Again my father stuns me silent. But it’s not really his fault—I was the dope who asked.
My father says, “We should head in. Your mother’s no doubt been up all night.”
“How did you get to me so fast to begin with?”
“When that first call came in, I was already on the base with my team. We had the helicopters in the air a minute later.”
“Now what’s going to happen?”
“I’m going to tell your mother that my orders have changed and I’m no longer needed on the island. We’ll head back to Washington in the next day or two.”
“Are you even in the Army?”
My father shrugs. “It’s complicated. Now, are you ready?”
We get out of the car. We head toward the condo entrance. I’m already dreading the fuss my mother will make over me. Inspecting all my bumps and bruises. Telling me I need to be more careful. It helps take my mind off what my father just told me. About what a first kill feels like. For an instant, I had wondered if I’ll ever experience something like it, but I know better.
That’s my father’s life. Not mine.
So in that moment the reality of my first kill is entirely nonexistent. The dry Iraqi desert. The stuffiness of a porta potty. A soldier standing just outside, waiting to do me harm.
Two years, seven months, three weeks to go.
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NO SHELTER
BULLET RAIN
THE DEVIL YOU KNOW
HOLLOW POINT
About the Author
Robert Swartwood is the USA Today bestselling author of The Serial Killer’s Wife, No Shelter, Man of Wax, and several other novels. He created the term “hint fiction” and is the editor of Hint Fiction: An Anthology of Stories in 25 Words or Fewer. He lives with his wife in Pennsylvania. Visit him online at www.robertswartwood.com.
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Publisher’s Note
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Also by Robert Swartwood
NOVELS
Holly Lin Series
No Shelter
Bullet Rain
First Kill
The Devil You Know
Hollow Point
Man of Wax Series
Legion
Man of Wax
The Inner Circle
Stand-alones
The Calling
Land of the Dead
The Serial Killer’s Wife
New Avalon
Abducted
Temple
Walk the Sky (with David B. Silva)
COLLECTIONS
Real Illusions: Stories
Phantom Energy: [Very Short] Stories
NOVELLAS & SHORT STORIES
Muse
Giotto’s Circle
The Man on the Bench
Spooky Nook
In Solemn Shades of Endless Night
In the Land of the Blind: A Zombie Story
Wayward Pines: Nomad
At the Meade Bed & Breakfast (with David B. Silva)
AS EDITOR
Hint Fiction: An Anthology of Stories in 25 Words or Fewer
Copyright © 2016 Robert Swartwood
Cover design copyright © 2016 Damonza
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. All rights reserved. No part of this publication can be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without permission in writing from Robert Swartwood.
www.robertswartwood.com
