The Masked Gunman

The bedroom door was forcefully opened and the lights were turned on! The teenager sleeping in bed, was startled and rolled out of bed, adjusting her eyes to the tall figure dressed all in black who walked into her room with a gun in hand pointing at her. “Get UP!” He yelled! Heart pumping and terrified, she gets out of bed. The intruder grabs her right shoulder and leads her through the upstairs corridor of her family’s mansion. She passes the big high ceiling windows only to notice a barn owl perched on the tree branch. For a moment, her mind wanders as she stares into the owl’s deep yellow eyes. It was as if she was looking for an answer to what was happening to her in the owl’s eyes. A rough nudge to her shoulder from the masked gunman brings her back to reality…a reality she wanted to flee from.

Her eyes widen in fear as she walks into the next bedroom where she finds her parents lying facing down on the floor with their hands tied behind their back. Her younger four brothers frightened and huddled on one bed. This can’t be happening! Is this a nightmare! All the girl’s internal thoughts to make sense and defend herself were interrupted by the intruder who pointed the gun at her right temple and threatened “If anyone moves , I will kill her first and then come and kill you!” He grabs her by the shoulder again and leads her to her parents’ master bedroom. She stands near the door terrified as the intruder rummages around the room for valuables. He frantically opens dresser drawers and begins aimlessly tossing her parents’ belongings around. He even flips the mattress. The intruder’s frustration was obviously growing at his lack of finding anything of value. There was heavy tension looming in the room. The masked gunman turned to her and asked, “where do your parents keep their cash and jewelry? “ She responded, “I don’t know”. He grabs the young girl forcefully and leads her back to the room where her family was held captive.

The intruder shoves her on one bed and pulls a chair and sits to face the parents on the floor. He starts yelling, cussing and screaming at the parents. Bewildered at the lack of anything of value! The girl’s heart was wrenched as she watched the intruder kicking her Dad and reaching for her Mom’s gold necklace and yanking it out of her neck. Consumed by fear and adrenaline overload of emotions as the intruder continued to terrorize and humiliate the parents. The Dad tried to calm him down for the sake of the children. Quietly asked the intruder to leave them in peace and suggested he take anything he liked from the house such as expensive paintings or silverware or anything else of his choosing. After a moment of silence that seemed like an eternity, the black masked intruder breathed heavily. He sets his gun on the bed stand, reaches in his pockets for a rope, turned to the girl to tie her hands behind her back! What happened next was so unexpected that the girl’s jaws dropped! Unbeknown to her, her parents with the help of her siblings had managed to untie themselves and pretended to still be tied up while they waited for the right moment to turn the tables.

The girl’s Dad lunged forward with all his might overpowering the intruder while his left arm swung to throw the gun away. The gun drops to the floor. Mom reaches for it! Holds it with all her strength and points it to the intruder. The Dad pins the intruder on the bed and pulls off the mask! Red as a tomato, the intruder pleaded,“PLEASE! Don’t hurt me, Please!” Dad rolls him over, ties his hands behind his back. Takes the gun and fires two warning shots in the pillow next to the intruder’s head. The barn owl makes loud long harsh screeches in the distance as neighbors are aroused and police being called.

The End