Walmart Survival

"Grumble grumble grrr," went my stomach.

I could not believe my own

stupidity. My feet felt like icicles, and the feeling had just left my left

pinkie toe, the nine others still complained at me, but at least that meant

they were not totally frozen yet. an icy headwind buffeted my face. My hood

gave up any attempt to shield me. My hands were balled up tight in the bottoms

of my jean pockets, but the wind easily blew straight through my jeans, making

my hands glacial.

"How had I gotten myself

into such a predicament?" I wondered, taking another step through the

powdery light snow. "I should have just caught a ride with someone else

last week when my groceries where starting to get low. Then out of nowhere this

blizzard hit and I haven't eaten in two days... Yeah Mom college is so much

fun!"

That was when I spotted the

blessed land of the great, Walmart. A little drool dribbled out of the corner

of my lip. Through the torrent of snowflakes, I couldn't tell if the store was

open. I ran like my life depended on reaching the store, mostly because it did.

Plowing through the last bit

of snow, I had reached it, and to my pleasant surprise, the store doors

automatically opened. I rushed in unabashed and sprinted to the deli food

section of the store. My wet shoes squeaked with every step.

On arrival, my nose went to

heaven as the aroma of freshly cooked chicken, homemade chicken noodle soup,

and oven baked tater tots wafted through my nostrils. I grabbed a bag of each

and went straight to a table and gorged myself with the contents. I was sure no

one would mind if I paid after.

A piece of chicken wedged

itself into the back of my throat and after a little bit of hacking, the piece skyrocketed

out of my mouth an impressive distance and landed with a plop on the floor. I

looked around red face and embarrassed, I couldn't believe I had just done that

in public.

I looked around frantically

to make sure no one form school had seen that. "Whew, no one even

noticed." I whispered to myself. Wait. I did a double take. No one had

seen it because I realized there were no people.

My mind flashed back to when

I had frantically entered the store. In my haste, I had not noticed that there

were no cars in the parking lot, and I had not seen a single soul for the past

who knows how long.

That was peculiar. I could hear

myself thinking in the dead silence. My beating heart could also be heard as it

increased a fraction. I slowly walked down the aisles; each agonizing step was

followed by a slight squeak. I paused... a barely audible squeak sounded... I

looked down. My shoe had dried. Another squeak sounded a little bit closer now.

"Anyone there?" My

voice echoed through the store followed by eerie silence. "common Dan I

have seen your Youtube prank channel. I don't know how you pulled this off, but

I am not falling for it!" I shouted.

Again, nothing but a

lingering silence followed. I knew that had to be the squeaking of shoes. I was

not going to let Dan get the best of me like he did to many of the other classmates.

For all I knew he could be videoing me right now, waiting for me to scream like

a little girl. that had been the downfall of many brave and mighty men, but not

me. I walked as confidently as possible with my nerves on end, back to the

deli. I was going to find Dan and ruin his video.

The squeaking started again

as I neared the deli. I ran the last few feet around the corner to the deli.

"Ahaaa! I caught you red

handed!" I was rewarded with more silence.

I looked around. I must have

gone crazy. There was nobody there. Wait where did my food go? There was

nothing at all! That was when I heard a rasping breath. I looked to the floor

where the chicken piece had landed. A shiver went down my spine. I baby lay

motionless on the floor.

What kind of prank was this?!

I sprinted full speed around the baby for the exit. I didn't wait for the

automatic doors to open. They didn't. A thud rung in my head. Everything went

black.

Groggily, I sat up and

instantly regretted the choice. daggers poked my brain till I lay down again. I

looked around from the ground and to my horror, I was still in the Walmart. I

realized this could not be a prank. Dan would have not let it get this far.

He would be jumping out right

now saying, "Haha sucka, you just got prankified!"

But there was no Dan, no camera,

and no joke. This was real. My body itched of cold sweat. I stank of fear.

Slowly, I rose and tried the door again with no luck. I turned back towards the

deli. It's just a power outage. That is why the door won't open.

"But that still didn't

explain the baby." I thought to myself as I retraced my steps to the deli.

"I probably just imagined this whole thing. It is probably just a power

outage caused by the snowstorm."

Turning the corner, I saw it

clear as day. The baby. A chill racked my body. why was it so cold in here all

the sudden? The lights seemed a touch dimmer as well. Each step closer to the

baby was an eternity. After a couple more steps the temperature dropped again,

and the lights seemed ever so dimmer.

I turned back to the entrance

and paused. No, I couldn't leave a defenseless baby on the ground in such a

creepy place. I slowly turned back towards the baby. It was gone. Not a trace.

A baby scream echoed through

the whole store. I needed out, and I needed it now! I sprinted through aisle

after aisle headed towards the far exit. There had to be a way out. The isles

seemed to stretch out forever. A giggle sounded somewhere behind me. I

redoubled my efforts, but my legs were noodles. I was almost to the far side of

the store. I veered sharply into the cereal aisle. My lunges ached from

exertion.

In no time, I neared the end

and swerved towards the exit. Coming screeching to a halt, my shoes skidded to

a stop. It was a dead end.

"tap.. tap.. tap.."

sounded behind me. another giggle sounded. I could see the little baby crawl

towards me.

I backed up into the wall

with a thud. On either side of me the shelves were filled with countless,

little babies. In unison, their little baby heads turned towards me. hoping off

the shelf they instantly surrounded me. Everything went black.

"Get off me!" I

yelled withering, "ahhhhhhhhhh!" I jolted upright. My eyes flew open.

"Get pranked

loser!" Exclaimed Dan. I looked around. "Haha should have seen the

look on your face!"

I was in my dorm room

surrounded by my laughing roommates. I cradled a one of those super realistic

baby dolls. Sweat dripped all over me.

Dan finally got his laughter

under control. "Your sister told me about your fear of baby dolls. She

said you had nightmares about it. We gave you the doll while you slept, and the

rest is on camera."

Oh no I was never gonna live

this one down. I would be the school joke for ages. Wait I had never told

anyone about my secret fear. Not even my sister.

"Hey! Whats going on

here?" I yelled. "This can't be real. Dan you aren't even my roommate

how did you get in here?"

Another shock. I sat upright.

My eyes flew open. I tried to move my body, but restraints dug into my arms and

legs. There was also something mildly heavy strapped to my head. A bright light

stung my eyes. I looked around wildly for an escape. There were no windows or

doors.

"Help!" I screamed

to no avail. "What do you want with me...? Common what did I do to deserve

this?"

"I am sorry for you're

discomfort James." A women's voice so monotone, I was sure that it had to

be automated replied. A woman stepped in through a panel in the wall. "You

signed up as a volunteer for dream research."

A blurred memory popped into

my head at the mention of volunteer work. It slowly came back to me in bits and

pieces. I had needed a little extra cash and they were paying a good deal of

money for volunteers. I had signed all the paperwork and entered this building.

My memory was blank from there.

"What is with all these

restrains then?" I blurted out.

Monotone girl turned towards

me. "They are for your own safety. Remain calm. We are almost done with

our research."

This was the craziest day of

my life. I can't believe I signed up for this. It can't be worth how much they

are paying me. The girl had not done much to calm my racing nerves and turned

to leave. I thought frantically for what I should do. I could not stay here any

longer, but her voice had been very final. They were going to finish what they

were doing no matter what. Just then I realized, with my hands constrained by

my side, I could still reach into my pocket. I felt around and I felt the cap

of a Gatorade bottle. I hurried and grabbed it, sliding it into place between

my curled up middle finger and thumb. I flicked it quickly towards the

retreating figure. It was a one in a million chance. the panel started sliding

shut. the cap wedged itself in the crack last second with the slightest chink

sound. Only the slightest crack was left open. But it was still pointless

because I had no way of freeing myself.

The women didn't walk far

before she stopped before a male voice confronted her. "Did he believe

you?" I barely made out through the crack.

"Yes. He doesn't suspect

a thing. The implanted memories and translator chip are working

perfectly." The women replied without feeling.

I reeled in shock. This was

so messed up. The government was testing people and tricking them into being

part of some messed up experiment. I had to get out.

I went to put all my force

into breaking out when the male continued speaking, "This earth should

make a perfect home for our people. It seems their greatest fear are little

infants!" he let out a strange gurgling sound, surprisingly like the sound

my stomach would make.

"Ha..ha..ha, yes indeed

our deepest fear machine has worked perfectly. We will rain babies down on

them, and all humans will flee before us." The women said in perfect

monotone.

 I pinched my leg. I was not sleeping this

time. I relaxed my body. I guess there is nothing I can do but sit back and

watch these morons try and take over earth. I chuckled slowly to myself. What a

way to go.

THE END