He grabbed her bag and rose to his height. She struggled to catch her bag, but the hold on her hair was too tight, and her movements were restrained, making it impossible to move further. She groaned and closed her eyes. The pain in her scalp was unbearable, and she feared that she might lose her remaining hair with the force being applied to it.
She half-looked up at him, pain and anger etched on her face. He stood there, towering over her with a smirk on his face, enjoying her suffering.
"Let go of me!" she yelled. The man only tightened his grip, causing her to wince in pain and shut up. Frustrated, she stopped struggling and remained still, realizing that any further noise or resistance would only make things worse for her. She needed to think of a different way to escape before things got worse.
'Hey, Aaron! Look at these jewels! She must be from a noble family. " The man who snatched her little bag exclaimed, showing off the contents of the bag to his accomplice. "The gems are exquisite and appear to be of high quality; once we sell " Aaron's eyes widened in amazement as he gazed at the sparkling diamonds in the briefcase. He couldn't believe his luck and had already started wondering how he and his partners would divide the fortune.
''Please just take it and let me go." She said she was referring to the bag and trying to negotiate for her freedom on the basis that she had given the thieves what they wanted, but the man just laughed and said, "Oh, we can't do that. You're worth too much to us now. You'll fetch a pretty penny from your family once we ransom you." Then he added sarcastically, ''Of course, I'm sure they'll be thrilled to pay for your safe return."
"We'll make sure you're treated well until then. It's just business, nothing personal." added Aaron, the one holding her.
"They would rather pay you to kill me.'' She muttered under her breath, clenching her jaw, and forced herself to remain calm, knowing that her emotions had no place in the negotiations.
"But how are we going to sell them without getting caught? " Aaron asked with a hint of concern and skepticism in his voice.
The leader, blue eyed one, smiled slyly and replied, "Leave that to me. I have a friend who owns a pawnshop and owes me a favor. We'll be able to sell these without any trouble." Then he added, ''I'm confident that we can get a good price for these items and maybe even negotiate a better deal.''
Both fellas were immersed in their fantasies of being wealthy and let their guards down with the woman at their feet.
Penelope clutched the glass shard tightly, as she could feel the grip on her hair loosening a little. The men didn't seem to notice her actions, as they were too busy discussing their plans for the future. However, Penelope knew that she had to act fast before they realized their mistake and became violent again.
Soon enough, the thieves started arguing with each other over who would get the larger share of the profits. Penelope saw this as an opportunity and quickly plucked a handful of soil with her free hand from the ground and threw it at their eyes, taking them by surprise.
Free from the grip holding her, she quickly got up and swung the glass shard as violently as she possibly could at the one behind her, stabbing him in the neck and causing him to collapse on the ground. Blood oozed from his wound, and she froze in shock.
She couldn't believe she had killed someone. The reality of what she had just done hit her hard, and she stumbled backwards, dropping the glass shard from her bloodied hand. She looked down at the lifeless body on the ground, feeling sick to her stomach. This was not how she envisioned her day going, and now she was faced with the consequences of her actions. She knew she had to get out of there before the other thief retaliated, but her feet felt like they were glued to the ground.
