Psycho Pop Playhouse Prologue

The panicked man’s black boots slammed down on the cement, splashing in puddles created by the harsh rain.

A duffel bag he carried weighed him down, making him to tire faster. The suspect could hear my high-heeled footsteps echoing close behind him. I heard him breathing harder the longer we ran through the dark Las Vegas streets. Sirens wailed in the distance. But the cornered man still surged forward.

“Agent Crow, Suspect in pursuit. He is mid-thirties, 6 foot, and Native American. He is wearing all black and carrying a green duffle bug” I huffed into the silver walkie-talkie. “Location is East Desert Inn Road. Suspect is carrying stolen wares.” I rounded a corner and collided into a trash can, dropping the communication device. Without stopping, I continued tailing the man. We were Predator and Prey. Cat and Mouse. Or in reality, Cop and Criminal.

The chase almost ended as he stumbled. At this moment I launched myself onto him and knocked him to the cold, rain soaked cement. His forehead glistened with perspiration. He grabbed my hair with his arm and jabbed me in the gut. Tearing me off him, he snatched up his bag and darted away.

Staggering, I found my breath. This is how my nights go, a 18-year-old undercover, catching criminals from dusk till dawn. But this was not a normal night for me. This was a life changing game of tag. And I was it. Finding new energy I rushed after the jewelry thief at a full sprint.

The suspect rounded a corner, and I lost sight of him. Heart hammering, I hurried after him. The chilling rain pelted down like bullets. Racing around the corner, I entered a narrow alleyway. I could see the man farther down, he was tiring fast and substantially slower. It looked like this chase was drawing to a close.

The man noticed me gaining on him in the alleyway and panicked. His feet shot out at odd angles as he focused solely on escape. The suspect screamed and pulled out an object from his duffel bag. It was black and glistened under the lamplights.

The alley swerved right and opened into the streets. I picked up speed and burst out the alleyway. As I rushed into the streets, a black handgun came out from my right and slammed itself into my head. I flew down in a heap of arms and legs.

I jerked up and froze. The barrel of the gun was being pointed at my chest. The man had no reason to pull the trigger, however, for my heart had already stopped cold. My attacker’s entire body shook. His breathing was shallow, but the hand that held the gun was steady and poised like a ballerina.

My body froze, unable to move. I tried to call out. Nothing, there was no sound at all. And yet I became conscious of everything around me. There was a man watching us in a shop window talking rapidly on the phone. A cat hid under a trash can nearby in fear. My palms were clammy and cold. My stomach froze.

My body shook harder then a leaf and I was starting to sweat despite being drenched by the icey rain. I saw the man before me. I saw his dark jacket. I saw his desperate face. I saw his calloused hands from years of hard work. I saw his tired body. I saw his old ripped jeans and his panicked eyes.

My thoughts raced so fast I could barely distinguish them. I saw my family, my parents, my accomplishments, my life, my flaws, and the choice I had to make.

Did I run? Did I stay? Did I try to hide? Did I try to fight? My mind seem to crash. It went from hyperactive to inactive. The man sped up as if in fast forward. Then halted to a crawl, like someone had filmed him in slow motion. Then, the world ceased to make sense.

Thump. My heartbeat was the only measurement of time.

Thump. I could feel a sudden burning pain in my thigh, like lava coursing though my veins. I screamed. Thump. Thump. I couldn’t hear anything but a low buzzing sound. Thump. Another burning sensation in my side. My entire body felt like it was melting in lava. Thump. Thump. Thump. Any second now my skin would peel off the bone and I would die. Thump.

Now I knew I had to be screaming. I couldn’t hear it, but my throat was coarse. Thump. My body moved like a puppet, it twitched and clawed, but I had no control over its movements. I wasn’t in control. Thump. I felt an ice cold object against my temple. Thump.

There was a piecing gunshot. It echoed in the alley behind us. I screamed, a hoarse high pitched sound. It was a distant sound, like an echo. The bubble that surrounded me up until that moment popped.

The Native American man cursed. I looked up, and the world was in slow motion. Headlights blinded me, The sound of sirens blared as the red and blue lights flashed like a rave party. The lights silhouetted the man grasping his gun. The shadow of an arm extended towards the injured man. As if offering help.

A second gunshot rang out. The man jerked in an unnatural way, and collapsed. Falling slowly, like a piece of paper. The arm disappeared in a blinding light. Several black silhouettes started towards me. They moved sluggishly, almost as if they were running in sand. I heard a shoat as my burning back hit the chilled floor. My vision spun. And the blinding light faded to black. I drifted out into a sea of cold darkness.