Prompt from DailyPrompt.com
“…and that was the moment that I realised it wasn’t ever the plan for me to make it out alive.”
Edna’s polite smile-and-nod continued for several seconds before she realised the customer was expecting an actual response. Oops.
This was what she got for slipping off-script and opening with “Are you ok??” rather than the usual “Can I get you anything?”. The guy being wild-eyed and covered with lacerations had thrown her. Not the usual kinda weird for overnight shift, even at a 24/7 gas-and-shopping place.
“Um.” She mentally scrabbled. “Do you, like, wanna borrow the phone?”
Gawping. Furious glower. Shoot, she’d said the wrong thing and now this was gonna end with an irate complaint to the manager.
“Were you even listening?? I was just kidnapped and nearly killed!”
“Ah, yeah, th-that’s why I thought you might need a phone?” Edna reinforced her polite smile. “Because… they would’ve taken yours, right? And you need to… call the police? Or family, or something?”
The man slammed a fist on the counter, leaving a bloody smudge. “I could have died!!”
“Yes, sir, I understand that.” While she felt like the smile wasn’t helping, it was kinda welded on by the stress. “What, um, what do you expect me to do?”
That deflated him. They stared blankly at each other for a moment before he mumbled “Dunno.”
“Oh. Uh…” Script 32 kicked in. Edna gestured behind him and sweetly said “Well, while you figure that out, you’re holding up the line. Could you please step aside for a moment?”
Old Joe, stooped with the weariness of a thousand late-night janitorial shifts and clutching a ready-meal lasagna and bottle of chocolate boba tea like they were a life preserver, dredged up a wisp of a smile. “It’s alright, lass. I’m in no hurry.”
“I…” The bleeding man hugged himself, whatever crazed energy had carried him this far ebbing into dull confusion. “Sorry.”
“Oh, it’s fine!” Edna absently pulled the wiping rag out and scrubbed at the blood smear, causing the man to winch contritely. She earnestly reiterated “It’s fine, it’s fine.”
Old Joe stepped around the guy to set his purchases down on a clean bit of counter, then shrugged his battered coat off and gently wrapped it around the man. “Come on, lad. Sooner we call the police, sooner you can be safe ’n’ looked after, and we can go home.”
“Right. Yeah.” A welter of emotions wavered across the man’s face. Rueful, grateful, simmering fear…
“Lass, you keep a hand on that door button, eh?” Old Joe shot a scrutinising glance out the glass storefront.
“Oh, you don’t need to worry about that.”
Old Joe gave a thin smile. “Better to stop marauding cultists out there, before you need to make a mess of them.”
“Aww…” Edna heaved a dramatic sigh and started ringing his purchases through. Ignoring the bewildered stare the other man was now giving her.
What, did he think just anybody took solo night shift around here?
Prompt was the first line.