Page 128 of Wrench
when I realized he had seen Lizzie hiding in the hallway. ¡°But fuck, she was cute. If you
don¡¯t give me what I want, I¡¯m taking her with me.¡±
¡°No. Please don¡¯t, she¡ª¡±
Cool metal pressed against my skull, followed by the sound of the trigger clicking near
my ear, making icy sweat drip from my pores.
¡°Not a good time to slow down, girl.¡±
¡°Okay.¡± My voice quivered. ¡°I¡¯m going to the fridge now. Please don¡¯t shoot.¡±
He lowered the pistol just an inch, but it was enough for me to push through the fear,
I unlocked the refrigerator and bent to see a newly replenished stock of Vetalar. Still
holding my breath, I grabbed all of the cases, turned, and handed them to him. ¡°Here, this
is everything we¡¯ve got. Take it.¡±
In a flash, he grabbed the drugs and ran out the door with a cloud of dust behind him.
Still running off adrenaline, I muttered, ¡°Kelly,¡± before sprinting back to the lobby. On the
floor was Kelly with her head in her hands, weeping uncontrollably as Ellen tried to
console her. Lizzie stood beside them and once she saw me, she broke into tears and
threw her arms around my neck.
¡°You¡ were¡ so¡ brave¡¡± she sputtered out between tears and not long after, I was
crying into her shoulder.
The police and Chris, our boss, showed up shortly after, and everything was chaotic.
People with their pets started coming in for their appointments, angry that they had to
reschedule, as all four of us witnesses were visibly traumatized.
¡°I¡¯m sorry, you¡¯ll have to come back, tomorrow,¡± Ellen argued with my three o¡¯clock
appointment while Kelly and I stood with the police. ¡°We¡¯ve just had an emergency.¡±
¡°Yeah, but I work tomorrow,¡± she snapped back. ¡°Now I need to take a day off because
of your screw up?¡±
¡°Ma¡¯am. My two friends just had guns pointed toward them,¡± she said, smiling. ¡°I
don¡¯t care that this is an inconvenience to you. Please leave or I¡¯ll have these cops escort
you out.¡±
The woman gasped, looking at the police as if they would defend her, but one of them
said, ¡°Ma¡¯am. Please leave the property.¡±
