Rosie stared at the playground with her mouth open. She should move, do something, but what she was witnessing had her glued to the kitchen counter. Kids were jumping out of the swings and popping out of existence.
Rosie was a U.S. Army officer’s wife, but not just any officer’s wife. She was Captain David Reever’s wife, Army Corps of Engineer’s mastermind that had developed the new system of construction allowing for the hasty deployment and set-up of a special, air-droppable habitat called the Rapid Deployable Helicoil Support Habitation System, or RDHSHS for short.
Soldiers called it the Radish.
Rosie thought it actually looked more like a turnip, but she was just a dumb Army wife that was supposed to stay home, raise kids and worship her husband in his career. She wasn’t bitter though. She also was expected to be level-headed under all circumstances as a Captain’s wife.
Pop. Another kid vanished.
Timmy, her own little swing-popper, ran to the gym set and yelled out something to his older sister, Tabitha, just before mounting one of the horrible contraptions. He was going to swing.
Pushing off from the counter and spinning out the back door in one fluid motion, Rosie vaulted the back fence and hurled down the hill toward the playground, screaming at the kids. Tabitha saw her mother coming and reacted just as expected: she raced towards the next empty swing.
“No! Get off!” Rosie screamed, waving her arms as she ran.
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