Blue Eyes Ransom

Chapter 1 Silence

Silence

Pure, utter silence.

For a while, that's all that filled the room. That's when the crying started. You could tell it was a man. It's really hard to hear men cry. It's more like a whimper, but then it becomes a series of sobs. Soon, the whole bank was filled with a symphony of cries and sobs.

"I SAID QUIET!" The voice sounded around the room again. "I WANT EVERYONE QUIET!"

Everyone in the bank began to whimper as they tried to hold in their sounds of sorrow. One woman couldn't contain herself and let out a loud cry.

A gun shot sounded and everyone went silent again before a thud echoed around the room.

I bit my lip as I stared into darkness. We had all been blindfolded after they broke in. I had barely seen them before they grabbed me from behind. It was a dark hand? No, light. I was so surprised, I couldn't focus. I had even forgot my name, I was so scared. It's amazing how much the mind breaks when in times of great stress. My heart pounded against my chest when the man spoke again.

"Anybody else have something to say?"

I heard whimpering and the sound of a hand hitting face.

"Shut up! Or the place is blown to the ground!"

I clenched my jaw. This was it. I was going to die. Weather I said something or not, I was going to die.

"Hey!" I called into the blank space in front of my eyes. "You!"

I heard a deep low growl grow as he neared me.

"So we do have something to say do we?"

"Yeah. I wanna know what's going on."

Silence.

"What's going on?" I asked again, my lip quivered and my bound hands shook.

"I said in the beginning of this fiasco that this is a hold up. What do you not understand?"

"Why? Why are you doing this?"

"Why are you asking?" He growled. "Why are you even talking?"

I flinched and looked away, fearful that he would hit me, but nothing. No sound, no feeling, not even a gust of air.once again, pure silence filled my eardrums. His boots clicked on the ground as I heard him walk away.

"It's gonna be alright."

I jumped at the voice of a man next to me. He was in front of me in the line before this all happened. "I-I- hope so."

"I'm Theodore Thomas," he said roughly. He sounded to be about in his late 70s, maybe even 80. "What's your name, if you don't mind me asking."

"I'm Jordyn. Jordyn Lakes." I exhaled shakily. That was probably the last time I was saying my name.

Theodore chuckled lightly. "Nice to meet you Miss Lakes."

I bit my lip. "Not so very nice considering the circumstances, don't you think, sir?"

His soft, wheezy chuckling continued. "I don't see why not?"

I went silent. Why was this man not panicking like everyone else. "Are you not worried, sir."

"I'm old," he whispered warmly. "I've been waiting for death for a long time." His voice was withered and shaky, yet comforting. Wise, yet fun. His voice reminded me of my grandfathers... "I was diagnosed with stage three lung cancer three years ago. The doctors had given me six months to live." He laughed softly. "And look at me now!" His voice quieted when he realized he was being too loud. "This cancer, Miss Jordyn, it eats you up. I say it's better to let nature take its course then go through all the trouble to stay alive when your just gonna live it pain. So I decided to let nature take its course. Why wouldn't I? I've lived a long life. I had really nothing to look forward to. I guess I did. Thirty three months later... Here we are."

I nodded. "Maybe you did have something to look forward to. Do you feel like you've impacted anyone or anything since?"

I heard him exhale. "I hope so. Otherwise, life's just been trying to find a way to mess with me for three years."

We talked what seemed like forever. I heard the entire story of his life, and from what it seemed, he really did have nothing to look forward to. He was born in 1922, making him ninety-one years old. When he was twenty, he was drafted into the United States Air Force. Since then he had been in three wars: the Second World War, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. I made sure to thank him for his many services. He also, once he retired after a shot to the knee, opened a Deli in Nework, New Jersey for a while before he sold it off. He took numerous plane trips as he aged. Being a pilot, he felt more comfortable on air than he did on the ground. At one point, he even went on a mission trip to Africa with his church.

"Then the cancer hit," he sighed. "Did you know patients with Cancer involving the lung are not allowed on airplanes?"

I laughed softly. "No sir, I did not."

"Well, they aren't. I haven't traveled in three years, and you know what? It's killing me." He scoffed silently. "Literally."

We all went silent at the sound of sirens. "NEW YORK POLICE!" Said an officer in a bull horn. "WE HAVE THE BUILDING SURROUNDED!"

I shuddered. Here it was... We were gonna die. "Mr. Thomas," I said quietly.

"Yes, dear?"

"It has been very nice to get to know you. You've truly set my mind at ease."

"And you mine, Miss Jordyn. I'm always delighted to share stories with anyone listening. You're like the granddaughter I always wanted."

"You don't have grandchildren?" I asked.

"I do. I just don't like them."

My eyes widened under the blindfold.

"I'm just yanking your chain, Jordyn."

I couldn't help but laugh at the old man's usage of "yanking your chain." Maybe I laughed a little too loud, because then I heard the boots' clicks grow louder and louder as the man neared me.

"Why you laughing?" He growled in my ear. "You're just Miss Social today, aren't you?!" Large, rough hands tightened around my neck and I was pulled to my feet.

"Nothing," I choked with a whimper. "I'm not laughing at anything." I tried to breath but was hyperventilating and couldn't take in more than short breaths of hair.

"What's this one's ID?" He hollered to the rest of his gang who was going through money and personal items.

"Jordyn Anabeth Lakes!" One of them called. "Age 18! Father and mother John and Lilly Lakes." Murmurs and gasps burst all around from the group. "The Lakes own a chain of five star restaurants and hotels all around the world. Heiress to 50.8 Million dollars!"

I was dropped to my feet, gasping for air.

"We're not leaving this one, boys."

My breathing was shallow and I began to shake. What? Okay, so maybe I wouldn't die... But they were going to take me, and I didn't know where.

A cloth was pressed to my mouth and nose, and everything around me faded in and out.

I was being picked up.
Whoever was picking me up was moving.
I heard the crackling of flames and smoke protruded through the cloth.
We were exiting through a back door.

The last thing I remember before I passed out completely was the sound and vibration of an explosion.