Alone in the back of the car, she watched the rain droplets streaming down the window, merging and splitting as they raced down to the bottom and disappeared. In the distance, she heard the exhaust of cars, people talking, and footsteps splashing through the puddles, racing to find shelter from the downpour. Across the parking lot, a tall man dressed in a long cloak got out of his car and opened the rear driver side door. She watched as he pulled a briefcase over in front of him, opened it, pulled out a shiny metal object, and then hid it in the folds of the heavy coat. Wondering what the object was, she looked on while the man closed the door, and began walking slowly and aimlessly around the parking lot, looking through the window of each car. This seemed strange to her, but she disregarded it almost immediately, and continued watching with curiosity as the man continued wandering around the parking lot.

   As the man drew closer, she began to worry. Every car in the parking lot was empty—except for hers. He approached the vehicle next to hers, looked in each window, and continued on to the next car—her car. Shrinking down into a pile on the floor, she could see his shadowy figure approach the back window. She could feel her heart race as his face appeared close to the glass. Then, the dark figure started to slowly disappear. Curious, she slowly rose from the floor, and peered out the back window. There, she saw him…and he saw her too. The man quickly pulled the metal object from his coat, aimed, and pulled the trigger. BANG!! Putting a hole in the glass, he missed. Panicked and in shock, she immediately dove into the back seat, pressing her face against the leather. BANG! Another shot was fired. The glass in the back window shattered, raining down on her—just as the storm had done to the streets outside. The shards covered her back and legs, sticking to her skin, and slicing deep gashes into her flesh. BANG! BANG! She heard it again. Two more shots had been fired, and this time, the man didn’t miss. The two bullets went straight into her left leg. She wanted to scream, but she was too scared. She thought that maybe, just maybe, if she laid there silently, the man would stop shooting. BANG! The man fired his final bullet. She felt it brush her left side, paralyzing her with fear.

    The man turned, and ran for his car. He opened the rear driver side door, and grabbed five more bullets, loading one, and tucking the other four into the deep pockets on the front of his coat. Seeing people rushing for the doors, he ran towards them and pointed his gun. “Nobody move!” he commanded, the rain pouring down his scarred pale face. Pointing with his other hand, he gestured towards the car—her car.  “I just killed one girl. I’m not afraid to kill anyone else who gets in my way!” She could hear him shouting in the distance. “Good.” She thought, “He thinks I’m dead. Wait…am I dead?” she couldn’t tell if she was alive or not. The bullets had felt so real, so painful. She slowly reached down, touched her leg with one of her unsteady fingers, and quivered in pain. She bit her lip, struggling not to scream. At least now, she knew she was alive.

  As she tried to sit upright, she caught a glimpse of the action outside. There the man stood, gun clenched in one of his angry fists, his thick coat flapping in the wind. On the other side of the door, a woman reached for her the phone in her pocket. Seeing this, the man tapped his gun on the glass of the door, pointing at the woman’s head. “You…if you don’t put that phone down, I’ll shoot it!” The woman, tears streaming down her face, slowly raised the phone into the air. “Go ahead!” she said, “Shoot!” Without hesitation, the man fired his gun—straight at her. BANG! The bullet flew straight through the glass, making a clean break, and into the woman’s throat. Everyone in the store screamed, alarmed that the man had actually shot someone. He’d done it. He’d claimed a life right there. “I told you I wasn’t afraid!” The man yelled, loading his gun. “Who’s next? Any takers?” Nobody moved. Nobody even blinked. “No takers?” The man pretended to be surprised. “Well…I’ve already killed two of you, what’s two more? How about I just kill you all and get it over with already? It’s not like anybody’s going to save you, anyway. How many of you are there? Ten? Fifteen? Looks like I’m going to need more bullets. The man quickly turned, tripping over his own feet. As he fell to the ground, he accidentally squeezed the trigger. BANG! The whole world seemed to fall completely silent, except for the increasingly loud sound of the falling rain.

   Two men emerged from the store. They approached the man with caution. When they rolled him over, it was clear he was dead. The bullet had gone straight through his chest, probably piercing his heart. Realizing that it was safe, everyone came out of the store. A bit shaken, but otherwise okay, one man reached for the cellphone in his pocket and called the police. Another man, noticing the shattered car window, opened the door and pulled the girl out. He was shocked at the sight. Her whole body was speckled with shards of glass, and the two bullet holes in her leg were bleeding badly. She began to stir. “Am…am I dead?” She managed to make out the words, though her mouth was dry and her life was fading fast. “No”, the man replied, resting the girl’s head on a blanket. “You’re not dead.” The words felt soft and warm to her ears, as the final light faded. Her world turned black.