his head to the wall beside him. No way, Jose.
“You don’t have to do this. We don-” I begin to explain but he cuts my sentence short with his voice.
“Sit,” He tells me again, jerking Genny tighter against him and letting his threat sink in. Okay, Jose.
Ginjer and I slide down the wall until we are sitting like good little captives. He hands Genny a roll of thick tape, pushing her forward to us. Her hands shake and she stands still, mute and unsure of what he wants.
“He wants you to tape our hands.” I hold my arms out to her, wrists together, praying that if I assist he will leave my daughter alone. I want her closer to me, not him.
“..and feet. Tape their feet, too.” The man sounds as unsure of his plans as Genny is of what to do and I lose a few inches of my apprehension over him.
Genny is sniffling as she winds the tape with uneven circles around my wrists, but she is refusing to cry. With her mind focused on the job, she is no longer looking to me for guidance and I can stare at the man that paces the floor in front of us.
With one hand brought to his mouth to chew a thumbnail and the other rubbing the back of his neck, he holds no weapon that I can see. His head is downcast, heavy with his thoughts. He is dressed in basic jeans and tee-shirt with running shoes on his feet. Markings along his wrists show signs of having just removed a jacket telling me that he has not been inside the store long. This isn’t a kidnapping. This is a botched supply run, just like ours.
Trying to reason with him, I keep my voice calm and an even pitch, “Look, we don’t know you and you don’t know us,” I tell him. His pacing hinting that he is just as nervous about his actions as we are. “We will sit here, count to ….twenty…and we will never see which way you go or remember anything about you. There is no need to hurt anyone.”
He stares at me with dark colored blue eyes. They are a filled with an emotion that contradicts his actions.
“I just need to think…,” His voice trails off as he stares at the ground, seeking answers for questions that only he can hear being whispered in his mind.
Still clutching the tape in her hands, Genny sits beside me trying to avoid his scattered focus. I turn my upper body, placing my taped wrists over her body, attempting to shield her and pull her closer to me.
“My name is Beth. This is my daughter, and this is my friend. What’s your name?” His eyes slowly float to me with confusion over my question. “Normally I prefer dinner and a movie before I let a guy tie me up, but a name would suffice given the circumstances.”
He smiles at me before he catches himself. With that small action, I know that this is not a criminal mastermind at work. Just a guy, in the wrong place at the wrong time, just trying to survive just like us. Our odds just increased by metric tons in my mind.
“Collin?” The man’s head snaps up with the new voice from the back of the store. By his reaction, I guess we have answered the name debate.
He darts his eyes in our direction with almost fear building in them. He points at me before heading towards the voice, keeping his wide eyes on me with another silent threat and message. Unfortunately for him, I don’t take directions well and I am not about to just sit here until he comes back.
“Get it off,” I tell Genny, who is already pulling at the bindings of the tape. Male voices hiss in whispers that carry the conversation to us in disjointed fragments as Genny fights with the tape. Her hands shake with her nerves, making our escape clumsy and frantic.
With my hands free, Genny moves to help Ginjer and I begin to unbind my legs. I keep my attention on the whispered hissing during our escape. I know as long as they are whispering they are not paying attention to what we are doing. My heart thumps at the risk of being discovered. Collin may not be a threat, but his partner might be.
With silent nods we begin to stand,
“You don’t have to do this. We don-” I begin to explain but he cuts my sentence short with his voice.
“Sit,” He tells me again, jerking Genny tighter against him and letting his threat sink in. Okay, Jose.
Ginjer and I slide down the wall until we are sitting like good little captives. He hands Genny a roll of thick tape, pushing her forward to us. Her hands shake and she stands still, mute and unsure of what he wants.
“He wants you to tape our hands.” I hold my arms out to her, wrists together, praying that if I assist he will leave my daughter alone. I want her closer to me, not him.
“..and feet. Tape their feet, too.” The man sounds as unsure of his plans as Genny is of what to do and I lose a few inches of my apprehension over him.
Genny is sniffling as she winds the tape with uneven circles around my wrists, but she is refusing to cry. With her mind focused on the job, she is no longer looking to me for guidance and I can stare at the man that paces the floor in front of us.
With one hand brought to his mouth to chew a thumbnail and the other rubbing the back of his neck, he holds no weapon that I can see. His head is downcast, heavy with his thoughts. He is dressed in basic jeans and tee-shirt with running shoes on his feet. Markings along his wrists show signs of having just removed a jacket telling me that he has not been inside the store long. This isn’t a kidnapping. This is a botched supply run, just like ours.
Trying to reason with him, I keep my voice calm and an even pitch, “Look, we don’t know you and you don’t know us,” I tell him. His pacing hinting that he is just as nervous about his actions as we are. “We will sit here, count to ….twenty…and we will never see which way you go or remember anything about you. There is no need to hurt anyone.”
He stares at me with dark colored blue eyes. They are a filled with an emotion that contradicts his actions.
“I just need to think…,” His voice trails off as he stares at the ground, seeking answers for questions that only he can hear being whispered in his mind.
Still clutching the tape in her hands, Genny sits beside me trying to avoid his scattered focus. I turn my upper body, placing my taped wrists over her body, attempting to shield her and pull her closer to me.
“My name is Beth. This is my daughter, and this is my friend. What’s your name?” His eyes slowly float to me with confusion over my question. “Normally I prefer dinner and a movie before I let a guy tie me up, but a name would suffice given the circumstances.”
He smiles at me before he catches himself. With that small action, I know that this is not a criminal mastermind at work. Just a guy, in the wrong place at the wrong time, just trying to survive just like us. Our odds just increased by metric tons in my mind.
“Collin?” The man’s head snaps up with the new voice from the back of the store. By his reaction, I guess we have answered the name debate.
He darts his eyes in our direction with almost fear building in them. He points at me before heading towards the voice, keeping his wide eyes on me with another silent threat and message. Unfortunately for him, I don’t take directions well and I am not about to just sit here until he comes back.
“Get it off,” I tell Genny, who is already pulling at the bindings of the tape. Male voices hiss in whispers that carry the conversation to us in disjointed fragments as Genny fights with the tape. Her hands shake with her nerves, making our escape clumsy and frantic.
With my hands free, Genny moves to help Ginjer and I begin to unbind my legs. I keep my attention on the whispered hissing during our escape. I know as long as they are whispering they are not paying attention to what we are doing. My heart thumps at the risk of being discovered. Collin may not be a threat, but his partner might be.
With silent nods we begin to stand,
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