I was just going to the neaby gas station for some of those cheap junk food they sold there. That was innocent enough.

There were some people milling around: some of them were residents of the town; others were just people passing through while heading toward the beach two hours South of the town. I didn't pay much attention to them, however, as I went from the aisle to the register with my sweets.

"You'll rot your teeth out," the woman behind the register said as she gave me my usual change.

I shrugged. "Does it really matter?"

The woman shook her head just as the sound of sirens came from outside. Everyone stopped to look outside as a man came running in with police cars pulling into the gas pump areas outside.

Beep!

"Nobody move!" the man shouted, holding up a gun, getting cries of terror in response.

I backed up against the counter.

A hispanic woman fell to her knees and started to cry.

"Shut up!" the man shouted before firing a shot into the ceiling--

Beep!

--making everyone jump.

"Get in the corner! Get in the corner now!" the man shouted, aiming the weapon around the room.

Everyone rushed to the corner. I too ran over with my bag of sweets in hand.

There were seven of us. Three woman and four men all huddled up against the wall, afraid of the crazy man with the gun.

The Hispanic woman was still crying but was now speaking in Spanish, probably praying.

One of the men, a business man, tried pulling out his cell phone but--

Beep!

--stopped just when the gunman turned to us.

His eyes fell on me.

"Whatcha got there, kid?" he asked, grabbing my bag of sweets before I could answer.

I glared at him.

The business man tried yet again to get out his cell phone--

Beep!

--but froze when he heard the gunman laugh.

"Gummi Bears!" he shouted, amused, before tearing open the package. "Haven't had one of these in ages."

He started to eat them.

"I don't know where the hell he came from," the busines man with the cell phone told the person he was talking with on the electronic device. "He's eating--

Beep!

--Gummi Bears...no, I'm not making it up!"

"I was going to the beach to meet my friend," another man in our group said as he rocked back and forth, holding his legs to his chest.

"Yeah, well, Hon, you're stuck with us now," the woman from the register said snappishly.

The rocking man whimpered.

"I won't stand for this!" shouted the third man in our group. He was the old man who owned the shop across the street. "I ain't gonna go out--

Beep!

--like some damn idiot with his hands up his ass!'

"I think you meant 'sitting on my hands--'" the business man began.

"I meant what I meant!" the shop owner said, standing. "Damn people like you are the ones sucking our economy dry."

The business man glowered.

"Hey, you armed idiot!" the shop owner yelled, catching the gunman's attention, "I ain't gonna stand--

Beep!

--for your coming in and blowing up the place! I ain't gonna stand for you making us nice people hostages--!"

The gunman aimed his gun at the shop owner.

The older man went quiet before he slowly sat himself down. "I won't stand for it...but I will sit for it."

The woman from the counter sighed.

"This ain't gonna--

Beep!

--be pretty," she said before reaching behind herself and retrieving a Pepsi that was sitting inside the ice container she was leaning against.

I blinked, realizing ho natural she acted.

Then, something weird happened.

"John!" a voice called from outside on a megaphone. "What have we said about the--

Beep!

--Gummi Bears?"

The gunman glared at the business man before looking outside. "You won't get them from me! They're mine!' he yelled before stuffing a handfull of Gummi Bears into his mouth.

I continued to stare as a police man stuck his head over a shelf.

"Give them up quietly or we'll--

Beep!

--have to use force!"

The gunman hissed and dropped the Gummi Bears as the police then helf up an overly-large toothbrush.

I ran for the Gummi Bears without thinking and--

Beep!

--fell off the bed.

I groaned as I lied on the floor, listening to my alarm clock continue to go off.

I looked to the wrappers hidden under my bed.

"No more...chocolate...before bed..."

END!

BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE--! CRASH!