Thursday, September 1, 2011

Handful of Sand Chapter 37 Page 2

"You're coming with me," the man told Sandy as he pulled her out of the room.

Sandy tried to put her sandal back on but was pulled away before she could. "My sandal!" she cried.

All she got in response was a sharp tug towards the stairs. Great, was she going outside with one foot bare?

Sandy noticed that there was another person similarly clad in a black balaclava at the stairs. She was a woman of average height and she also had a gun.

At the door of the next room, Celeste was there watching helplessly with her brows knitted with worry. The man followed the masked woman down the stairs, dragging Sandy along.

Then Ditz appeared at the gate at the top of the stairs. "Hey, no fair! Sandy, you're hogging all the kidnap fun to yourself!"

(We pause for a brief moment to allow a collective groan at Ditz's absurd protest to fade away.)

Downstairs, Momma Lois was at the door of the kitchen, with an expression that alternated between indignation and worry. With good cause since the Home was not safe if masked criminals could just waltz in and take away one of her girls.

The masked woman watched Momma Lois as the man dragged Sandy out the broken front door.

As soon as the man stepped outside with his captive, a voice called out, "Police! Drop your weapon!"

A female police officer was standing just beside the doorway. She had her pistol pointed at the masked head of the man.

"Police! Freeze!" That other voice was a man's. And it came from within the house. It appeared that the other masked intruder had troubles of her own.

When ordered by the female officer, the masked man dropped his weapon and released Sandy. The officer had the man lie on the ground. Then the blond pony-tailed officer kicked his gun away and searched him for weapons.

Sandy took the chance to look back into the house. There was indeed another cop there. He had the masked woman up against the wall and was in the process of applying handcuffs.

"How did you arrive so quickly?" the man asked as he was handcuffed.

The uniformed woman gave him a quizzical eye. "We were just like, across the street." She pointed at the patrol car parked a little further up the street. "You can't have not seen us?"

The man groaned. Apparently, he had not noticed the patrol car.

There was the distant sound of an approaching police siren.

The other police officer escorted the unmasked female would-be kidnapper out of the house. "Just punks looking to make a quick buck, eh?" he commented. He held up plastic bags containing the gun and the mask. "Her gun's fake. Probably his too." He nodded towards the other weapon on the ground.

At that moment, another police patrol car arrived at the scene with lights flashing. More police officers came out to handle the situation.

Sandy watched as the kidnappers were taken away. Without their masks, they looked like a couple of youths off the streets. Sandy had been through enough kidnappings by then to judge that that latest attempt was a complete failure. Out of ten, that one she would rate a one.

Two officers remained behind while the other pair drove the would-be criminals away. They checked the surrounding area before entering the house to ask a few questions, mostly about the well-being of the Home's residents. The interview was done over hot coffee and warm milk in the living room. Once they were satisfied that the house was secure, the police left to keep watch across the street.

Ah well, that was enough excitement for the night. Time for Sandy to go sleep.

Sandy made her way up to the bathroom to brush her teeth. When she was done washing her face, she returned to her room where she saw the books and stationery on the desk.

Oh no, she had not started her homework yet!

In a desperate time like that, Sandy had to use the greatest motivational asset available to her: Momma Lois's CD!

"Sandy, I'm trying to sleep!" Ditz protested.

***

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