It started out as any other day. Rolling around on the floor with the kids and the pets. It was all so much fun. And then he saw it. The familiar red dot. It was making its way up his torso. He did not know how, but the Sniper had found him.

His military training kicked in and he grabbed his two children under his arms like two sacks of potatoes. Heavy potatoes. When had they gotten so heavy? Or maybe he had gotten out of shape. It did not matter. He had to get his girls out of harm’s way.

“Daddy!”

He ignored the shout.

“Daddy! What are you doing?”

The dog was right at his heels. Ever the faithful companion. She would protect the kids if the Sniper got him. He turned hard into the girls’ room. He slammed the door behind him. The dog barely made it in with her tail.

He hunkered down by the girls away from the window. “Shh.”

The two youngsters hunkered down too. They were smiling. And laughing.

“Shh.”

“Why are we hiding daddy? Is it hide and seek, and Mommy’s it?”

Cassandra! He bolted out of the room. “Cassandra!”

She was there in the middle of the room. She smiled at her husband. “Where did you go in such a hurry?”

He was still crouching. He saw the red dot again. It was on the floor in front of Cassandra. The kitten pounced on it. Then the dot moved and the kitten pounced again. He smiled. This was not a war zone. The Sniper had not found him. For he had found the Sniper long ago. And there was no reason to fear. No reason to fear at all.