Inspired by Saturday Free For All at
Jane's InspirationsIn addition to the picture prompt, incorporate the words:
Avail, Chaotic, Eschew, and Frantic
Also fits for
this week's Writer's Island prompt: The Gamble
The Gamble
Frantic she raced down the pier, each step resonating as her weight landed upon the wooden planks.
Chaotic thoughts crossed her mind as she struggled to deal with the unevenness of the walkway, fearing that at any moment she would catch an edge and fall. She must not fall, she must not fail; not today, not now.
Normally she
eschewed such behavior, as she felt those who rushed from one place to another in a frenzied fashion were people who obviously didn’t know how to manage their time or resources in a proper manner. But there was no other choice left to her as she had only gotten the call a half hour ago. Told she had only forty-five minutes to reach her destination, she had little time to worry about conducting herself in a respectable fashion.
As the end of the pier came in to view, relief slowly made its way through her anxious limbs and allowed her to take in the surroundings. She had never been this far out into the harbor.
Availing herself of the freshness of the air, she inhaled deeply, quickly replacing the oxygen she had expended due to her recent exertion.
Please, please she thought, let me be on time. He said he would be waiting here and I was not to be late, not even one minute, or there would be consequences. Closing her eyes tightly, she attempted to shake off the awful picture that had instantly appeared in her mind. Opening them, she noticed a lone figure standing at the railing beneath the light post. Where did he come from? Hadn’t she just been looking in that direction? Stress, she thought to herself. The strain must be playing tricks on me. As she approached, he turned, giving her a look of smug satisfaction.
“Ah, Miss Andrews, I am glad to see that you had no problem following my instructions.”
“Did I have any choice?”
“Well technically, yes. But somehow I knew that you would opt to do the right thing.”
“Where is he? Is he safe?”
“All in due time my dear. First I believe you have something for me.”
Reaching both hands into their respective pockets, she weighed her options. In one hand was an envelope holding the items he required before relinquishing that which she was prepared to pay dearly for. In the other, the smooth coolness of a Kimber 1911. Handed down to her by her father, it was a gun she was intimately familiar with, and prepared to use.
“Now, now Miss Andrews. I shouldn’t have to remind you that I do not have the item with me. You must understand that a man in my position has to take every precaution. After I receive payment, I will return to the Aquarium in order to use their pay phone. Then, and only then, will my colleague return to you that which is rightfully yours.”
How could he have known? His hand disappeared into his jacket. Winking at her, he pulled out a cell phone.
“As I said, a call is expected from me shortly. No words need be spoken. Caller ID will see to that. It’s your choice. I call now, from here, and it’s all over. Everyone loses. Give me what I ask for, and life goes on as if none of this…ugliness ever happened.”
Feeling defeated, she handed over the envelope, and hoped that this stranger was a man of his word. Andy’s life depended on it.
“How soon?”
“Go home. By the time you arrive, he will be there, waiting for you.”
Tears of hope filled her eyes as she watched him walk away. Somehow she knew this was not the end of it, but for now this was all she had, a promise; an assurance that she would see him again – alive. Returning the way she came, she again felt the need to run. But this time she did not care if she fell, for she knew in her heart she had not failed.
Arriving home, she heard a familiar sound. Opening the door she became immediately aware that she was about to be tackled by an eighty pound mass of black fur and a wet tongue. Knowing it was useless to try and stop him, she allowed herself to be knocked to the floor and overwhelmed in wet, slobbery kisses.
"Come on now, stop it. Get off of me you silly mutt. Yeah Andy, I know, I know. I missed you too."
