I was in a bookstore. Actually I think it was a department store that had a large section devoted to books. I looking at some of the books when I saw a young woman and her daughter at the end of the short aisle. She smiled earnestly at me, and I smiled back, when I saw a man push her forward, like he was directing her.
“Keep moving,” he said. Then I noticed in his left hand was a gun. When he saw me notice it, he stopped and fired a shot off at me. I quickly ducked behind some bookcases. Those two people were in trouble and I had to help them, but I had no weapons or support against a gun.
I started tipping over bookcases. It was the only thing I could think to do. I would tip them over, hoping not to crush the lady and her daughter, and then duck behind another bookcase before getting shot at. Then, as one bookcase tumbled over, I heard a cry. It had worked.
I managed to force the gun out of his hand, and I pinned him, holding him tight to me, and not daring to loosen up. Then when I tried to yell for security, nothing would come out. My voice came out whispery, and sometimes not at all. Finally, security heard me. They came towards me, to start questioning me, and they took the lady and her daughter away, but they never arrested the man. I had to cling tight to him, keeping him from getting away, but they wouldn’t take it over.
No matter how hard I tried, no one seemed to realize that handcuffs and a police ride to jail were what this creep needed. I could feel my grip start to loosen. I had to recount what happened two or three times, each time being very clear and precise about what happened. But, in my concentration, I would forget that I was solely responsible for holding onto this man.
They never took him away. I was starting to panic. I knew that the longer I had him, the greater the chance that he would manage to get free of me. Then I woke up. My arms were crossed across my chest, and I was lying on my stomach. So, as a result, both of my arms were asleep.
And he still got away…