The smell of rubber balls and leather rub filled their nostrils as Eden and Selena pried open the sliding glass doors to get into the sporting goods store, wedging their fingers into the crack on either side and pulling away from each other. Once the door was open they placed a cinderblock in between the two sides and squeezed their way through.
"Wow, almost completely untouched," Selena said, staring into the large unlit aisles of sporting equipment nobody seemed to grab during the raids.
"Good, means we get the first pick," Eden said, smiling largely. The two of them grabbed a cart and began pushing it through the carpeted aisles, filled with mannequins, sports balls, and protective pads of all kinds. They searched every aisle for stuff they knew would help them to survive. They grabbed collapsible fishing rods, nets, warm clothes, camping equipment, and a few fire starter kits. They felt like rednecks the way they found themselves obsessing over the different types of hunting and fishing equipment.
"What do you think, could I pull this off?" Selena asked jokingly, holding a large camouflage hunting parka out in front of her as if she was dress shopping for the prom.
"Oh definitely, that would go great with these," they replied, chuckling and holding up a pair of black rubber swamp boots. The two of them laughed as they continued shopping around. It may have been dumb but regardless this was the most fun either of them had had in a while. So they were going to enjoy it. They hopped from aisle to aisle playing with the random balls and equipment left around. They slammed hockey pucks across the store and used lacrosse sticks as swords.
They jumped on the "display only" trampolines and threw baseballs at the ceiling panels above in an attempt to knock one down, unsuccessfully. Then they found the gun counter. An unsupervised, and unlocked cage filled with all kinds of guns. From rifles to shotguns in the large cage and inside of the counter case they found pistols and knives. Along the other wall, they had compound bows and hunting bows along with a wide assortment of ammunition.
Behind the counter was a door leading into what they presumed was the break room. Excitement rushed through them so intensely they ran to the counter leaving their cart behind. They ran so quickly that they practically hurdled the counter and started grabbing the guns. Selena got her hands on a double barrel, while Eden picked up the AR-15. Both of them aimed down the sights and pretended to shoot random things throughout the store, before laughing like children.
"Hey, let's find the key and grab some ammo so we can shoot the mannequins," Selena said, jittering with excitement.
"I don't know what if we-"
"C'mon, when are we ever going to get the chance to shoot a real gun again?" She pleaded.
"Okay, let's go," they said, putting their gun on the counter. The two of them searched drawers, desks, and cabinets to no avail. The key wasn't here. The two glanced over at the door behind them, it was a standard breakroom door sported with a single window that sat just above eye level with the crisscross wire pattern between the double-paned glass.
"It has to be in there," she said, nudging Eden as if to tell them to go check. They rolled their eyes before inching their way toward the door. They stood up on their toes and used the door for support, and peeked into the window. The room was dark, darker than the rest of the store. They could see small shapes in the darkness but not much else besides the blinking green light connected to the fire alarm mounted in the ceiling.
"I can't see anything," They said, squinting hard in an attempt to make any of the shapes any clearer. Selena looked around for a moment looking for anything valuable they could use to see into the dark room. On the shelf next to her she found some weapon extensions, including a small flashlight with a rubber button on the back.
"Here, use this," She said, tossing the small light to Eden. They caught and twisted it between their fingers, before pushing the rubber button. The light expelled itself in a small but solid beam. Eden once again stood on their toes and peeped into the window, this time shining the light in as well. The darkness was no longer an issue as the light brought things into view. There was a small microwave on the counter near the sink. There were odd sports posters hung unevenly along the poorly cleaned wall.
The floors were a black and white checker pattern that hadn't been mopped in what looked like months. In the center of the room was a circular white plastic table with two lawn chairs around it. One of the chairs was filled by a heavy-set husk in a red baseball cap blue jeans and a green t-shirt. On his hip, was a keyring with different keys resting upon it.
"Yeah they're in there, but you aren't gonna like it," They said, focusing the small light on the husk's hip.
"Why?" She asked, concerned and nervous. Eden wrapped their hand around the doorknob and twisted it firmly. It clicked and twisted less than half an inch.
"Locked," they said, twisting the knob relentlessly. Selena thought for a moment before remembering she saw a fire axe near the entrance resting in a white box and protected by a thin layer of break-away glass.
"I'll be back," She said, running toward the front of the store.
"Wait, don't just...and she's gone," Eden said, unsurprisingly. They fumbled around the counter looking for a key of any kind to see if they could open the door before Selena came back with the axe.
They dragged the tips of their fingers along the rough splintered wood on the underside of the glass counter. As they moved slowly along the grain their hand bumped into something that made an odd ripping kind of noise as they nudged it. They knelt and looked under the desk where they found a small handgun resting comfortably in a holster strapped to the underside of the counter in a holster with a thin layer of duct tape. Nervously they reached out and grabbed the grip firmly in their hand before unsnapping the securing strap and pulling it from the holster.
They stood up feeling the heavy gun weigh down their hand as they bounced it gently. It's so heavy, they thought, pointing the gun out in front of them and clenching one eye closed. They mimicked the action of shooting it, greatly exaggerating the recoil while making quiet gunshot noises with their mouth. Their eyes scanned over the weapon looking at each mechanism trying to understand the function of each one.
As they inspected it their eyes locked on the magazine release before placing their thumb on top of it. Then firmly they pushed the button in and set their free hand underneath it to catch whatever came out. The magazine fell quickly and slapped their hand as it landed. Eden marveled at the weight in the magazine alone. Then they saw the entire sleeve was filled with hollow-point rounds. The thought of breaking into the office quickly escaped their mind as they now had the bullets they needed the keys for.
They slid the full magazine back into the handgun and ensured one round was chambered. They held the gun out in front of them, once again clenching one eye closed and aiming down the sight at the mannequin dressed up with a fishing vest, a fishing rod, and a bucket hat lined with hook and sinkers. They took a deep breath in and closed their eyes tightly. As they exhaled, their finger tensed and the firing pin slammed down.