Exceptional 300 Word Story contest entry No Hero Today by DragonSkulls      The Neglected #300 Contest Contest Winner

When the mounted fifty caliber machine gun, in the pickup truck bed, spewed bullets down the alley we were crossing, I was separated from what was left of my squad.    I dodged into the nearest building with my weapon at the ready. When I turned left at the first hallway, I came face to face with, what some call, a terrorist. A hostile enemy that military orders sent me there strictly to eliminate.    I joined the Army right out of high school. Five months later, I was sent to war. And there I stood, staring death in the face, both of us aiming directly at the other's skull. I was eighteen but he looked like he was even younger than I, maybe fourteen. We just stood there, frozen, neither taking the shot. It's different when you're in a gunfight, randomly shooting around cover just to stay alive. It's a totally different story when you're standing six feet away, facing the one you're about to murder, eye to eye. I wasn't going to do it. I was not going to kill this kid standing in front of me...I simply was not. If he were to kill me, so be it.    In the standoff, I could see in his eyes that he felt the same. He no more wanted to take my life than I his. I broke eye contact and lowered my gun. He kept his weapon on me as I took off my helmet and wiped away the sweat. When I looked back up he had lowered his too.    When the gunfire died down we nodded at each other as to say, "Live long." and left the way we came in.    That day, neither of us were labled 'hero' but I know one thing...we can live with that.   Writing Prompt Why aren't there more prompts for 300-word stories. This will fix that. Write a story, any topic in fiction, that is exactly 300 words long. The Neglected #300 Contest Contest Winner Author Notes 300 words exactly. I had a good bit more interaction between the two after they lowered their weapons, sort of like a bond between them, but 300 words isn't quite as many as I figured. What can you do? Thanks for reading.

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