A Memory In The Night

Gold Stream:

A Memory In The Night

The smell of smoke and gunpowder lingered in the air, not visible against the dark, starless sky. The flashing lights of red and blue lit up the night, revealing even the darkest of corners. It was cold, the chilly wind pricked at my skin like an invisible cactus. My body was shaking with excitement, and at the same time sorrow. On the ground was a black blanket that slowly stained red. I was fifteen at the time, but that didn’t make a difference because nothing could prepare me for the actions just played before me.  A scene that I will always remember, always referring to. Still trying to contemplate what just happened, I started to think back on what just went down.

It was just another quiet day at the store. My mom was doing the lottery, hitting numbers using a worn out pencil eraser. Tap! Tap! Tap! for several minutes at a time. An old couple were hoping to support their grand children, faces worn, wrinkled and sagging with age. I was on the computer doing what I usually do. Checking FaceBook, reading the news, and chilling out. It was a nice day outside, the sun was setting, with a vibrant orange in the sky. I had turned and smiled when I heard the old couples dreams of supporting their grand children. Suddenly, loud noises came from outside the facility, sounding like fireworks that had smacked the ground pretty hard. Running to the window I peered out to see two cops bloodied, both faces grimaced in pain, with guns drawn towards their apparent assailant. The assailant was backing up into a green chevy, sweat dripping down his face, gun drawn. His eyes were shaking as if a mini earthquake were happening in his head. It was clear that he had gone mad.

Suddenly, the whole area was surrounded. The sound of tires skidding against the road. Ambulances, cop cars, and undercover cops all pulled over securing the perimeter. All of the cops opening their doors, gun drawn pointed toward the gunman simultaneously, each ready to pull the trigger if the need be. Paramedics moved in on the two wounded officers. They were shaking hard, trying their best to remain oblivious of the gunmen a couple of feet way from them. Groans of pain could be heard as the downed officers were moved onto the stretcher. Blood was already soaking through the stretcher. They had left a bloody pool at where they had been downed. The sight was engraved into my mine. Burned deep into my soul like freshly branded cow.

I had started to back away, my body shaking with fear and excitement, my mind racing. My mom had left her post and asked what was wrong, her tone indicated that she was already aware of the situation. After recounting to my mom what I had seen, more pops were heard just a couple feet outside the window. It sounded as if fifty fireworks had gone off at once, but it slowly dawned to me what had happened. Looking up, the green chevy pickup looked like a cheese grater instead of a truck. Smoking bullet holes were seen at the driver side door where the gunman had barricaded himself. A hand could be seen reaching up from the bottom of the door within.

It all happen so fast. I sat there watching everything and inspecting every element as an artist would his work. My mom was long gone, but I never noticed. Just then, a black figure walked in from the right side of my view. They called him the “Negotiator”. His face was a rock, his skin complexion was a light tan. He was a big fellow, wearing heavily padded armor with what looked like a assault rifle in his hand, as squinting in concentration. He walked up to the green chevy. After some talking with the man, the negotiator ran back, his face stricken at what he just heard. He ran back screaming “GET BACK, EVERYONE GET BACK!, THERE HAS BEEN A BOMB THREAT”

I almost ran from my spot at the window,which was a couple feet from the alleged bomb but something kept my feet firmly planted on the floor I stood on. Out of nowhere, SWAT came. They were dressed in the same fashion as the Negotiator. They moved up and took point behind a patrol car. Just then, Police Commissioner Ramzi was seen giving orders to SWAT. He was a chubby fellow. His uniform heavily studded with badges of honor reflecting the red and blue lights from the cop cars. Suddenly SWAT started to move. Slowly, at a snails pace, they walked up to the green car. I turned around to see my family just as awestruck as I was. “EVERYONE GET DOWN!” blasted through the night. BOOM! A bright flash was seen outside the window. All our ears popped. After a couple of minutes, everyone got up and looked outside the window again. The sight wasn’t pretty.

SWAT was dragging out a body which was badly mutilated. Covered head to toe in blood, with what seemed to be several bullet holes in his body. He was bright pink in some spots, and dark red in other spots. This man was pretty tall, and proved an easy target for the police to shoot at. He was laid on the street next to the car, and a black blanket was placed over him. Many camera flashes went off to take pictures of the scene as the forensics team moved in.

I ran to my computer to go check the news. A helicopter had been at the scene and captured everything, but for the publics sake, showed none of the shooting. From helicopter view, I could see my house right next to the scene. I was so excited that my house was on the news, but that quickly died when I realized it was for all the wrong reasons. Five minutes later, I refreshed the page, to find out that the two officers that were wounded from the gunmen were in good condition at a local hospital. Then I went back to the window again.

The smell of smoke and gunpowder lingered in the air, not visible against the dark, starless sky. The flashing lights of red and blue lit up the night, revealing even the darkest of corners. What seemed like hours took only about 45 minutes. I walked into my room and prepared for sleep. As I laid there in bed, I wondered if something where to happen to me when I went later. I started to hesitate, wondering how unsafe my area is. Here I thought that I was in my own little protect bubble, but this bubble was ready to burst whenever I walk outside my sanctuary of a house. It was ready to burst from a single gunshot. Building up courage, I went to sleep preparing myself for the next day.