Turning Some Heads

John kept thinking about his luck as he clutched the shiny gray gun in his hand. One day the nondescript box containing the gun and a short message appeared in his post box.

"You've been given this gun to do with what you wish. We wish you luck."

At first John dismissed it as just a toy and a simple prank, considering how much like it looked like of those space guns one would find in the kids' section of any store. However, John pulled the trigger for fun's sake and was taken aback by the beam and bright light that emitted from it. Luckily, the target of the gun didn't seem any worse for the wear but at the very least, it seemed to be just a bit more than a toy.

Who gave up the gun to John? Aliens? The military? Mad scientists? He wasn't sure, but he also wasn't too bothered by it either. There were various buttons and settings on the gun that seemed to change the intensity or color of the beam. Still, all his targets being inanimate, no matter the beam, there seemed to be no real effect after each test fire. At first he was very cautious with his gun, only firing it in secret with no one in sight, but one day he didn't realize one of his neighbors working in the yard while he was firing the gun. The neighbor seemed to pay no mind to his shots, so at the very least, John had a stealth gun, despite it being clearly visible to the gun holder.

With his overly curious nature taking over, John decided to stop experimenting on the various inanimate targets at home and wondered what a live human subject would bring to the party if they were hit with the gun.

Finding a spot in the center of a nearby park, John settled on his bench and took stock of the people around him enjoying their day. No one would think twice about him sitting there taking a look around, even with his gun in hand. At worst, people would wonder why John was sitting there with a toy gun, but at least no one would consider him a danger.

It was a busy day, full of people taking advantage of the great weather. Joggers taking a run, couples and families laying out on picnic mats, and other people on their own doing a variety of things, like talking on the phone, reading a book, or just zoning out for a few moments. There were a wide variety of targets that John was confident he could fire a beam at without being noticed.