The Clock Strucks Danger

Studio

Something unexpected. Hope you like it!

The following story is written in third person. Say cheese, make sure the picture is perfect!

"There you go, you look perfect!" Celia's mother held a pretty pink ribbon against her daughter's lush tresses and tied a bow by scooping up the hair into a ponytail. Celia beamed at her with joy, deep dimples standing out on her plump ruddy cheeks. Her mother planted a kiss on her head.

"Do I look cute?" Celia asked. Her big eyes shone with excitement. It is not everyday that you get selected to star in the billboard of the city's biggest clothes shop for kids.

"Yes. Very!"

"Will you two ladies please hurry up?" Celia's dad tapped his watch impatiently. The shooting studio was quite far away and he did not want to drive during the peak morning office hours.

"We are ready, Joe. Just, let me put on her new red shoes."

They set off , in their little car, after much 'tsk tsk' and 'ladies, ladies' from her father and cheerful banter between Celia and her mom.

The road ahead of them stretched wide and long. Joe typed out the address. The navigation system began pointing out directions in its monotonous robotic voice.

"Honey?" Her mother spoke after a good hour had passed.

Her father hummed.

"Honey?"

"What?"

"How much longer?"

"Soon enough, I suppose. The system is sure taking us through some wierd roads. I haven't been to this part of the town before."

Celia looked out the window. There was nothing to be seen except vast yellow fields on both the sides. The road was dusty.

"Is this the countryside?" Her mother asked again.

"By the looks of it, yes. We are now in an area which goes by the name of Heckley Farm road."

They travelled for another half hour and by this time, Celia was losing her patience fast.

"Daddy, how far is it?" She cried in frustration and banged her little fists on the back of the driver's seat.

"A little while more, Celi. Now, stop doing that."

Sure enough, they pulled to a stop as per the directions soon. They got out and looked around.

"Are you sure you took the right turn?" Her mother asked. It was evident from her expression that she was not convinced by the location of the studio.

There was nothing there except a broken down garage and a large store house. The entire place seemed dilapidated and uncared for.

"Nope, I took the left turn as given by the system" her father winked and received a playful slap on his back.

"Where do we go now, daddy?" Celia looked up at them.

"The studio is called Little flowers. Sounds more like a florist shop." Her mother commented.

"I'll call the number on the card that they gave."

Her dad punched the numbers impatiently onto his cell phone and held the phone to his ears, letting out a huge breath of air. Few rings later, he cut the call.

"No one's picking up" he said dejectedly.

"Mighty swell, this is!" Her mother commented sarcastically.

"Would you please calm down, honey" he whispered hoarsely. The sun was almost setting down the horizon and the air around them seemed to be heavy with humidity.

Just then, Celia saw a lanky man walking across the road. He had a ratty moustache and wore a cheap polyester shirt.

"Dad, look" she tugged at her father's pants.

'Hello there, mister! " Joe waved to the man. The man waved back and jogged towards them.

As he neared, he grinned and eyed Celia and her mother with a perverse look in his eyes. Joe was quick to notice and he cleared his throat firmly to distract the man.

"Ahem. I need some help. We have to go to this address and I think we are on the wrong path." He held out the card.

The other man studied the address.

"You are definitely not on the wrong path sir. The building is nearby. I'll lead you. This way...." He pointed towards his right and walked. Celia and her family followed in tow.

He led them to the old store house. It was a large building of beautiful architecture. The door was white with its paint peeling in places and the window shatters were broken and dirty. Cobwebs hung from the top and the store house seemed long abandoned and uncared for.

"Is this a joke?" Her dad asked furiously. By this time, he had started doubting the man. He didn't like him from the start. The way he had looked at his precious wife and daughter was enough to ring the warning bells in his head.

"Sorry sir, but this is the address given on the card. I have bought you to the correct location. This is ' Little Flowers', godown and store house although it is not in use anymore."

Her mother seemed unconvinced.

"If I may ask sir, why are you here? That too with Ma'am and the little one. This is not a safe place to be. Lots of robberies take place here."

"Oh really? We are here to visit the little flower studio." Joe asked, intrigued.

"Haven't you read the papers? The studio gang is out and about, hell bent on destroying the city. They claim to be from some studio and then they invite innocent people to pose for them and then, they kill them and rob them for all that they are worth." The man said in a low voice as he peered behind his shoulders. His moustache twitched.

Celia gave a giggle. Her mother looked at her father and then, they too started laughing.

The man was dumbfounded. "I'm sorry?"

Joe snorted and gasped for air while Celia was holding her tummy and laughing. Her mother held her palm against her mouth trying to stifle her mirth.

"Oh honey, you have no idea how the studio gang works. Don't go by the papers. The press doesn't know shit." Joe winked.

"What do you mean?" The other man stared at them in horror. He felt Celia tug his tattered jeans. He looked down. She smiled angelically.

"Hi, we are the studio gang." She said.

His jaw dropped to the ground.

Joe gave another snort and said, "and we behave as victims to gain sympathy from fools like you and then we take our role as the prey."

With one swift move, the lady hit the man on the side of his neck with her hand due to which he fell to the ground. Joe kicked the back of his head.

"Please leave me. I don't have money to give you. I am a poor guy. I live around here." The man pleaded, his voice quivering.

'Its true that you are poor and you don't have anything we would like to take..." Her mother said.

"But now that you know our secret, we would have to kill you!" Joe completed the sentence with an iconic dialogue and pulled out a revolver from his pocket. He aimed at the man's forehead and pulled the trigger.

"So we didn't get any money today, daddy?" Celia asked mournfully.

Her father shrugged and picked her up. He kissed her cheeks.

"That's our trade, sweetie. Now are you in mood for some McDonalds?"