Another Wednesday, another #1lineWed prompt. Whether your between the devil and deep blue sea, or once in a blue moon, or…in the case of this snippet, cussing a blue streak, there are blue words to be had. I may have posted part of this snippet but it’s been edited some. It’s toward the beginning of NIGHT WISH, which is Jen and Wizard’s story, and is the lead-in to their first meeting.
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Gathering my full skirt, I managed to get out of my Tornado Red VW Beetle convertible. He had all the bells and whistles except for the iconic vase attached to the dash. I’d wanted that totally adorable accessory but when I bought him, that option was no longer available. All but brand new, my boy was cute. And sporty. And had been my first step toward the new me. At least the new me I hoped I’d become. Except…yeah. One month after I bought him, VW announced they’d no longer be manufacturing the Beetle.

Best laid plans and all that horse pucky. Head high, I headed inside. A line of people waited at the check-out where a kid who looked like he might be in high school worked the cash register. I headed toward the back of the store and the door marked RESTROOMS. I had to wait on the handicap stall to have room enough to wrestle my stupid skirt.

Once done, I perused the shelves, gathering up snacks as I passed until I, at last, stared at the glass door of the cooler. Did I want a Monster Sunrise or a Java Monster Vanilla Light? Neither really went with the Flamin’ Hot Cheetos I clutched in my hand. Maybe I’d get that giant Diet Coke. But I was getting ice cream too. The Java Monster went with ice cream. But so did the Coke.

The bell on the Gas-N-Go’s door dinged but I didn’t turn around.

“Gimme all the money!”

I froze. Turning slowly, I peeked around the end of the aisle. The teenage clerk was ghost pale. Two men stood at the checkout counter. They both held guns. That’s when I realized the clerk and I were the only ones in the place. I must have been staring too hard because one of the men saw me and yelled, “Get over here.”

I got over there. That was a freaking big pistol in his hand.

“What the fuck?” the other guy said, getting a load of my pink bridesmaid dress. My sentiments exactly. I’d never used that word but I sure thought it hard the first time I’d tried on this thing.

“Just do what they say,” I said softly, my eyes on the scared clerk. “It’s going to be fine.”

Except it wasn’t. I recognized the moment they saw the video cameras. And they realized they weren’t wearing masks. One leaped up on the counter, fisted his hands in the clerk’s shirt and slammed his pistol into the kid’s face. Over and over. Blood spurted and the boy cried out.

“Stop it!’ I yelled at the man and lunged, totally ignoring the one holding his gun on me. He grabbed me around the waist and slammed me into a display stand. I grabbed his wrist and sank my teeth in, all the while clawing at his eyes and face. He cussed a blue streak and let go of my waist. I raised a leg and tried to kick him but my feet tangled in my stupid dress and I went down hard instead. A gun went off and something hot whizzed past my cheek. I saw stars and couldn’t hear for the ringing in my ears. I blinked until my vision cleared enough to see a guy in leather burst through the door and all hell broke loose.

Both men turned to face the new threat, raising their guns. A spray of blood splattered my face and I couldn’t see again. That’s what happens when you squeeze your eyes shut. And though I couldn’t see, I could hear. Screams. Growls. Cloth ripping. Gunshots. So many gunshots.

Then it was over.

My ears, still ringing from that first gunshot, registered no sound, the silence as scary as the previous noise. Something brushed across my face. Fingers. Then something raspy like napkins. I opened one eye and could see so I opened the other. A man squatted in front of me. And not just any man. A man who took my breath away. Dark hair, chiseled features. A male model of a man only…rugged. Rough. Real. I had to be dreaming.

“Time to go, Pink.”

Who was I to argue with a man wearing wolf eyes?
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Anyone have blue words to share?