The time I could've died because of pizza

Day 4 of Blogtember: A story about a time you were very afraid.

It was a hot Sunday afternoon.  My family and I just returned from a camping trip, and stopped by Pizza Hut on the way to my dad's.  It was one of those take-out only stores, and so, after we ordered our pizza, we waited in the car.  Everyone was feeling lethargic and hungry and in so need of a shower.  Needless to say, we were all quite cranky.

After 15 or so minutes, my dad told me to check on the pizza.  I grudgingly stepped out of the car into the scorching heat, and dragged my feet to the store.  When I got to the door, I realized it was locked.  I peered through the glass and didn't see anyone inside.  So, I knocked.  I knew the store could not have closed in the last 15 minutes.  They couldn't.  We didn't have our pizza yet!  After I knocked a few more times, I saw the cashier who took our order get up from underneath the counter.  Then, I watched her walk to the door.  She opened it, and told me to come in.

"Is our pizza ready?" I asked.

"Come in," she said again.  "Please."

I sensed that something was wrong.

"Just come in," she said for the third time.

"I just want our pizza," was my response.

Then, I saw a shadow appear behind the counter.  I could tell it was of a tall man, who was undoubtedly holding a shotgun pointed towards the cashier and me.

"Get your (bleep) (bleep) in here, you (bleep)!" the tall shadow yelled.

"Please come in," the cashier said to me.

"No," I said, without taking my eyes off the shotgun.

The man was no more than 20 feet away, but he was a blur to me.  The gun was another story.  I thought, if I went inside, I could die.  He could shoot me, and I could die.  But if I refused, he could still shoot me, and he was close enough not to miss.

The shadow continued to yell obscenities and threats.  He was going to shoot if I didn't come in.

"No," I told the cashier, who pleaded with me to just listen to the orders behind her.

Then, as the man with the shotgun continued to threaten me, the brave cashier pushed me and ran out of the store.  Everything after that was a blur.  I don't know how I got from standing outside that Pizza Hut door to the front seat of our car, but I did.  And when I finally realized where I was, I just kept touching my arms and face to make sure I was really there, safe in the car, and not dead.  Then, I started hearing annoyed voices asking me what was going on and where was the pizza.  I didn't think I could feel so grateful for being barraged with complaints by my cranky brothers and tired dad.

I later learned that the cashier had spotted a police car driving by, so she pushed me out of the way, ran out of the store and waved for the police to stop.  The police interviewed me afterwards, but I never saw the man's face.  He was just a shadow with a big shotgun.

The whole incident couldn't have lasted more than five minutes, but I was really afraid.  On the bright side, no one got hurt (the man ran out through the back of the store without shooting anyone), and we got free pizza.