Yesterday's Gone: Season Three (THE POST-APOCALYPTIC SERIAL THRILLER)

twice more.
    Both bullets found their mark and the bottles shattered.
    Paola’s eyes widened and she jumped up and down, squealing. Boricio was whooping and hollering and congratulating Paola, while still managing to keep the morning PG-rated, which was probably why Mary, standing behind them both, was smiling at Boricio, for maybe the first time ever.
    Boricio finished reloading the gun — Luca always forgot what their different numbers were called, though he thought it might have been a .45 — when he handed it back to Paola then spun to find the source of the sudden growl he heard behind him.
    Before Luca managed to turn his head, Boricio said, “Who left the gate open?”
    But Boricio didn’t ask like he was mad. It was a soft question, said in a soft voice. Mary and Paola said, “Not me” together.
    “I did,” Luca said, turning to see what the other three already had — the biggest dog Luca, or maybe anyone in the whole world, had ever seen. It was larger than Paola and almost bigger than Boricio.
    It looked like a wolf, but larger than any wolf Luca had ever seen on TV or in a movie. It was dark gray — having a coat so filthy it was almost black — with teeth that looked like knives. The dogs lips were curled high enough to see the black skin meeting between them.
    The dog’s heavy snarl rumbled through the backyard, and nobody dared move for fear of alarming the beast.
    Boricio stepped to the front of the group as Luca stared, slowly stepping back toward Paola.
    Mary looked over at Boricio. “What are you thinking?” she whispered, looking Boricio up and down as if she were trying to figure him out.
    Boricio said, “I’m thinking that I’ve not seen more than a half dozen dogs that I can think of in one half of a beer-battered bullshit of a year, and that right now I’m staring at one that’s bigger than three of King Kong’s big swinging cock sacks put together.” Still speaking softly, Boricio added, “And my agreement to keep shit PG is null and fucking void when Paul Bunyan’s Cujo is in our yard.”
    The dog remained still, but its growl grew louder.
    “You’re gonna have to shoot the dog, okay honey?” Boricio said, cocking his head slightly toward Paola, who was maybe 15 feet away from Boricio, and therefore unable to simply hand him the gun.
    Luca could only stare at the back of Paola’s lightly swaying head as she whimpered three feet in front of him. “I can’t,” she squeaked.
    “You can,” Boricio said calmly, “because you have to, okay?”
    Luca couldn’t believe it, but Boricio’s voice was almost soothing. Adding to the disbelief, he said, “You can do it, Sweetheart,” then kept speaking in that same soothing voice, his eyes on the unmoving dog while he made all his words for Paola.
    “Look at how he’s standing, agitated, high on all fours, head straight like he was pledging allegiance to Lassie, back raised like it’s a second from launch.” Boricio’s head barely twitched, like he wanted to gesture more but knew he couldn’t. “And see how his tail’s sticking straight out? If dogs are as scared of us as we are of them — like stupid people say — then their tails are tucked between their legs. But that tail right there is about as straight as a pecker on prom night.”
    Paola whimpered again. “I can’t …” she shook her head. “I just can’t do it.”
    Boricio drew a deep breath, kept his eye on the beast, then said. “Look at his eyes, Paola. See how they’re centered on us, especially me? I break contact and that great big bear of a dog is gonna be on me like flies on a morning pile. So I need you to pull the trigger, Sweetie, and I need you to do it right fucking now.
    “I can’t.”
    Boricio snarled, and for a second Luca was sure he was gonna turn around and yank the gun from Paola. But then the dog snarled back and Boricio must’ve figured she was standing too far away to get the gun before the dog was on top of him.
    Mary said, “Paola honey, it’s okay. Just pull the trigger.”
    The gun still at her side, Paola said, “What if I miss? He’ll kill us all.”
    Boricio said, “Then just don’t miss.”
    Mary said, “We’re dead for sure if you don’t try.”
    The gun shook at her side. She tried to raise it but whimpered instead.
    The giant dog snarled, then roared. Boricio held his gaze but the dog leapt at him anyway. Paola’s fingers stayed as frozen as her eyes were wide.
    With no clue what he was doing,