in the same incident.
If only I’d been able to save her, he thought yet again.
Bill had been on official leave ever since, wondering if he’d ever be able to get back to work. He’d completely fallen apart, lapsing into alcohol and even contemplating suicide.
Riley had helped him through it – in fact, she had probably saved his life.
Bill felt like he was getting better now.
But was he ready for this?
Riley kept eyeing him with concern.
“Are you sure this is a good idea?” she asked.
Again, Bill remembered what Mike Nevins had said.
“It’ll be good therapy.”
Bill nodded at Riley.
“I think so,” he said.
They resumed their positions and raised their weapons. Bill spoke into the microphone. “Hostiles and civilian.”
The same actions as before began to unfold – only this time, one of the figures was a female draped in a blue hijab. It certainly wasn’t hard to distinguish her from the hostiles in their drab, brown outfits. But she was weaving among the others in seemingly random patterns.
Riley and Bill began to pick off the hostiles to the same effect as before – some of the male figures dodged the bullets, while others took shelter behind the barriers, only to dart out at unpredictable moments.
The female figure also moved as if frightened by the gunfire, hurrying to and fro frantically, but somehow never bothering to hide behind a barrier. Her simulated panic only made it harder not to accidentally hit her.
Bill felt cold sweat forming on his forehead as he fired one round after another.
Soon he and Riley had shot all the hostiles, and the woman in the hijab stood alone unscathed.
Bill breathed a slow sigh of relief and lowered his weapon.
“How are you doing?” Riley asked, a note of worry in her voice.
“Pretty good, I guess,” Bill said.
But his palms felt damp against the weapon, and he was shaking a little.
“Maybe that’s enough for now,” Riley said.
Bill shook his head.
“No,” he said. “We’ve got to try the next program.”
“What’s that?”
Bill gulped hard.
“It’s a hostage situation. The civilian will be killed unless you and I take out two hostiles simultaneously.”
Riley squinted at him doubtfully.
“Bill, I don’t know…”
“Come on,” Bill said. “It’s only a game. Let’s give it a try.”
Riley shrugged and raised her weapon.
Bill spoke into the microphone, “Hostage situation. Go.”
The robots came back to life. The female figure stayed in the open, while the hostiles disappeared behind the barriers.
Then two hostiles appeared from behind the barriers, hovering menacingly around the female figure, who wobbled back and forth with seeming anxiety.
Bill knew that the trick was for him and Riley to fire at both hostiles as soon as they had a clear shot.
It was up to him to call that moment.
As he and Riley carefully aimed their weapons, Bill said…
“I’ll take the one on the left, you the guy on the right. Fire when I say ‘Go.’”
“Got it,” Riley said quietly.
Bill carefully monitored the movements and positions of the two hostiles. He realized that this was going to be hard – much harder than he’d expected.
The very second one of the hostiles drifted away, the other hostile placed himself dangerously close to the hostage.
Are we ever going to get a clear shot? he wondered.
Then, for just a fleeting moment, the two hostiles both drifted about a foot or so in opposite directions away from the hostage.
“Go!” Bill barked.
But before he could pull the trigger, he was seized by a rush of images…
He was dashing toward an abandoned building when he heard a shot ring out.
He drew his weapon and ran inside, where he saw Lucy lying prone on the floor.
He saw a young man moving toward her.
Instinctively, Bill fired at the man and hit him.
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