Hi guys… 🙂 I’m here with my first story for Five Photos, Five Stories Challenge. As this is my first short story ever, please ignore any mistakes. I know it’s not my best piece but it’s the only thing I have ready for now. I’m going out and will not be able to put up a post till tomorrow. So I’m going ahead with this one for today.

Little Black Hockey

Alison was just four years old when her father asked her, the most unusual question, about her “weapon of choice.” The little pixie-faced girl frowned and asked her father “What is a weapon of choice, papa?” Her father launched into a 20 minutes long story about her ancestors being warriors in the old times and how a good weapon of choice can be used in times of emergency or crises.

Alison listened with full attention to each and every word and from that day she started to think of herself as some kind of a badass warrior princess. She thought to make a sword as her “weapon of choice” and told her mother about it. Her mother was a gentle woman who can’t even think of killing an insect let alone her only daughter’s heart. So she promised Alison to buy her a sword when she’ll be 18 years of age hoping …… that by then she’ll be well over her warrior princess phase. She asked her to select a little subtle weapon of choice so that she can carry it around. Once while in a supermarket, Alison came across a little black hockey that caught her attention. She bought it on impulse melting her father’s heart with her huge brown eyes. Since that day Alison was never seen without that sword whenever she was at home.

One night she woke up in the middle of the night and  saw that she was alone in her room, which was odd, as Tracy, her 2 yr old lab, never left her alone in the night. Then she heard her barks in the front yard and instantly knew something was wrong. She tiptoed towards her parents room. She woke up her dad and told him that Tracy is out in the yard, barking on someone. Her dad got his rifle at once and asked her to stay inside with her mom, and then he left quietly to go outside. She waited for 5 minutes but being impatient as she was, she tiptoed towards the stairs, followed by her equally scared mom.

Tracy also got quite outside. Her heart was beating so fast she thought she’ll faint right there. But then she heard something. They were footsteps muffled by the carpet in the living room. She followed the sound to go after the footsteps, paying no heed to her mother’s whispered and panicled calls. She walked as stealthily as possible and tried to find her dad. But he wasn’t in the living room. Then she heard him talk to Tracy and realised that he’s gone in the backyard. And then the realisation het her like a storm. She was following an intruder’s footsteps, and she almost cried out when she heard them again!

She froze and her hands and legs started to melt. She was scared to death. She was holding her black hockey in her hand the entire time and seeing it now she felt a bit relieved. She thought of calling for her mom but she knew that if she’ll scream, that stranger will grab her and do god knows what. So she turned to see where the noise came from.

Meanwhile Tracy also heard the muffled footsteps and came running and barking to the exact place that guy was, behind the kitchen counter, heading towards the knives.He saw Tracy barring her teeth at him and started to take steps backwards. Alison sneaked up, taking Tracy’s barring voice as a cover for her footsteps to come from the other side of the counter. She saw the stranger back-walk towards her. He was so busy stepping away from Tracy that he lost his footing for a moment. She quickly ran and with all her might she landed the curved end of my black hockey on his head. He groaned loudly and at the same instant Tracy jumped on him and bit him on his hand. Alison strike again aiming for his unguarded head and yet again on him groin. By the time she was done with her 3rd blow, her father and mother came running in the kitchen switching on the lights.

Her father took care of the thief and her little black hockey saved the day for her family.