Writing Prompt

This was a writing prompt in a Facebook group I recently joined called Elements of Genre Writing.  Today’s prompt was for tragedy and we were given a picture for the prompt.

It was supposed to be a quiet evening. Nothing exciting, just dinner, maybe a movie, and some alone with her special guy. He had promised her that there would a surprise for her after dinner. Just thinking about what it could be had her on pins and needles waiting for six o’clock when he’d arrive in his beat up old Jeep to pick her up for their date.

That was all it was supposed to be. No more, no less. Katie didn’t expect the limo to take her and Joe to the restaurant, nor did she expect to be taken to one of the most lavish places in town that had a waiting list almost a year long. It was more than she ever dreamed.

Joe gave her bouquet of red and white roses at the door and treated her like a queen. Nothing could have been more perfect. Nothing, until he knelt beside her at the table when their desserts were delivered then opened a small box to reveal a glittering ring. Her answer was only a tearful nod as she covered her face with her hands.

Just as the ring was slipped onto her finger, the nightmare began with the rapid fire of automatic weapons and the shattering of glass. Those closest to the windows didn’t stand a chance. But they were the lucky ones. The rest of the diners were rounded up and forced into a truck to endure a one way trip someplace outside of town.

Why they were kidnapped, Katie didn’t know, nor did she understand why. No one else knew why they were taken away from their normal lives, either. All they knew was they were being taken somewhere far from their homes.

When the doors finally opened, gun fire filled the small compartment making an escape futile at best. No one escaped unscathed. Joe took several bullets trying to protect her and died in her arms. Katie cried, in pain from the hits she took when Joe’s body slipped from her arms to the floor of the truck.

The last thing she saw before the last bullet ripped the life from her body was the sneer of her captor after he took off the black ski mask and aimed the gun at her and the rest of the living.

It was supposed to be a quiet evening.

I hope you enjoy the free write for this prompt.  Critique all you want, I enjoy what others think of my rough work.