Semiautomatic rifle fire popped in the distance.
The platoon dropped, took cover. Bullets whizzed overhead. Soldiers hugged the mud, pointing their rifles off toward the horizon.
They spent hours mired in the muck, waiting for the Quick Reaction Force to arrive and give them cover, so they could escape.
Turned out, it was a wedding, where AK-47s spit into the sky in celebration. Iraqis celebrated soccer matches that way, too, win or draw.
Pvt. Rawlins swore he’d never believe another threat.
On the way back, he dismissed a loiterer on his phone.
A fiery blast erupted. Smoke enveloped everything.
“Man down!”
Like a blindsided punch to my solar plexus.
Powerful ending. Liked it.