“It was as if time was standing still.”

It was the ninth of August, and my brother and I were on the way back to our cabin in the northern part of Wisconsin.

We had spent the day fishing and hiking, and it was a pleasant way to end our week’s vacation and head back to our families in Milwaukee.

When we walked into the cabin, we were greeted by two smiling men, dressed in jeans and T-shirts, and we instantly knew we were in trouble.

One of the men was brandishing a knife, and the other was sitting at the kitchen table with his muddy boots resting on top of it.  We asked what they were doing here and they just laughed.

We started to leave, but the guy at the table pulled out a gun and asked us to stay.  It was surreal because we had seen this type of scenario on TV a thousand times, and here it was happening to us.

My brother said they could have our money and watches but to just go and we wouldn’t tell anyone.  They just snickered.  I felt they were on something, perhaps drugs, maybe alcohol.  But these were bad guys and our lives were in danger.  Big danger.

All of a sudden I heard myself asking my brother what time the other guys were coming back.  Fortunately, he was sharp enough to play along and he looked at the two guys and asked them if they knew what they were getting in to.

For a moment, I didn’t know whether or not they believed us or were going to get angry and do something unthinkable.  It was as if time was standing still – but our bluff worked.  They were out of there within seconds, taking only our money, not our watches or wallets.

My brother told me afterwards that he had a bad feeling while we were walking back to the cabin.  He said he could hear voices in his head talking, and that when we opened the door to the cabin and the men started speaking, he said these were the identical voices he had heard.

Although we did report the incident to the police, the men were never apprehended.

V. Pierose
Milwaukee, WI