Guardian by Gregory Harvey

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But, he had always told himself, it was something more than that. The object, a cracked hubcap lying in the ruins of an old storefront (which used to sell candy if his memory was correct), had always seemed to resonate a certain atmosphere that Thomas was at a complete loss to describe, even to himself.
The hubcap itself was in the basement of the store, which in and of itself had always intrigued Thomas. Why, after all of these years, had no one had the heart to tear it down? It was as though the entire site was protected. It was two blocks away, back in the direction of the nursing home. It was the last permanent in this area of the suburb. He'd have to cross the motorway to reach the other four.
Thankfully, he made it the two blocks without incident. Thomas did notice, however, that the streets were becoming quieter. It was as if the entire city was shutting down around him. In an otherwise busy suburb, he'd only had two cars go past him in the last five minutes.
The decaying building (an area Thomas affectionately called ‘The Ruins') was much as it always had been. The front door, although hanging askew in its frame, was sealed tight. As he had done for the last ten years, Thomas would have to enter through one of the broken side windows.
He moved around to the side of the building, where it's ageing wood ran into the recently re-sealed pedestrian sidewalk. Thomas was tempted to go through the first window just to save time, but was stopped for two reasons. The first was that the window was surrounded by shattered glass, which would rip into his elderly skin like a chainsaw into a children's toy, and the second was that he usually went through the second one. It felt wrong to change things now. Thomas moved along to the second window, and slipped through.
The window brought him into the back room, which had once been used for storage. Much of the stuff was still there. Candy laid scattered about the floor of the room, and was also haphazardly stacked in rotting and partially collapsed shelves. A bizarre smell, presumably that of fifty year old candy, hung over the place.
The storage room contained a single door that opened into a hallway. The hallway opened into the store proper. Thomas displayed speed uncharacteristic of his age as he opened the door and stepped into the hallway. It was narrow, barely wide enough to account for his slender width. Thomas sometimes wondered how exactly a candy store clerk (who would be overweight of course) moved back and forth between the store room and the counter. There was no time for that now, however.
He stepped into the store, his eyes already positioned to find the hubcap...
But it was gone. The pile of candy it once sat in was left only with a dull, golden glow for company. Tears were beginning to swell behind Thomas' eyes as he crept forward towards the melancholic pile of candy. The hubcap... was gone. All the colour in the room was beginning to drain.
Thomas fell to his knees in front of the hubcap's empty throne.