Boulangerie Thief

Chapter 1

His pace picked up when he heard sirens blare in the distance behind him. It sounded like it was getting closer and closer with each breath he took. He weaved through the trees, running at a fast pace. As he stumbled almost blindly through the deep, black forest, he heard movement to his left. Adorján scattered into the blackness for cover and waited.

He rested his hands upon his knees and took a few deep breaths. After he wiped away the beads of sweat on his forehead, he looked up at the black clouds that loomed overhead. The stars were behind the haze of darkness. Some were merely flickering every now and then to show their presence.

Occasional hooting sounds of hidden owls was all he heard. His imagination must have played tricks on him. He couldn't hear anything else. It must be the sounds of the nightly forest beasts. Slowly trudging forward into a jog, he was startled by a flash of lightning, followed by a thunderous clap. His heart was beating so loud in his ears he didn't hear when the rain started pelting down around him.

A canopy of conifer trees blotted out what remained of the stars behind the dark clouds. Suddenly something swooped across his path startling him into stopping. He found that it was only a bat and starts laughing at his fear. His laughter was breathless and sporadic. He forced himself to take control of his emotions and slowly pushed himself forward.

The lightning and thunder was the threat of a summer storm. Sweet-smelling, rain-washed pine needles blanketed the forest floor. He could smell the muggy earth and enjoyed breathing in the aroma. He was now even more aware of his surroundings and could hear mysterious noises from all directions surrounding him.

The cold night air dried his already parched throat to such an extent that he had difficulty in swallowing. The rain was running down his hair and into his eyes. He wiped his eyes with the back of his hand and licked at the water running over his lips, hoping it would ease his dry throat. He pushed forward realizing he had limited time to execute his mission.

Lightning flashes followed by roars of thunder provided the only dim light on his path. He soon reached the clearing that led into town. Slowing his pace, he hoped that it would slow the blood pounding in his ears. He ran tip-toed from building to building, hoping and praying that nobody would see him.

The dim town lights attempted to pierce through the rain and blackness the night granted. When he turned the corner of the building, the rain was even sharper. Taking a deep breath he launched into the dark alley at full speed. The smudgy illumination of a lamppost at the end of the alley was his only navigation. His footsteps crunching on the gravel echoed angrily into the emptiness of the night. Cautious and afraid of what could lurk in the shadows, he slowed down his pace. He didn't want to miss his destination.

When he got to the shop he could see through the window that a light was on in the front of the shop. He did his homework and knew that the bakery belonged to a grey old man. At one o'clock in the morning, he was sure that he was snug asleep in his upstairs apartment.

Thankful for the charcoal clouds that brought almost complete darkness to the alley, he slumped down in front of the door. This was not a time to be seen. The rain was also welcome at this time. He was sure it would muffle out any sounds he would make, trying to break in.

He had carefully planned this robbery and he couldn't afford for anything to go wrong. This was to be his last robbery for the month. He was getting too comfortable and was taking too many risks. His arrogance sometimes scared him. With a small flashlight in his mouth he focused the light on the lock. Struggling to pick the lock made him jittery and nervous. After five minutes of battling, he stopped to wipe the water from his face. The rain was blurring his sight.

Trying to calm his nerves he took a few deep breaths. With hands shivering of the cold, he once again continued to pick at the lock. A crash startled and made him to lose his footing; and fall backwards on his behind. Swearing under his breath he scattered to the safety of a deep shadow against the wall.

He saw something move near the trash cans. The momentary flash of lightning made the scene a couple of feet in front of him visible. Three cats were searching for food in the trash. One of the cans was overturned and a pitch black cat was chewing on something. The metallic trash can toppling over and losing it's lid, must have caused the noise. He could hear their meowing from where he sat hunched against the wall.

Breathing out a sigh of relief, he slowly scrambled towards the door. He peeked through the window to make sure nobody was moving inside. The windowsills were lined with pot plants. He found it strange that a bakery grew it's own herbs. After struggling with the lock for another five minutes he had given up because he couldn't get it open.

Frustrated because of wasted time, he scuttled to the windows carefully pushing and pulling at them. One of the windows to the right of the door weren't completely locked from the inside. After jimmying the window, he opened it and clambered inside. He was just about to pull his leg over one of the pot plants in his way, when he hooked the pot with his heel and it came crashing to the floor.

"Oh f - !" He stifled a curse. Closing his eyes, he prayed that the old man didn't hear it upstairs. After holding his breath for what seemed a lifetime, he slowly closed the window and crawled on his knees to the office desk standing in one corner. His gloveless hands were covered in soil. He brushed off his trembling hands on his trousers before opening the drawers.