The Bandit: Plundered

It seemed almost too quiet. Silence reigned supreme and there was barely a breeze. One by one, the village lights flickered out, as people quietly settled in for the night. The full moon cast weird shadows. No one was visible in the streets, or on the boardwalk along the oceanfront.

Suddenly, a high-piercing woman’s scream, aroused the sleeping community. A dog barked and a cacophony of other dogs responded.

The deep, booming voice of a man hollered, “Get out of here, thief!”

“The bandit is back!” yelled someone. “Let’s get him!”

“We’ll get the marauder this time, whoever he is!” another male voice yelled.

“Let’s go after him!”

A gunshot rang out, and then several more shots resounded, in the distance.

“Be careful!”

“He may be armed.”

Seconds later, a tall, slender figure in black, carrying a backpack and a rifle, ran along the boardwalk and quickly disappeared into the brush on the higher, rocky terrain.  

A screaming siren alerted the entire community to imminent danger. Lights came on, but many people were too frightened to go out. A large group of angry men gathered on the beach, each carrying a weapon.

“Last time, he cleaned out our store," said the owner. "We lost our source of livelihood.”

The elderly man, whose home had just been broken into, was extremely upset.

“He took our savings and frightened my poor wife.”

“Why is he targeting us?”

“Our community is no longer safe,” said another man. “Every full moon, that marauder plunders our village. Someone becomes his victim.”

“We will never be safe until we catch the hoodlum.”

“We have the right to protect our homes and families.”

“There are fresh boot tracks along the boardwalk!” hollered someone, waving a flashlight to catch the attention of the others.

“Follow them!” a man’s voice ordered.

“The prints disappear into the rocky terrain,” one of them said, moments later. “Look at what we found!”

He waved a handkerchief in the air.  

“That is a lot of fresh blood! We hit him this time.”

“His days are numbered.”