The Cage Read Free Page A

picked up from the sand during the vacation he and his ex-girlfriend, April, had taken to Ocean City, and finally, his money clip, which held his driver’s license, credit card, debit card, health insurance card, and a few bills. The money clip was a graduation present from his parents. They’d bought it at the Things Remembered store across town—located in the same shopping mall where two of Big Bill’s competitors were located. His initials were engraved on the money clip, along with his graduation date.
    Jeff dropped all of his belongings on the floor one-by-one and stared straight ahead, biting his lip and trying not to shake. He heard the stone bounce off the floor and roll away. It felt like his life was rolling away with it. His thoughts turned to April. He wondered what she was doing now. He hadn’t talked to her in months. Now, he might never talk to her again.
    “Okay,” the killer said. “Everybody take ten steps forward. Keep looking straight ahead.”
    Jeff shuffled along behind the others, silently counting his steps and expecting to hear the shotgun at any second. He wondered if he even would hear it. Wouldn’t his head explode before the sound reached him? Did that happen with shotgun shells, or was it only with bullets? He didn’t know. He focused on the drab, gray cement-block walls in an effort to distract himself from what was happening. Distraction seemed to offer some type of safety, no matter how fleeting, temporary, or false. His gaze flicked upward. Spider-webs dangled from the dusty ductwork overhead. The fluorescent lights hummed quietly. Above them, the shadows seemed to coil and twist. A few of the fluorescent bulbs had burned out. Jeff wondered if Big Bill had noticed yet, and if so, who would get the job of changing them—him, Jared or Alan. Usually the task fell to one of them, and they all hated it. Then Jeff remembered that both Alan and Big Bill were dead. It would have to be him or Jared, then. Maybe they could flip a coin to see who got to stand on the rickety ladder. The only fun part of the job was throwing the burned-out bulbs into the garbage dumpster behind the store, because they always exploded on impact. So, he and Jared had that to look forward to. All they had to do was stay alive.
    The back room was filled with boxes of brand-new televisions, DVD and Blu-ray players, stereos, speakers, computers, printers, fax machines, microwave ovens, dishwashers, refrigerators, washers, dryers, video game consoles, dehumidifiers, entertainment centers, and more. They’d all been stacked neatly into rows, reaching from the floor almost to the ceiling. The ware-house was climate-controlled but a few of the boxes showed water damage from leaks in the roof. Big Bill had been talking about getting the roof patched, once the economy evened out. Now…
    Jeff closed his eyes for a moment, afraid that he might fall over. When he opened them again, the logos on the boxes around him blurred. The warehouse seemed to be spinning. The ventilation system came on, rattling and blowing. Behind him, he heard what sounded like the intruder stomping on their cell phones and kicking their keys down the rows. Jeff clenched his fists, letting his fingernails dig into his palms, and bit down harder on his bottom lip. The pain brought him back into focus. He stared ahead again, trying desperately to keep his shit together.
    At the far side of the warehouse was a loading door and a fire exit door. A basketball hoop without a net hung over the loading door, and an old dart board hung beneath that. A fire extinguisher occupied the wall between the two doors, along with a stand-up ashtray for Roy and Clint. Big Bill hadn’t let them smoke in the store, but allowed them to do it in the back room. Usually, the two lurked in the doorway between the warehouse and the store, puffing away and watching for potential customers.
    To the right of the fire exit was the employee restroom. The door to the restroom was