SPOILER ALERTS AND CONTENT WARNINGS!

Nudity, Misogyny, Racism, Murder, Stalking

The gaming chair Corporate provided lets you swivel while you scan the broad array of screens, watching employees scurry around preparing for the onslaught of customers. You actually have to call the police or Corporate if someone breaks into the store to steal money from a till, or to report something amiss with an employee. Until then, you bide your time.

You love watching the employees—and even give them nicknames. Nicknames amuse you. Even your dick has one: Titan.

Tiny carries the short stepladder under his arm while he pushes a shopping cart full of boxes to the northeast corner of the store. He begins stocking shelves.

Poor schmuck. His strained efforts give you a thrill.

Judith the Cashier clocks in on the computer at her station at precisely eight o’clock. She glances around before sneezing into a tissue, and blushes even before she wipes her nose.

You smirk at her embarrassment. 

Judith the Cashier is a total hottie behind those glasses, even with her snotty nose.

Tiny teeters on the stepladder, reaching towards the sky shelf with a can of beef stew, and he almost topples. Judith appears and taps his arm, urging him to step off the ladder.

You almost laugh out loud.

Tiny’s now-visible comb over both repels and delights you. You imagine his horror as he encounters Judith face to face.

You get a nice view of Judith’s ass in her tight black jeans when she climbs the ladder for Tiny and places the can of beef stew on the sky shelf. She turns and smiles at him; he looks away as she dismounts. Then she hands Tiny the box cutter he dropped. They exchange words. She probably asks how he’s doing. He mumbles something at her and flees. Judith sighs and moves back toward the cash register.

The first customer enters and the alert sensors beep shrill in his wake. The high-pitched noise jolts Judith, and her perky breasts jiggle when she jumps at the sound. Now you do laugh out loud—and Titan stirs. Judith pushes a loose strand of flaxen hair behind her ear and adjusts her glasses so they sit straight on her nose.

You sneer at the flimsy-cheapy plastic clip holding her lengthy hair in place. She probably bought it on discount here at the store. Her cobalt-blue eyes, magnified by the thick lenses of her glasses so they shimmer large and gorgeous, flash toward the camera—right at you. You know she cannot see you, but Titan bulges. 

 One of the regular customers saunters toward Judith’s station. He tosses his items on the counter’s surface, and something scans on its own. Judith flinches, then checks the computer screen to see which item scanned. The customer taps the countertop with his finger. 

Only 8:27 AM and already Judith’s crying. Pathetic bitch. You lean forward in your chair.

Judith’s breasts rise and fall.

Titan stirs again and you squirm in your seat.

The second customer sets a box of cereal and a half-gallon of milk on the counter. Judith’s face brightens at the woman with her two children in tow. The children squeal their delight when Judith makes a funny face at them.

More customers enter the store: two men in construction coveralls, a Latino landscaper wearing a hoodie with a cheery green and orange logo, an athletic man in a warmup suit, and an older woman in a tattered purple raincoat.

Tiny also stands in line holding a bottle of water. The athletic man sets his energy drink on the counter and Judith scans it. He pays and nods at Judith. The construction guys want cigarettes. Judith asks to see their IDs and they comply; they point to their graying hair, probably joking about how they’re plenty old enough to buy cigarettes. When Judith laughs, her face glows.

It’s finally Tiny’s turn, and you chortle when he smiles at Judith—surprised he hasn’t crapped himself as he’s in such close proximity to her.

You almost envy him. 

The landscaper stands behind Tiny, holding some trail mix. Judith smiles at him, too, as she scans Tiny’s water. His face turns red to the back of his neck. He blinks, pays, and walks away.

The strident alert blares again. 

Two ICE agents enter and hurl themselves toward Judith’s register, tackling the landscaper. A third agent moves through the sensors, setting off the alarm again.

You watch, riveted, Titan swelling once again.

Judith positions herself between the Latino customer and the ICE agents.

One of the agents draws a gun.

You stand and undo your zipper.       

A shot blasts.

Judith falls.

Your jeans drop down around your ankles.

Another shot fires.

You neglect to call 911.

Tiny arrives. His mouth twists with agony; he cradles Judith’s head in his lap. Darkness spreads through Judith’s white shirt, over her breasts and below. Slowly, inevitably, her blood soaks Tiny, the floor, and the landscaper she tried to help—her blood, the Latino’s blood, commingling. The other customers in line shriek their grief.

Drool dribbles from the corner of your mouth; you sit again and lean back into the gaming chair, busying yourself into a frenzy. Your vision darkens, and instead of ecstasy, your final sensation is shivering terror as chittering demon-creatures gnaw on you, tear at your flesh, and pull you down.

Titan retreats and shrivels.

And your heart stops.

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Koren Cowgill received her undergraduate and doctoral degrees in Music Composition from the Eastman School of Music and her Master of Music from Yale.

Koren completed her first novel, The Final Months of Hoo-hah, in 2019, and it’s available on Amazon in both paperback and eBook formats. Her high fantasy novel, Teurith of Loring, is available on Amazon in eBook and paperback formats. In the fall of 2024, her short story, The Shuffler, was published in Hedge Apple Magazine’s Labyrinth issue. Koren lives in Cape May County with her husband, Richard, and their dog, Saffron.