FBI,+Madison

The breeze rushed through me, rattling my bones as I stepped out of the convenience store on the corner. I wasn’t far from home and mom being the control-freak she was, wouldn’t let me venture any further than this. The dark had just begun to swallow the remainders of light.

I pulled my jacket closer to my body, trying to block out the cold that was beginning to overtake me. Blue lips and all, I started for home lugging my goods with me. Candies of many sorts. The blue numbers of the crosswalk illuminated as I slammed my hand into the metal button. Using up the remaining strength I had. 60, 59,58…...It wasn’t moving fast enough, I would surely be late. 30,29,28……….I didn’t notice the silhouette walking swiftly towards me.

He looked like your average criminal, ski mask, black coat, hand hovering over a gun. My first instinct was to sink into the grates in the street, but I was unable to do that. My second was to run, but he already had his gloved hand gripping my shoulder.

“Help!” I squeaked. //Pathetic//. No one would hear me, the cashier in the convenience store had already dozed off. At an hour like this everyone was tucked into bed, unaware of the dangers around them.

“Ouch!” he called out, as I flicked my head around and bit the exposed skin on his arm. His grip only faltered for a second. //Long enough//. I sprinted off into the opposite direction, towards the stretches of nothingness. Few people to hear my screams of terror. //Be brave. Be brave//. The words played on repeat in my head like a broken record. Sometimes faltering, unsure. The pounding of my heart echoed through me. It was the only thing I could hear as I ran. Fear surged through me, slowing my pace edging me towards giving up.

I had dropped my bag of treats somewhere along the way, there went my allowance money. I had also lost my hat that kept my long, blonde hair tucked away. Now it flapped in the wind, untamed.

The sound of the man’s heavy breathing had gotten louder as I ran. I had to trick him. Without much notice I veered off into the forest. I used to come here as a child to play catch. This place that once looked welcoming was now eerie. The branches were hands waiting to devour me whole. I must not have been fast enough. I turned my head to get a quick look behind me. He had gotten even closer and his gun was no longer in his pocket, he pointed it at the back of my head.

“Please! I’m just a girl, I don’t have any money!” As soon as the words exited my mouth I knew they were stupid. He has probably heard this phrase many times before. I turned my head back to the path in front of me.

“Ahh!” I let out a whimper as my knee drove into a tree, I fell backwards landing in the soft earth. I pulled myself behind some shrubs, shutting my eyes in pain. The scarlet blood that dripped down my hand pooled in a dip in the ground. //Be brave. Be brave//. I began to lug my dead weight up off the ground, I couldn’t stay here for much longer. I leaned against the giant, oak tree. My breathing ragged and uneven. My hair glued against my neck.

“Nice try, sweetheart.” The man loomed in front of me.I tried to block out his taunting words. To deflect them before they entered my system. He gave me a smile, the kind of smile a lion would give it’s prey.

He extended his arm towards me until the barrel of the gun grazed my forehead. A chill ran down my spine as I thought of my mom finding me here.

// Dead. Would she be angry? //

The click of the trigger startled me.

“Don’t worry. It’ll all be over soon enough.” He wiped his brow with the back of his hand. “5,4,3,2…...1.”

I waited for the bullet, but it never came. I looked down at my shoes buried in the dirt.

“She’s perfect.”

That voice was not that of the criminal. A man with shaggy brown hair stepped out from within the bushes only meters from where I was. His glasses hung low on his nose and his lips curled into a friendly smile.

“How would you like to become part of the FBI?”