Once Buried

The man spun around before he fell – and only then did Bill see that his hands were empty.

He was unarmed.

The man had only been trying to help Lucy.

Mortally wounded, Lucy lifted herself up on her elbow and fired six rounds at her real attacker…

…the man Bill should have shot.

A shot rang out from Riley’s rifle, snapping Bill out of his flashback.

The images had come and gone in a mere fraction of a second.

One of the hostiles tilted over, dead from Riley’s shot.

But Bill himself stood frozen. He couldn’t pull the trigger.

The surviving hostile turned menacingly toward the woman, and a recorded shot rang out over a loudspeaker.

The woman buckled over and stopped moving.

Bill finally fired his weapon and hit the surviving hostile – but too late for the hostage, who was already dead.

For a moment, the situation seemed horribly real.

“Jesus,” he said. “Oh, Jesus, what did I let happen?”

Bill stepped forward, almost as if he wanted to rush to the woman’s aid.

Riley stepped in front of him to stop him.

“Bill, it’s OK! It’s only a game! It’s not real!”

Bill stopped in his tracks, shaking all over and trying to calm himself.

“Riley, I’m sorry, it’s just that… it all came flooding back for a second and…”

“I know,” Riley said comfortingly. “I understand.”

Bill slumped over and shook his head.

“Maybe I’m not ready for this,” he said. “Maybe we’d better quit for the day.”

Riley patted him on the shoulder.

“No,” she said. “I think you’d better see it through.”

Bill took a few long, slow breaths. He knew that Riley was right.

He and Riley resumed their positions, and Bill again said into the microphone…

“Hostage situation. Go.”

The same action resumed again, with two hostiles lurking dangerously close to the hostage.

Bill breathed slowly, in and out, as he peered through his sight.

It’s only a game, he told himself. It’s only a game.

Finally, the moment he was waiting for arrived. Both of the hostiles had moved ever so slightly away from the hostage. It was still a dangerous shot, but Bill and Riley had to take it.

“Go!” he said.

This time he fired instantly, and he heard the sound of Riley’s shot a fraction of a second later.

Both of the hostiles buckled over and stopped moving.

Bill lowered his weapon.

Riley patted him on the back.

“You did it, Bill,” she said, smiling. “I’m enjoying this. What else can we do with these bots?”

Bill said, “There’s a program where we can advance toward them as we shoot.”

“Let’s give it a try.”

Bill spoke into his microphone.

“Close quarters.”

All eight of the hostiles began to move, and Bill and Riley advanced toward them step by step, firing in small bursts. A couple of robots fell, and the others scurried about, becoming harder to hit.

As Bill fired away, he realized that something was missing from this simulation.

They don’t shoot back, he thought.

Also, his relief at saving the hostage felt strangely hollow. After all, he and Riley had merely saved the life of a robot.

It didn’t change the reality of what had happened last month.

It certainly didn’t bring Lucy back to life.

His guilt still haunted him. Was he ever going to be able to shake it off?

And was he ever going to be able to get back to work?

Chapter Three