I'm going to die 

••••••

Autumn sauntered into the store, instantly hit by the overpowering scent of buttered popcorn; she couldn't help but grin. She could practically taste the sweet saltiness on her tongue.

Every time the scent of popcorn filled her nostrils, she was taken back to the grocery store trips with her mother. If Autumn was good, her mom would let her have a bag, and, most of the time, her mom would end up eating 98% of it.

But Autumn didn't mind. She never cared, because she was with her mommy.

Autumn swallowed the lump in her throat as she glanced over her shoulder in search of her boyfriend, Mark.

Mark trudged through the automatic doors with tired eyes and a heavy frown, acting as if they'd been shopping all day when, in reality, this was there first stop.

"Oh come on," she pestered, shaking her head with a playful grin. He scowled in her direction as he finally made it to her side.

"I don't understand why you need my help," he whined, crossing his arms over his chest like a child throwing a temper tantrum.

"We're shopping for your mom." Mark opened his mouth to utter a response but went silent. "Exactly."

Marv's, the store they were currently in, had initially been a small mom-and-pop shop. They decided to move into what used to be referred to by the locals as "ghetto grove" – a shopping center with a laundromat, a cell phone shop with bars over the windows, and ten other decrepit and vacant buildings painted with graffiti.

Marv's seized control over the largest building in the complex and, much to everyone's surprise, it took off.

The shopping center was in a small town; however, it was at most fifteen minutes away from three significantly larger cities. New stores relocated to the center, and in less than six months, it was clean, filled with shoppers, and adding five new stores to its roster. Cause of this, Marv's was always packed tightly with customers.

Especially that Saturday morning.

Autumn had to practically drag Mark through the store and around the shoppers and their carts.

Eventually, they made it to the laughably small jewelry section practically hidden in one of the back corners.

"Why can't we just get her a movie or socks or something?" Mark moaned. He had absolutely no skills when it came to giving gifts.

He hadn't even given Autumn anything for her birthday. Mark had repeatedly informed Autumn her present was on its way.

She eventually stopped asking.

"Will you just look?" Autumn laughed, suppressing her annoyance with a rehearsed grin. Mark wandered over to the clearance rack, plucking the first necklace he saw off the shelf.

"Oh, this is perfect." Mark held up a purple stringed necklace, the charm being a bottle cap with Justin Bieber's face on it. "My mom's a big fan."

"You're ridiculous."

"I can't focus," he sighed while returning the necklace to its home.

"I'm too hungry."

"You ate like three bowls of cereal this morning?"

"You see," he began. "That was breakfast. I need my warm-up snack before I eat lunch." Autumn stared at him, shaking her head in disbelief.

"You're joking." He leaned in to whisper in her ear.

"I don't joke about food." With that, he spun around on his heels and practically skipped off to the café.

"Mark," Autumn attempted to call after him. But it was useless.

He was already gone.

She found herself laughing, which was odd, considering she felt anything but joy at that moment.

After letting out a heavy sigh, she continued to examine each necklace on the wall with careful eyes, not wanting to pass anything that would be perfect.

She'd only met Mark's mother a few times and, since she and Mark were planning on moving in together, Autumn wanted to make the best lasting impression possible, especially since they hadn't told her yet.

Pulling a small gold chain with a butterfly charm and a silver locket from the shelf, she scrutinized them both. It had been a while since Autumn had gone rifling through a store for a present, and she was stuck.

It was either that or the nerves of having to tell Martha her favorite baby boy wasn't a baby anymore.

Though she was more than sure Mark would pick whichever one got him out of the store faster, she still went to find him.

He was resting in one of the café stools. Shoving a handful of popcorn into his mouth, he watched a woman bend over to scoop up some napkins.

Autumn's heart sank.

Last year, Autumn had tried to surprise Mark for his birthday. She showed up at his apartment with an Adam Sandler movie and a pizza, only to find him in bed with Shelly – someone she had thought was a friend.

Autumn knew cheaters never changed, but she felt something for Mark and didn't want to believe it was over.

And, even though she'd never admit it, Autumn clung to Mark; she needed him.

Autumn had lost her mother a couple of years ago in a car accident, and her father had been absent since she was five. All of her friends were Mark's friends.

So, if Mark left, Autumn would be truly alone.

That fear hung over her head at all times, and it is what made Autumn pretend she hadn't seen a thing and walk over to him.

"Hey," she greeted, swallowing the lump in her throat. "Which one do you like better? I'm stuck." She set the two necklaces on the table.

"The gold one," Mark mumbled, mouth full. Autumn lifted them both up into the light. "The locket's weird."

"Why?"

"Because it's her birthday, she's not going off to war." Autumn snorted, face turning red from embarrassment.

"You know, you're not in the sty." He mocked, shoving more food into his mouth.

"Oh, shut up." Autumn stood there, cheeks on fire, as Mark taunted her for something she was self-conscious about.

"So, we found something," He began, mouth filled with popcorn, "Mission accomplished; let's get lunch."

"Almost." Mark groaned. "I just need to get a card."

"Fine," he bellyached.

Autumn went to return the silver locket to its shelf, and give herself some more time away from him.

Stuck in her dark and spiraling thoughts, she wasn't paying attention to her surroundings, and she rammed right into someone.

They wobbled, and Autumn dropped the necklace to grip there arm and steady them.

"I'm sorry!"

The man didn't say a word.

He leaned down and picked up the locket. He got up too quickly, knocking his hood off.

I know him

Autumn couldn't explain the feeling of familiarity that fell over her. There was something in his intense ocean-blue eyes that comforted her like an old friend.

She could feel her heart pounding in her chest.

His warm fingers grabbed Autumn's hand and slipped the necklace into them.

"Sorry," Autumn found herself saying again. This time, she almost whispered it.

She wondered if he was experiencing the same thing because his eyes didn't break their gaze.

"Do I know-"

"Come on." His companion yanked his wrist, cutting Autumn off. She hauled him away, and Autumn couldn't do anything but watch him go.

Her body was frozen. Her mind went 100 miles an hour, trying to understand: I know that guy. How do I know him? School? No, that's not it.

"Autumn."

Maybe I work with him? Seen him at the gym before?

"Autumn!" Mark shouted, latching onto her shoulder. She felt her heart stop for just a minute as she practically leaped out of her skin. "You forget where you were going?"

This weird feeling coursed through her veins, and chills crawled down her spine.

"Hello?" Mark nudged her shoulder, forcing her from whatever self-induced trance she was in. Autumn didn't say a word. She just stared at the floor and nearly sprinted away from everyone and back into the corner where she could disappear for a second.

Mark began to tease Autumn, making small comments about "the creep wearing a hood indoors," but she was too preoccupied to pay him any attention.

Autumn just chose the first card she found on the shelf, and the two made their way to the registers. As usual, the lines were painstakingly long and, for some reason, only three lanes were open.

Autumn and Mark hopped into the shortest of the three and waited.

The woman in front of them would occasionally turn around and comment on the line. Other than that, Autumn and Mark remained silent.

People hurried about, marveling at the flat screens and mocking the odd slogan t-shirts.

It was just a typical Saturday. At least, it should have been.

Three loud pops broke through the air.

Autumn gasped, caught off guard, gripping Mark's arm. At first, her brain registered the sound as fireworks.

Wait, fireworks indoors?

But after a woman screamed bloody murder and a wave of people sprinted away from the front door, she thought otherwise.

Autumn leaned against the counter to see what had everyone so spooked. Three people spread out in front of the main doors, two of them had guns.

"Find them!" The blonde woman, who stood firmly in between the others, shouted. "Kill anyone that gets in your way."

Panic broke out.

People shoved past each other, pushing to get as far from the gunmen as possible.

They came from everywhere; employees ditched their registers, customers abandoned their shopping carts, and families were accidentally separated as the bustling crowd pulled them apart.

Mark charged off with the crowd, leaving a trembling Autumn behind. She would have stayed there, paralyzed in fear, if one of the people dashing past the registers hadn't dug their nails into her arm and jerked her away.

She couldn't think of an escape plan.

She couldn't think about what she'd leave behind in the world.

Autumn couldn't think about anything, because a single thought dominated them all:

I'm going to die.----

Thank you for reading! 

This chapter is dedicated to @poisonlilac a.k.a the queen of trailers. She's such an amazing person inside and out and I'm so grateful to have gotten to know her AND to have had a trailer made by her. 

I hope you're enjoying the new chapters of I'm Only Human so far.

Thank you!