Writing Prompt #13 The Curious Burglar

An armed burglar sneaks into a house. Upon gaining entry to a heavily secured room he presumes to be full of untold riches he finds a teenager, trussed up in a makeshift cell instead. Seeing the weapon the teenager begs: “Please…Just kill me.” The burglar is stunned for a moment but then curious, putting his task aside, he helps the teen escape…

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This job was supposed to have the biggest take to date. As we moved from room to room, we became increasingly more agitated. Minimal jewelry to be found and nothing of great value to be taken. Manny and I split off when we reached the second floor and I hoped to God that he found something. This job seemed to be a very dangerous waste of time so far. What I scored wouldn’t even cover the gas we used to get here today.  I walked into what I assumed was the master bedroom and took a quick look around. On the vanity across from the closet I caught a glint of silver. I walked in that direction and noticed a Breitling watch sitting on the counter. Finally! 

I went to pick up the watch and a noise startled me from the closet. I turned around and peered into the closet. The doors were closed and the lights off. It didn’t appear that anyone or anything was in there. I must have imagined the sound. I returned to the business at hand and scooped up the watch and shoved it in my bag. That’s when I heard it again. Instinctively, my hand reached for my gun that was tucked into my waistband. Slowly, I opened the accordion style closet door and didn’t see anything out of the ordinary. Rows and rows of clothing and shoes were the only things immediately visible. I walked in and looked around. Might as well make the most of this distraction and see if there was anything of value here. As I started moving around the clothing, I found a jewelry box. I opened the box and started going through it when I heard the sound again. It sounded like a grunt and the sound came from right next to me. Not being able to resist, I turned off the flashlight I was using, and looked around for the closet light. As soon as the light was on I saw it. There was a hidden door in the closet behind the dresses. I ran my hands over the frame of the door and found the handle. Excitement filled me, and I was giddy at what I could find in such a well-hidden room. Surely, something of great value must be hidden back there. I pushed on the handle and realized it was locked. Of course, it wouldn’t be that easy. I knew there had to be a panel somewhere on the door to open it. I soon realized it was down on the floor. This was where I shined. I was good at breaking into things. Two minutes later I heard my favorite sound, the sound of a lock disengaging. 

 My greed overcame my senses and I forgot about the grunting I heard not moments ago. When the door swung open, I was stunned at what I found. Instead of rows of hidden cash, jewels or guns; I found empty shelves, barren concrete floor and a chair in the middle of the room with a defeated looking teenager trussed up in it. My brows furrowed in confusion as I took in what was in front of me. His head was drooping like he was asleep or passed out. I could see the sweat dripping from his wet hair and down on to the floor. He was pale and looked frail. There was a fan in the corner blowing warm air around, but it did little to make it comfortable in there. 

“What the fuck?” I mumbled as I stared at the boy. My words must’ve awoken him because his head snapped up. When he saw me he looked relieved. As he took in my appearance his eyes lingered on my right hip where my gun was printing out of my shirt. 

“Please…just kill me.” 

The look this kid gave me broke my heart. How could anyone tie up a kid like that? I decided in that moment that I needed to let him go. I ignored my own rule to never make impulsive decisions while on a job. My objective was to get in and get out as quickly as possible and I’d already been here far too long. I walked over to the kid and readied my knife thinking he was tied up with rope. I wasn’t expecting to find a strange pair of cuffs. They were unlike anything I had ever seen. They weren’t metal like normal cuffs. They were a material that I almost didn’t recognize. They looked like they were made of carbon fiber but there was something more that I couldn’t place. Hopefully the carbide hacksaw blades I had on me would do the job. 

“Hang on kid. I’m going to get you out of here.” I assured him as I got to work. As I was sawing away, I noticed he had bruises all over his body.  I wondered if he was getting beaten as he sat here tied to a chair. An agonizing ten minutes later I was done. When the chain broke apart the cuffs disintegrated. I stared mesmerized by the action. What the hell was going on here? I knew I had made a mistake when I looked up. The frail looking boy was gone. In his place was a very healthy and scary looking man. His eyes were blazing with anger and he looked unhinged. 

“Who are you and where did the kid go?” I asked with a tremor in my voice. This guy was giving off all kinds of crazy vibes. I had a feeling I wasn’t going to make it out of there. He tilted his head in contemplation as he stared at me. 

“Because you have freed me, I will share my secret with you.” He said in a booming voice that made me almost piss my pants. “I have the ability to deceive anyone’s mind. I was wearing this disguise in hopes of you taking pity on me, and freeing me.” As he gestured to his body I watched in horror as his appearance changed once again to the frail teenage boy. “Like so.” The next time he snapped his fingers and I was left staring at myself. He laughed a hearty belly laugh at my discomfort. The world started spinning. How the hell could this be happening? I started backing up and hit the wall with nowhere to go. He was blocking the doorway and there was no other way out of this room. 

“Why were you locked up?” I wasn’t sure if he would answer me, but at least I thought I’d ask. I was pretty sure he was going to kill me before he left anyway. 

He shrugged his shoulders in a nonchalant way and said, “they realized they couldn’t control me anymore. The only thing holding me back is gone. Now the world will pay.” He turned those crazy eyes back on me, except they were my eyes, which freaked me out even more. 

“You mean those cuffs I took off?” I asked terrified that I did this. 

“Mmm… no. I would’ve gotten out of those eventually. They were merely draining my power slowly.” He said in a bored voice.  “They killed my Elena! They used her as an example. My sweet, innocent Elena is gone now because of them!” I wasn’t sure if he was trying to trick me, but I swore his eyes started glowing white as his anger continued to build. “Now there is no one that ties me to this place and I am free to take revenge on this world.”

Before I could ask another question, I heard Manny call out for me. This was it. The moment of truth. Was he going to kill Manny and me? Manny came around the corner and I heard a finger snap just as he peered into the room. “Bruh, what the hell are you doing in here? What is this place anyway?” Manny said as he walked in. He looked around and then he stared at my mind-altering friend. I jumped up and down and ran in front of him, but he couldn’t see me. Then I realized the snap was for my benefit. He didn’t want Manny to see me. Then in a voice identical to my own I heard him speak to Manny.

“I don’t know man, nothin here though. Let’s get the hell outta here before the owner comes home.” They started to move out of the room, and I started to panic. I looked down and now I was in the chair handcuffed and all. 

“Hey!” I yelled at his retreating back. “You can’t just leave me here!” 

He turned around and smiled his deranged smile. “I’m only leaving you alive because you freed me. Consider yourself lucky.” 

It was only fifteen minutes until I heard sounds again. I was hoping it was Manny after realizing he was mind fucked and came back to get me. Instead, an older man walked into the room. His hair was disheveled, and he looked frazzled as he stormed into the room. He looked around frantically not seeing me. He stopped and slipped on a pair of odd-looking glasses with an orange tint. It was only then that he saw me and gasped. 

“Good God man! What have you done?”