On a Dare

 Thank you to Vine Leaves Press for publishing "On a Dare" in "50 Give or Take" (story #60; 4 January 2021)

On a Dare

It started innocently, with magnifying glasses and smoldering anthills. Then, BB guns and neighborhood weathervanes and the jay on the ridge vent. Menthol Marlboros singeing each other’s shoulders, neither flinching. Michelob bottles exploding against century-old headstones. Five-finger discounts and escaping into crosswalks and the sedan, the siren and the shroud.