An Extraordinary Day

Stepping out her front door into the suffocating heat of July was not what you would call a pleasant experience for eighty year old Nellie Daniels, but grocery shopping had to be done, and at least she was getting an early start. It was only 9:30 in the morning, but it was already 82 degrees in the midst of the Florida summer. By 3:00 p.m. the heat would blister anyone not wearing sunscreen.

Searching in her purse for the keys to her not too old Mercury Grand Prix, she thought she heard driveway stones crunch under feet. As she turned to look, a man with a dark handkerchief tied over his mouth and nose grabbed her while a woman in a green Mardi Gras-type mask put a gag in Nellie’s mouth and tied it behind her head. As she gasped for breath and struggled to get free, the man held her as the woman found the keys in her purse and opened the trunk. Nellie went limp when she saw the female assailant level a gun at her. Then she motioned for Nellie to get into the car’s trunk. With the man’s help Nellie finally managed to get up into the trunk and lie on her side in the uncomfortable tiny space, barely able to breathe.

Are they going to lock me in this hot trunk? They might as well shoot me. They tied her hands behind her and slammed the lid.

That was the last daylight Nellie saw. Everything had happened so fast she hardly had time to think. Now it hit her as she lay alone in the dark, stuffy, hot trunk unable to move. She must not panic, stay calm, and listen for clues to identify her captors so she could send those b……s to jail when she got out of here. She concentrated on listening to what was happening outside her confined space.

The man and woman were talking, but all Nellie could hear were mumbles. Then she heard them getting into her car. Two doors slammed and the engine started. She felt the vehicle moving backwards out of the driveway. It leaned to the left so they were probably turning right.

Nellie heard the man say, loud and clear, now that he was inside, “Wow, this old lady has some hot wheels.”

“Crap, look at the gas gauge. We’re on empty,” the man continued as Nellie thought to herself, I never remember to fill up until the light comes on.

“There’s a station. Pull in,” the woman said in a high-pitched and tinny sounding voice.

“What’ll we use for money?”

“Not a problem,” the woman almost sneered. Nellie figured she was waving around the gun.

The car stopped and Nellie heard the gas hose being placed into the car’s tank. The speaker at the pump came on and a man’s voice said, “You’ll have to come inside to pay first unless you have a credit card.” They wouldn’t find any credit cards in Nellie’s purse. She didn’t believe in credit. A good old-fashioned check was her way to pay.

“Damn. Are you ready?” the man's voice sounded tentative. Nellie supposed they were going to rob the gas station. She said a little prayer that no one got hurt. She didn’t hear anything for what she supposed to be around ten minutes. Then she heard gas running into the tank. The doors slammed and they were back in the car.

“Didn’t I tell you not a problem?” The woman let out a big laugh and Nellie thought she considerately left off the word “stupid.”

That was the last thing Nellie remembered for awhile. She must have blacked out from the heat.
........

Thump, thump, thump. Someone was banging on the trunk lid. Now she heard a key turning in the lock. The lid lifted and after a lot of blinking and seeing double, Nellie made out the male assailant silhouetted against the bright cerulean summer sky.

“Come on out of there, you.” He put his hands under Nellie’s arms and picked her up out of the trunk. Laying her down on the ground, still on her side, he untied her hands and removed the gag from her mouth. It was all Nellie could do to concentrate on breathing. By the time she stretched and came to a sitting position, she realized she was all alone on the side of a road near the back of her car.

“Thank you, God. I’m alive.” Nellie knew she had been fortunate. They probably thought she was too old and scared to go to the police. Just wait and see.

Nellie struggled to her feet, which began to wander sideways, but leaning on the car for support, she made her way down the side to the driver’s door. She got in behind the wheel and was elated to see the keys hanging in the ignition. The car started right up and she was off.

“I’ll drive until I find someplace open and ask for help.” It wasn’t long until she spotted a gas station and pulled in. She laid on the horn. Finally the attendant came out shouting a few curse words, but when he saw Nellie and the disheveled state she was in, he rushed to her to help. Her words spilled out in a jumble, but she was coherent enough to tell him what had happened. He called 911 and the police, and soon an ambulance was there with an IV to treat Nellie’s dehydration.

Nellie spent the night in the hospital. Late that evening she retold her story to the police, who had already heard the particulars from the station attendant who was robbed. The woman, now known to be fifteen, entered through the station bay area and sneaked up behind the attendant shoving the gun between his shoulder blades. The man, also a teen, had distracted him by going in the front. They hadn't tied him up very good, and within minutes he had called the police with descriptions. To Nellie’s surprise the perpetrators had already been caught not far from the gas station where she had found help. They were locked up in Juvenile Detention. Nellie had reached help so quickly, they were literally only a few steps ahead of her since they were on foot. Out for a joyride for a total of about three hours, two teenagers with a toy gun had almost cost Nellie her life.

The next morning, good as new, she was released from the hospital. Her daughter and grandchildren came to pick her up and take her home with them for a few days. What a story she had to tell them. With their eyes big as saucers, they listened to Grandmom recount her harrowing experience.

After telling every little detail she could remember, she looked at them admonishingly and stated, “Gettin’ old is not for sissies!”


Note: This fictional story was prompted by an actual occurrence in a recent news report out of St. Petersburg, Florida. The real story ended happily as well.

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