Red Dawn Rising

Poppy could ignore the three alarms that had already gone off. But she couldn’t ignore her Siamese cat’s gentle pawing at her face. She knew it was only a matter of time before Lucky moved onto the full attack. Yet another alarm on her phone went off and Lucky took that as his cue to pounce on Poppy’s face with fervor.

“Get off me,” Poppy yelled shoving at the feline like she did every single morning since her parents moved to the beach a year ago.

They left Poppy with Lucky so she wouldn’t be lonely. Maybe they had hopes that Poppy would get tired of caring for the cat and would bring it, and herself, to live with them. Poppy laid in bed questioning why she didn’t take them up on their offer. With a final pounce from Lucky, Poppy got out of bed.

She began mentally listing all the positives about her hometown as she moved around her one-bedroom apartment. It didn’t help as much as she hoped. “Besides, Mom and Dad deserve time to enjoy their retirement,” she told Lucky.

Lucky responded by flipping over his bowl to indicate he needed food. Now. Heaving a sigh, Poppy conceded to the little hellion’s needs. Her head snapped up when she heard her this-is-your-final-warning alarm going off. With a curse she rushed to her bathroom to get ready for her day.

She was still braiding her long dark hair down her back as she got in her car. Tying it off, she threw the car into drive and sped out of her apartment complex. Her morning commute took all of fifteen minutes. That was positive. Who knew what kind of commute she would have if she moved in with her parents? Or what job, for that matter.

As Poppy drove along the two-lane road heading into town, the vivid red hues of the sunrise captured her attention. A chill ran down her spine as she watched clouds gather maliciously ahead of her.

“Isn’t there some saying about red skies in the morning,” she questioned aloud.

Shaking off the feeling of impending doom, Poppy shifted her focus back to the road. In no time, she was pulling into the parking lot of the Bank where she worked. She started there as a teller fresh out of high school. By the age of 25, she was promoted to Personal Banker, which is where she’s been for the past ten years.

She knocked on the front door to alert her manager, Rowan, he needed to let her in. Rowan and Poppy were in high school together for one year; his senior, her freshman. They weren’t friends then. They still aren’t now.

Poppy can’t stand the perfect demeanor he carries. Not one hair of his dirty blond oxford cut out of place. Not one wrinkle in his suit, nor a scuff on his shiny shoes. It drove her mad. Mainly because he had many faults like sleeping around on his wife. Specifically with the young tellers he liked to hire.

At one point that included Poppy when she was still a teller and he was hired as the manager. Being that she was in her thirties now, Poppy was almost invisible to him. And for that she would be eternally grateful.

“How’s it going today, Poppy,” Rowan asked as they walked through the lobby in the direction of their offices.

“Alright.” Poppy hated small talk but played along for the sake of a peaceful working relationship. “I’m feeling a little off today. Something just doesn’t feel right.”

“Did you eat at Joe’s Barbecue last night?”

“Huh?” Poppy hadn’t realized Rowan was joking until she saw him flashing his smile full of fake teeth. She let out a fake laugh to go with his smile, but it just left the moment feeling very awkward.

Looking for distraction, Poppy saw Sienna counting a drawer at the teller’s desk. Poppy waved, not that Sienna saw since her eyes were only on Rowan. The teller exchanged a heated glance with the manager. Then Rowan said something about getting to work. Poppy agreed.

Dating, thought Poppy, was one reason for starting somewhere new. When you live your whole life in the same town, you’re around the same people. Poppy hadn’t met anyone new or been on a date for longer than she’d like to admit. That list for staying in town was getting shorter by the minute.

The rest of the morning flew by as Poppy met with customers and handled paperwork. She waved at Rowan when he came back and told her she could take her lunch. Reaching for her water bottle, she felt her hand tremble. She was still feeling anxious. She’d never been the superstitious kind, despite having a cat named Lucky. She wondered why that red sky this morning brought with it such worry.

Poppy stood and was gathering her lunch things when she heard a large commotion in the lobby. She stilled, holding her breath. Maybe it was just one of the town’s more eccentric characters? She prepared herself to go handle it when she heard a yell.

“Down on the ground,” a male voice shouted.

Last year, the bank installed a new silent alarm system that could be triggered from the computers. As quietly and quickly as she could, Poppy sat at her computer and opened the application. She typed in the password and hit enter just as a tall lanky man walked into her office.

He was dressed all in black and wore a black ski mask. “D’you have the keys to the vault?” His voice was rough but monotone. Not at all malicious like Poppy thought a robber should be. Yet, fear gripped her all the same. She could only shake her head and point across the hall to Rowan.

The man grabbed her arm and pushed her out into the lobby then walked back towards Rowan. Poppy saw another man, short and a bit rotund, holding a gun up to Sienna. Her fear ran down her cheeks along with her black mascara as she took money from her drawer and put it in a bag.

“Where are the keys,” demanded the rotund man. He sounded more like a robber should, Poppy thought.

“I’m having trouble getting them.” the tall one answered as he dragged Rowan out screaming and yelling. Poppy wasn’t sure exactly what Rowan was saying, but it did sound like he was denying them entry into the vault.

“Use your gun,” the rotund man said as though he was speaking to a child.

With a nod, the tall man released Rowan. Rowan didn’t even have a moment to gain his footing when the tall man shot him. The people in the lobby began to shout and cry.

Instead of falling apart, Poppy dropped down to where Rowan was lying on the floor. Ripping off her sweater, she searched for the wound and found blood dripping like rubies to the floor under Rowan’s arm. She pressed the sweater on it firmly and briefly thought of whether guns were as prevalent at the beach.

“You idiot,” the rotund man yelled. At first Poppy thought he was yelling at her. Then she saw he was staring at the tall man. With a look to the heaves for strength, the rotund man walked towards them muttering along the way. “Scare him. Don’t shoot him.”

He directed the tall man to walk back to Sienna and wait for her to finish filling the bag. Taking the keys to the vault from Rowan, the rotund man pulled Poppy to her feet and began dragging her to the vault. Poppy was getting quite tired of being manhandled.

“Open it,” he told Poppy gesturing to the vault. She did and he got to work bagging whatever he could grab. Poppy stood there trying to ignore her fear and wondered where the hell the police were. Scarlet lights flashed around the lobby from outside, quickly followed by blue.

The tall robber ran over and told his cohort the drawers were empty. With a growl of frustration, the rotund robber zipped up his half empty duffle bag and announced, “Time to go.”

They each turned to Poppy in question. She didn’t know why.

“Back door,” the rotund man inquired rudely.

It was then that Poppy decided she didn’t get paid enough to deal with this. She pointed down the hall where her office stood. Beyond waited a fire exit which the men ran to bags in hand. The door had barely closed when the police opened the front doors.

“Isn’t there a saying about a door closing and another opening,” Poppy mumbled to herself.

The officers ran in yelling out instructions. Eventually, the police cleared the building and let everyone out. Each victim stumbled out of the building, eyes haunted by the experience. Poppy watched as Rowan was taken out on a stretcher. Then followed after.

Outside finally, Poppy took a deep breath of fresh air. She felt drops of rain and looked up to see the sky had turned gray. With a rumble of thunder, it began to pour in earnest and Poppy felt it wash away the recent events along with any remaining ties she had to this town. She was ready for some salty air and a sunny day.