Always have a plan

    The sun is low on the horizon, and the streets are quiet as people make their way home for dinner or to bed. It’s not the worst night he has spent in this part of town, though it still isn’t great by any means. Conard walked around with his hands shoved deep into his pockets, his shoulders pulled up close to his ears. The cold air stings as it hits him like a slap in the face, and if anyone asks him what he’s doing out here at that hour, the only response he can manage is a shrug. It’s probably too late in life to be wandering the streets with no destination. He’ll never be able to go back to sleep now, so he may as well do some thinking until he can find something better than walking around aimlessly.

    The city is dark and dead silent except for the sounds from a few drunken parties somewhere behind him. He hears footsteps approaching him and turns his head sharply to see who it might be when a hand claps him on the shoulder. His whole body goes rigid, the blood draining away as he stares in surprise at who is standing next to him. The stranger raises an eyebrow at him but doesn’t reply. "You look lonely, my friend. I don’t need to talk in circles, just tell me where my money is and I will be on my way. A voice booms in front of him. He takes one step back, turning around to run.

    No!’ Conard wants to say, but his throat feels like sandpaper. He can’t form a proper word. It all seems like a blur. He blinks rapidly trying to clear his vision.

    “Where are you going boy?’’ The man’s voice grows angry. “It’s not polite to ignore people when they ask a question you know.” He looks into the man’s eyes as if that will help. They seem to soften for a moment before becoming hard again. Conard didn't like how this man seemed to enjoy taunting him.

    The silence was thick and uncomfortable between them, but it wasn't long before they broke it. ''You're going to get punished boy.” It was more statement than question. He looked at Conard with a calculating look. ‘’Why don't you come with me? Maybe we can find your parents’.

    Conard flinched back from the sudden movement of his captor and stumbled over his own feet as he did so. He scrambled away quickly, not looking back until his back hit something solid. He whirled around to see who he had bumped into. He was surprised to see it was a woman. She was wearing a long black dress and coat and her hair was tied up into a bun. Her face was obscured by shadow, but she didn’t sound too happy about it. He couldn't imagine why. She looked scary enough without making someone else scared too. The man stood behind her, towering over them both.

    ''Great to see you as always" he said to the women.He took a steptowards them. The lady grabbed onto the young man’s arms to help him up then began to run away with him.

     The two were already out of sight when he heard the man call after them. ''Now if you don't watch yourself, you might get yourself into more trouble. ’’ The man's footsteps faded as quickly as they had appeared.

    ''Come on,'' she said as she pulled him along. ''Let's get to my car.'' She was moving pretty fast considering she wasn't much older than himself. It was probably a good thing that the Conrad thought he could run faster than him. Otherwise, maybe he would have died a long time ago. She led him to a small old blue van sitting on its own outside of town. They got in and buckled themselves in as he asked his question.

   ''Who are you and why is that guy asking me about money?’’ His question seemed to throw her for a loop, but she answered, nevertheless.

   ‘’My name is Ginger Hallow and that guy who is chasing us wants his money back.’’ She put her keys in the ignition and started driving her van as fast as possible.

    ‘’I don’t have his money.’’

     ‘’ Neither do I but I know someone who looks like you has it. I saw him stealing my stepbrothers suitcase yesterday and I tried running after him, but I lost him in the crowd. By the way, the man after us is my stepbrother but we don’t hang out much.Now we need a plan to figure out how to get rid of him.’’

    ‘’ He is your stepbrother?’’

       ‘’Yes. Try to keep up here.’’ She took a sharp left turn and could see a tiny white car following closely behind. ‘’Now do you have a plan or not?’’ her voice was sterner this time.

    ‘’A plan, I though by dragging me to your van you would have one.’’

    ‘’Look, we don’t have time to be playing games here seeing we are now in a car chase. Do you have a plan or not?’’

      ‘’No, I have nothing.’’ She made another left turn before she pulled her car over in a small parking lot. He stepbrothers car puled right next to hers and she knew there was no way out. ’’I wish I had a plan prepared’’ she said as her stepbrother pulled out of his car and stood infront of theirs.

    ‘’Get out of the car’’ he yelled as they both obeyed. They stepped outside in total fear.’’ Give me the money boy right now.’’

     ‘’He is not the man you’re looking for.’’ Just then out of nowhere the thief ran out towards the man and hit in in the head knocking him out cold.’’ You guys are free now.’’

      ‘’Why are you helping us?’’ Conard asked

       ‘’I am not helping you ;I just want to keep the money . Ginger pulled out her cellphone from her pocket.

"I would not do that if I were you." Now go before anything bad happens to you." She ingnored him and dialled 911. She mentoined the location just as the guy rushed up behind both of them and stabbed them both in the back. He had the money and nobody could stop him except for the police cars that showed up quickly. The police rushed twords him and placed him in handcuffs. He could not run as fast as he thought.

He was arrested and taken away forever. Now, I guess there is only one thing left to say. If you are doing anything outdoors ALWAYS HAVE A PLAN! You never know who is watching you or what they want. Just be prepared to fight back unlike the characters in this story.