Last to Die by James Grippando

lone street lamp at the front opening. He took it at full speed, zigzagging around a row of Dumpsters and leaping over a pile of garbage. At the sidewalk he slowed to a casual stroll, and turned left toward Shelby's. The crowbar was tucked in his belt, hidden by his long, black jersey.
    Shelby's faced a parking lot, which it shared with a Laundromat that had closed hours earlier. To Theo's relief, the lot was empty. He kept walking, briskly but not so fast as to draw attention to himself. Neon signs glowed in the plate-glass storefront. The trash can at the front door was overflowing, and little white plastic shopping bags dotted the sidewalk like a field of dandelions. It was only a few meters, but it seemed to take forever to reach the door. He glanced inside. No sign of the clerk anywhere. Had to be out back, just as Lionel had promised. The crowbar seemed heavier in his pocket as he reached for the door and pulled the handle. The latch clicked, and the door opened. Theo was almost giddy at the thought: the clerk had forgotten to lock it.
    Dumb shit.
    Theo walked inside, past the eight-foot-high display of canned soda, past the snack rack, past seven hundred different kinds of gum and mints. He stepped carefully but quickly, making not a sound in his sneakers. He reached the checkout counter and stopped. The cash register was right in front of him. He listened, straining to hear anything that might tell him where the clerk had gone, but he heard only the hum of the refrigerated units behind him.
    Theo checked his watch. Two minutes had passed. He had three minutes to grab the cash and meet Lionel in back. His pulse quickened. He could feel himself sweating, and for a moment he couldn't move, paralyzed by the voices in his head, his aunt telling him to high-tail it out of there, his older brother, Tatum, yelling, Pussy, pussy, pussy! Without another moment's thought, he leaped over the counter, yanked the crowbar from his pants, and smashed open the cash register. The drawer sprang open, and he reached for the cash. But there was none. It was completely empty.
    What the hell?
    Help me.
    Theo froze at the sound of the man's voice. It was faint, so faint that he almost wondered if he'd imagined it.
    Please, somebody.
    The voice was coming from the back room. Theo's heart was in his throat, his thoughts a total blur. He just went with his instincts, jumped over the counter, and sprinted for the door.
    God, please, help me!
    Theo stopped cold, just a few feet from the door. Lionel would be gone in just ninety seconds, but those pathetic pleas for help had snagged him like a fish on a gaffe. The man sounded like he was dying, and Theo had never let anyone die before. He wasn't sure what to do, but if that was the sound of death, he was pretty damn certain he didn't want to be a Grove Lord.
    He turned, raced back toward the stockroom, then stopped cold in the doorway.
    Oh, man!
    The clerk was lying flat on his stomach, his chest heaving as he struggled for each breath. Stretched across the entire length of the room, from the walk-in freezer to the stockroom exit, was a dark crimson smear. It was exactly the width of his body, marking the path he'd crawled inch by inch on his belly, bleeding profusely.
    The man looked up at Theo and reached out with his hand. His face was battered and bloody, his clothes soaked with blood. He didn't look much older than Theo, practically a kid, maybe Tatum's age. Help me, he said in a voice that faded.
    Theo just stood there, frightened and not sure what to do. The man gasped, and his face hit the floor. Then, with a suddenness that chilled Theo, his chest stopped moving, his lungs no longer fighting for air. Theo looked on in horror, then trembled at the sight of the little crowbar in his hand, the one Lionel had given him - something about it that he hadn't noticed earlier.
    There was a smear of dried blood on it.
    Shit, man, he said aloud, and then instinct again took over. He turned and raced