REM

Vacation Crossfire

Vacationing in a country far away from home had never been a problem for me. I had traveled all over the world, experiencing different cultures, food, architecture, as well as lifestyles. Everything from fashion to customs would always be different from my hometown and country, but I never expected to run into any problems.

I was walking around a city in South Africa when my dream vacation took a wild turn. It was like something from an action movie, people running and screaming as armed groups invaded a building, gunners firing from every direction it seemed. Being a tourist, I should have stood out like a sore thumb and perhaps been given some sympathy for being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Masked men were loading up a van down an alleyway between two brown buildings. The bricks were crumbling in some places, the one structure lined with several black doors. I ducked behind a crate adjacent to the doors as I saw others around me scatter in all directions opposite of where the thieves were.

Gunfire rang out, fear overtaking my ability to move from my crouched position. I was curled up like a small child, even though I was nearly thirty. Never in my entire life had I remembered feeling so scared before. The area I was visiting was supposed to be peaceful and welcoming for tourists, but as I kept my cover, I wondered if any place in the world was ever truly safe.

Reviews on websites and friends' references meant nothing to me now. I was caught in the middle of a violent robbery of some warehouse. As the beating of my heart pulsed in my head, I realized the open area I huddled in was empty. Men were still busy loading a van in the alley, so I ran across to one of the doors. Bullets hit the dirt around me as I crouched and continued to move my feet. This was it, I was going to be gunned down in a foreign country.

Pulling on the handle of a worn, black door, it turned, opening up to a threshold, which had been filled in with a blue board. There was no turning back. My heart sank as I wedged myself in between the door and board, narrowly hiding myself behind it from the gunners. A few bullets continued to ping off the ground and brick, one even hitting the door. I figured it was a matter of time before one pierced through the thin metal door, cutting through my clothes and then skin, hitting a vital organ.

Thankfully, that did not happen. Silence consumed the alleyway just inches from where I hid, the small crack allowing me to see a sliver of ground and brick. A man pulled on the door, causing me to tumble out.

I begin to cry and beg for my life. "Please, please don't kill me." My head remained down, my palms placed on the loose dirt I knelt on.

"Dey are gone," he announced. "You are safe now. It is ova'."

Peering up at the dark skinned man, I noticed he was dressed in what looked to be a Policeman's outfit. I quickly wiped the tears from my face with the back of my hand and brushed the dirt off of myself. Someone had been watching over me.

As I walked away from the scene, the Policeman following behind me, I wanted nothing more than to head back to my hotel room. My vacation hadn't gone exactly as planned. I had wanted to stay much longer, but after that incident, I thought it best to cut it short and return to my family and friends.