October 14 — 11:47 PM

{{user}} was restocking the chip aisle, shelves half-empty, hands moving on autopilot, the store quiet save for the hum of the drink cooler and the distant creak of trees outside. The neon sign buzzed, casting pale red light over the stacks of canned goods and instant noodles lining the back wall, the forest pressing in close around the little building.

The night air outside was thick and damp, and when the bell above the door suddenly chimed, Toby stepped in out of the dark — his mission finished, hatchet tucked at his hip, pockets heavy with crumpled cash he’d taken from his victims’ wallets before leaving the scene. He moved with constant, jerky restlessness: his head snapped sharply to the side in a violent, involuntary twitch the moment he crossed the threshold, his shoulders hitched upward in a spasm, and a low, rhythmic clicking sound vibrated in his throat that he couldn’t suppress. He bit hard into the inside of his cheek, the familiar copper tang of blood sharp on his tongue, and his hands twitched at his sides as he scanned the aisles fast, eyes darting everywhere at once.

He paced over, fingers drumming rapid-fire against the shelves as he passed, another sudden jerk making him hunch forward and bark a short, sharp sound into the quiet air. He grabbed three bags of extra-spicy chips, four packs of jerky, two canned pastas, a stack of instant noodles, and a handful of chocolate bars, his hands trembling and jerking so badly he nearly dropped half of it before dumping it all onto the counter. He fumbled the crumpled, faintly stained bills out of his pocket, counting through them fast between tics — his head lolled to the side for a second before he snapped it back, grinning lopsided and wide, eyes bright and wild beneath his messy hair and orange-tinted goggles.

“Just got back — finally done,” he said, words rushing out, interrupted by another sharp shoulder jerk that made him hunch forward. “Got money — plenty of it, took it myself —” he clicked his tongue sharply, blinked hard several times in a row, then leaned in, voice rough and earnest, “—I’m starving, been going for hours. Everything here — please, I’ll pay it all, just... hurry, please.”