Don't Blink

 AUTHORS NOTES: 

        Written in 2022. This was a unit assessment story which was really fun to write but I never finished the story to its proper length. 

Don’t Blink

By Clancy Tresemer

A classical string quartet starts playing calming background music as the Charity of the Welfares commenced on a warm spring night. The air was light and breezy as the sun set behind the city. The charity gala was held in a large ballroom, filled with nice chairs and tables, covered in a fine fabric. The room was lit with six spacious chandeliers that twinkled in their own light. The stage was in plain view at the far end of the room, decorated with tables that held many delicate items that were up for bidding. 

Groups of people started collecting at the front entrance in beautiful formal clothes. The ladies had on nice, long dresses, and the men were cleaned up in black-tie suits.  The ballroom filled up quickly and started making chatter while waiting for the event to start. A couple, who looked to be about in their forties, walked into the main hall. 

The lady looked much younger than her age, as she showed few signs of imperfections. She was dressed in a long, lavender gown, that rouched on the sides and sleeves. It matched perfectly against her porcelain skin, ivory hair, and piercing blue eyes. She had on white, laced gloves that were snug on her arms, up to her elbows. Her left arm rests on the man’s right arm. The man was dressed in a black suit and bowtie. His face was bristled with a thin mustache that was a light brown to match his hair. He had sharp features but had kind, emerald eyes. Ones that said, ‘I would love to hear about your life and get to know you, but don’t cross me’.

The couple found their seats and enjoyed the company around them. Finally, the lights started to dim as the auction was about to begin. The host of the event came out on stage, standing in the middle of the spotlight. He was a tall, skinny man, who was more elderly looking. He spoke with a smooth and enticing voice.

“Welcome, everyone, to the Charity of the Welfares auction, where your donations tonight will not only grant you one of these extraordinary gifts but will also be donated to welfare organizations around the world.”

Applause erupted from all the tables while the host paused. The host then proceeded to explain how the auction will work and for everyone to use the signs on their table to bid. The lady in the lavender dress glanced excitedly at the man that ushered her in. Her husband mischievously looked back at her as he reached for his bidding number. Anyone that would have seen the exchange would have agreed that they had a deep connection. 

The auction starts with a low priced, antique basket. Many bid and one is awarded the prize. The next few items go quickly. Another item that was up for auction was a dazzling mirror that made the crowd gasp and gossip. Right as the host was about to start the bid at the price of 400 dollars, a unsettling sound echoed through the room, making everyone who was chattering go quiet. The silence was unnerving as everyone looked toward the entrance. A flash of light blinded the lady in the lavender dress and the deafening sound of bullets shot through the air. 

Instinctively, the guests fell to the floor and hid under the tables. Screams erupted through the hall, making it impossible to think. The lady in the lavender dress hid with her husband and peeked at the shooter. He was a rough looking man with tattered cloths and an uncertain look on his face. It soon changed to a murderous look as he blasted his machine gun around the room with no intentional aim. A woman who started crawling to a table next to the lady in the lavender dress, jumped as a bullet pierced her heart, matching the rhythm of the gun. The sounds of breaking glass echoed as bullets eliminated everything delicate, including the host that was hiding behind the stage curtain. His body fell almost without sound, drowned out by the other variables of sound in the room. Terror pulled at the lady in the lavender dress while she hugged her husband tight and shut her eyes. It seemed like hours until the room was silent again. 

The lady in the lavender dress watched her husband make a move to look out again, but she pulled him back; just as a pair of old shoes stepped in front of their table. They both held their breath in hope of the shooter moving on. The couple looked at each other and mouthed the words, ‘I love you’, as if saying goodbye. As quick as the bullets in the gun, the shooter threw the table up and revealed the couple and some other guests. Another round of bullets, and there was only the shooter left alone in the room. The couple’s lifeless bodies lay together as if they were just asleep peacefully. The shooter ran back out the main doors when he knew there were no more witnesses to his rage, into the black night. 

Meanwhile, A young girl closes the refrigerator door and has a Capri-son in her hand. She walks out of the small, rustic kitchen, and down the hallway to the living room. She stops to look in the small mirror that hung by the picture of her family a few years ago. She fixes her dark brown hair a little and remembers that she got her mother’s blue eyes in the deal of conception. Her dad was always jokingly jealous that she looked more like her mom than him. She could agree as her porcelain skin was stronger than her hormonal changes; She rarely had acne. 

The girl continued to the living room and plopped down on the sofa where her laptop sat waiting for her to complete the homework from school. The television was on the cartoon channel. A good background noise for doing homework, unless she gets more invested in whether the live chicken will get cooked. A few seconds into her Capri-son, she heard a frantic-sounding knock on the door. She got up cautiously, a look of confusion flashed upon her face. She wasn’t expecting anyone, so who would be at the door this late?

The girl unlocked the door and slowly opened it to peek at who was there. It was the girl’s grandmother, so the girl quickly opened the door and greeted her. The girl could sense that something was not right as soon as her grandmother came in and shut the door behind her. 

“Susan, please, let’s go sit down. There is some news I must share with you,” Susan’s grandmother looked ghostly white as she told her this. 

“Grandma, can’t this wait till tomorrow? You can stay here tonight if you need to. You must be so tired. It’s real late,” Susan responded. She cared deeply about her grandmother, so she was always handling her with care. 

“No Susan, I need to tell you now.”

“Okay grandma.” 

Susan gestured to the sofa as she moved her laptop to the coffee table. Her grandma sat down carefully, wiping her hands on her faded jeans. Susan looked at her grandmother’s face. She had soft wrinkles that seemed to cup her eyes, as if to let them rest by holding them up. Her eyes were usually cheerful, but tonight they were frantic. She had her silver hair tied up into a bun. Susan sat down next to her, and she grabbed her hand softly, as if not to startle her.

“Susan, honey, there…has been an…incident.” 

“Wh-what kind of incident? Are you okay grandma? Did something happen to grandpa?” Susan started to feel nervous and squeezed her grandmother’s hand a little harder. A look of concern was plastered on Susan’s face and her grandma noticed.

“No, Susan, I am okay, and your grandpa is okay.” 

“Then, what happened grandma?” Her grandma was quiet for a minute. “Grandma, please tell me what happened.”

“Honey, there was an incident…at the charity ball…your parents…your mom…” Susan’s grandmother had tears start rolling down her cheeks. “They’re gone sweetie…”

“Grandma, what do you mean ‘they’re gone’? You don’t mean…” Susan’s expression turned to shock mixed with sadness and confusion.

“Yes, Susan. They are…dead. Your parents were killed by an…evil, evil man. I am so sorry, honey.” 

Susan almost stopped breathing right where she was. The news soaked in, and she felt like she might faint. Her vision went fuzzy as a hot burning liquid built up in her eyes. She felt that they were so hot, that if she let them fall, they would burn her cheeks. She felt gutted. Almost as if someone came and fileted her like a fish. Her whole body started to shiver with the chill that she no longer had her loving parents who always stood by her side. A pain arose in Susan’s chest, and she placed her hand there to stop the bleed, even though she wasn’t actually bleeding. She could only imagine this was the worst pain she had ever felt. She heard her grandmother’s voice, muffled in the distance, calling her name. After Susan didn’t answer, her grandmother wrapped her arms around Susan. They sat together until Susan’s grandmother pulled her to bed and tucked her in. She thought she heard her grandmother tell her she would stay in the guest room, but Susan wasn’t sure. What she did know, was that she was not going to sleep ever again. 

 

To be continued