Dead

I'm in a car with my brother. An impression of a man is at the wheel. The end of a chase. We're pulled over. I see a body get out from the car behind us in my side-mirror; I open my door and step out onto the shoulder of the highway. A harvest moon spreads a thin orange layer over the evening sky. I smile. I'm not upset getting caught. He's holding a pistol and looks like nothing. I kneel at the edge of the ditch and the man walks towards me. He puts the pistol against my head. I clench my teeth, and when he fires I feel only the cool metal leave my temple. No pain. There is no sound. I crumple forward into the ditch, my ear to the soil. Not much is different dead. Maybe I'm not there yet. An ant crawls in front of my eye carrying a crumb. I feel a weight slam against the back of my legs.