Accidentally a Criminal

Chapter 1

8:36 pm, Taylor, New Hampshire, 9/30/23

I recently got a job working at a convenience store with my buddy, Duncan Ross. It's boring and dull, but the occasional screaming customer adds some pizzazz to it. I was working at the cash register and Duncan was restocking. We were currently talking about the upcoming dance.

"You really want to ask out Judy Hoffman?" I queried Duncan.

"Yep," He responded with certainty.

"You remember when Spencer Johanson asked her out?" Spencer Kimball was scrawny, nerdy, and played D&D. I'm amazed he had the guts to ask Judy. Judy is very pretty, her curly brown hair and slender green eyes, but she's toxic and mean. I don't like her.

"Of course I remember Spencer, Harvey," Duncan said.

Duncan's just as much of a ladies' man as Spencer Johanson. He's pretty scrawny and his curly blonde hair is always tangled. I'm not too bad myself, I've got dark brown hair that almost looks black and matching eyes. I'd say I've got a decent face complexion too. There was some silence after a little while until Duncan said out-of-the-blue:

"Did you know that Madlynn Zimmermann has a crush on you?"

"Sorry- WHAT?"

I was too stunned to speak. Madlynn Zimmermann despised anyone with exactly one X and Y chromosome. She loved to tell you about it too. Madlynn would snap at a boy if they simply asked to borrow a ruler. If her attitude wasn't enough, her looks also scared away boys. She's got greasy, purple hair and buggy glasses that make her look like a praying mantis. It surprised me to know that she has a crush on me, a boy. " I bet she'll ask you to the dance." Duncan commented. I smiled awkwardly at him. *Ding!* The convenience store door opened and a familiar face came in. I sighed heavily. It was Russell Moon. Russell Moon is probably the reason Madlynn Zimmermann hates the entire male population. I agree with her on this one. Russell is hard to like, from his trendy clothes to his annoying attitude.

"Hey Russell." I said casually, trying to look busy so he wouldn't bother me. He didn't respond. Something was off about him. Russell staggered up to the counter where I handled the cash register and looked at me. He was staring at me, but not really. His eyes looked hazy and far-off. "Uh, Hey." I repeated.

"Where's the restroom?" Russell incoherently mumbled.

"Over to the left by the freezer," I pointed to a blue freezer containing popsicles and ice cream. Russell went to the right, completely ignoring my instructions.

"No buddy," I called out, " The left." He stopped for a second and made an "L" shape with both hands to figure which way was left. Then he went in that direction, going inside the women's restroom. Duncan gave me a look that said "What is wrong with him?" Then Duncan walked up to me and spoke up.

"Is he drunk?"

"Either that or stupid."

"I seriously think he's drunk."

"Of course he's drunk. You think I don't know that?"

"What should we do about it?"

"Tell his mom or something, I dunno."

Duncan sighed and leaned up against the wall. There were a couple twenty or thirty seconds of silence. Suddenly, I heard the restroom door open. "Harvey, this bathroom is weird," Russell pointed to the restroom door and chuckled a little, " There's no urinals and the walls are pink." He tried to walk, but swayed a little.

"That's because you went into the women's restroom," I said. I tried to be polite because one false move and Russell would beat the crap out of me. I remember when I was in 5th grade I got into a fight with him; you'll never guess who won. Russell started to walk around the store now, winding through the aisles. He stopped at the chip aisle and just stared at the chips. It took him a while, but then he decided on a chip. Then he ungracefully staggered to the counter and placed some Bugles on the counter. Mind you, I think Bugles are the most disgusting chip in the world besides those rye chip things.

" That'll be $2.99." I told him.

Russell sprinkled an assortment of quarters, pennies, and dimes on the counter. "Sorry man," I told him the bad news, " You don't have enough money for that."

"Count them!" He said angrily.

So I went on to counting. Sure enough, he was just five cents short of $2.99. I let him go for that. I'm not too strict.

"Do you want me to bag that?" It was kinda funny to see Russell drunk.

"Nope." He sounded drowsy. I expected him to leave the store, but he continued to search through the aisles. I might as well do my homework, I thought. So I pulled out my homework from my bag and began to work. The sounds of nothing but hums from fluorescent lights and pitter-patting from footsteps felt nice. Complete silence and peace. Peace is hard to keep though when you're completing math homework. My face strained with frustration and my pencil eraser erased my mistakes with quick, fast-paced whips back and forth, sending eraser debris across the counter. *Rip!* I had erased too fast and caused my scrap paper to rip. I sighed and leaned my head back with frustration and disappointment. I then dug into my unorganized and messy backpack to grab another scrap paper. Just as I was about to begin with a fresh, new piece of scrap paper, an ear-splitting noise issued from the back of the convenience store.

 It sounded like screaming. My body froze in fear. Then I realized. Duncan is back there with Russell. Russell happens to be drunk. Duncan must've done something to agitate him. Now, he's in trouble. I have to help him, I thought. I stood up and slowly pulled out my Swiss army knife and began to slowly walk towards the origin of the screaming. Then, the screaming and wailing, it stopped. A cold chill went up my spine.

 The screaming had stopped and now another voice began to laugh. The laughing fit didn't stop, it kept on going. I peered from behind a shelf. Russell Moon stood there, laughing maniacally with a small pocket knife in his hands. It, I noticed, had a grotesque amount of blood dripping from it. I looked to the right of Russell. Duncan Ross laid there with large quantities of blood issuing from his stomach. He wasn't breathing. My vision became blurry and I broke into a cold sweat.

Russell just murdered Duncan, I realized in horror. I immediately swung my head away from the scene, in hopes Russell wouldn't see me. I clung to my Swiss army knife tightly. Suddenly, a bag of animal crackers fell next to me. I've never heard a bag of crackers fall so loudly in my entire life. I was doomed. Footsteps from Russell seemed to be getting closer. I opened my Swiss army knife and said the Lord's Prayer in my head. I don't even know the Lord's Prayer. How do you pray to him?! The sounds of footsteps stopped and a large shadow swept over me. This was the end. But I didn't want to go down without a fight. I launched my knife into Russell, not thinking about aim or strategy. But Russell didn't fight back. He just stood there for a while, stopped dead in his tracks. Then his legs began to waver and he dropped to the floor. Panic flooded my brain. I checked to see if he was breathing. No sign. I dropped to the floor in disbelief. Me, Harvey Ethan Shepherd, had just committed the biggest sin of them all, murder. I'm a murderer. I just killed Russell Moon. But it was out of self-defense, right? He killed Duncan, so that gives me the right to kill Russell, right?! 

A million thoughts swam through my mind all at once. How do serial killers enjoy this?! I don't enjoy it. This sucks. I'm going to go to prison and live there for the rest of my life, my parents will disown me, and I don't want to think about where I'll go when I die myself. But, I thought to myself, I won't go to prison if they never catch me. Great, now I'm thinking like a full-blown criminal. But it was my only hope. It thought quickly and emptied out my backpack, stuffed it with the finest of gas station food ( I made sure to skip the Bugles and rye chips), and then I was going to make a run for it. *Ding!* the store's entrance had been opened. I froze up. I needed to make a run for it. I tried as quietly as I could and tip-toed my way to the back door leading to the dumpsters. Once I made it out I ran as fast as I could from the store. Moments later, a shrill, female voice came from the direction of the convenience store.