The Deadly Alphabets

****A****

It's a rainy Wednesday evening. The street lights illuminate the road with an eerie golden glow. I really need to hurry. I have about thirty minutes before my aerobics class and I still need to get home to shower and change. The asphalt in front of my house is very slippery. Damn rain. I smile at the garden gnome in my yard as I walk carefully up the driveway to my front door. Once inside, I feel my heart sink to the floor. Even with the lights off I can see, that my home is trashed. My pictures that once hung neatly on the walls, are now broken and scattered all over the living room floor.

Panic has now taken over my body. My throat tightens. It only allow just enough room for my thumping heart that has found its way up there. I grab the nearest thing I could use as a weapon. If the intruder was still in the house, I wanna have a fighting chance. I grab a huge glass ashtray. It was a gift, but I don't smoke, so I used it as a paperweight. Tonight I'm using it as a skull basher.

I slowly creep to the middle of the dark living room. From this spot I can see down my hallway to the bathroom. I always keep my bathroom light on...don't judge me. A shadow moves inside! My heart freezes in my throat. I put down the ashtray, reach into my pocket, and take out my phone. With no hesitation, my fingers dial 911.

"911. What is your emergency? "

"Someone broke into my house and I think they're still here," I whisper. I give the dispatcher my address, when suddenly there's a hand firmly over my nose and mouth. I drop the phone as I hopelessly struggle for one more gasp of air. I'm grabbing at the hands on my face. I'm on the verge of passing out, and all I can think about is ,"why did I drop the ashtray? "

"Let her go Adam" a female voice says, and he moves his hand. I take a deep breath in. My lungs rejoice with sweet oxygen.

"Did she say Adam?" I ask myself.

"We want her to suffer first. Remember, baby?" the female continues. She is standing in the shadows of the kitchen. I can't see her face, but her voice sounds so familiar. My breathing returns to as close to normal as this situation allows.

"You're right "Adam replies. His voice is deep, rich, and also familiar. "But she called the police, so 'torture time' is limited."

"Adam?" I focus my attention to my attacker. What the fuck is happening here? This can not be my Adam? My accountant, and up until last month, my boyfriend! We broke up because he was cheating on me. Of course he denied it,but the signs were there. And even though our relationship didn't last,he never let it interfere with business. So he remained my accountant. I'm beginning to feel like maybe that wasn't a good idea.

"What the fuck are you doing? " I ask when I realize that it is my Adam.

"See, I told you she had no idea" the female says as she walks out the shadows. I see instantly she has a gun in hand. She stands in the enterance of the living room. Adam walks over towards her and she tongue kisses him in front of me. My stomach flips.

"Aunt Carla?" I ask. I am absolutely confused at this point. "You two are together?"

"For three years now." Her response cuts me like daggers to the gut.

"But why involve me?" I ask Adam.

"It's business " he answer. As the words left his lips, it all becomes clear. The family business. My grandfather left the company to Aunt Carla and me before he died. Now she wants it all for herself, and she's willing to kill me to get it . I hear sirens faintly in the distance. I have to get out of this house now, alive. I see something catching the light on the floor. It's the skull basher.

"I hear the cops. Shoot her already so we can get out of here,"Adam tells Carla. My heart is pounding so hard I can hardly hear the sirens getting closer. It's now or never.

I bend down and grab the asytray. I jump at the sound of the gun firing. She misses me, but there is no doubt in my mind that they are really going to kill me. In one motion, I rise up, threw the ashtray as hard as I can, and run for the door. I can hear the skull basher hit one of them with a heavy thud. Then another gun shot. I don't dare turn around.

My hand is on the doorknob. One more second to freedom. I snatch open the door, but am pulled away from it by my hair.

"You stupid bitch!" Carla yells. I see blood dripping down the right side of her face. Now I know where the ashtray landed. She pulls me down to the floor and slaps me with the gun. I feel warm blood on my cheek. I am fighting to get the gun from her. She aims the gun to my head. I don't want to die, not like this.

I ball up my fist and punch the shit out of Aunt Carla. I hit her on the same side she is injured, and she drops the gun to hold her face. I think I broke my hand. Pain radiates from my knuckles. I kick Carla off of me, and grab the gun with my good hand . The sirens are getting louder and louder. As I stand up to go out the door, I'm suddenly very dizzy.

"I should have killed you when I had the chance",Adam says. He's bleeding from his chest. Now I know where the second gunshotlanded. He is coming towards me with rage in his eyes. I lift the gun and pulled the trigger. This is my first time even touching a gun and my aim is off. I miss Adam but shot Carla in the arm. I don't wait for a reaction and run out the door.

Once outside I see flashing lights. I want to put as much distance between me and the house as possible. So I run out into the street yelling for help. The rain is coming down much heavier than earlier and the asphalt is even slicker. I can't keep my balance and I fall in the middle of the street. I can't believe I made it out alive. The sirens are so loud now. I feel relief creep into my body. I raise my head to see the ambulance sliding on the asphalt straight towards me. My scream is the last thing I hear on this earth.

***A is for Ambulance ***