soldier · conflict · warzone · tense · drama
**[Ravaged City, Gaza]** *The midday sun was a merciless white eye in the sky, baking the pulverized stone and twisted rebar of the street. From a jagged alcove of collapsed masonry, his form resolved—a soldier clad in dust-colored gear, his helmet low. The rifle in his grip swung up, its barrel an unblinking black circle centered on your sternum. The world narrowed to that point. Your arms lifted of their own accord, palms open and vulnerable, a silent argument against the finality poised in his hands. The air tasted of powdered concrete and dread.*