ATM

Michael Violetear emerged from the darkness of the night and slowly approached the middle-aged man at the ATM. Michael had a firm grip on his knife as he got up right behind the man and demanded in a deep voice, "Withdraw three hundred dollars and we won't have any problems." The middle-aged man froze, his heart rate began to rise as his hands began to shake, "What?"

"I said withdraw three hundred dollars. Then hand me that three hundred dollars and we won't have any problems... Buster?" Michael's voice was noticeably higher and more unsure this time.

Tears began to form in the man's eyes as he stared at the screen of the ATM, "Please don't do this to me. Not today please. I really need this money for my son's birthday. Please, he's been begging for a new console for years and this is his first birthday without his mother. I just... I just really want to see him smile, to be happy. Please don't do this." Michael didn't say a word for a moment. The man withdrew the money and slowly turned around towards Michael. Michael looked at the man and saw the pain and suffering in his face. Michael noticed the tears and the quivering lips of the man. Michael felt a pressure on his chest and tasted the saltiness of guilt in his throat. The hand that Michael used to grip his knife was shaking and Michael said in his naturally high and fast voice, " You know what, man... I'm- I'm really sorry about this... Keep your money and give your son the console. He probably really needs it right now. I'm sorry." Michael then ran away into the pitch-black alleyway next to the ATM, pulled off his ski-mask, and threw up behind a dumpster.

Michael then pulled out a rat from the inside of his jacket and held it out in front of him. The rat was white with red eyes. When Michael looked into the rat's eyes he felt like he was looking into the eyes of god. "What else was I supposed to do? The dude wanted to make sure his son was happy. I can't take that happiness from a child, I just can't!" Michael said to his rat. "I was scared out of my mind. I honestly felt like I was gonna shit my pants right then and there." Michael paused for a second to catch his breath. He looked around his surroundings to make sure the middle-aged man didn't get the police to come. "I could've taken the money... I should've taken the money. We're gonna have to go to another ATM to try again." Michael said as he looked into his rat's eyes looking for reassurance. The rat of course didn't reply because it's a rat and those things usually don't talk.

Michael made a quick exit from the alleyway and made his way towards an ATM that was a few blocks away from the one he was just at. Michael had his whole night and route planned out. He was gonna rob people at ATMs until he conjured up nine hundred dollars. Michael made sure to stick to the darkness of the night as he made his way towards the next ATM. He avoided street lamps and other people so that no one would see his face or his figure.

Michael arrived at the next ATM and spotted an old lady depositing money alone. Michael looked around to make sure there was no one else in the area of the ATM. He knew it was the perfect time to strike. Michael pulled out his knife and slowly approached the old woman from behind, making sure to stay as quiet as possible. Michael towered over the woman even though he was only 5'8". He looked at the ATM screen in front of the woman and saw the name "Mary." Without saying a word, Michael backed away from the old lady and quietly walked away.

While walking away, Michael pulled out his rat and started talking to it, "I couldn't do it. I can't rob a helpless old woman like that. Especially since she had the same name as my mom... I'm not a monster. That's bad juju." Michael sighed to himself and put his rat back into his jacket. He decided to go to a dark secluded parking lot to think about his next move. He knew he needed to hype himself up for his next attempt. He decided to listen to some gangsta rap music to get him pumped up. Although Michael grew up with his parents with three bedrooms in a good neighborhood, he only listened to the hardest gangsta rap and hip-hop even though he would never relate to what any of the artists were rapping. He pondered for a while about what he would listen to. He looked over the choices in his music library and was thinking about listening to some N.W.A., Tupac, or maybe Vince Staples, but Michael eventually chose Lil' Sko's 1998 song This is a Robbery. Michael mumbled the lyrics to himself in the dark parking lot while pacing in circles and gesturing a stab with the knife in his hand. He looked like a dork, but that's probably because he was a dork.