Rate of fire, explosive yields or energy settings were almost infinitely adjustable based on color shade.The energy round created a particle beam. Thi... was basically an ultra high energy beam of atoms moving near the speed of light capable of inflicting incredible damage on a target.Explosive rounds were plasma based. It was actually a two phased weapon when used in atmosphere. First a particle beam was fired that "cleared a path" through the air, which was immediately followed by the plasma. .. But I found myself picturing Brian at the beach. It is a new riverside park built up with tons of dredged sand from downstream where our river meets the sea. It’s very popular on warm days. I imagined Brian in the cool water up to his hips and I saw myself in a slinky bathing costume lying there propped on my elbows looking down the length of my body at him out there staring back at me.I had a lewd smile on my lips as I moved my legs lasciviously, enjoying the thought that he was cooling his. His mother even said that even if he found a hole and hid there for three days, he would be able to pass if he survived for three days without needing her to save him.Unfortunately, he only survived for twelve hours, luck was not on his side. Two wolves bumped into him in the middle of the night, and while shielding his head, his left hand was ripped off. He was bitten in the thigh and belly before his mother appeared to save him.She took care of him and healed his wounds, but Lucas still. Six miles below us the world either slept or struggled as the case may be, beneath a thick blanket of snow. In hushed whispers, we spoke of our lives, our children and of increasingly difficult marriages. It’s interesting how total strangers often share the most intimate details of their lives, almost as though anonymity offered them safety from unkind judgments. Lucile had held a job while her husband finished college and began his career as a landscape architect. She set her career in nursing.