Ethan

There was one above the counter facing the front door, one pointed at the coolers, one behind the building facing the dumpsters, and two on the pumps.

Pump 4 was the farthest one, closest to the highway entrance.

The camera on pump 4 had this annoying flicker where it would go black for half a second every once in a while, and Rick kept saying he was going to replace it, but he never did.

I still checked it all the time because pump 4 was where people parked when they didn't really want to be seen from inside the store.

It was close enough to the light to look normal, but just far enough away that someone could stand by the driver's side door and be half hidden by the pump.

This happened on a Thursday night in late July.

I remember that because I was supposed to go camping with two friends that weekend, and I had spent half my shift texting them about what we needed to buy.

It was hot in that way where even at 1 in the morning the pavement was still giving off heat.

The front doors kept fogging and clearing every time the air conditioner kicked on.

The store smelled like burnt coffee, mop water, and those cheap hot dogs that roll around all night until they look like leather.

It was slow.

I had maybe six customers between 10 and midnight, then nothing for over an hour.

Around 1.30, I went outside with the trash and stood there for a minute because sometimes the silence felt better than the hum inside.

The highway was empty in both directions.

The sky was clear, no wind, just the lights above the pumps buzzing and bugs hitting the plastic covers over and over.

At about 1.50, I was behind the counter counting the change drawer for something to do when I heard tires come in fast from the highway.

Not screeching, but fast enough that I looked up right away.

A little silver sedan pulled into pump 4 and stopped crooked, almost too far forward.

The front tires bumped the concrete stop and the car rocked a little.

I could see it through the front windows and on the camera monitor at the same time.