When I Saw Her Face

I was running late. I could hear my laboured breath as I hurried to get to the bank before it closed. I quickly turned the corner and collided with someone.

I stumbled and looked up at the woman that I had bumped into. A flash of irritation and worry spread over her face before her eyes locked with mine. Then she smiled. She had a beautiful smile. 

“I’m so sorry,” I stammered, “I wasn’t watching where I was going.”

“It’s fine,” she replied quickly. 

“I’m sorry, but I really need to get to the bank before it closes,” we said in unison before laughing. 

“Come on, we can walk together,” she said. “My name is Jane by the way.”

We both approached the bank chatting enthusiastically. I reached out and pulled the door open for her. She smiled at me as she walked through. I loved that smile already. 

“Thanks,” she said.

“You are very welcome,” I replied, grinning. 

I followed her into the bank and paused to look around. Ahead of me, I noticed Jane had also stopped and was hastily pulling a blue bandana up to cover her lower face. 

“What?” I struggled to ask as she reached into her bag and pulled out a gun. 

I couldn’t believe what was happening. 

Jane started moving quickly towards the security guard. His face contorted in panic as he reached for the gun on his hip before she struck him across the face. I was shocked by the casual brutality. It couldn’t be the same woman I was speaking to only moments ago. 

Only a few seconds had passed since we had walked into the bank. Jane quickly fired several shots into the air, causing everyone in the bank to scream. 

She dropped a bag in front of a teller and started to yell commands to fill it. Jane turned back to me and tossed another bag at my feet.  

“Hey, be a dear and ask him to fill that up for me,” She said, with a playful look in her eyes. 

I looked down at the bag, my mouth hanging slightly open. I handed it over to the second teller. 

“Fill this with money, please,” I said weakly. 

He nodded at me with fear in his eyes and rushed to comply. 

Jane appeared beside me, making me jump, with the bag full of money. 

“Is he done yet?” She asked me. 

I turned back to the teller who was holding out the bag. I took it from him. 

“Great, let’s go,” she said before leading me towards the door. 

I followed her, still not believing that this was really happening. 

“You know, it’s a shame,” she said as we reached the door. “I actually really liked you. But you saw my face.”

“What?” I asked as I turned to face her. 

My eyes bulged when I realised I was looking at the barrel of her gun. 

And then everything went black.