Ballistic Missile

Lisa and her fiancee Kimball had just moved to Hawaii after two years in Japan, where Kimball was an AP photographer, and Lisa worked for a business law firm. Lisa took a promotion to run the Honolulu branch of her company, and Kimball was going to do freelance work for Hawaii newspapers. They planned to marry in six weeks, and life was good. The Hawaiian sun was rising on a Saturday morning as Lisa's new puppy "Coconut" was running around the bedroom and barking for a breakfast snack. I'm coming, buddy, a yawning Kimball said as he got out of bed. Is it Saturday? Asked Lisa with her head tucked under the pillow. Yes, it is, but you need to get up soon. We must head to the farmers market before the good stuff is gone. As Kimball sets a small bowl of food down for Coconut, he hears a siren sound on his cellular phone. He looked down, and it read, "BALLISTIC MISSILE THREAT INBOUND TO HAWAII. SEEK IMMEDIATE SHELTER.

THIS IS NOT A DRILL." He quickly turned on his television with a message scrolling across the screen: "The U.S. Pacific Command has detected a missile threat to Hawaii. A missile may impact land or sea within minutes. THIS IS NOT A DRILL. Kimball looked out his window and saw people running for cover. He grabs his camera bag, throws on a shirt, turns, and sees Lisa blocking the door. Where the hell are you going? She yells. Babe, I need to get out there. I need to shoot photos and document this event. What are you going to shoot? We will all be dead in a few minutes. Kimball had to sit her down and let her know that a ballistic missile would never hit Hawaii because the USA owns the Global Positioning System (GPS) and can turn it off anytime.

Plus, other locations like Guam and Wake Island would knock out a nuke missile before it hit Hawaii. So, I need to head out that door and cover this news event without you holding me back. Kimball kisses her forehead and sprints out the door. On the outside, Kimball grabs excellent photos of people removing utility hole covers and ducking inside. He shoots a picture of two girls crying and hugging. He captures an image of an empty wheelchair with two men carrying a man without legs and a wide shot of two hundred people running with coconut trees in the background. I'm getting great photos, Kimball thinks to himself as he hears a loud whistling noise and the bright Hawaiian sun turns darker than night. He falls to the ground, unable to see. The only noise he hears is ringing sounds. He opens his phone, and a no service blinks on the front display. Ten minutes pass, and the dark cloud covering the sun moves away. I can see again what Kimball yells as a big guy walks towards him. The big guy lands a side punch to Kimball's jaw and goes down for the count. As he awakes, Kimball finds his cameras, watch, and wallet are missing. He stumbles forward and walks in the direction of his home. Within a block of his house, a guy on a bicycle wallops him hard on the back and checks his pocket for a wallet. Back in the safety of his home, he calls out for Lisa, and she is nowhere to be found. On the kitchen table is a note with a heart-shaped locket on it. The note reads.

Dear Kimball,

Your last words to me were, "I need to head out this door without you holding me back." So inside this heart-shaped locket is your ring. I will never hold you back. Today, when a ballistic missile was heading towards us, you chose to take photos over your last minutes with me. I must come first in my husband's life. I hope you got some great pictures today.

Fuck you, and goodbye!

-Lisa