“Don’t shoot!” I screamed, closing my eyes and turning my head.

“Relax lady, it’s just a water gun. The best way to kill a rat is to drown it because it’s humane and the suffocation is just a ...”

“What?” I yelled. “How the hell are you going to ‘drown it’ by shooting it with a water gun? That doesn’t make any sense!”

“Oh, you see, it’s very interesting,” he started to explain. “The rat can’t breathe because its lungs fill up with water and then the choking is …”

“I don’t want to hear it!” I shouted. “Get it off my hand!” I scrambled to my feet, stumbled over a few of the fallen bikes and jumped in the security guard’s face. I shoved my rat-infested hand toward him and screamed, “Drop the water gun, hold onto the trap and I’ll pull! I want this thing off my hand!”

“O…O…Ok,” said the security guard, taking a few steps back. He put his stupid gun back in his stupid holster, then he quickly pulled a rag out of his pocket and put it over his hand. He grabbed the edge of the trap and said, “Ok, pull!”

“Oh, shut up, Debbie!” I screamed as I planted my feet and got myself into position. I was not in the mood for her infantile behavior. I couldn’t believe her mother still wasn’t back and no one in the store had come to help. “Hold tight!” I commanded. “I’m going to use all my weight when I pull!”

“Good idea,” he said, looking me up and down. “You have big, hefty thighs. They should give you good leverage so that the glue…”

“Shut up and get a good grip on the trap!” I screamed as I stomped my foot, then jumped up and down. I wanted to hit him, but that would have to wait until I was rat-free.

I pulled so hard that when the trap finally came off my hand, I fell backward. On my way down, my head slammed into a shelf. The shelf broke and a bunch of bike locks fell to the floor. The one that landed on my forehead was attached to a thick chain.

The last thing I remember is the security guard standing over me, lightly slapping my face. Debbie was standing next to him, cradling the rat in her arms. They were both talking to me, but I couldn’t understand what they were saying. I felt something wet on my forehead. I saw little flashes of light, then everything went dark.

To Be Continued