The Storeroom

Susannah could hear her heart pounding in her ears. The sound was practically deafening, and she feared she would be discovered any second by the men who had broken into the storeroom. Shots had been fired and she'd ducked behind the first dry goods pallet she saw. She had heard the screams of her co-workers as they were rounded up and covered her mouth with her hand to keep from making a sound that would alert them to her presence.

A few of them were in the manager's office now, yelling at Caroline to open the safe. It could only be opened by using two different keys. Caroline had one of them. Susannah had the other. She could hear them ripping out drawers and emptying them on the floor in search for the second key, meaning Caroline hadn't told them who had it. It was only a matter of time before she did, though, and then they'd come looking for her.

The sound of a truck reversing echoed off the concrete floor. The storeroom door must be open to the receiving dock. Was that how they got in? If so, who opened the doors?

"Hey, Frankie!" one of the men in the storeroom called out. The voice that answered was vaguely familiar.

"What?"

"You're needed in the office."

Frankie grumbled something but headed in the direction of the manager's office. It wasn't long before he came back.

"Where's Susannah?" he barked at her co-workers, and Susannah felt a ball of terror crowd out her intestines.

She hadn't heard him yell at anyone before, but now she knew who the voice belonged to. Johnny, one of the stockers. He'd only been working at the supermarket for a couple of weeks, but he'd always been friendly, if a little timid. He was the last person she would have suspected to be a criminal.

"Where is she?" he yelled and she heard one of the girls sob. "Tell me!"

"I don't know!" the girl screamed in a high-pitched voice. Christie.

"Susannah!" Johnny bellowed. "I know you're hiding! Come out and save your friends!"

Susannah bit her lip. She could taste the salt of her own tears on it. Would he really hurt her co-workers?

BAM! A gun shot rang out, making Susannah instinctively cover her ears, but she could still hear the screams.

"Say goodbye, Susannah!" he shouted and she raised her hands without giving it another thought. If he was willing to kill people to get to her, he'd find her eventually anyway, and then she'd have her co-workers' lives on her conscience.

"Stop! Don't hurt anyone. I'm coming out!"

When she reached the part of the storeroom where her co-workers had been hoarded like animals, she was relieved to see them all unharmed.

"Where's the key, Susannah?" Johnny – or was it Frankie? – said, his gun now trained on her.

"On a chain, around my neck."

"Check her," he ordered the bald, rotund thug standing next to him. Baldie grinned, showing off a gap in his front row of yellow teeth.

As he approached, Susannah realized something that made her blood run cold. They weren't wearing masks. She squeezed her eyes shut and kept her hands up. Big, warm hands groped her as if she was being searched by a not-so-professional border control agent.

"Quit messing around," Frankie snapped at Baldie. "Just grab the stupid key."

The silver chain ripped into her skin as it was yanked from around her neck and Susannah bit her lip to stop herself from crying out.