Short Little Writings

A Bank Robbery

The door swung open and the little bells jingled, announcing the arrival of a young woman. However, with the constant murmuring of the tellers and the citizens waiting in line to be helped. The young woman, named Melinda Alcott, strutted into the bank with her break-neck high heels. Melinda wore these to make herself seem taller.

Usually Melinda comes into this bank to work, but today, she is cashing her first paycheck from her new job- a sales clerk at her favorite store. The pay was small and the hours were short, but she still grinned every time she looked at her check. "Eventually," she thought, "I will crawl my way up the ladder and become a designer for the store."

Hidden back in a far corner, snuggled into a chair, sat Dwayne Modderman. He was deeply engrossed into his book, Impressionist Art. The book was an assignment from his online college class, but he enjoyed it way more than a student should.

Dwayne had been sitting in that chair for about an hour, waiting for his cousin to be done working. He was immune to all sounds and to all the people, but for some reason, he looked up at the door when the girl with high heels walked in. 

The woman, with her long blonde hair and a California tan, was a huge contrast to Dwayne's pale skin and dark looks. Of course, Dwayne couldn't help but notice the woman's model-like beauty, but he couldn't imagine talking to her. "A woman like her would never notice a guy like me," he thought wistfully.

Melinda quickly stepped into the shortest line and stood still, playing with the piece of paper in her hands. When Melinda felt like someone was staring at her, she turned around to see a pale man with a book in his hand gazing at her. But when she made eye contact with him, his cheeks deepened to a dark pink.

Melinda smiled for a second before facing forward again. The line started to move rather quickly, so Melinda looked forward to see who the teller was. It was Becky, a middle-aged woman with two kids. One was in high school and the other was in sixth grade. Becky was the closet Melinda had to a friend out of all of her co-workers.

Shuffling closer and closer to the window, Melinda shifted anxiously. The heels she was wearing were new and hurting her feet, especially with all the standing. "I really wish this wasn't the only bank in town," she thought bitterly. "It takes way too long to try and cash checks or withdraw money."

When Melinda had finally reached Becky, Dwayne had finished his assigned chapters and placed his torn piece of scratch paper in-between the pages as a bookmark. He sighed, checked his watch, and leaned back into the chair. He still had about ten minutes before his cousin was done with work.

Dwayne found himself daydreaming as he stared at the squeaky clean window. The sun was out and shining bright, and not a single cloud could be found in the blue sky. Cars sped by so fast that once you could barely catch a glimpse. Yellow taxis and bike riders would occasionally travel past too.

A rusty pickup truck pulled to a stop in front of the bank. Dwayne could see a large tool box in the back, also with a bunch of miscellaneous junk. Two men sat in the front seat, and the man on the passenger side stepped out of the truck.

But the man was wearing a ski mask. Dwayne narrowed his eyes as he stared at the unusual attire. "Why does someone need to wear a ski mask in the middle of summer?" he pondered as the man approached the bank. Then Dwayne spotted a bulge in the man's pocket that made Dwayne shoot to his feet.

At the same time, Melinda was thanking Becky for taking care of her check. She would have liked to chat with Becky more, but she had to get moving. Too many people were waiting in line and Melinda had errands to run.

Melinda turned around just as Dwayne jumped up, and just in time to see the masked man slam open the door. The mysterious man shouted, "Everyone put your hands up." For probably the first time in a long time, the bustling bank was completely silent. No one moved.

The man growled and repeated himself. "I said, hands up!" Slowly, the entire crowd of people put their hands in the air above their heads. Melinda still didn't move and Dwayne noticed that. The robber started shouting orders to the people, telling them to all huddle against the wall.

This is when people started to cry or shout. People of all ages were bawling and random people would comfort them. Just like all terrifying events, there is a scared victim and a "hero" that tries to comfort the criers.

The entire crowd was shoved up against the wall with the chair that Dwayne was occuping. But since he moved, he was at the front of the pack. A quick look back at the masked man made Dwayne realize not the entire crowd was huddled together.

Melinda stared right into the bank robber's eyes. She didn't move and she kept her hands at her sides. "Listen," she said soothingly. "You could turn back and go right back outside. No one will hear about this until the security tapes are viewed. You haven't done anything wrong. Just leave, now."

Melinda held her breath, waiting to see what the man would do. She could feel her heart pounding and her hands were sweating up a storm. The robber stared at her for a second then laughed. "You think you can convince to leave without money? I'm not going anywhere until I get what I want."

Not wanting to give up, Melinda continued to try and convince the man to leave. "Seriously, you could walk out that door right now."

The man growled and dug into his pant pocket, and Melinda gasped when the masked man brandished a silver pistol and pointed it at her. Melinda's hands shot up above her head and she started to feel dizzy.

She was terrified.

Melinda's tunnel of vision focused on the weapon in the gloved hand of the robber. His pointer finger rested on the trigger, and Melinda was just waiting for the finger to twitch. She could vaguely hear the man talking, but the words didn't register in her mind.

Dwayne stared at the scene folding out before him, and he tried to calm down and think. It was obvious that the appearance of the pistol made this beautiful woman freeze, and the robber was getting noticeably distressed. "You have three seconds to move, lady, before I shoot you," the man growled. But this woman still didn't move.

The next couple of seconds went in slow motion. Dwayne saw the man's hand flex, the woman's eyes glanced down at the weapon, and her mouth opened to form a wide O, but no sound came out. Dwayne tried to run forward, but could only move one foot at a time.

A loud bang echoed through the silent bank, making Dwayne shout out "No!" He slid across the tile floor right next to the young woman who just got shot. All of the screams and cries from the bank customers seemed to disappear as Dwayne kneeled next to the blonde haired beauty.

Her bright blue eyes were staring at the ceiling but connected with his own right away. Dainty hands held her stomach, where a bright red stain was soaking her shirt. The woman's breathing was heavy and fast.

Dwayne used a steady voice to talk to the young lady. "Ma'am, I am Dwayne Modderman. I want you to look at my face and not close your eyes. This injury could be life-threatening, and I don't want you to die on me."

Dwayne saw the blonde flinch and instantly wished he wasn't so blunt. But this woman needed to know how seriously hurt she was. After a huge intake of breath, the blonde woman stuttered out her name. "Melinda Alcott."

Dwayne smiled encouragely and grabbed her free hand. "Hello, Melinda. Hang in there, okay?" Melinda nodded and Dwayne shouted over his shoulder. "If someone hasn't called 911, do it now!"

The bank robber dashed for the door without looking back to see the aftermath of the chaos he caused. He had the money and he had the time to get away. And the bank was left in turmoil as people yelled, people cried, and a young blonde woman with big dreams closed her eyes... permantently.

Author's Note: woah, man. Dramatic story alert!! (Maybe I should have put that at the beginning, oh well.) This story is also longer than I planned, but I think that is a good thing :)

Hope you have had a great day, reader! -Cailin&Carrington