What Happens in Nightmares

I had started something bad. Clean Shave ran towards me. Small Beard pointed a gun in my direction. I hit the floor and crawled under Clean Shave's legs, causing him to crash into the wall.

"Son of a-" clean shave wiped a bit of blood off his forehead.

I reached for the door, but a shot was fired and I froze.

"Stop right there." Small Beard had fired at the door.

I could see a hole in the door. Like any respectful person, I put my hands up. It didn't matter, as I was tackled to the ground anyways.

"Careful, Nicholas! No one will buy damaged property!" Clean Shave or Nicolas was pinning my arms to the ground. At least Small Beard was concerned about my well being.

Wait. Buy? What had I gotten myself into?

With a swift motion, I elbowed Nicholas in the face.

"Agh! John, who cares! Get this brat off of me!"

John and Nicholas. Seemed like friendly names.

I ran towards the broken vase and picked up the hammer. Nicholas grabbed the hammer but fell back after he had done so. John pointed his gun at me.

"John. I can't lift it." Nicholas sounded confused.

"What? It can't be that heavy. The girl could lift it." John handed his gun to Nicholas. Nicholas pointed it at me.

John gripped the hammer firmly. He pulled up and nothing happened. And smiled.

"Grab it, girl. John looked at me. I obeyed.

"Fascinating." John had a grin on his face. One of those evil grins. "We could use this, Nicholas. A contest. Whoever manages to lift the hammer by hand wins it. Ten dollars per person."

Nick smiled and looked at me. "You're gonna make us a lot of money."

John took the gun back from Nick and instructed, "Go to the hill with the manors. Tell them we have two new pieces. And to get down here by one o'clock." Nick nodded and rushed out the door.

One o'clock. That was in three hours. I took one last look towards Drew's counter. He was there now, and his head was bowed.

John lead me out the door, my hammer in hand. It was bright outside. My eyes squinted shut for a moment. Men and women stood in front of buildings. They were smiling and pointing at me. I felt like I was taking a walk of shame.

John lead me to a building that looked as if it were made out of cement. Bet the walls were thick. The inside looked like an old time-ish jail. I knew, though, I wasn't being arrested.

John looked at me and motioned to a chair by the desk. I set the hammer gently on the chair. This was followed by John shoving me into one of the cells.

The cell had a bed and a window blocked off by bars. The bed had a flat pillow and a single blanket. I jumped at the sound of a slamming door. John locked it tight and tossed the keys on a desk by the chair.

"Undress." John looked st me with a cold stare. He was serious. I could tell because he pointed a gun at me. Nervously, I untied the laces on my skirt. John began to walk away. What a relief.

"You have five minutes to undress and fifteen minutes in the shower. Make yourself look presentable."

Sometimes, life is a jerk. No matter how far it has pushed you down, take your time getting up. The sooner you get out of one mess, the sooner you get into another.