Black Friday

My brothers, Liam and Chase, and I decided we were going to Wal-Mart on Black Friday, solely for the purpose of finding a good deal on video games for the PS4. Our parents let us pick out some of our items for Christmas and they'd sent us with money to get them. Only rule was we had to hand them over to them to wrap up to save for us. It was around midnight and the place was still crazy and packed. Our Wal-Mart had a really good selection of movies and games still, and I don't know about anyone else, but I like being able to go to a store and buying something like that and having physical copies. I was on the hunt for the new Battlefield game that had just been released days ago.

When I found what I was looking for, I continued to look in the area for other things I could find for my parents. Checking out a soap opera, I heard someone cough nearby. It was a harsh cough, like someone had been smoking two packs of cigarettes a day for thirty-plus years. Then, a middle aged man emerged from the next aisle and approached my area. He smelled like he'd eaten too much Chinese food and threw it back up. His beard that was filled with rats and knots was grey and his clothing was ripped up and tattered. I figured he must of been a random homeless guy, wandering around the store hoping that someone would be generous enough to spare some cash.

"You like video games, huh?" he asked me in a raspy voice.

I chuckled lightly, trying to be somewhat friendly. "Yeah." I moved away a little to give him the hint I wasn't interested in conversation, but he didn't leave me alone. He stayed there, right next to me and I was trying not to breathe deeply.

"My son likes video games. Maybe you could come over and play with him."

I was immediately disturbed, so I said the first thing to come to my head in hopes to get him away. "Oh, I'm not from town." I saw the expression in his face go from happy to mad. It was that angry look that a little kid would get when you told them no. I grabbed a random movie and hurried away to find my brothers, calling their names as I walked. I did a quick glance over my shoulder. The man was just staring at me, not moving an inch. I was in instant comfort when I reached the next aisle and stood beside my brothers. I waited around for them to find their games and we made our way toward the check out counters.

The lines were long, and I assumed we'd be waiting for at least ten minutes. I handed my game to Chase and went to look through the nearby clothes section. A clearance rack was behind a large display that hid the check out lines, so I was pretty secluded. Then, someone grabbed me by the arm. I assumed it was Liam, coming to tell me that Chase had checked out and was ready to go. But when I turned my head, I was greeted by that smell, and the man's sinister face. I started to yell, and call out that I didn't know this man and people just started to stare and didn't say anything. That was when the man let go of me, and with a small, creepy smile, he walked away.

I couldn't even try to guess what the man was going to try, especially in such a public place on a very busy day. I didn't tell my brothers about what happened out of embarrassment but they picked up on the change in my mood when we reached Liam's car. He pulled out of the parking spot and started toward the entrance of the Wal-Mart to get to the right exit. There that man was, sitting on one of the benches, watching. We drove by him and his followed us and we rolled on by. I gave him the finger but it didn't seem to do anything. He just kept staring.

After we'd gone to bed that night, I nearly forgot about the whole incident. It was just another person that I'll never see again and Wal-Mart on Black Friday brings out the weirdest people. I got changed into my pajamas and settled in bed, exhausted. I was almost asleep when I heard a knock on the window. At first, I thought it was just my imagination since I was in the midst of sleep. But then it came again.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

I turned to my window and froze where I was, unable to do anything. It was the man, staring into my room and smiling at me. He knocked again and I saw something familiar in his hand. My wallet. That's how he found out where I lived. He used my driver's license and navigated from Wal-Mart to the house. He knew my full name, my age, even my weight. It wasn't until he moved away from the window that I made my escape. I ran down the hall to Liam's room, who kept his metal bat from baseball under his bed.

He was snoring when I barged in and barely moved at the noise I was making to get to his bed. Surprisingly, waking him up wasn't hard and I told him what was happening and he reached for the bat and started down the hallway. Our parents and Chase came out of their rooms from the ruckus.

"What's going on?" Dad demanded, angry we woke him up.

We didn't have to answer. The window on the back door shattered and we heard the door squeak open. My mom was already running back to the bedroom to call 911. Liam, being the oldest, and Dad took charge and started to tiptoe toward the noise. And that man's voice still haunts me to this day.

"Hey, Mikey, come out and play," he grumbled in that low raspy voice.

Liam leaped around the corner with his bat raised. "Hey!" There was frantic footsteps and Liam and Dad hurried off and Chase and I went after them. They were outside the back door and the man was gone.

The police came and found the man in a nearby neighbor's bush. Apparently, he'd stopped to rest after running out of breath but he'd stopped too long. He was a sex offender who had been arrested three times before after stalking young kids and following them home. On top of that, he'd have a charge of breaking and entering and theft. I got my wallet back and as soon as I could, I bought a new one. He must've snuck it out of my pocket when he grabbed me in the store. When the police shoved him in the backseat of the parole car, he gave me that same exact stare he had outside Wal-Mart. And as they drove away, he kept smiling my way. I never went Black Friday shopping again.