20 Minute Exercise

His footsteps echo throughout the dark theatre as he walks on to the brightly lit stage.

"Here, is a gun."

A loud bang cracks as he fires the gun into the darkness.

"So what?"

Someone darts out from left stage, wearing a red cape, and tackles the man with the gun. They struggle until the man with the gun overcomes the hero. "What the fuck do you think you're doing?"

He fires the gun into the man's mouth before he can answer.

There's blood everywhere.

Then, applause, along with a few boos.

The theatre crumbles, and the sun shines, and the man with the gun stands in the middle of the stage which remains standing, the huge red curtains strewn over the rubble. The man walks off-stage, over the steel and broken wood, and into the front yard of a house that stands directly in front of him. A puppy runs out the door and on to the yard, wagging its tail, and jumps up on its hind legs towards the man with the gun.

He puts the gun into the front of his pants and proceeds to pet the dog lovingly.

"Aw, puppy. Hi, puppy. You're a cutey, aren't you?"

The man feels the desire to beat the puppy with the butt of his gun, until the puppy is a small wet pulpy mess, but then checks himself: "No, I would regret that, and I would be upset all day afterwards."

Police officers have snuck up all around him, creating a circular perimeter. They move in mock bushes, and several dog houses seem to be slowly meandering towards the man and the puppy. They get close enough to smell his deodorant, but he's too preoccupied with the puppy, or perhaps he willingly ignores them; it is uncertain how they could possibly get so close to him, except that perhaps there's no reason why police officers should even be there, nor is there any explanation for their disguises, and certainly no context for a crime chase. Arms reach out from the bushes, and the roofs of doghouses are raised. They snatch his gun first, then him. He screams. The dog jumps several feet away only to turn around and start barking at the commotion. "Stop!"

"Stop," he says. "Stop!"