"Everybody on the ground!"

  A gunshot echoed through the busy building, a few tiny chunks of debris falling from the ceiling. Both the staff and the citizens in the bank stood frozen, their faces full of terror as a masked man stepped forward.

  He was wearing a crude, white mask, a sinister grin painted onto it. The hooded man’s stare was accentuated by an orange glare, sending shivers down the spine of those who saw them.

  His hands swung with each step, the gun clicking quietly as the man gripped it tightly. Faint smoke escaped from the pistol’s chamber as it cooled off, the smell of sulfur filling the air.

  The robber stopped by the reception window as his gaze fell onto the staff member, an older man, who was sitting in his chair.

  The employee’s frail hands were shaking as he held up a stack of dollars. His gray pupils trembling as the masked man stared at him. His mouth was opening and closing as he breathed heavily, a lump in his throat stopping him from speaking.

  “Is that all you have?”

  The man tilted his head slightly as he glared at the scrunched money, a raspy grunt laced with annoyance vibrated in his lungs.

  The elder swallowed, closing his mouth, his eyes wandering to his colleagues who ducked behind the counter. They were completely frozen as if they were staring at a ghost, not one of them daring to draw attention.

  “Come on, I know you have a vault or something here.”

  The robber exclaimed as he rose his gun, pointing right at the employee’s forehead, the tip of the weapon softly stopping against the glass separating them.

  “All banks do, after all.”

  The man’s laughter ringed out through the room, his shoulders jumping up with his chest. The zipper on his hoodie opened slightly with each laugh, a silver of his bulletproof vest peeking out from behind the cloth.

  The staff member stayed silent as the criminal laughed, his short breaths materializing on the glass. His gaze was focused on the mask and on that sinister smile, his heart pacing faster and faster.

  In the corner of the room, a young, blonde boy sat behind a plant pot, his hands covered his lips as he stammered to himself quietly.

  “I’m gonna be fine, surely. The police will be here any minute, any minute.”

  His eyes were locked onto the floor as he continued to whisper, his body trembling on the tiled floor.

  Drops of sweat formed on the boy’s skin, sliding down as they were blown by a cold breeze, a nearby AC device buzzing quietly.

  “I just need to stay calm. I just need to-”

  The boy jumped up as he was cut off by another gunshot, the glass window next to him shattering.

  When he looked over at the window, a black man in a gray uniform stood there — It was a security guard. His chest was pierced by a bullet hole, blood rapidly spilling out beneath his clothing as he collapsed to the ground.

  The glass shards dug into the corpse, the weight of the body causing them to sink deeper and deeper, drawing blood from multiple parts of the dead man.

  “When I said everybody on the ground, I meant everybody on the ground!”

  The place fell quiet as most stared at the security guard, some at the criminal, the deafening silence made seconds turn into minutes. The sound of the cold AC filled the room, the robber himself patiently waited.

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  Suddenly, the reception erupted with whispers, some witnesses scrambled to safer spots, some couldn’t move at all, chained by fear of the masked man.

  “Oh god.”

  “Is- Is he gonna do that to us too?”

  “Don’t move! He’s gonna shoot us all.”

  “Somebody just give him his money, please.”

  “All of you, shut up!”

  The robber shouted out as he pointed his gun towards the civilians, his gaze scanning through the terrorized crowd.

  Once his eyes fallen onto the room’s corner, he stopped, the weapon aiming at a plant pot from behind which strands of hair were peeking out.

  The hooded man grunted, his grip on the pistol tightening as he stared at the pot.

  “Hey! You! The blonde by the AC!”

  He shouted out harshly as he lifted his chin slightly.

  “Get up from behind the plant pot and come over here!”

  The blonde boy froze up as a shiver ran down his spine, his hair spiking up lightly. He clenched his jaw and gritted his teeth, the command echoing in his head.

  “Come on, kid! Do you want to see another person die?”

  A moment of silence stretched out as the boy breathed out, clawing at the marble floor with his hand. He closed his eyes as he stirred himself to stand up, his feet sliding on the clean floor.

  “That’s it. Now, come over here.”

  The robber waved the pistol lightly, the magazine clicking with it’s movement.

  The blonde curled his hands into fists as he looked down onto the floor, a few drops of sweat sliding down his cheek.

  “I’m gonna be fine if I obey him, right?”

  He whispered to himself, his shoulders slumped as he took a weak step forward.

  “Leave the kid alone!”

  An older man, about 40, screamed out as he frantically stood up from the ground, catching the attention of the criminal. He was wielding a sharp pocket knife, polished enough to reflect the man’s wrinkled and scared face.

  “As a war veteran, I won’t let you harass that boy!”

  The man took a step forward as he raised the knife, his hand visibly shaking. He bit on his lower lip and his eyebrows tilted downward, his balance barely steady.

  The hooded man stared at the old man for a moment before looking at the boy, a quiet, sinister laugh escaping his lips.

  “Get a load of that old man, he can barely stand straight.”

  He lowered his weapon for a moment as he stared at the boy, his orange eyes glaring brightly.

  “He’s so useless I don’t even want to waste a bullet on him.”

  The criminal blurted out with a playful but evil tone, gently tapping his gun against his thigh.

  The boy’s eyes wandered off from the scene to a clock, it was 6:29 PM, his brow furrowing slightly. He stared as the arms of the clock worked, the quiet ticking sound ringing in his head.

  As he focused back on the robber, he was pointing at him, his heart stopped momentarily and his eyes went wide.

  “I told you to come to me, boy. Quit dawdling around.”

  The blonde stood frozen, his breaths increasing in speed as he stared at the pistol. It felt like his chest was collapsing, trapping his racing heart in a cage.

  His foot was sliding forward and backward on the floor, making a quiet, screeching noise each time his shoe rubbed against the tiles. The clocks ticking got louder and louder in the boy’s head, his surroundings fading away as he hesitated.

  Suddenly, when the clock hit 6:30, he stopped.

  An eerie silence grew as the blonde boy looked up at the criminal, his red eyes shining and his eyebrows tilted.

  “I see.”

  The robber’s grip on the weapon tightened as he aimed towards the boy, his finger tapping on the trigger.

  “You’d rather die than help a criminal, is that it?”

  The man breathed in and out, his shoulders lowering as he chuckled. The sound echoing in the silent reception.

  “Are you serious, kid?”

  The veteran blurted out, his gaze switching between the boy and the masked man.

  “Don’t you dare shoot him!”

  He took a step forward, his pocket knife trembling in the air, pointed at the robber.

  The hooded man looked over at the elder, the glare in his eyes threatening.

  “Too late, he made his choice.”

  His gaze drifted back to the boy, his grip on the pistol weakening slightly as he lowered the gun, pointing at his chest.

  “Bye-bye.”

  The blonde closed his eyes and lowered his head, the gunshot echoing in the darkness he saw.

  Moments later, the blonde boy opened his eyes, his breaths were heavy and short, his heart jumping in his chest.

  “What?”

  He breathed out as he looked around, his vision blurry from his eyes being teary.

  The reception hall was calm, the staff members were peacefully operating as they were before the robbery. The citizens didn’t seem disturbed either, silently going about their personal business.

  Amongst the crowd, the boy could spot the veteran, sitting on a plastic chair as he conversed through his phone. His expression seemed collected and unbothered.

  The blonde, himself, was lazily sitting on a white sofa, his elbow on the arm rest and his legs spread.

  His phone was lying right next to him, the turned off screen lighting up with a notification.

  He stayed silent, staring at his phone, his eyes were wide and his jaw clenched. His eyebrows were furrowed, his thoughts scrambled as he tried to process what just happened.

  The current time on his phone was 6:15 PM.