The plan came together rather quick once I had the idea. Simple job, in and out, no one gets hurt. All I had to do was wait until all the cars were gone and everyone had left for the day. I would take all I needed without anyone to stop me.Â
I was unsure how my life even got to the point where I had to rob a small-town drug store. It didn't matter though, they had a product that was selling for outrageous prices on the street. The cash is what I needed, all my other plans had failed.Â
Looking at the glowing neon sign, waiting for it to turn off so I could make my way in. I saw the young cashier girl walkout as she locked up behind and got in her car. It would have been easy enough to rush her and get what I needed, but there was an easier way.Â
There was a loading door that faced the alley, and I was walking down the road when I noticed it didn't shut all the way. I guess they figured it wouldn't be an issue since the back doors were not labeled and it was subtle.
Once I was sure the girl was gone and not coming back, I got out of my car and walked across the street. The place looked dead inside the dark windows, and I knew I had to act quick to be safe. Realistically, there wouldn't be anyone back till the morning. Downtown was desolate late at night. Still, I wanted to make it quick.Â
I even considered taking a duffle bag and cleaning the place out. The problem was most of the pills were not worth much, and it would be a hassle getting rid of them. That and having the only pharmacy emptied, cops would be waiting around every corner. No, I was only going to take one, and not even clean them out.Â
The pills I was after were Capsatosine, or ‘Caps’ as they went by. I had no idea what they were even for. What I did know was that they were the new thing that had everyone freaking out. Most important, they were paying ridiculous amounts of cash. One pill alone could get me fifty bucks to the right buyer.Â
On average they would go for thirty to forty apiece, more than anything else on the market. A few hundred and I would be set. The pharmacy wouldn't even bat an eye seeing how many they had. Sure they might notice, but not enough to set a county-wide investigation.Â
I made my way towards the back of the building, double-checking the safety was off on my pistol just in case. I hadn't even used it since my dad gave it to me years ago. Mostly kept it on me for protection and threats. When you have a gun and the other guy doesn't, they do what you want. Either way I wasn't a huge fan of violence but had to stay ahead of others.Â
The back door was cracked just slightly. Anyone walking by wouldn't even notice unless the light hit it just right. I was always looking for things like that. A way in, a way out, and how to cheat the system. Sure I didn't like stealing from the family-owned shops, but that's all we had so I made sure to never do too much. Enough to help myself, without ruining their shop.Â
Some places spent the money to get cameras and better alarms, but not this place. The owners were old and trusting. The perfect targets and the easiest to take from without a hassle.
Going in the back door meant I was right where I needed to be, in the stock room. I didn't have to worry about going through two locked doors to get in. I had come to the store a few times over the last few weeks to scope it out. I would get a pop or some candy to not raise any suspicions.Â
I didn't know exactly where the Caps were but figured everything would be in alphabetical order. I turned on my flashlight and started to scan the containers on the wall where they kept the bulk pills. It was near the top so I grabbed the step ladder to reach it. As I was putting them in some old pill bottles I had, I heard something from the front of the store. I was not alone.
I shoved everything I had into my pockets and ducked behind the counter. I couldn't see who was out there but figured it had to be the cops. They had nothing better to do in town and they must have a silent alarm that I missed.Â
I peeked my head up to check and as I did, a metal bat was swinging towards my face. I ducked back down and pulled out my gun. Heavy footsteps came moving around to the back where I was. I had to act.Â
Right when I saw the first foot walk through the door, I raised my gun and shot. My eyes were closed, and I wasn't sure I hit anything. Until everything went silent then a thud hit the ground. I couldn't believe I actually shot someone. But they were ready to kill me. They swung right at my face with a metal bat. It was self-defense. It had to be. Right?
I opened my eyes and saw blood pooling around the body. There was no way they were going to make it. I reached up to the counter, keeping my eyes on the shadowed body, and dialed 911. At least they would get there quick since crime was low on Tuesday nights relative to the weekends.
I crept over the body on the floor, keeping my gun drawn in case they had more than that bat. I got out my flashlight to get a better look. My eyes had to be playing tricks on me because I couldn't believe what I saw.Â
It was the girl who closed up shop only an hour before. She couldn't have been more than sixteen years old. Why would she come back here, why would she come alone and try to stop me? How did she even know I was in there?Â
My focus was going in and out as I tried to make sense of what happened. I knelt down to the girl, hoping she was still breathing. There was blood all over, and I couldn't tell where I hit her. I held her in my arms looking for any sign of life.Â
Did I kill a kid? A kid who was only trying to protect her grandparents' shop? How did it get to this? I just needed some cash, enough to get by. I didn't want to be a killer, I didn't want to hurt anyone. I made sure she left. She left and wanted to come back. Why did she come back?
My head was a mess, and only got busier when I saw the red light flashing outside. The cops were there. I was holding a dead girl in my arms and there was no escaping.Â
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I watched as the paramedics took her away and felt the cold metal grasp tight around my wrists. I didn't even fight it, I couldn't believe it was real. How had my plan failed in the worst way possible? How had I even gotten to that point? All I had left to blame was myself.

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