to use to try to pry the window open. He went back to the truck and rummaged around until he found the lug wrench. He returned to the window and began prying. After 10 minutes or so of constant prying, Ralph had removed the screws holding three sides of the material. He pulled the free sides away from the window and raised it fully. Grasping the edge of the window, he carefully lowered the shotgun inside and then he hopped into the opening.

“Go back around front and I’ll let you in.” he called to Jason. Jason sat for a minute and then dutifully trotted around the building.

Ralph walked slowly around the stacks of boxes in the storeroom he had found himself in. This store was creepy enough on a normal day, it was really spooky today. Ralph kept expecting to walk into Fred. The shotgun was clutched tightly in his hands. His heart hammered in his chest and he was sure that Jason could hear it pounding outside where he waited. The light coming in thru the small window was just enough to allow him to see that the room was mainly filled with cleaning supplies. He opened the door and listened for any sound. All was quiet. He had neglected to bring a flashlight with him, so he carefully inched his way around the store. A couple of dirt encrusted skylights allowed some light to penetrate.

“This reminds me of every scary movie I ever saw. There is always one idiot that walks right into the monster’s lair or demon’s den. He is the one that everybody watching the movie talks to. They will always throw comments at him like Don’t go in there! Man are you stupid or something! Have you never watched a scary movie before? You go in there and you ain’t coming out!. And the guy is always killed as the hideous beast strikes from the shadows.” Ralph said in a whisper.

“Great!” Ralph said peering around the dark. “That’s just what I needed to think about at a time like this.”

He took a couple of steps and then shouted “I know, but I gotta do it.”

Walking down a narrow hallway, he spied a partially opened door on his left. He crept up to the door and peeked thru the crack. The room inside was dark. Ralph slowly pushed the door open with the barrel of the shotgun. When nothing rushed out at him, he cautiously stepped into the room. It was a small bathroom. There was nothing in it he could use. As he turned to go, he caught movement out of the corner of his eye. He quickly spun to face it and say someone standing there pointing a gun at him. He gave a startled shout and fired the shotgun. The mirror in front of him disintegrated in a spray of glass.

“I just shot me.” He said with a shaky laugh. Outside, he heard Jason furiously barking.

“I’m ok. I just killed a mirror.”

Cradling the shotgun, Ralph slowly inched his way down the hall and out into the store itself. He padded to the front door. Once there, he saw that it was secured with several locks and throws.

“No wonder I couldn’t budge it.” he muttered. This side of the door was covered in steel plate.

Thankfully, the locks and throws didn’t require a key on this side. He released them and swung the door open. Light blazed into the gloomy interior. Jason trotted in and began to sniff around. Ralph watched him nervously, but Jason did not appear to find anything amiss in the store. Relieved, Ralph looked carefully around.

“Watch out for mirrors.” He said with a laugh.

Much of the center of the store was given over to fishing equipment and supplies. Rods and reels were in abundance as were artificial lures. Along the walls were hunting and fishing clothing and the back held guns. Ralph looked around and found a large flashlight. Further searching found batteries two aisles over. In a few seconds, the bright beam splashed across the store.

“This may come in handy, I’ll grab a couple more.” Ralph said to himself. He wandered to the cash register and found several empty boxes. Grabbing one, he began to fill it up.

He loaded up several flashlights and all of the batteries he found. These were followed by several hunting knives and sharpening stones. In passing, he grabbed a couple of fishing reels, some line and a pole. He carried the now full box outside and placed it in the bed of the truck. He stopped and peered around listening and looking for anything unusual. All was calm. He headed back into the store. He headed down the clothing isle and found several winter coats. He grabbed a couple, some long underwear and gloves. He spotted some rugged looking boots and found a pair in his size. Up the next isle were more camping supplies. He snagged a first aide kit, some light sticks and several MREs. Carrying his load out, he deposited it all in the truck. He placed the MREs behind the seats. They may come in handy in an emergency. Up and down the rows he walked, taking anything he thought may be useful in the future. He had already decided to stay away from town for a long time and he wanted to make sure he had all that he needed back home. Finally, after he had picked the shelves, he headed back to the guns. Laying the riot gun on the counter, he walked behind it and peered at the shotguns and rifles standing against the wall.

“I’m not a big gun person.” he said to Jason as the dog padded up beside him. “Let’s see what we’ve got here.”

He looked over several shotguns and finally picked a 20 gauge automatic. He found a 12 gauge pump and placed it aside too. He rummaged beneath the counter and removed every box of ammo he could find for the shotguns. He pulled down a lever action 30-30 and a semi-automatic 30.06. He got the best looking scope and added that to the pile. He also laid a semi automatic .22 rifle down. He found ammo for each weapon and took all that he could find. He carried all of the guns to the truck along with all of the ammo he had found. Returning to the weapons counter, he peered into the glass topped case at the pistols. His first choice was a .22 caliber target pistol. He figured he could practice with that and save ammo for a larger caliber pistol. He pulled a .45, a .357 and a 44 magnum from beneath the glass. Each had its drawbacks and after debating for several minutes, he came to a conclusion.

“I’ll just take them all.” he said to the store at large. He got all of the ammo for each weapon, and looked around until he found gun belts and holsters for each. He loaded the 44 and slid it into the holster and belted it on. He decided he wanted maximum stopping power. Carrying the other pistols and ammo out, he laid them in the truck and grabbed a box of shells for the target pistol. Standing in the parking lot, he shot the animal cutouts beside the building. At first, he was only hitting about one shot out of every three, but by the time he had finished the box, he was hitting almost every shot into the target. His grouping was wide, but he knew that with practice it would improve.

Jason sat quietly by his side. At first the dog had flinched with each shot, but soon he grew accustomed to the noise and watched Ralph as he practiced. When Ralph finished, Jason stood and shook himself. He made his way to the last animal that Ralph had been shooting and relieved himself against the post.

“That’s telling him.” Ralph laughed.

Jason looked back and then dropped and rolled around.

Ralph laughed and put the 22 in the truck. He looked around the store once more and with the flashlight, he rambled around the back rooms looking for any thing useful. He picked a couple more items and then entered the storeroom that he had originally entered thru. He closed and latched the window and then realized what he had just done.

With a laugh, he unlocked the window but left it closed. Exiting the store, Ralph spotted a large black plastic case leaning against the check out counter. When he carefully opened the case, he found a battery operated set of tools. A drill, circular saw, saws all, and sander were nestled in the case along with a charger and two battery packs. He grabbed the case and took it with him. Closing the front door, he loaded the case into the truck and held the door while Jason hopped in.

“Well, slide over boy.” he said to Jason. The big dog appeared to think about it for a minute and then moved over to the passenger side and sat. His tongue hung from his mouth and he was panting in the heat.

“OK, give me a second and I’ll get the air on. You know that you’re spoiled don’t you. Most dogs are happy to stick their heads out of the window but not you. You have to have air conditioning.”

Ralph started the truck and flipped the air conditioner on. The blast of hot air brought sweat to his forehead but the air quickly chilled and the cool breeze dried his brow.

“You ready to head home?” Ralph asked turning to look at Jason. Jason turned and looked back and then barked loudly.

“Me too. Let’s go.”

It was mid afternoon when they headed back. Ralph kept to the small country roads and bypassed the town entirely. It added considerable driving time to the trip, but neither of them was in any great hurry. Ralph drove slowly and they both scanned the scenery. They saw plenty of animals, deer, skunk, groundhogs were everywhere. They topped a small rise and a fox ran across the road ahead of them.

“That was a fox!” exclaimed Ralph as he screeched to a halt. “I haven’t ever seen a fox in these parts before.”

Jason, having missed seeing the fox, didn’t understand why they were stopped in the middle of the road. He looked around but could see nothing threatening. Finally he looked over at Ralph, who got the distinct impression that Jason was asking why they had stopped.