Rx

Just a reminder, we'll be having another vaccination clinic this weekend starting at nine am. As always, it is first come first serve, and please bring your insurance cards for our special discounts!


The pharmacist sighed and shook her head at the announcement. This was the sixth vaccination clinic in the last eight weeks that the store had hosted, and if it was anything like the last few, it was going to be a mad house at the store before, during, and after the vaccination people had come and gone.

"I-I'll open the register for you right now, just take what ever you want." The pharmacist looked up from her computer in confusion to the clerk at the register who began to frantically pound the register's key.

As she moved a little closer to see if what she thought might be happening actually was, the door that separated the pharmacy from the rest of the retail store opened abruptly, and she found her self at the business end of a small snub nosed hand gun.

She felt her heart stop in fear as she forced her eyes away from it to the person wielding it. She guessed was middle-aged by the lines around his glassy blue eyes, and the graying brown hair the baseball cap could not disguise. The rest of his face was a mystery to her, as it was covered by a black bandanna.

"Where's the Tamiflu?" His hoarse voice demanded, his eyes frantic.

"Tamiflu?" the pharmacist asked in confusion, as that had been the last demand she had expected.

"Yes the Tamiflu you bitch!" The man yelled lifting the pistol so that it was pointed at her head. "I know you have some back here. Hiding it away while people are fucking dying all over the place, you sick fucks."

The pharmacist opened her mouth to defend herself, but thought better of it, "It's over here sir." She said, feeling her legs shake as she walked with him to the shelf that had it. She could here the clerk at the counter crying softly in fear, and could see the technician looking at her from the counter helplessly.

"Yesss." The man hissed pleased at the nearly full shelf of pill boxes and solution bottles. He reached into his jacket pocket with his free hand and pulled out a wad of plastic shopping bags. "Fill these up with them, NOW!" He demanded as he tossed them to her.

"Yes sir." She responded her voice shaking as she picked up the bags and shook them open.

"Hurry UP! I don't want to shoot you or the other girls, but I will if you don't." He said, pressing the barrel of the hand gun into her white jacketed side.

She felt tears of fear leak down her cheeks as she began to fill the bags as quickly as her shaking hands would allow. She jammed every box and bottle she could into the plastic bags, hoping that that would satisfy him.

"Good girl." He said with a smile in his voice as he looped the overloaded plastic bags on his free hand. He looked up and immediately jammed the gun back into her side. "Where's the other girls?" He yelled.

She looked around and found the clerk and technician gone, she smiled in relief briefly before answering, "I don't know sir.." She began, but was interrupted as he shoved her out of his way.

"God dammit!! Just in and out I said! FUCK!" He yelled as he pushed her again beyond the counter and out of the pharmacy to the regular store.

He pressed the gun into her back and forced her to walk a head of him until they got to the glass doors at the front of the store. "This will all be over in a minute lady, and then you can go back to counting pills."

Her legs shook as he backed them up to the doors, watching as the store associates watched from cover in terror. She silently prayed that the doors would be unlocked, and began to weep with relief as the man pushed it open with his elbow.

"Have nice day!" He said into her ear as he pushed her forward roughly, knocking her forward onto her hands and knees before running out the door into the spring sunshine.

She stayed there on her knees, watching as her tears hit the linoleum floor beside her hands as the sound of the other store's associates calling her name and running to her sounded in her ears. She feels them embrace her and help her back onto her feet as the stores manager speaks of the police that were just around the corner, but all she can really still feel is the barrel of that snub nosed pistol against her ribs.