My Response:
We weren’t going to get out of there alive. It was a truth we had both accepted as we stared at each other for what we were certain was the last time.
Alyssa’s hands were tied behind her back. She had been cooking dinner when they had arrived. A Dinner that Jeremy always loved. Lasagna. He would smack his lips, coming up behind her and wrap his arms across her chest as he whispered in his ear how much he loved her every time she made it. Sometimes he couldn’t help but wonder why she had chosen him.
Not that it mattered anymore. Blood was dripping into his eyes from where they had hit him, and the world was spinning around him.
We hadn’t been prepared for this. Who was? Being held hostage wasn’t something that we had ever thought we would go through.
“Quit your sobbing!” One of the black masked men yelled at Alyssa, who had tears streaming down her face. Her blue eyes were filled with her tears, and she could barely make out the form of her beloved husband.
“Please, just let her go,” Jeremy appealed to them. He wasn’t going anywhere. He had known that the moment they had said his name. They knew who he was, which meant that they were after him.
“No,” Alyssa cried out, struggling against the hands that were tugging at her, “No, I’m not going!” We were in it together, and Alyssa wasn’t going to let them free her while Jeremy was still in trouble.
“Shut up!” The other masked man said, “No one is going anywhere until we get this all worked out. Now, why don’t you be a good little trophy wife and tell me where the safe is.
It wasn’t the first time someone had assumed that about our relationship. As if they knew exactly what was between us.
Alyssa was almost fifteen years younger than Jeremy, and somehow that made it impossible for us to simply be in love.
She let out a shriek as the man pulled her up by the arms, sending shooting pain into her shoulders as he lifted them too high.
“Don’t hurt her!” Jeremy said in a panic. His eyes still weren’t focusing correctly, but he lashed out with a foot at the other masked man, hoping to catch him off guard.
A loud bang stilled us both.
“We aren’t playing around here,” The masked man closer to Jeremy said, his voice low and dangerous, “Now, my partner here is going to bring the wife to the safe, and she’s going to help him get what we came here for. And I’m going to have a nice conversation with Jeremy.”
The gun was lowered until it was aimed at Jeremy, and he swallowed painfully. We weren’t both going to get out of there, but maybe he could do something to help Alyssa.
“Go with him. Let them take everything.”
“No,” She said, her head shaking. The money didn’t matter to us, of course. But there was so much more in that safe.
“Go.”
She was tugged toward the door, her eyes wild and her legs feeling weak beneath her as she saw the gunman’s finger twitch on the trigger. No, this wasn’t going to happen. She wasn’t going to let it.
Dropping, she heard the man behind her let out a groan and go down with her.
Jeremy stared at them in horror. This wasn’t what he wanted!
The gunman swung his gun toward her, and Alyssa looked up in fear. Jeremy acted without a thought, kicking out the man’s legs and sending him tumbling to the ground.
The gun went off again, and the room went silent.
Blood began to seep out from beneath the gunman, and the other masked man swore and ran.
Alyssa’s eyes met Jeremy’s. We had survived.
This one was hard! I'm not entirely certain I did it completely right. I felt like I was just making POV errors through the entire thing, but I kept pushing forward.
As always, I would love to hear what you think of this assignment, and even to see what you've come up with yourself. Post your Epiphanies below!
All Exercises are taken from The 3 A.M. Epiphany by Brian Kiteley.
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