The boys loved it when the city park was closed. The fence was easy to climb. They hid the car they had “borrowed,” waited until no one was around and scrambled over the fence, pitching their dads’ rifles down to each other.
They were each 14 and knew where their dads’ kept the keys to the gun cases. There were deer that grazed in the trees in the park. They used them for target practice. Their parents were busy. They never knew the boys, or the guns, were gone.
They ran for the cover of the trees and decided to spread out. One of the boys ran to another tree about 100 yards away. The rifles had scopes. They were both poised to shoot a deer. One of the boys saw movement in the brush and fired. He heard a noise and knew he had hit something.
He had hit his friend who was motionless on the ground. The boy kneeled beside him. All he could think of was how mad his parents were going to be. They would take away his phone and his privileges. He wouldn’t get to play soccer. He might as well go home and face the music.
200 words
Photo Credit Sasha Darlington
Wait! Is his friend dead? Even if only wounded, he’d better get him to a hospital fast. This kid is in a lot more trouble than getting grounded by his parents.
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A comment on the “who cares” mentality toward gun violence today
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No reflection on your writing, but I find it difficult to comment on the current and ongoing gun tragedies.
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A bad situation, but a well told scenario
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3,234 teen (12-17) gun deaths in 2017 in the US.
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I love how you have described the potential consequences in his head. When one is young, one really cannot see farther than one’s own nose.
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Thank you so much!
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