“Times Up”

 

The two words I didn’t want to hear. My breath jagged and I wondered how long I had stood with my hands raised above my head. I glanced down at his shoes. People always showed their personality in their shoes. Dark, black Doc. Martens. A posh type, I concluded.

 

“Hey” the intruder said, leaning closer to me. Shifting his weight in those Doc. Martens. “I said time’s up”

 

The “p” sound fell from his lips with an extra gravitas. My hands still raised. My eyes were still staring at those ugly boots. (I had decided that those boots were quite ugly. I mean, who would wear such a boring shoe to a jewelry store robbery? Shouldn’t there be pizazz, flash and glamour?) I had heard the clicking of the pistol. My heart quickened. Time was up, what more could I do?

 

The intruder shifted his weight again. This time closer to me. I looked up and suddenly asked. “What’s with those shoes, anyways?” The question blurted from my mouth more out of shock and desperation than anything intentional or planned.

 

“Hunh?” The intruder looked down, dropping his arms slightly.

 

I swung my hands down, hard. They connected with the gripped pistol. As my flesh contacted bones, I felt a sharp pain running up my forearms. I heard the loudest crack sound that I had ever heard. It was like the breaking of a walnut shell, but 10 times louder. The intruder screamed and stumbled back. I looked down to see my hands covered in blood. My blood. It started to hurt now. I was on my knees. I gasped for breath. It felt as though I was underwater. Then, I was laying on my belly with my head against the floor. Now, I had sunk. All I could see were those damn ugly boots. I tried to breathe. Water filled my lungs. Then I heard the faint sounds of sirens. The boots turned and started to run. The sirens seemed to fade as I closed my eyes and thought “I’ll never wear Doc. Martens ever again.”

 

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This poem is directly inspired by the Tuesday Writing Prompt Challenge found here at Go Dog Go Cafe. The prompt this time was “sirens”. I am working through older prompts to help spark my imagination. Tune in tomorrow to see the new challenge for this week! Photo by Jeremy Yap on Unsplash

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Liyona is an “average joe” kind of writer who likes to think about ordinary things and then write them down. Ever since she can remember, she has been rhyming words and creating lyric poems. During her college years, she took a more serious bent toward writing and started to post on her blog (The Life and Times of a Quirky Character.) Currently, she resides on the East Coast of the United States just north of the country’s capital.