Restless

Party Suprise

Brianna and I pulled into the parking lot of Party City, around 11:00.

"Do you know what we need?" Brianna asked. I nodded and unbuckled my seatbelt. Brianna parked right in front of the entrance and we both peered in. The inside was dark and still. A flashlight fell into my lap, before I could even ask. I picked it up and opened my door. Almost instantly, I could the feel heat. I checked my revolver, to see if it was loaded. I counted six bullets. Fully loaded. I pulled my backpack from the backseat and we proceed into the store. I flipped on my light and walked through one of the empty aisles. I reached up to one of the shelves and grabbed several roles of blue and white streamers. Making sure I had enough for both Ben and Zach, I also found party hats and some plastic cups and plates. Then, I heard the entrance door open and a muffled voice call out.

"Search the area. Stolen truck located." A man's voice called out to someone else. I ducked down and switched my flashlight off. I peeked through a hole in the shelves to see who was there. There were two men standing in front of the entrance. They had flashlights attached to the front of their guns. I watched as the men split up. The man that had given the orders, walked in the direction of Brianna, and the other came in my direction. This man was shorter than most of the other patrolman I had seen and he walked with a slight limp. He wore a ski mask and black goggles that completely covered his face. I reached for my revolver and it fell out of my pocket. It hit the ground and made a very loud noise. It slid under the shelf next to me. I turned towards it and before I could bend over to reach for it, I felt something cold poke me in the back of my head. I knew instantly what it was. It was the barrel of a firearm. I slowly raised my hands in the air and turned toward the short patrolman I had seen before. He had an assault rifle pointing straight at my forehead. When his light shined on my face, he froze.

"Do it, you animal. Shoot me.." I whispered, shutting my eyes. I waited for the bullet to pierce my skull and penetrate my brain. When nothing happened, I opened my eyes.The man still stood in the same position. Then he did something I will never forget. He slowly lowered his gun and shined his light at the handle of my revolver that was sticking out from under the shelf. I looked at my gun, then back at him. The soldier nodded towards my firearm and I slowly bent over and picked it up. I looked back at him when I had my gun in my hand.

"Shhhhhhh...." He said, with his finger on his lips. What was he going to do? He then turned away and limped back to the entrance. The other man approached him and he pushed him towards the exit.

"Anything?" The squad leader asked the soldier who had spared me.

"No, sir." He said firmly. I knew his voice from somewhere. But I didn't know where. "What should we do with the stolen truck?"

"We'll send another squad to come retrieve it. For now we need to continue our patrol. Now, move." The leader said smacking the little soldier in the back of the head.They left and I found myself standing alone in the darkness. Had he really just let me go?

"Pssst... Drayton, are they gone?" Brianna's voice pierced the silence. I just stood there holding my revolver. I finally answered her after about a minute.

"They're gone." I called. She approached me from behind and patted my back. I flinched at her touch. I felt like I was in the Twilight Zone.

"What's wrong?" She asked putting her soft hand on my cheek. I didn't think she saw what happened. I decided not to say anything about it to her.

"Nothing.." I said softly. "Let's go to the Auto Parts and grab those tires."

"Okay. You got everything?" She asked as we started for the door. I nodded and we got into the truck. The patrol men were nowhere to be seen. When I went to buckle in i found a small piece of yellow paper. I shoved it in my pocket before Brianna could see it. We drove back onto the road and I stared out the window trying to put the pieces together. Maybe he felt sorry for me. Maybe he didn't like his job. There had to be a reason. Right?

"Are you okay?" Brianna asked, snapping me out of my thoughts."Ever since we left the party store, you've been spacing out."

"I'm fine. Just thinking about what I'm getting for Ben and Zach." I lied. We drove down the road and pulled over when we got to the Auto Parts. Brianna knew exactly what we needed and what we were looking for. I followed her through the store, watching as she grabbed certain tools and items from the shelves.

"Get those in the truck." She ordered me to roll two tires that she had chosen, back to the truck. So, I started rolling the first one outside. It was a lot heavier than I thought it would be. I approached the truck with the tire and leaned it up to the side. I circled around to the driver's door and opened it. Leaning over the seat, I pressed a button and heard the trunk unlock. As I slammed the door shut, Brianna came out with the other tire. Her backpack looked full and heavy. We lifted each tire into the trunk, together. She threw her backpack in with the tires and jumped up, grabbing the trunk door, to slam it shut. Hopping into the truck I let out a long sigh. I just wanted to get home. She noticed my relief and sighed the same way I did. I looked over at her and she looked back at me for a minute. Then we both smiled. Brianna started the truck and we drove back down the road we had come from. Later that night I read the message that was written on the piece of paper. It was an address. The note read, "5974 Hawk's Drive". On the bottom there was a letter. The letter A.