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The original was posted on /r/nosleep by /u/NotJustSomeNumbers on 2024-10-10 20:16:53+00:00.

I just needed some damn glitter.

Money started to get a bit tight, so I started a side hustle. I made small things with resin, like coffin-shaped trinket boxes and ashtrays. At first, they didn’t sell. Then I started to add this super holo round glitter to my pieces. I couldn’t restock them fast enough, leaving the older pieces to collect dust. Due to using that type of glitter in everything, I ran out fast.

A craft store near my place sold it and often had discounts. I decided to grind out filling the last few molds I could before heading to the store. One thing led to another causing me to arrive there half an hour before closing. I walked into a nearly empty store. It was a big place with discounted Halloween decorations. I was distracted for a few minutes looking to see if they had any cheap themed glitter I could use. As far as I could tell, there was only one cashier somewhat hidden behind a wall of other discounted items.

I didn’t see any new glitter I liked among the seasonal items, so I went to get the one item I needed. Two other customers were in the store. They passed by me, the older woman nodding in my direction. I returned the gesture to be polite. The girl with her was maybe still a teenager with straight black hair and dark eyes. Honestly, her stern face kind of put me on edge as her eyes followed my movements.

She carried bundles of yarn for the older woman so I assumed they were related. Walking down the aisle I quickly found what I was looking for. It would only take me a moment to check out and then return home to start working on crafts again. The glitter was placed near the front of the store and at the checkout. I again stopped near the front corner to look over some displays they had on sale. I swear, this place always had sales going on. I planned on starting to get into making jewelry at some point. The shelves were full of necklace or bracelet displays. I picked one up considering I could use it for my new keyrings for a craft show coming up.

I felt something at my feet. A ball of yarn had rolled down the aisle and stopped near me. The younger girl with black hair silently walked over to retrieve it. I bent over picked it up before her and handed it over. She nodded without a smile on her stoic face.

A loud bang and thud got our attention. We were a few steps away from a closed-door labeled ‘Manager’. I had heard voices in the office but not what they were saying. The girl matched my expression. We both decided to investigate, my hand in my pocket touching my phone in case of trouble. I reached for the door handle at the same time it flew open.

A man stood breathing hard with a wild look in his eyes. The sudden sigh shocked me enough to freeze. I felt the other girl gripe the back of my shirt tightly then he reached out to drag us inside the office. He easily tossed us hard against the back wall of the room and slammed the door shut.

My heart raced as my eyes took in the details of the room. There were a few monitors displaying parts of the store. I saw the girl’s mother in one of the aisles, looking around for her now-missing daughter. A desk took up most of the space. My eyes lowered to see another woman face down on the ground, fresh blood pooling around her head.

“She made me! I she didn’t fire me I never would have needed to do this!” The man started rambling, his hand pulling at his hair in a frantic manner.

This was bad. Very bad. We had seen his crime and now he wasn’t certain what to do with us. I finally noticed a pistol holstered at his hip. One wrong move and we would be dead.

Everything happened so fast that it was hard to process. He grabbed my shoulders dragging me to the desk. My back was slammed down against it, my heart in my throat. I prayed he would shoot me instead of doing anything else. He started to shake my body, the edge of the desk digging into my lower back.

“This is her fault! I was doing my job! I didn’t do anything wrong!” He shouted, face red and damp with sweat.

Papers fell on the desk scattering to the floor. A round glass paperweight started to roll towards us. I needed to take a chance or else I would die here. My hand shot out, grabbing hold of the smooth glass orb. With one swift motion, I slammed it against his temple.

My attacker howled in pain, and his grip lessened. I slipped away, dizzy with fear. The other girl had opened the door to make a run for it. She was heading towards her mother who had been walking towards the office door. I turned the other way running towards the checkout and in the direction of the exit.

I turned my head to see if he was following us. The older man stumbled from the room, holding his bleeding head. His hand went to his side. Drawing his weapon, he raised it firing wildly in front of him. To my horror, I watched the girl step in front of her mother her head snapping back as a spray of blood exploded on the shelving next to her. The older woman wailed, collapsing to her knees trying to catch the body of her fallen child.

The scene made me stop. I hated myself for freezing. Thankfully the gun was empty so I wasn’t going to be shot. Instead, the man charged over grabbing a fist full of my hair to pull my head back. His arm started to wrap around my neck. On reflex, I grabbed it and then flipped him onto the ground.

I thanked God I grew up with three rough-housing older brothers I didn’t appreciate at the time. I knew a few throws but I wasn’t overly strong. I’d gotten one step away when he reached out to grab my ankle. I fell hard, my head hitting the tile floor. Within seconds we were in a wrestling match. He was winning.

I knew the cashier must have heard all of this. She would have called the cops by now. How long would it take them to arrive? Would I be dead by then?

He landed a few blows to my face when I tried to raise my arms to defend myself. Blood started to pour out of my nose. His large hands then went to my neck, the thumbs painfully pushing down immediately cutting off my breathing.

There aren’t any words to describe how terrifying being strangled is. This man out weighed me. He was so much stronger. I’ve never felt so hopeless before. No matter how much I clawed and struggled, he didn’t stop his attack.

I should have died. Turns out, there was someone in the store that was stronger than him.

His face grew pale and a shocked expression came. His gripe lessened enough for me to get away. I crawled backward, gasping my entire body in pain. My eyes unfocused but I saw a figure with long black hair stand up.

A rush of confusing emotions exploded in my chest. I was glad she wasn’t dead, but how? Her mother watched in horror as the child she loved steadily walked toward her would-be murderer. The main lights flickered then went out leaving only emergency lights.

The man stood up not understanding what was happening. He only knew he needed to run. His legs didn’t take him very far. He collapsed in fear as he watched the girl’s shape change. Countless dark hands like shadows appeared from the floor surrounding her. I pressed my back hard against the shelf behind me, praying this was all a nightmare.

A set of hands caught him, large enough to cover most of his body. He was lifted into the air, sobbing and pleading to be spared.

There was no emotion on her face. She simply glanced in my direction, cold eyes chilling me to the bone. Without a word, the shadow hands turned into a dark smoke that forced its way through his mouth and nostrils.

His body tensed up, his eyes rolling back. Soon he started to jerk in unnatural and painful ways. Sounds like an animal being butchered came from him. His back arched, hands curled. Tears streamed down his eyes. I didn’t know what horrors he was experiencing and never wanted to know.

It felt like hours he was tortured by those shadows. Finally, his body was dropped and the lights came back on. The hands disappeared leaving the dark-haired girl calmly standing almost admiring her handy work. Then she turned around to go back to her mother.

The older woman was still on the ground, cowering in fear. She let out a yelp when the girl got close then reached out to throw the first thing she grabbed at her.

“Mom…” The girl said in a soft voice.

“Get away from me! What are you?! Why do you have my daughter’s face?! I knew you weren’t right since the accident! Demon! Monster!”

The woman broke down in hysterics, her hand clutching a small cross around her neck. The girl didn’t have much of a reaction. She took a few steps away, the stoic expression still on her face. But I thought there were a few hints of sadness.

A pair of police officers came rushing in. One quickly went to me to help me off the ground. The other went to the mother who was still screaming and sobbing.

“What happened here?” One of them asked.

I found myself unable to speak. How could I even explain all of this?

“That man shot a worker here. We saw it and he tried to kill us. He had a heart attack. My mother isn’t well. Seeing all of this made her relapse.” The girl explained doing her best to act a little upset over the entire situation.

The pair didn’t question her. They just got us all outside. The poor cashier came up to us, sobbing wondering if we were alright. I thanked her for calling the police and hugged her until the cops wanted her statement. She could have left the store. Instead, she hunkered down behind her and sta…

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