In the middle of a cold winter afternoon, David made his way to the bank to deposit his payroll check into his account. The bank was located in the heart of the downtown area in the midst of the large buildings and breath taking city monuments. As he traveled down the road on foot, he constantly found himself fighting through the large crowds of people who were making their way to lunch or returning to work after eating. All he could do was hope that the line at the bank wouldn’t be too long.
Hostage Situation
David finally reaches his destination and makes his way to the line to work with a teller. There are only a few people in front of him and he is excited to be able to complete his transaction quickly. As he gets settled in line, he reaches in his pocket to pull out his wallet to gather the check that was stored in his bill fold. Before he could lift his head, he feels a cold metal object touch the back of his neck. In a flash an arm quickly makes it’s way around his neck placing him in a head lock and as his eyes raise, he notices he is being forced towards the teller who is starring at him with a look of terror in her eyes.
David was being held hostage. Continue reading “What is Holding You Hostage?” »
In the middle of a scorching hot summer day, Caleb found himself stuck in his stuffy studio apartment. His cramp quarters did not have an air conditioner but did have one window facing a brick wall that never yielded a cool breeze. Ready to take on the day, he opens up his wallet to notice he has $5 left to feed him for the remainder of the week. He gets paid on Friday. The problem was, it was Monday and that same $5 he was going to use to feed himself is now needed to get gas to make it to work.
Find A Way
His mind immediately goes into motion trying to determine the best course of action to get him through the week. He quickly takes inventory of the room looking for something he could sell for a quick buck. He opens the refrigerator to see if there are any items he can throw together to make a meal. He searches the couch for loose change and checks his pants pockets hoping to find some money he forgot about. Unsuccessful on his search, he tosses a piece of bread in the toaster for breakfast and leaves for work 2 hours ahead of when he scheduled to be in. Caleb was walking 6 miles to work.
Covered with sweat as he walks in the door to the shipping factory, he stops by the manager’s office to view his schedule for the week. Alarmed by what he sees, he immediately starts walking the floor looking for his shift supervisor. His heart is racing and anger boils over within him. Caleb’s hours have been severely cut. He went from working 38 hours a week, just under the 40 hour requirement necessary to get benefits, to a 15 hour week. To make matters worse, the company can’t keep up with the demand of the product they have been shipping, profits are at an all time high, and they just hired 10 new workers who all have more hours than him. Continue reading “Where There’s a Will There’s A Way” »
As he was lying in bed sleep from a long day at work, a dark ominous smoke slipped under his closed bedroom door. This thick cloud slowly traveled from one side of the room to the other, never rising above the height of the bed skirt, until it filled the square footage of the floor. It smelled of burning wood, boiling paint, burnt plastic, and warped metal as it was the smoke of a fire that raged on the first floor of his two story house.
From down the hall the blaring scream of his frightened daughter quickly jarred him from his sleep. When his eyes opened, the room he was in was consumed by darkness. The darkness from the smoke was so severe that he blinked twice to make sure his eyes were opened. The stabbing pains coming from his chest, as his lungs tightened due to a lack of air, distracted him from the absence of visibility. While coughing violently, he reaches over to the side of the bed to wake his wife to notice she is not there. Continue reading “You Have To Reach For It” »
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