Fire

I raise the crosshairs to the enemies head. They continue eating, oblivious of what was about to happen. I start to shake. I lower my gun and open my other eye. The world turns black. Was I shot? My chest becomes heavy, and my face is wet. 

I slowly come to and open my eyes to a tan snout with a pink tongue. I pet the long, sleek body that is laying across my chest. A few minutes go by, and I sit up against the shelves. Gauge plants himself across my lap, keeping me grounded. I play with the many tags on his vest. Things I've collected, memories. I play with the patches on his vest, trying to distract myself from the people staring at me. As they lose interest and walk away, I get ready to stand up. Gauge stands up and I tell him to brace. Checking his feet to make sure they are square, I pull the handle on his harness to help me up.

 At the sounds of his treat pouch opening, he cocks his head and pears up at me. I grab several treats and offer them one at a time. He licks his chops and shakes off. 

I ask him to grab his leash off the floor. He squishes his nose to the ground over his leash with his mouth slightly open. Delicately, he closes his front teeth on the thin leather leash. He pops his head back up, catching the leash, getting a better grip. Proud, he prances back over to me with the leash in his mouth. I tell him ok and offer him a treat. He lets go of the leash and gratefully takes the treat. 

I steady myself on the shopping cart. Gauge positions himself in a loose heel. I can feel the people behind me, staring. Gauge looks up at me again. I grab his handle and bare some of my weight on it. Gauge turns his head to the side and bumps my leg with his nose. 

"I know." He looks up at me, confused as to why I'm not listening to him. Frustrated, he bumps my leg harder. I pet his head and ask him to find a seat. Letting out a huff, he lightly pulls on the harness.

Suddenly Gauge stops. He looks behind him and I do too. The outside of my vision is gone, and I can barely see a child gripping his tail. Gauge tries to take a step, but the child pulls the opposite way, hard. A small whine escapes Gauge's mouth. Black blotches fill what little vision I have left. My knees buckle.

I raise the crosshairs to the enemies head. They continue eating, oblivious of what was about to happen. I start to shake. I lower my gun and open my other eye. I look to my left and see a bloody, crumpled body. Then to my right and see someone with their hand squeezing their shoulder. I try to move closer to them, but can't. I watch them crumple into a bloody mess, too.

The whole world turns black again. My chest is heavy, and my face is wet. My eyes focus again. A young man starts talking to me, but I can answer. I glance around for Gauge. Having not laid eyes on him, I start to panic. The man's face gets closer to mine. I try to sit up but feel multiple hands push me back down. In frustration, I make fist and push up harder. The hands resist harder, keeping me down. 

I relax in hope that the hands will lift, but they continue to hold me down. I start to panic more. The man's voice fades away. My vision starts to get blurry, then turns black. 

I raise the crosshairs to the enemies head. They continue eating, oblivious of what was about to happen. I start to shake. I lower my gun and open my other eye. I look to my left and see a bloody, crumpled body. Then to my right and see someone with their hand squeezing their shoulder. I try to move closer to them, but can't. I watch them crumple into a bloody mess too. I try to move again but can't. 

I look around, helpless. Staying alert, I grab my rifle. I lift it, close one eye, and bring the crosshairs to my enemies head. I move my finger down and cover the trigger. The world turns black.

My vision fills and the man is further away than when I blacked out. Gauges breath warms my neck. I can feel his wet nose under my chin. I look around and there are several men sitting around me. Two are on my left, one is on my right, and one is behind my head. The one behind my head asks if I want to go to the hospital. I shake my head and point to the patch on Gauges' vest that says "Do not call 911 unless handler is injured."

I point to the ground and Gauge gets off my chest. The man behind my head goes to pet Gauge. I manage to almost yell no. The man's hand quickly retreats and Gauge lies on the floor. I push myself up off the floor and sit against the shelf. No one tries to stop me this time. Instead, they all stand up in a half circle around me. 

Gauge trots over and lays across my lap. He paws at my chest. Ignoring his alert, I pet his head. He bumps my chest with his nose. I continue to pet his head, and he bumps harder and harder. My vision becomes blurry and black blotches block it.  

I raise the crosshairs to the enemies head. They continue eating, oblivious of what was about to happen. I start to shake. I lower my gun and open my other eye. I look to my left and see a bloody, crumpled body. Then to my right and see someone with their hand squeezing their shoulder. I try to move closer to them, but can't. I watch them crumple into a bloody mess too. I try to move again but can't. 

I look around, helpless. Staying alert, I grab my rifle. I lift it, close one eye, and bring the crosshairs to my enemies head. I move my finger down and cover the trigger. My enemy looks down the barrel of my gun. Panic builds in his eyes. I inhale, then exhale, and slowly squeeze the trigger. The rifle fires. I watch the bullet enter his head and get lost in the blood. He crumples on the ground. I lower my rifle and sit behind the barrier. I hold my hands up and watch them shake uncontrollably. The lights and sounds tune out.

My vision clears and I look down at Gauge. His head is pointed up, resting on my chest. His legs spill on either side of my legs. He gives me a kiss on my chin. The men around me are now on one side, not allowing people to go through the aisle. One of them approaches me. Gauge stands up and goes in between be and the man. He asks if they can leave. I nod, and the men clear out. 

After a few minutes, I stand up. Gauge follows and leans against my leg as we walk. Little footsteps run up behind me. Gauge slows so he can follow behind me. His leash becomes tight and then he yelps. I look, and the same child is attached to his tail once again. The child is tugging viciously at his tail. Gauge whines and noses at the kid's hand. I yell no and the kid stops tugging on Gauges tail. The kid's grip tightens. I look the kid in the eyes. Tears start to form in the corners, and I slowly say, "let go of the dog's tail." 

The kid lets go of Gauge's tail and falls to the ground, crying. Gauge comes back to my side and bumps his nose on my leg. I walk faster to the checkout lane. Hearing more footsteps behind me, I walk faster. 

"Excuse me! Excuse me!"

I don't look back. I keep walking forward, my vision getting blurry. Gauge tries to go in front of me to keep me from walking any further. I nearly trip over him, and it gives the footsteps behind me enough time to catch up. 

"Excuse me!" 

Gauge puts himself in between me and the woman. 

"Excuse me!"

I gently pull on Gauges leash, and he falls back in a heel. 

"Excuse me!"

I take another step forward, but the woman grabs my shoulder. 

"Excuse me!"

She puts her face inches away from mine.

"Excuse me! Excuse me! Excuse me! Are you deaf?" 

I look down at my feet. Gauge pushes his way in between me and the woman. 

"Excuse me!"

Her voice gets more and more quiet until it fades out, and the world turns black.

My enemy looks down the barrel of my gun. Panic builds in his eyes. I inhale, then exhale, and slowly squeeze the trigger. The rifle fires. I watch the bullet enter his head and get lost in the blood. He crumples on the ground. I lower my rifle and sit behind the barrier. I hold my hands up and watch them shake uncontrollably. 

Something large flies over my head. It is followed by a boom. Fire swallows the roof and the bodies next to me. Another grenade flies over my head. I turn my back to it and cover my head. The heat is unbearable. I look for a break in the fire, but don't see one. I look over the edge of the building. The ground seems further away than before.

 A bullet whizzes by my head. I duck back down behind the barrier. Sweat drips off my face and sizzles as it hits the hot roof. The smell of burning flesh fills my nose. I cough and try not to breathe in.

 I can feel my face cover melting. I go to rip it off, but it sticks to my gloves. My gloves start to melt too. I take them off and toss them into the blaze. The fire swallows them and melts them even further. I leap over the edge of the building. The ground makes a small thud and a small cloud of dust rises. Medics surround me as the world tunes out and my eyes close. 

My chest feels heavy as my vision clears. Gauge gets off me and stands in between me and the woman gawking at me. I stand up and walk unsteadily over to the checkout line. The woman continues to stare at me as I check out. She watches me walk out the doors and follows me to my car. I get in, lock the door, and drive away.