Lynx Falls

Chapter 4

At a gas station two provinces away a man lay dying on the floor. He had been shot in the stomach and was bleeding profusely while two young assailants hit and shook the cash register in an attempt to open the till. Lloyd was in excruciating pain and wanted nothing more than to crawl behind the counter, not to stop the robbery, but to see if his wife was still alive. "Elaine," he croaked out, but it was barely audible.

The day had started like any other. Lloyd and Elaine had run this small country gas station for twenty three years. Memories of their kids playing in the back room, doing their homework and working along side them flooded Lloyd's memory as he watched the two at the counter. They gave up on the till. Elaine must be dead if they weren't hauling her up to open the till.

He couldn't quite make out what they were saying. There was a roaring in his ears that seemed to be coming from somewhere deep inside his body. He watched them turn around to try and access the cigarettes and tobacco but the sliding metal door was locked. The taller one punched it shaking his hand. They weren't paying much attention to Lloyd at this point. They probably assumed he was dead too.

One of them lifted his ski mask to get a better view of the store and if Lloyd could have gasped with his stomach torn he would have. "They're just kids," he said to himself as he closed his eyes, "What a shame." Lloyd never opened his eyes again. The trauma from the gunshot wound and the loss of blood finally took its toll on him and he followed Elaine into the light.

"What now!" Andrew the taller of the masked men demanded. Stuart shrugged, "Grab those scratcher tickets. I'll get some food." Andrew slid the stray of scratchers from underneath the glass on the counter and started throwing them into a bag. Stuart scoured the aisles for snacks only stopping when his arms couldn't hold anymore.

"Let's go," Stuart yelled as he stepped over Lloyd's body. Andrew slid out from behind the counter careful not the step in the old lady's blood. "Sorry," he mouthed to her lifeless form and they ran out the door. Stuart fired up the little SUV that he had gotten for his sixteen birthday, signalled, shoulder checked and they were off down the highway.

"Shit!" Stuart slammed his palm into the top of the steering wheel.  Andrew sat quietly in the passenger seat.  No one was supposed to get hurt, they just wanted money.  They had scoped out the gas station days before noting the older couple.  "Easy pickings," Stuart had assured Andrew.  They were not expecting Elaine to take a swing at them with an aluminum baseball bat that they kept concealed behind the till.

The gravity of what they had done was settling in.    Andrew sniffed, his eyes filling with with tears.  He knew if he blinked they would start to fall.  "Are you crying?" Stuart scolded him from the driver's seat.  Andrew didn't answer just dig into the bag on his lap and pulled out a scratcher.  "I'm gonna see if we have any winners." Andrew kept his head down avoiding eye contact with Stuart.