Tim's store
Disclaimer: not mine
Lucy was riding her bicycle down the cold pavement road, one mild April day in the year of 1999. The sunset was about an hour away, so she was rode at a lazy pace because her home was only ten minutes away. As she turned a corner a big red bold sign caught her attention. She put her foot down and slight swerved as she leaned in to read it.
"BIG OPENING SALE AT TIM'S STORE 50 OFF ALL MERCHANDIZE."
Lucy was surprised to see that behind the sign stood a shabby old store. She rode her bike from school every day and she had never seen this building there before. "Then again" she thought to herself "it sure seems to blend in well." The store was grey and blended with the shadows that seemed to surround it like a perpetual fog of darkness. A stark contrast to the bold red sale sign in front. Lucy shivered slightly the place gave her an unnerving feeling.
The scene stops, as if frozen in time. A man steps out of the dark shadows and on to the pavement. He is wearing a classy black tuxedo, and has a cigar in hand. He begins to speak in an even tone.
"Submitted for your approval. A frugal young lady of the tender age of fourteen. She is a bargain hunter, a penny pincher; some may even go as far as to call her cheap. But she has just crosses paths with a bargain she cannot resist. A path leading straight into the darkest debts of the twilight zone"
He then takes a step off the pavement and back into the shadows. He seems to vanish into thin air. The scene unfreezes and continues as if he were never there.
Lucy took a quick look at her watch, then back at the building. "I will only be a few minutes. Ten minutes tops." She assured herself. She put her bike down, took a deep breath, and stepped into the unknown.
Lucy cautiously walked up to the store, she quickly noticed that it looked old and out of disrepair. "This is a new store?" She tried to see through the windows but the inside was too dark, and the windows were coved in filth. She used her long sleeve to wipe the filth off the window, and then cupped her hands around her eyes as she peered in. Lucy could see a faint flicker of light inside, and the basic outlines of the store counters.
Her hand gently pushed the door opened, but only so much as she could barely slide her body through the crack. Once inside she silently pushed the door closed. She inwardly breathed a sigh of relief. Lucy immediately noticed the room's unkempt look. The floors, once white, were a powdered grey. Windows covered in filth. The gas lights barely giving off enough light to see, flickering every few seconds. Gathering her courage she approached the washed out counter, her foot steeps echoed loudly with every step she too. "Hello?" she whispered. "Hello?" she said again but louder. She reached the counter. "I'm here about the special sale. There was a sign outside. Is the sale still go-" she looked down but there was no one there.
"Actually, miss the sale is still good" Said a voice from behind her. Lucy quickly jerked her head around. "Sorry if I startled you" he said giving off an impish smile. He was a lanky, tall, and skinny man dressed in outdated clothing.
"Don't worry you didn't starlet me" Lucy quickly lied "I came in here for the sale, but I see that it is getting late and I should probably go" she said nervously.
"What a shame, you would have been our first customer" he said sadly.
"I wonder why" thought Lucy sarcastically. "I'm real sorry, but like I said before it's getting late."
"And" he continued "as our first customer it would only be fair if I gave you a free gift, courtesy of Tim's store of course"
"Free gift?" said Lucy out loud
"Absolutely free" he replied watching Lucy carefully.
"In that case… I guess a few minutes couldn't hurt" she replied cheerfully as she walked down the store thoughtfully.
"Have fun" he chuckled, but she was too far down the store to hear him.
"What should I get? Candy? No." she thought as she passed the dusty candy isle. "Electronics, no. clothing, no. Cleaning supplies, Nope" she thought as she passed each isle.
"A stuffed animal!" she happily thought as she passed a giant bin labeled "stuffed animals." The bin was deep, and was a faded red. She quickly walked up to it and looks down. There was one stuffed animal at the bottom of the deep bin. A monkey, with a painted red smile. "That's kinda' cute, I like monkeys". The flickering light shone on it so that only the face was barely visible. Lucy bent over the bin and reached down.
The stench of burning wool assaulted her nostrils filling her with a sickening feeling.
"Eww, gross!" she yelled as she threw it back into the bin. The monkey's legs were burnt black, as if burnt off by a fire. Its eyes reflected the dim lights above. The painted happy smiling face transformed into a twisted evil smile of hate.
Lucy shivered in fear, she knew she shouldn't have come but her greed had blinded her. She quickly began to run up the isles, her loud foots steps shadowed by a soft scraping noise of something being dragged across the floor. Her heart pounded in her chest, as she rounded a corner and reached for the door. She quickly and sharply tugged at the door, but it would not budge. The soft scraping sound became louder, as she continued to tug desperately at the door. Lucy pounded her fists into the door, becoming more and more frantic as the sounds became louder, and louder.
As a car passed by the light from its headlights spread through ought the entrance of the store.
Something hissed as if in pain, and then the scraping sounds became more distant. Lucy bolted down the store; she remembered that in the electronic area of the store there was a display of flash lights. If
she could reach them she would be safe. As she ran she heard the scraping, dragging noise follow. Lucy quickly turned and grabbed the closest flashlight, fumbling it in her hands. The noise continued to get louder, and she saw the outline of the legless monkey. Its sinister smile always on its face. It began to move closer, a knife in hand
With shaking hands Lucy flipped the on switch. Nothing. He kept moving closer, his smile widening as her face became filled with despair. His psychopathic eyes twinkling as he raised the knife. Lucy reached behind her and grabbed the closest batteries. She angrily kicked him away. Then ran.
She needed light to see, she ran towards the front of the store. That scraping noise always following.
She slumped down shaking as she used the outside lights to see. Her shaking only grew worse as the side of her eye say the outline of the sinister monkey. She shoved the batteries in and moved to switch to on. The monkey screeched and lounged at her.
Then all was dark. Lucy opened her eyes as the morning light filled the store. She yawned quietly covering her mouth. "It was all a dream, well... more like a nightmare" she quickly tried to get up. But something was wrong. She looked down and screamed, because in place of her legs were two bloody burnt stumps.
The same man as before steps out, except now he has a newspaper in hand. He takes a puff of the cigar and begins to talk.
"Lucy a young girl of fourteen just endured a nightmarish time in a haunted store. A store that should not even exist. The store made her a deal and against her better judgment she took it. Now Lucy has to live with the consequences of her actions for all eternity."
He stops talking and drops the news paper, the camera zooms in. The title reads as follows: "Tim's store burned down in tragic accident, right before opening" the year reads 1979." The screen blanks out and then is replaced by the end credits and a picture of the news paper