When your partner turns a theft into an ultimatum, do you crack the safe—or settle the score?
Writer’s Prompt
“Life’s just a game. Just don’t get caught and get to the finish line first, Johnny,” Marie said, blowing a strand of bleached blonde hair from her lip.
Johnny Webb gripped the damp steering wheel until his knuckles went pale. “Look, I’ve never done anything bad enough to go to jail. I don’t feel good about it.”
“They’re on vacation. Here’s the combination to the safe.” She shoved a torn slip of napkin against his chest. “There’s five grand in cash in there plus Ellen’s diamonds. I’ll stay here and keep watch.”
Johnny stared past the wipers at the Waterford estate. Two stories of fieldstone and glass, silent under the October rain. Surely it had infrared cameras. Silent alarms wired directly to county dispatch.
“It’s too big a risk, Marie.”
Marie scoffed, the click of her lighter loud in the cramped sedan. The flame illuminated the bitter curve of her mouth. “If you don’t do it, we’re through. You can crawl back to your shift work and live your puny life with some loser.”
The silence between them turned thick, suffocating. Johnny stared at the soft, unprotected hollow of her neck above her collar. He wondered how long it would take. Wondered if the rain would wash the tire tracks away if he drove out alone, leave her slumped in the ditch, and simply tell the cops she vanished. No robbery. No witnesses. Just a sudden, clean end to the venom.
Marie tapped the dashboard with her manicured nails. “Clock’s ticking, hero.”
Johnny pocketed the crumpled napkin. His fingers brushed the heavy steel tire iron wedged beneath the passenger seat. His pulse thudded in his ears—sharp, rhythmic, and cold.
He opened the car door.
Where does Johnny go from here? Choose a path to finish the story:
- Direction A (The Heist): Johnny slips through the iron gate, determined to prove he isn’t small-time. But once the safe clicks open, he discovers Marie set him up to take the fall for far more than petty theft.
- Direction B (The Payback): Johnny pulls the tire iron from beneath the seat instead of walking toward the house. If life is a game, he decides it’s time to take Marie off the board first.
Which side of Johnny wins out? Pick a path—or carve your own—and write the final twist!
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