His left hand holds his right over his mouth as the glass from the light rains to the floor resembling sparkles of moonlight. Symbolic of the life they once shared together. She shakes off the memories of them and checks the rest of her ammo. He always told her to carry extra and she usually never listened until today. The room was pitch-dark, quiet, and almost empty. She knew he would beat them but those guys must have taken more out of him than she thought. She can hear his heavy breathing echo throughout the room but was still unable to pinpoint his location close enough to get a clear shot off and now wasn’t the time to waste any ammo. They fought many times before so she knew that he was going to make his move at the first sign of enough light for a good look. But where would he get the light from? And what could he do with no gun? More than enough she feared. They both knew the forecast for that night and the next seven, it was one of the obsessive compulsive ticks they shared. Thunderstorms soon were coming and it would be just fitting for their first meeting in five years. Just then it began to rain and she could almost feel a smile creep up on his face as the sound of his breathing was overtaken by that of the rain. Now he was completely hidden and could prepare for his next move, lying in wait for the right strike of lightning to give him the look he needed. And after nearly ten minutes to think of a few plans, she knew if she didn’t think of something quick, that strike of lighting would be the last thing she would ever see. She had to strike before the lightning did but how? She would have to do the impossible and catch him off-guard. A list of scenarios rattled off in her head as she tried to guess their probabilities of working. Then it came to her! “You know it wasn’t always like this.” she says loud enough for him to hear. The words aggravate the pain in her belly from his last blow. “Yea it was worse.” he replies making sure to keep it short and not give his position away. “And better at times,” she snaps back with a smirk. “You know I have back-up on the way right?” she says, lying through her teeth. “Really? Me too and I bet mine I’ll hit before yours even gets to the curb.” he says with a chuckle. “Then I’d better take you out now then huh?” she yells as she tosses two armed smoke bombs into the room. That move was a double-edged sword but now she at least had a weapon in this fight. She was a sitting duck before but now his vision would be as bad as hers when the light flashes. Plus it would force him to make his move before he was ready because of the pressure added by her back-up lie. They can both feel the storm coming closer and the rain intensifies. They continue to banter back and forth while preparing to strike when the lighting finally does. Five and then ten minutes creep by as their stalemate drags on. She needs one last leg up on him if she wants to survive, let alone beat him. So she decides to use the truth. They had both been counting the seconds between the last strike and like two Olympic track stars at the starting line they can feel the moment drawing closer. Tension fills the room as the storm signals its readiness with the beginning of a life changing flash. A half-second later and they both pop to their feet, weapons raised and ready to fire. “Our son’s still alive and they have him!” she screams as the flash from the lightning illuminates the smoke-filled room just enough for their eyes to meet….

To be continued