The Mall

The Mall

A young teenaged boy sits alone on a bench in a busy mall
pretending he is on his cell taking an important call,
when in reality he is people watching as they all walk by
without even taking a single glace at him or say hi.
He seeing people constantly texting as they walk
with their heads down not wanting to talk.
He sees couples walking hand in hand
while paying more attention to their phones then to each other as their relationship demands.

Cell phones the boy thinks to himself, have enslaved humanity.
People watching in the mall is pure insanity.
Rage boils inside of him as what he witnesses sickens him.
His outlook on life seems rather grim.
He hates all of these people just based on their addiction to their phones.
He just wants to grab them, shake them and maybe break a few bones
to snap them out of their trance and bring them back to reality.
From their phones, he wants to set them free.

He gets up from his bench and begins to walk around looking for a store that grabs his attention,
but he finds them all to be over priced and full of shit no one needs, its beyond comprehension
that people willingly spend their money on this junk thinking they got a great deal.
He just doesn’t see the appeal.

This mall is a blending of cultures with people coming from many different backgrounds.
Different languages being spoken at the same time creates some interesting sounds.
He notices different cultures have different habits,
along with different views on breeding with some reproducing like rabbits,
while others only have a child or two.
Regardless of their differences, he views them all the same, if only they knew.

He picks out a clothing store to go look around in and walks inside.
He walks down the first aisle with nothing catching his eye.
A lady in a rush bumps into him not paying attention,
then offers no apology as she continues her rush to the checkout to finish her transaction.

Rude, the teenager named Shawn thinks as he glares her way.
Not apologizing after doing something wrong is a dangerous game to play.
Shawn begins to fume as he walks into the next aisle,
seeing if he can find a new shirt and fits his style.

A man, not paying attention, accidently hits Shawn in the back of the head.
The man cusses and tells Shawn to watch where he’s going or he could end up dead.
Shawn stares at him wanting to teach him a lesson.
he’s getting tired of humanity’s lack of kindness and affection.

As Shawn ponders what to do next, a whisper enters into his ear urging him to teach everyone a lesson in manners.
Every single person in this mall falls short of Shawn’s standards.
Shawn turns around to see who’s whispering in his ear and comes face to face with a strange man dressed in black.
The strange man smiles and urges Shawn to go on the attack.
He tells Shawn he knows of the secret he had hidden in his pants
and right now, is his best chance
to use it and send everyone in this mall a loud message
and teach them a hard lesson.

Shawn tells the strange man he isn’t sure if it’s the right thing to do or not.
The strange man replies while looking him in the eye that it’s time to stir the pot
and send all these assholes running and screaming,
and promises Shawn he will find this experience very redeeming.

Shawn puts his hand down his pants and takes out a loaded gun.
Shawn smiles sadistically believing he is about to have some fun.
He turns back around to the man who struck him in the head and points the gun at his chest.
The man throws his arms in the air and becomes instantly stressed.
He begs Shawn to lower the weapon and put it down,
but Shawn’s smile turns to a frown.
He pulls the trigger and a bullet explodes into the man’s chest.
The man drops to the ground as blood pours out creating a mess.

Shawn turns around and pulls the trigger again in the direction of a running lady
who carries in her arms a tiny baby.
The bullet misses its target but the mall erupts into chaos as gun shots continue to echo around.
Screams of panic becomes the dominate sound.

Shawn exits and store and walks around the mall firing off shot after shot.
He smiles and laughs, not the least bit distraught.
He hits some of his targets who fall to the ground dead or wounded.
He shoots at people of all ages and race, not wanting anyone to be excluded.
He watches and people hide behind objects and fumble with their phones.
They are scared to death and are trembling in every single one of their bones.
Mall security officers are unharmed and are no match.
They talk to Shawn and try to reason but a bullet is all they catch.
Bodies line the mall at Shawn nears the main entrance.
He smiles even bigger, proud that he his carrying out his vengeance.

Police officers rush though the main entrance catching Shawn off guard.
He stumbles and falls and hits the ground hard.
He climbs back up to his feet as the police shout at him to drop the weapon.
Shawn knows in doing so he will become a felon.
Charged with multiple counts of murder and sentenced to death.
Sitting in a chair with a needle in his arm is not how he wants to take his last breath.

The police shout one last time to drop the weapon and get down on his knees.
With this order, Shawn disagrees.
He points his gun in the direction of the police,
who open fire until Shawn is deceased.
He has no time to get off one final shot,
before his body is filled with bullets and one entering his brain becomes his final thought.

Police officers stand over Shawn’s dead body unhappy he won’t have to properly answer for his crimes,
as the strange man stands off in the distance happy with the outcome of this difficult time.