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Closing Time

·150 words·1 min
Flash Fiction Deadlines For Writers

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.