Shootout, Aisle Three [Open}

Alex felt the bullet hit his side and gasped. That was number eight. How many shots could these people fire? He hadn't done anything wrong. He was just hungry. Just. Really. Really. Hungry.

It was about 2 A.M. when Alex had wandered into the building. He had escaped D.T.R.C.'s holding facilities a few weeks ago and was on the run. He hadn't made it to the graveyard yet. He would eventually, he just needed to lay low and bide his time. He had taken to begging and hitchhiking as soon as he found out that they were still on his trail. Alex had actually seen the graveyard but he also saw D.T.R.C. near it. They probably knew about his relationship with Alison and wanted to make sure he wouldn't visit there first. He refused to go to Haven or Aegis. Both of them, to Alex, were idiots. Didn't they see how much like monsters they were? The normal populace had every right to fear Titans. Alex had instead changed out his D.T.R.C. prison clothing into simple dirty t-shirt and jeans. On his head he wore a baseball cap to hide his face from prying eyes. Any agent that saw him would recognize him. He was a rank four after all.

It had been a few days since he had eaten. He had promised to not steal anything from anyone but when you were starving, promises dried up really quickly. He wandered into the small corner store and looked around. He saw the bag of chips and grabbed it and ripped it open. It was kind of dreamlike for Alex. "HEY!" a voice called from the phone. "You payin' for that?!" Alex continued to eat. "Hey asshole!" the man at the front screamed again. Alex continued to eat. The man grabbed Alex's arm and instinctively Alex slapped the man's hand away. "...hung-" he started, but the man decked Alex across the face. Alex's face flipped to the side but he continued to chew. "I'm callin' the cops." Alex's eyes went wide. He went for the man's arm but another guy who had been there grabbed him. An actual police officer. "Alright buddy, you're comin' with me." Alex shook his head to the side. "...please..." Alex tried to get the words out. To ask the officer to give him a chance to explain.

But his mouth would not cooperate. It was like he was trapped in a body that just didn't work right. 'Don't! They'll come! If they come get me, I'll have to go back. I can't go back. Not until I see her.' But all Alex could get out vocally was, "...back..." The officer tried to pin him down and in a panic Alex reactively let his blood slice through his skin and pierce the man's stomach. The man looked down. A whole through Alex shirt showed a red crystal spike protruding from Alex to the officer. The man who ran the place stared in horror. "T-Titan..." Alex turned to the man but the man was already picking up the phone and dialing 911. Alex looked back to the officer, who stared at him with pain and anger. "Bastard...Titans..." he coughed up a bit of blood. Alex drew the spike out and the officer tumbled to the floor. He turned back to the man behind the counter and was barely able to duck as a shot was fired. A pistol in hand, the man behind the counter fired again.

Alex made a slashing motion with his hand and stream of blood whipped from out his hand whipping the man's throat. No. This wasn't supposed to happen. He wasn't a killer. He wasn't. He just wanted to eat. That's all he ever wanted. Just a bit of food.

So now Alex sat behind two aisles while random gun fire poured into the store. They weren't taking any chances. Several officers arrived on the scene. Alex had to use the blood of the two dead men to keep his regeneration going. And it wasn't going to last much longer. If that didn't kill him, the D.T.R.C. would be here sooner or later. And when they did, Alex knew a lot more people were going to die. He bit into another hotdog, disgusted with himself. "...Ali...sorry..."