Panting, heavy breathing, sweating hands and forehead. White knuckles that clenched around the sack filled with loot from the jewelry shop. The man in jeans and oversized back sweater crouched behind the concrete wall. He tore off his ski mask and rested his head against the divider. He glanced around the empty parking structure and smiled. He laughed and opened his sack of earnings picking out gold pendants and silver chains and bejeweled earrings. He thinks that he won, he thinks that he got off…well, give him his fifteen seconds of glory…give him fifteen seconds of pride.
CLICK
A light at the farthest end of the parking level switched off. The thief's brown eyes looked at the cement wall then darted up and down between the light and the wires above it. A second later the light hummed back on. The man stared for a few seconds more then looked back into his sack.
CLICK CLICK
The far wall of the structure darkened. The entire row of florescent lights went out. The guy stopped again. CLICK. Shadows covered the floor in front of the wall as the next row went out. CLICK. The next row went out. CLICK. As did the next. He began to shake as the lights went off and shadows crept closer. CLICK CLICK CLICK. The man clutched the black sack as sections of floor disappeared into darkness. CLICK. Three rows left. CLICK. Two rows left. CLICK. One row left. CLICK. The entire level of the parking structure was black. The man shook as only one florescent light remained over his head. As it swung back and forth the metal strings squeaked. His breathing was hurried again as his eyes darted around in the darkness trying to make out anything.
"Where are you?" he began in a shaky whisper. I made no answer. His hands shook as he screamed "WHERE ARE YOU?" He pulled out a gun and fired into the darkness; the bullets panged as they ricocheted off of the cement and tanged as they hit metal. After a few moments he stopped his fire and the echo of gunfire disappeared. He began to fire his gun again but after two shots the gun clicked. It was empty. The only sound now was the squeak of the old light above him. "Where…are you…" he whispered for the last time. CLICK. The last light above him flickered out. The light squeaked and the man breathed heavily. He was horrified...I could hear it. I lowered myself behind the thief and whispered,
"Here."