Acting Ladylike | On Hold

✩ S I X ✩

Screams rise up from the crowd as everyone's heads turn toward the front of the ballroom.

The young man is clutching a gun in his left hand, which is pointed up in the air. I glance up, my eyes widening when they land on the bullet holes in the ceiling. I'm surprised they didn't just ricochet back to the floor.

The man easily spins the gun around with his fingers before holding it to Lady Thompson's temple.

"All of you are going to hold your hands up and stay still, or I shoot her." He calls over the crowd.

Frightened cries and whimpering are the overall response.

"Men." He motions forward with his free hand, and the two other men who I saw earlier in their group step forward and proceed to pat down people, stopping whenever they feel something and then pulling various items from people's pockets, from guns, to money and throwing them into large sacks.

My breath catches in my throat. Hasn't this day already been bad enough? I don't need another event to add to the 'traumatic experiences' journal I'm considering writing.

Out of the corner of my eye, I catch a bit of movement coming from one of the halls branching off from the main ballroom.

Glancing back towards the front, I see that the young man is talking in low whispers to a frightened Lady Thompson, probably threatening her, and the other men are still focused on patting down people.

I wonder where their woman counterpart is.

And where Mr. Ashworth is.

I turn as inconspicuously as I can, subtly glancing back and forth to make sure no one is noticing me.

Everyone's too interested in either being terrified for their lives or terrorizing people to notice me, though.

Moving as stealthily as I can, while praying the man holding the gun won't suddenly glance up, I take painfully slow steps backwards until I finally reach the hall.

I pause for a few deep breaths and place my hand on my chest, trying to get a hold of the way my heart is threatening to beat itself to death.

The hall seems to be clear of all life. Perhaps I just imagined the movement?

Picking up my pace, I start moving down the hall, keeping my hands out as if to defend myself incase anyone tries to attack me, but also moving slow enough so the tapping of my shoes on the gold-speckled white tile doesn't attract said attacker.

In all honestly, if anyone does jump out of the shadows, I'd most likely sit on the floor and sob as defence before they slit my throat. A girl can only go through so much trauma in a day.

As I continue to walk, I'm aware of everything. Every little sound frightens me. I chide myself not to be so silly, but with the current situation, if a killer does decide emerge from one of the doorways lining the hall to come chop my head from my body, It wouldn't necessarily be quite a surprise.

I reach the end of the hall where it branches off two separate ways. Now what should I do? Do I just pick one and let luck decide for me?

Biting my lip, I decide to see if somehow I'll get a clue on which to take.

My silent request is answered almost immediately when I hear a faint shattering noise coming from the left corridor.

The obvious choice would be to go down the opposite path, but unfortunately my curiosity ends up getting the best of me.

As I start to walk, the only thing that motivates me to keep going is the fact that I'll probably get to see other human life besides the ones being terrorized in the main ballroom.