four DAYS ago

hotel BROWNWOOD

My radio had been turned on and was tuned in on Blind in Texas. The robbers had a good sense of music but that was all they were going to have when I was finished with them. The phone cord was tangled around objects and it was the only colour I could see clearly in the dark. I sneaked into the bathroom, leaving the door open. I walked up to the bathtub and aimed my gun at the wall. Hopefully, the wall was thin enough for the Glock rounds to go through.

I took a deep breath, almost imagining the last breath the robbers would take. I pulled the trigger rapidly, shooting at different spots in the wall. I could hear two voices cursing in between each bullet that rang and pulsed from the gun. The song playing on the radio had been drowned out by the chaos which was a bit disappointing because it was just getting to the chorus.

Two sets of heavy footsteps moved towards the front door. I followed the sound of the footsteps with fire. The Glock ran out of bullets and I ran out of the open bathroom door, tackling one of them by surprise. I pointed my gun at the other criminal who trailed behind. I used my body weight to push the man against the ground, like a hold I used to enact in my MMA days.

The man above me held his Featherlight gun towards my face. The robber I had under my hold, had a black garbage bag filled with what I could only suspect was my prize money from the safe. He also had the same shotgun model as his partner under him, which was not a good idea because the only thing he would end up shooting was himself. They both wore black overalls and their faces were obscured with They Live alien masks that could have been bought at a mask store.

I had shot the radio and the Texan song was faltering, morphing the voice of the band's lead singer into something truly sinister. I realised at that moment that I didn't have the upperhand. If I shot the thief under me, the one standing would blast me with his cannon. This didn't even matter because I hadn't reloaded or cared to bring any ammo with me. And the man with the shottie knew this and he was offering me a chance to live.

I sighed and got off the man with my hands in the air. The man under me pointed his Featherlight to me and stood up. They were completely silent as they regrouped at the front door. The one who was hugging the money reached into the garbage bag and pulled out a stack of 50 dollar bills held together by a rubber band. I had wrapped all of my stacks in this manner. Then he tossed me the rest of the bag. I could tell his partner was confused by his motives. I was too. They left my room in a run, sliding their masks up for a second to talk, but I couldn't hear them and they were facing the other way.

I would've chased them, but I was grateful that only a small amount of my stacks had been stolen. I wasn't angry at them, so much as intrigued by the reason behind this incident. I was too intrigued to fall in and let the milling cops handle this. I was in a moonlight tryst, mesmerised by the miracle but also pursuant of these two people that I knew not their names, faces or wishes, and only knew they were to be the object of my personal vendetta for the days I would be stranded at this motel, the hours I was to be stuck in my head and the long minutes that my appendix would ache.