PHANTOM

I

It was black. Pitch black. There was faint, muffled sound that was almost drowned out by a sharp ringing. Slowly, the sound became more clear. A familiar voice called out in what seemed like fear.
"Ramirez! Ramirez! Officer down, I repeat, officer down!" As the voice spoke, becoming clearer and clearer, faint sirens began to approach. "Ramirez, stay with me! Ramirez!" The voice continued. Little by little, the black void began to reveal a blurry scene. Someone knelt over Ramirez. The figure would frantically make eye contact and dart his attention to his left as he continued to yell out. "Ramirez!" The sirens got louder, the scene becoming clear. Before Ramirez could fully comprehend the scenario that was before him, the figure, who continued to yell at him, lunged his upper body towards him. "HECTOR!!!"

Ramirez bolted upright, engulfed in sweat, hand over his heart as his panicked breathing continued, slowly descending into steady breathing before looking around the room. As reality gently grasped him, he wiped his face miserably and rotated his lower half off the bed, his feet touching the cold hardwood floor. In front of him was the bathroom door. He could see the light creeping out from under the door. His wife must've gotten up not too long before him. He looked over at his nightstand and saw the alarm clock reading 6:50 AM. He stood up from the bed and walked towards the bedroom door carefully, as to not make any noise. He creaks the door open to leave for the kitchen. Pouring himself a glass of water, he couldn't help but play back that awful nightmare in his head. Most people forget their nightmares or dreams almost immediately after they wake up. But not Ramirez.

His wife would make herself known by turning on the light. Having still been zoned out, the sudden change of lighting startled him. "You're up early. You get called in?" She spoke softly. "No. Just... couldn't sleep." He responded, matching her tone of voice, the light bass in his words making it a bit difficult to understand him, but not too difficult. She assumed it had to have been another dream, but she didn't ask or push him about it. She was almost certain he'd like to forget about it rather than talk about it.. at least for right now. "Did you want a glass?" He gently offered, walking toward the cabinet that stored their cups. She shook her head and began to yawn. "No, thank you. I'm about to make my coffee anyways." He nods and closes the cabinet. He looks to his left, down a hallway. He walks down to the end and to his right, a door in his path. Cautiously, he opens it to check in on his son, David. Sound asleep. This managed to get Hector to smile a bit. Because he almost always worked midnight shifts, it was rare for him to see David before he went to school. He gently closed the door as to not wake up David. As he smoothly walked back to the kitchen, he heard his wife turn on the TV. She caught the news just in time to see the traffic report and the weather segment. After that, it would just remain morning background noise.

A distant alarm clock went off. Ramirez turned to the oven clock to see the time read 7:15 AM. As his wife grabbed her coffee and made her way down the hall, David could be heard blindly fumbling for the snooze button which resulted with the clock being knocked over, somehow making the clock quiet. She would gently come in and turn on his light. Hector retreated to the bedroom and made his way to the bathroom. He took a good look at himself and took a deep breath, closing his eyes in the process. The scent of lavender treaded lightly. His nerves settled. And serenity was in his grasp. Of course, this feeling wouldn't last forever, but this was his time to bask in this feeling before inevitably going into work. Ever since that night, it's been hard to go there... even to this day.

He ran some warm water that would soon rain upon him, hoping it would cleanse him of the awful dream. He could faintly hear David and his wife conversing as she was getting him ready for school. It mostly pertained to whatever dream he had or what he'd be learning in school today.
When he emerged from the shower, he heard his phone go off. After wrapping a towel around himself, he checked his phone to find a text from his fellow officer, Diaz.

P. DIAZ: How're you holding up?

H. RAMIREZ: Well enough. You?

P. DIAZ: Can't complain over here.

H. RAMIREZ: What watch are you on?

P. DIAZ: Second. You?
H. RAMIREZ: Same here.

P. DIAZ: Dinner after? On me.

H. RAMIREZ: Sounds like a plan.

P. DIAZ: You bringing the family?

H. RAMIREZ: That would be nice.
Haven't had a good night out in a while.

P. DIAZ: Let's make it one to remember, hermano.

H. RAMIREZ: Órale. You know where
you wanna go?

P. DIAZ: Steakhouse?

H. RAMIREZ: 👍🏼

P. DIAZ: Right on. See you soon, hermano.

H. RAMIREZ: Take care.

By the time the conversation wrapped up, Ramirez was already dressed. However, he was always prepared in case he would ever get called in earlier than expected. A rare occurrence but it's always best to play it safe. Ramirez would step outside the room to see David all ready for school. "Mijo!" He'd say with excitement. David turned and smiled wide as he sprinted toward him, giving him a hug. "Daddy!" Ramirez chuckled as he was nearly knocked over by the impact. "You brush your teeth?" David nodded. "Open." Ramirez added. David complied, showing off his teeth. "Good job. You're getting better." David giggled hearing his fathers approval of his teeth brushing skills. María had come from the bedroom dressed for work. "Amor, I'm running late. Can you take him?" "Of course, I'll take him no problem." "Gracias, mi amor." Ramirez and María would share a kiss. "Bye, mijo." She knelt down and kissed his forehead. "Have a good day at school, okay?" David nodded and hugged María. She would leave for work shortly after. "You all ready to go? Notebooks? Folders? Snack? Lunch?" David nodded as Ramirez went through a checklist of items. "Then let's go!" Ramirez picked him up and carried him out of the house, closing and locking the door behind him.

Ramirez hadn't noticed that he had left his phone behind. It lay on the bed where he had left it. The phone would receive another text from Diaz.

P. DIAZ: Ramirez.

P. DIAZ: Chief just called me in. He said he can't get ahold of you.

P. DIAZ: Someone's asking for you, hermano.