My story for this month is a flash fiction piece about a dangerous stranger who comes to the rescue of my heroine at the least likely of places for a robbery. I had fun writing this story which may evolve into a longer one. I hope you enjoy it.
I couldn't think of a title for this tidbit (I'm horrible with titles), but if you have one that comes to mind I'd love to hear it.
“Give me the money—stay quiet and no one gets hurt.”
Between the beeps and screams of the children running about, I shook my head. Not only did I hear someone robbing the place, but I happened to step into the fray as I brought the cashier some cash. I peeked up to see the jerk thrusting his gun at us.
Only a loser would rob a local children’s entertainment restaurant. A broke loser, I guess.
As the shift manager, it was my responsibility to assume a brave face and intervene. But after one glimpse of that gun, my internal organs vetoed that idea. What to do? What to do? Perhaps I was still shocked that someone would have the gall to rob this place. I mean, a group of five kids passed behind the bearded man on their way to the skeeball machines.
The gun, which emerged from within his thick overcoat, trembled in his hands. Tuffs of unruly brown hair were tucked under a dark green Harley Davidson cap.
Molly, the shift’s cashier, stared at the robber with wide eyes. Her mouth moved, but nothing came out. I’d trained her to process credit cards and shoo away parents who had promises of bad checks, but I hadn’t prepared her for armed robbery.
“We don’t carry much cash,” I stammered. After a brief gulp, I placed the small stack of twenties I had in my hands onto the counter. Less than a hundred bucks these days didn’t go far. Hopefully, he’d take the money and leave.
“I know you got more.” He pointed the gun in my direction with a sneer. “You got a timed safe in the back office. And in about five minutes it will open.”
Oh, shit. This guy went quickly from weirdo armed robber to a professional thief with finesse.
He glanced at his watch. “Both of you need to head to the back office.”
I turned to move, but a parent appeared. “Your ticket machine is acting funny.” A short mother with blonde hair smiled at us from behind the robber. He pulled the gun slightly back to conceal it.
I couldn’t smile, but the words came out quickly. “We’ll have Stan take a look. Give us a few minutes.”
She turned around and offered her thanks as she left.
The robber smiled. “You keep that up sweetheart and no one will get hurt.”
Molly entered the office first. I grabbed her hand when I saw her shoulders shake. A single tear cascaded down her cheek as we headed into the back office. After a traumatizing situation like this, I didn’t expect to see the seventeen year-old return for the rest of the school year.
All three of us stepped into the cramped office space. Two messy desks and shelving with supplies filled the room.
Did he know where the safe was kept? Maybe he would leave if I feigned ignorance.
That plan failed when he went behind the desk against the wall to reveal the safe. “A few more seconds.” He checked his watch, and then leaned under the desk to open the safe.
From the wild look in Molly’s eyes, I saw her desire to run. Her fingers gripped her jeans with white knuckles. Her black eyes darted to my own before they went back to the robber.
Don’t do it!
She took a step toward the door and then bolted. The robber raised the gun in her direction.
“Here!” I placed my hands in the air to divert his attention. “Let her go. She’s just a kid.” I tried to remain calm, even with a weapon trained at my head. My hands shook as I watched him stuff the money into his deep coat pockets.
How the hell did he know the code? Was this an inside job?
His eyes briefly left mine so he could grab more money. I slowly shuffled backwards to head for the door, but I backed into a wall—a man.
From behind me his voice said, “I think you should put the gun away.”
Cold, yet firm hands touched my shoulders before they gently pushed me to the side. I didn’t know who he was, but I did know I feared him. Something inside me wanted to cower away, to hide from the hell on wheels that had entered the room.
The man with the gun blinked before he stuttered, “Who the hell are you?”
The stranger strolled around me to reveal himself as a sandy blonde-haired stunner. At five foot-five, he stood a foot taller than me with wide shoulders and lean waist. I switched my gaze back to the robber. A robbery wasn’t the ideal place to check a guy out.
“This isn't the place for violence, my friend. Put the gun away and leave.” Power emanated from him. He took half a step forward.
The thief twitched. “I don’t have to do a damn thing.” He left from behind the table and yanked me to his side. Calloused hands tightly gripped my arm. I locked into place as my breaths came out in shocked gasps. I’d gone from the somewhat calm manager to a freaked out hostage in a few seconds.
The pale blonde man rubbed his hand over his face in frustration. “Look, I don’t have time for this—” From the rising grumble in his throat, I knew something bad would happen. “My niece is out there enjoying her birthday party.”
In a split second, the robber attempted to leave the room with me in tow. I glanced into the handsome stranger’s dark blue eyes down to the hard line of his mouth. A second later, he wrenched me from the robber and pounced on him. I watched in horror from the floor as the stranger bit into the neck of my attacker.
The whole moment felt surreal as I watched the robber slump in the arms of the man who’d rescued me. I closed my eyes briefly as he drank from the thief. Locked in place, I didn’t move until I heard his hoarse voice. “You will stand up and leave this room.”
My body moved without my conscious thought. I stood and left the room in shock. A few customers waited in front of the cashier’s counter. I ambled over to them to inform them of the robbery. (I wholeheartedly had plans to leave out the vampiric intervention.)
Before I reached the counter, the mysterious hand touched my shoulder again. I nearly screamed when the blonde-haired man placed his fingertips against my mouth. “Everything's fine. The man will no longer be a problem.”
No longer a problem? Was that before or after he drained him like a bottle of V8 juice?
“I have to call the police…” I expected a confident voice to emerge, but I sounded strained and fearful.
He offered me a grin that tingled along my spine. “There’s no need to call. I took care of him—,” he glanced at my name tag, “Laney. If the police were to arrive, they’d never find him. Nor would I take the interruption of my niece’s party well.”
I had a vampire party booked this evening. At Harlow’s Family Fun Center? Not that vampire kids didn’t deserve to celebrate their 323rd birthday and all, but for goodness sake, I’d fly to Europe or something.
I stammered, “I’ll take care of the customers and check on Molly.” Self-consciously, I tucked a strand of my black hair behind my ear. I knew I didn't look attractive right now in this garish uniform.
“You do that. It was a pleasure to meet you, Laney. Even under the current circumstances.”
I didn’t know his name, but I hoped to never learn it. After a night like tonight though, I seriously needed to reconsider my career direction.
Well, my progress for Nano has gone much better than my current WIP. LOL As if last night, this is where I stand with my third book:
