Holding My Breath

I hold my breath. The footsteps grow louder. I peer out of a crack in the wardrobe, which makes my hiding place. I see nothing but a faint outline of a black coat. I hear words, spoken softly and eerily. More footsteps.

How did I get in this mess? I rebuke myself. I should never have wandered into an abandoned warehouse. I should never have taken the dare; but how could I have known that there were outlaws hiding in the place? It seemed empty, noiseless. Nobody was home. All I had to do is go inside and bring something out, simple; but I had to try to scare my gittery friends.

The cobwebs and dust makes my nose itch. I struggle to hold in the sneeze that threatens to erupt and break the tense silence. More voices, slow and creepy.

I hold my breath.

Just as I was going to sneak back out, the robbers opened the door and I knew there was trouble, for I could see all three of my nervous, satisfied friends out of a window.

I bite my lip as I hear something skitter across the floor in front of me.

I had to pick this dusty wardrobe in a back room to hide in. Why? No one will ever know.

I hear the voices once more, louder. I hear a scraping noise and take a cautious look out of the crack.

Three men in black, taking off masks and jackets pry open a crate that i hadn’t noticed before. They pull out something. A briefcase? One man steps in front and opens the case and pulls out….. A gun!

I hold my breath.

One by one the smugglers pull out weaponry from various containers. Jars, suitcases, backpacks, anything you could think of.

My body grows more tense, for now more than ever am I determined to stay still and silent.

Then, the dust gets the better of me.

Achoo!

The men stop. One barks an order to another to open the wardrobe.

I hold my breath.

I want to disappear, i try to shrink, to camouflage into the wood of the piece of furniture.

“What have we here?” The man sneers with evil eyes.

“A boy? How old are you ten?” The other teases.

I’m thirteen I correct in my mind, not daring to speak out loud.

“Shut it, boys.” the last one commands, apparently the leader, “How long have you been hiding in there?” He inquires with suspicious eyes.

My tongue fails me. If I claim that I just got here they won’t believe me, if I tell them I’ve been here since they arrived, they’ll shoot me on the spot.

I hold my breath.

“Speak up, boy.” He growls taking hold of my shoulders.

“Um, I, uh.” I stammer, “Don’t have a watch, I can’t give you a time.” I blurt out nervously, trying to laugh.

“Then estimate.” The man stares into my eyes threateningly.

“Maybe, twenty minutes.” I barely whisper and bite my lip.

“Tie him up.” He says to his henchmen, “He’s seen our faces and our inventory.” He then turns to me with a sinister smile, “You’ll give us a chance to try out our new toys.” He chuckles evilly, leaving me shaking in my worn out tennis shoes, helpless against the strong grown men that grab me.

I ask myself once more, How did I get into this mess? I pray that my companions will sense that something is wrong, hopefully, if they aren’t too dumb to notice.

“Check the perimeter.” The leader orders one of the men.

I inwardly groan. I don’t find much hope in the future of my three friends and I.

A few minutes later, the henchman comes back to report that the area is deserted all around.

I almost groan aloud. My ‘friends’, as they call themselves, have left me here to die. They’ll be sorry for it when they find my dead body I morn to myself.

The leader grins, “Good. Boys, grab a weapon.” He reveals a table full of various guns.

I start to shake again.

I get a flash movie of my entire life while the leader carefully looks at the table.

I swallow and try not to cry aloud while he choses a shiny black pistol.

The others take their pick and my mind goes foggy.

Memories zoom through my mind. My breath begins to come in short gasps.

The men load their guns. I close my eyes as I feel the cool metal against my head.

I hold my breath.

Suddenly, out of the silence, comes a crash. I open my eyes surprised.

The crooks stay still for a moment, not knowing what to expect. I wait in suspense with the cold metal gun pointed at me. The other men freeze, staring at their boss in terror. The silence holds us all. Holds me in fear, hope, and anxiousness.

The door comes down with crash. I jump away from the gun in an instant.

“Put your weapons down, it’s the police.” A voice barks through a megaphone.

My body goes limp with relief. The men hold their guns up for a little longer, not willing to give up. The police storm in the room. They stare down the smugglers.

My body tenses again, waiting for the men to stand down.

Finally, the villains, seeing that they are outnumbered, give up. They carefully put their weapons on the floor and succumb to the police. I stand up on my wobbly legs and let a police officer lead me outside where, to my surprise, my friends are waiting for me.

“David! We waited out here and you didn’t come out, we knew something was wrong.” My friend James explains, “We went and got the police.”

“Thank goodness you did boys.” The police officer says gravely, “These are some of the most known weapons smugglers. They are dangerous.”

“Don’t I know it!” I exclaim, shuddering, “I think I’ll go home now. If you don’t see me, I’m recovering.” Finally, I stop holding my breath.