Phoenix

Terror Strikes Again

Days, weeks, months have gone by since the attack at the supermarket. Everything had calmed down and things had gone back to normal. It was now early December and the holidays were just around the corner. I had just dropped Skylar and Gabe off at school and I was now driving to a nearby cafe. After what happened at the supermarket I tried to stay home as much as I possibly could. The only reason why I tried to stay home was to avoid all the attention.

I walked into the cafe and made a quick order. The shop was pretty busy as usual. This cafe was one of my favorites. There was just something about the place that made me feel happy and comfortable. I sat down near the back of the shop and tried to relax. I was exhausted, but I didn't really care. Sleep had not been on my side for the past week. It was normal for me to not get enough sleep because of my insomnia. I yawned and quickly glanced around.

Everything seemed to be normal and felt like a regular day to me. There were people chatting, laughing, and a few people were working on their laptops. A young man walked over to my table and set down a small coffee cup and a small plate of eggs, toast,and two pieces of bacon. I thanked the man and started to eat. As I ate I glanced around one more time. My eyes landed on a group of four people at a booth in the front of the cafe. There were two men and two women sitting together. The woman that sat next to the wall had two black braids that flowed down her shoulders. She wore big round glasses and pushed them up her nose as she looked down at a tablet. I could tell that the woman was from Asia, but I couldn't tell exactly where.

Across from her was a woman with long blonde hair, and she looked pretty muscular. The woman had both of her arms covered in tattoos.. I couldn't see the man that was sitting next to the blonde haired woman from where I was sitting. His hair was dirty blonde, and he looked taller than the other people at the table. I looked over at the last guy at the table. He had short dark brown hair and a little stubble around his face. The man seemed to be one of the only people talking and drinking a coffee out of the four people there.

As I looked at the man our eyes met. For a brief second we stared at each other, his eyes widened as he looked at me. I had never seen him before but he looked like he had seen me somewhere in the past. I looked away and from the corner of my eyes I could see the man choke on his drink. I tried to mind my own business but it felt like someone was constantly watching me. The feeling didn't go away,and it only got worse. It felt like the whole cafe was watching me, even though I knew that they weren't. I took a deep breath, calmed down, and glanced around the cafe again. My eyes landed back onto the table where the four people sat. The man was no longer looking in my direction, and I couldn't help but feel relieved.

After I finished eating, I was getting ready to leave the cafe. Right as two men walked into the cafe. A gunshot went off and people started screaming. I looked over at the front of the store where the gunshot went off. Two tall men wore long grey coats and the same white masks that the men in the supermarket wore. One of the men started to walk towards the center of the store. He held a shotgun and wore a heavy bullet proof vest. Out of the corner of my eye I saw another man stand up, and pulled out what looked like a nitro cell.

I knew what was happening, but it didn't scare me. It was only three guys. At least I thought it was, until a man that was three seats in front of me stood up. He was wearing a large winter coat which I found odd the first time when I saw him, but now I knew that something wasn't right. I watch the man slowly take off the large jacket to reveal a bomb that was tightly wrapped around the man's torso.

The man walked around the cafe looking at all the customers that were now trapped in their seats. "Looks like we have a full house today." He paused and walked over to a table with a young woman and her baby. "Well isn't he a little cutie. What's his name?"