The summer was waning in Alterbridge. The evening was warm and the sky again clear and peaceful. The noise of cars leaving to return to their homes dominated the Town Centre.

The noise however blended into the background down Lowey Lane; a small sidestreet off the pedestrian part of the town centre. There, nestled in amongst a few small shops was Walten's Antiques.

The owner Mr Walten was a short grey haired man with a small pointy nose. He was wearing a rather dull brown suit and golden spectacles.

Mr Walten was very punctual and therefore as soon as the chorus of clocks in his shop sang, it told him that it was 7pm - closing time.

Mr Walten himself was taking the days profits out of the till when a figure walked in.

They were wearing a hooded cloak which shielded their identity.

"Oh sorry, we are closing now." said Mr Walten.  The figure ignored him and disappeared behind a shelf.

"I'll keep the till open a bit longer then." said a slightly peeved Mr Walten. Again he received no response.

10 minutes went by all Mr Walten could hear was the patter of boots as the figure walked around the shop. The shop itself wasn't very big but was very full with all sorts of knick knacks.

Finally at quater past 7, Mr Walten was fed up. "Excuse me, the shop should've closed a full 15 minutes ago."

But no sooner did he say this than the figure emerged from behind the shelves. They briskly walked towards the door but Mr Walten's keen eyes noticed something.

"Are you going to pay for that?" queried a now angry Mr Walten.

The figure again ignored him and continued towards the door. Mr Walten was having none of it. He dashed out from around the counter and blocked the access to the door.

"Look here, no only have you been incredibly rude today but you've also attempted to commit a criminal act. Now hand over the item that you have purloined from my shop."

The figure reached inside of their cloak and before Mr Walten could react, a cold metal blade dug into his chest.

Mr Walten gasped and collapsed onto the floor as the figure removed the dagger from his chest. The figure ran from the shop and pulled a second item from their cloak. A bottle containing brown liquid and a rag. They then pulled out a lighter, lit the rag and threw the bottle through the shop window.

A fiery explosion racked the street as Walten's Antiques was engulfed in burning flames. The figure ran down a side alley as a cloud of billowing smoke rose in the air.