I clocked in at the supermarket right at eleven that night. The place was already closed to customers, and the four of us on shift spread out to stock the empty aisles. It was the usual routine. I grabbed a cart full of cans and headed to the soup section near the back. Anna worked at the dairy coolers, a few rows over. Paul filled the bread shelves up front. George pushed a big pallet of boxes toward the produce area. Kevin showed up a little late, like always, carrying his duffel bag over one shoulder. He gave a quick nod and started moving carts around by the side doors.
We had worked together for months, so everything felt normal at first. I called over to Paul while I stacked cans. "You see that big order for cereal they left us? Gonna take forever." Paul laughed and said, "Yeah, but at least we get paid extra for the late hours. Better than sitting at home." Anna chimed in from her aisle, "Speak for yourself. My feet already hurt and we just started." We kept talking like that for a while, trading jokes about the boss and the weird customers from the day shift. Kevin stayed quiet. He kept pushing empty carts against the emergency exit doors, one after another, lining them up tight.
After about an hour I noticed him doing it again near the back loading dock. I wiped my hands on my apron and walked over. "Kevin, what are you doing with all those carts? The doors are already locked." He did not look up right away. He just kept adjusting the wheels so they jammed solid against the frame. "Making sure nothing gets in," he said in a flat voice. "You never know who might show up this late." I stood there for a second. "But we are the only ones here. No one is coming in." He gave a small shrug and kept working. I went back to my cans. Kevin usually talked more, even if it was just about sports or the weather from the day before.
Paul walked past me a little later with a fresh pallet. "Hey, you see Kevin blocking everything?" I nodded. "Yeah. He said it is for safety." Paul frowned. "Weird. The doors lock from the inside anyway. I will ask him." Paul headed toward the back. I heard him say, "Kevin, come on, man. We need those carts for the floor stock." Kevin answered low, so I could not catch every word, but it sounded like "Just leave it. Better this way." They did not argue. Paul came back shaking his head and went back to the bread.
Time moved slow after midnight. The store lights hummed overhead, and the only sounds were wheels rolling and boxes sliding into place. I finished the soup and moved to the register aisle to label some new price tags. Anna passed me with a stack of milk jugs. "Almost done with dairy," she said. "You want to take a quick break soon?" I smiled. "Sure, after this row." George called from the produce, "I could use a hand with these heavy ones if anyone is free." Kevin was somewhere near the front now. I caught a glimpse of him sliding another cart against the main entrance doors. The automatic ones that customers usually walked through. He locked them too. No one said anything this time.
Then the first loud bang cracked through the store. It came from the dairy section. I jumped and dropped the price gun. My ears rang. I turned fast and saw Kevin walking out from Anna's aisle with something long in his hands. It looked like a gun. Anna lay on the floor by the milk cooler. She did not move. Kevin kept walking, calm, like he was still stocking shelves. He glanced my way. Our eyes met for a long moment. He stood there, five steps away, holding the gun pointed down. I could not breathe right. I waited for him to raise it. He did not. He just stared, then turned and kept going toward the bread aisle.
I ducked low behind the register counter. My hands shook as I pressed myself against the shelves. Another bang came, then two more right after. Paul yelled something short, like he was surprised, and then nothing. I heard Kevin's footsteps moving slow up the next aisle. He passed right by my hiding spot without stopping. I stayed flat on the cold floor and tried not to make a sound. More shots echoed, farther back where George had been working. Each one made my whole body tighten. I counted them in my head but lost track after ten. Glass broke somewhere. Cans rolled across the floor.
I waited until the footsteps moved away toward the back of the store. My heart felt like it would push out of my chest, but I crawled on my hands and knees along the register aisle. I kept low, under the counter height. The side emergency door Kevin had blocked earlier was still jammed with carts, but one wheel had slipped a little when he pushed it. I shoved hard with my shoulder. The cart scraped but gave just enough for me to squeeze through the gap. Cool night air hit my face as I pushed the door open and ran outside.
I did not stop until I reached the far end of the parking lot. My legs burned. I pulled my phone from my pocket and dialed the emergency number with shaking fingers. "Someone is shooting inside the store," I said when the voice answered. "My friends are hurt. Please send help now." The person on the line asked questions, but I kept repeating the address and that I was outside. While I talked, another single shot rang out from inside the building. It was quieter than the others, like it came from farther away. Then everything went still.
I stayed on the phone until the first police cars pulled up with lights flashing. Officers moved around me, asking if I was okay, if I had seen who did it. I gave them my statement. They went inside careful and slow. Later they told me the others did not make it. Kevin had turned the gun on himself at the end.
I sat on the curb for a long time after that. The store looked the same from outside, big windows dark and quiet. But I knew nothing would feel the same again.