Part 1 - The Alley

The walls of the alley pressed in on both sides of me, blocking even the meager light of the sickly, ebbing moon. All around me I could hear the din of the city; the distant, incoherent sounds washing over me like the muttering of a madman. The night air was still, broken only by intermittent gusts of wind. They blew through the alley and their sighing was the death-rattle of this corrupt and decaying metropolis.

My body was numb, and my thoughts were dimmed. Each step I took was like a dull thudding in my mind. The shape of the man in front of me, the man I was following deeper into the alley, was a vague outline in the dark. Only one thing seemed real in that alley: the weight of the gun hidden in my jacket pocket, a weight that threatened to pull me down into the darkness I was struggling to stay afloat in. Its insistent downward tug was the only thing rooting me to this place, this time, this reality.

Ahead of me the man shaped shadow was beginning to slow down. I fought through the haze clouding my thoughts and vision, and forced Rory back into focus. I could see his mouth moving, but couldn't hear what he was saying. My heart was pounding, and the sound was deafening in my ears. The world seemed to slow and shutter as I reached for my gun. My hand wrapped around the cool wood of the handle and I carefully leveled the gun at Rory's head. His mouth still moved, talking endlessly. His arms gestured excitedly and he began to turn. I watched his eyes with a burning intensity, letting the rest of the world fade as I locked onto those two glimmering globes slowly turning towards me and the gun. As his gaze finally landed on the gun I relished how the spark of recognition gave way to fear and confusion as he realized what was happening. At that moment the only thing I hated more than Rory was the fact that I couldn't savor the look in his eyes any longer.

I pulled the trigger and all at once I was alone in the alley, alone with Rory's corpse. I was already walking away by the time his body hit the ground. I could hear siren's in the distance; despite all the evils of this city violent crime was till rare enough to yield a quick response. It didn't really matter though, I would be the time they got here. I had had the foresight to leave the car at the entrance to the alley.

I blinked as I reached the end of the alley and stepped into the pool of light from the streetlamps above. The car was sitting where I had left it and my escape was assured. I got into the car and started to drive. I had no destination other than "away from here." As I steadily put mile after mile between myself and the alley I could feel the past seven years slipping away. As I left the city I turned on the radio, and for the first time since this mess began, I smiled.