Closing Time

The store bell rang violently as two men pushed through the door. They threw frantic gazes around the shop, full of trinkets and whatnots. An elderly man, a crutch supporting a lame leg, turned to face them.

“Can I help you?”

Still looking, one of the men said, “Did a tall bearded man come in here?”

“Nope, nobody like that.”

The other man announced, “He’s not here. Let’s go!”

With a final glance, they hustled out of the shop. The old man hobbled to the door, peered through the glass, flipped the sign to “closed”, and pulled the blinds.

A groaning crackling sound, like snapping bones, filled the room. Mirrors on the shop’s wall reflected back the image of one of the men who had just left; an exact copy.

Retrieving the crutch, the doppelgänger returned it to the lifeless form of the shop owner, lying crumpled behind the counter.