52 stories

Week 32: Backpack

Prompt: You are the owner of a magic backpack. Every morning you stick your hand in and it contains exactly what you need for the day. One morning it contains a gun.

A/N: Thanks to Marianne from the Fanders facebook group for this idea. This is going to be fun!

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Sam got woken up by their alarm clock like every other normal day. They smashed their bedside table a few times before finally reaching their cellphone to turn of the alarm. They groaned and stretched in their bed until their eyes locked on their new-old backpack. They found it in a thrift shop a few weeks ago. They almost missed it because they were too distracted watching this costumer making fun of one of the guy that was working there. She had an amazing looking yellow dress and the dude had the audacity to tell her that she wouldn't find her size since it was thrift shop. She laughed and put him back in his place and it was so perfect. When the woman with the yellow dress followed another worker to find fabrics, Sam looked back down and there it was. A backpack like they never seen before. With so many pockets and big and strong zippers. It had so many colo from all the hand sewed patches on it, they loved it righ away. They took it home and that was when things got strange.

The next morning, they grabbed their backpack to fill it their art supplies, but it was heavy. They were pretty sure it was empty when they bought it and they didn't have time to fill it yet. they stared at the backpack for a few seconds and finally built up the courage to open it. And it was full of food. Snacks, fruits, water bottles. They took one of the apple in the bag. Looked at it from every angles, smelled it and took a careful bite. It was the juiciest and sweetest apple they ever tasted. They sat criss-crossed in front of it and ate the apple. Once they were done with it, their cellphone rang. Who wasvcalling them so early in the morning? ''Heyyyyyy Sammy-Sam! We are going hiking like right now, do you wanna come?''

''Huh...'' They really wanted to go, but they didn't have money to buy the snacks and... water... for the hike. They looked back in the backpack. Did their friends sneak in their house to fill their bag with food so they could come to the hike too? ''Yeah sure, you can pick me up.''

When they stepped in the car, all their friends complimented their backpack. They told them how they found it in a thrift shop and that this morning it was filled with all their favorites food and snacks.Their friends laughed ''You say it like you didn't fill it with all those food!'' Sam look at all their friends one by one, waiting for them to tell them what they did. But they didn't. Sam waved the conversation away and asked for some music. The friend in the front passenger seat plugged his phone in and turned on the music and they were on their way to the mountain for a day of hiking!

The next morning, Sam stared at the backpack a bit nervously. What if it was full of stuff again? They opened it and this time, it was full of clothes. A whole set of clothes, shirt, pants, socks and underwears. All in their sizes and their style too. There even was a towel. They thought it was weird, but thanked the bag anyway ''did I really say thank you to a bag?'' they mumbled to themselves before getting ready for their day. As they were walking from the bus station to their job, they got splashed with water by a passing car. Head to toe. Completely wet. Luckily for them, their backpack was intact so they could dry and change themselves in their job's bathroom. That was when Sam wondered if the bag they bought was magic in some way. Two days in a row there was exactly what they needed for the day. It was the only 'logical' option they could think of. They would see with the next few days if it would still happen...

And it did. Every single morning. Items that would help them for the day. To food, to clothes, to a fishing rod or ropes. There were even medecines sometimes like Tylenol, band aid and Imodium. They stillvtry to forget that dreadful day. There even was a first aid kit and an automated external defibrillator one day. It was hard and scary, but they helped to save a life that time. So this morning, they couldn't wait to see what was inside their magic backpack! And once they opened it, they wished they didn't. It was a gun. A big and cold gun. They couldn't even tell what kind of gun it was. They didn't know anything about firearms. They didn't even know if it was loaded! And they knew that if they threw it away, it would come backvinside of the bag after a few minutes. They tried a few times already, when the object was really heavy and they didn't want to carry it everywhere they were going that day. So today they had to walk around with a gun in their backpack! What kind of day they are going to live for them to need a gun? A robbery? A zombie apocalypse?A mass shooting? They only wanted to curl up in bed and stay there all day. But what if the trouble came to their home if they didn't go on with their 'normal' day? No they didn't want to risk it. They got ready as best as they could and walked to the bus station to go to work.

The whole day passed and nothing happened. Sam felt relieved that nothing happened, but the day wasn't over yet. What if the bag was wrong for once? Can a magical bag be wrong? Maybe. A few weeks ago they didn't even know magical backpack existed! They stopped by the convenience store near they home to get something to eat. They were debating in their mind to either get a simple sandwich or a frozen pizza and they heard a big and loud bang ''THIS IS A ROBBERY, EVERYONE ON THE GROUND!'' Oh great, fantastic, amazing! If that was why there was a gun in their bag, they are not going to do anything about it! Sorry for the owner, but they are not risking their life for a few dollars in a register! The robber took all the cash but they didn't run. He stared at the young cashier instead. Oh no. No no no. The robber reached over the counter and grabbed the cashier's arm, saying how maybe he would took something else with him along with the money. It was so disgusting Sam almost didn't hear the person beside them whispering ''If only I had my gun with me, I could stop this guy!''

Sam rushed in their bag and handed them the gun ''Don't ask and don't kill them, but do something!'' The stranger grabbed the gun and nodded. They aimed and shoot at the robber's calf. The shot rang in Sam's ear, they didn't hear the robber scream, but they saw him fell on the ground in pain. The stranger stood up and reached for the robber's firearm before he had to time to grab it again. Sam panicked and reached for the door before anyone noticed. They didn't want to have to explain to anyone how or why they had a gun in their bag...

Atleast the gun didn't come back in the bag. It was now all over. They didn't need it anymore. That was so scary and crazy. Atleast they helped to stop a robbery and a sexual assault to happen. They sat on the floor for atleast an hour, trying to calm themselves down a bit. That was when their phone rang. It was their mom ''Are you okay!?''

''Yes? What is going on?'' How could they explain to their mother what happened.

''There was a robbery in the small store near you! You didn't hear?''

''I don't watch tv or listen to the radio,so no... I didn't.'' They felt so bad for lying, but they didn't want to scare their mother. Their mother explained how a stranger helped to stop the robbery by giving a gun to a police officer off dutie. The police even said that there was only one bullet in the gun, everyone got really lucky today. Especially the young cashier, things could have gone wrong really fast for her. Sam reassured that their were fine and alive and that they didn't need anything. They really wanted to be alone...They needed to figure out if they still wanted the bag. If the bag only was 'helping' them or if it was 'creating' events for the items to be needed... If that made any sense at all. They really wanted to talk to someone about it... But who? Who would believe them? They sighed and decided to grab a small snack and go to bed. They had too much emotions for one day.

The next morning, they were so stressed to open the bag, what if something bad was in the bag again? They shook their head and try to build up some courage and they opened the zipper. At first, they thought the bag was empty, but there was something in it. A small business card with only a phone number on it. And for some reason, Sam knew that the person that would pick up would help them understand the backpack... They only had to call... Or text maybe? Did people that create magical backpack had cellphone? A phone call wasn't that bad, right? It's only a conversation with someone... That you don't know and can't see... Did is going to be hard. Stupid phone calls! But Sam needed answer so they would make that call!

...Like after breakfast... Maybe?