I wish I could fully recount the events, details lost to time, memories forgotten. Sometimes, I wonder if any of it really happened. I wish I knew if any of it was real or not. This is a story of love, happiness and generosity but also one of tragedy, loss and death. This is the story of Tim Strother.
It started out pretty much like any other day in life. You wake up, go to work, come home, eat and then go to sleep. The same old stuff on a different day, S.S.D.D. to put it bluntly. I went to work at the grocery store feeling that if I just got through my shift the day would pretty much end itself. I punch into the clock device indicating that my work shift had begun.
Now I’m not much for storytelling so I’m going to stop talking in the first-person and simply narrate the story from now on. After Tim had clocked in and told the manager, he began to start bagging the groceries for the customers. About 2 hours passed by without incident, then he noticed someone a bit odd walk into the store, they had on a ski mask and looked a bit nervous. He went over and asked “Can I help you with something?” The person seemed to jump slightly, then he seemed to realize it was just a question, he replied “No thanks, I’m sure I’ll find what I’m looking for.” Tim, feeling that he had done what he could, went on to check the shelves and see if any of them needed to be stocked.
About another hour later Tim noticed the strange person again, whoever they were, they were still shaking nervously. Eventually, the lunch rush came in and it was practically all hands on deck. Frantically bagging boxes of food and various fruits and veggies into appropriate bags had become easier the longer you work at a grocery store. Eventually the rush died down and Tim had noticed that another strange individual had walked into the store, they had on a ski mask just like the other and seemed very nervous. This time Tim didn't ask if they needed help, he just kept bagging groceries.
Out of the corner of his eyes, Tim noticed that the two individuals had gotten together and were talking to each, while out of earshot he could definitely tell something was wrong. The Manager came over and asked Tim to check the shelves, a task he was glad to take. While in the soda isle, Tim looked at the individuals with a bit of concern, the two didn't notice. Suddenly, they had pulled out pistols and shouted for everyone to get down, a command everyone followed, but Tim, being out of their field of view, hid for a moment to gather up the courage to do what needed to be done.
He carefully watched as the two gathered money and other valuables from trapped customers and store personal, He grabbed a particularly heavy soda box, knowing that it’s not what you’re hit with that matters, it’s how heavy it is and how fast it’s moving. He slipped into position behind an abandoned register, which had pretty much been gutted for parts but still offered a place to hide. He waited until the individual closest was looking away from him, then he made his move, running at the closest robber with the soda box held in a position to hit the individual before he could notice. Tim swung the box as hard as he could, he felt it hit the person in the head, the person was thrown into the nearby wall at a fairly high rate of speed, the robber hit the wall hard, and Tim heard something crack loudly, it wasn’t the wall.
He couldn’t relax just yet, there was another to be dealt with, the robber had watched his comrade hit the wall, and stood silently stunned for a second. Tim looked up at the other and started to run at him screaming at the top of his lungs as if in a battle cry. The robber had been forced out of his small daze by the scream, he leveled his gun at the attacker and fired three shots. Tim didn’t take notice that 2 of the shots had hit him, one hit his right lung, and the other had entered his liver. The adrenaline coursing through his body spiked up suddenly, keeping him conscious.
The robber, realizing that the attacker was still running at him tried running backwards, but he only stumbled slightly, leaving the door open for Tim to give him a solid hit in the head with the soda box, knocking the robber on the floor, but not knocking him out. Tim took the opportunity to kick the gun out of their hand and across the floor. Tim said to the robber “You just stay there unless you want to end up like your friend.”
The police and paramedics arrived shortly after to take the robber who was conscious into custody, the paramedics were tending to Tims gunshot wounds. One medic said to Tim “You’re either very brave or insane, taking them on like that.” Tim snarkly replied “or both”, He chuckled a little before a sharp pain in his chest reminded him of reality. The medic laughed slightly then noticed the pain in Tims chest. He said “We need to get you to a hospital so we can get the bullets out of your body.” Tim replied simply “no argument here.”
After spending a few day of complete boredom in the hospital, Tim had finally recovered from the ordeal. He had also elected to walk home, considering that the hospital was just a short walk from where he lived. On his way home, he started to feel like he was being followed. So Tim doubled his pace from a slow walk to a quick pace, or what would've been normal walking speed for him. As he rounded a corner he was confronted by a large sphere of light.
There was an outline of a figure inside of the sphere that seemed somehow familiar to him. He broke the silence asking “Hello?” The figure inside seemed to notice, simply saying “It is time.” Tim confused, asked “Time for what?” The figure ignored his question and stated “Step inside of the sphere and all of your question will be answered.” Tim, still apprehensive, slowly stepped into the sphere and found himself surrounded by light and found that he had to shield his eyes from the light as it started growing brighter and brighter, eventually getting so bright that he was forced to close his eyes to protect them. He started to feel a heat all over his body seconds before passing from the world of conscious thought. His last thought before unconsciousness consumed him was “What’s happening now?”