Black Friday: Chapter 1

Instead of my usual blog post this week I plan to share a new piece of fiction for free as a thank you for all the people who have been following my journey and patiently waiting for my first novel to finally be published. This will also give me an excuse to not go out into the insanity that is Black Friday. I will be working on this today and posting new chapters as I finish them. Enjoy!

Chapter 1: The Opening

The line extends around the building and into the parking lot. The masses of people here chasing after some sort of deal. Charles wants the latest computer streaming device that is on sale for $50 less than anywhere else. Leslie wants an Ultra HD TV that is $500 less than the usual price. Cameron wants a video game system, Anna wants a massaging chair, Dwayne wants hunting gear, and so on. The lust and greed fills Krumerixan's nostrils like the scent of a warm apple pie just pulled out of the oven.

Outside the store are red and yellow neon lights that invite destruction. The red feeding into the customer's primordial bloodlust. The yellow triggering fear centers within the brains of those waiting for the doors to open. The smiling face with shifty eyes promises nothing but happiness and good times while silently mocking the throng of people waiting for their moment to pounce on products. The items they procure may be the key to their very survival or destruction.

The clock strikes midnight and the doors open. People push through 3 and sometimes 4 at a time. The creature wearing an old hispanic lady's skin suit says, "Welcome to Merry Mart". The stomping of feet on the painted floor masks the clicking of teeth within the skin suit. The skin suits confine them into shapes that cannot be comfortable. In an hour they will be freed. Criminals to our ways they will be given a chance at redemption or die in the process. The line dwindles like a parasite infecting a larger host. This host will fight back.

The last customer enters the building and Krumerixan conjures the barrier. No one shall leave this building unless he wills it. It has begun. The customers within find the products they desire. Charles has his streaming device, too light to bludgeon someone with. Cameron equips his gaming system, large and heavy enough to hurt someone but an awkward weapon. Anna's massaging chair is in pieces. The plastic arms may prove to be adequate batons. Dwayne has a rifle and a tackle box with fishhooks. The hooks may prove more useful without ammo to load the rifle.

The employees quietly recede to back rooms, occasionally deflecting questions from customers to other abandoned departments. The frenzy grows ever more tense, confusing, and hostile without the employees to maintain order. Through the viewport Krumerixan sees all of it. Soon all will fall to chaos. The many varied flavors of emotion will become that saccharine flavor of fear. Krumerixan prefers the varied soup of emotions that are currently simmering in the pot, but there are bigger mouths to feed.

The first fatality is claimed. Within the mob an elderly man falls. The stomping of feet involuntarily take the man's fragile life. His chaperon calls for the man with desperation in his voice. Blood spreads across the floor staining the bottom of shoes. Others slip in the slick liquid. A woman screams loud enough to cause the crowd to pause. This is excellent. Krumerixan has not initiated the message yet and they are already at each others throats.

Chapter 2