Estranged [Completed]

Sacrifices

Kalei tried to ignore the shouts that echoed in the back of her mind. Estranged... She could still see those black-nailed fingers closing around her father's arm...

"Excuse me, ma'am. If you aren't doing anything tonight, we are holding a memorial to remember those lost on E-day. There will be a live performance from-"

Kalei pulled out of her reverie and realized a young man in a nice pair of jeans and a button-up shirt was trying to push a pamphlet into her hand. She barked, "I'm on duty. Bug off."

His eyebrows jumped slightly, but he moved off to find another victim.

"Lost on E-day..." The kid's word choice was spot on. They couldn't exactly say, "Died on E-day," when half the victims still lived Downtown. They might as well be dead, though. Better to just finish them off and be done with it.

A car horn blared, and once again Kalei's attention was dragged to the present. From where she stood, leaning against the bank on Fifth and State, she couldn't identify the source of the horn in the mid-day traffic jam. The tendency of the encroaching skyscrapers to amplify and distort sounds annoyed her. Then again, everything annoyed her today.

Marley laughed and smacked her on the shoulder. "Sleeping on the job, Officer Distrad?"

Kalei ignored him for a moment, pushing off the building and scanning the crowd clogging the sidewalk. Professionals in suits, tourists with cameras, fanatics handing out pamphlets, fashionistas prancing along in their stilettos... for all appearances, it looked like just another day on Fifth. But she could easily spot the locals in the crowd, the anniversary weighing heavily on every one of them. Whether it showed in the slump of their shoulders, or the grim cast to their eyes, the screams of the past rang in everyone's ears today.

Kalei replied, "Sleeping on the job? Eh, no more than usual."

She finally looked at Marley, a fairly short figure, rounded at the edges, but not fat. Marley harbored an impressive collection of muscle beneath that soft exterior. Once, she had seen him throw down a man twice his size, just to make a point to the rest of the bar: don't fuck with police officers.

Marley let the smile that always lurked behind his eyes break out, making his round face light up. "It's no wonder SWORDE doesn't want to hire a slacker like you."

"Is that so? Well, I'm not too worried. A numbskull like you isn't going to be promoted anytime soon. At least I'll have good company."

Marley laughed again. Kalei wondered if he was trying to be extra cheerful to make up for her sour mood. "C'mon, Slacker. We're supposed to be on patrol."

The pair made their way down the sidewalk, cutting through the indifferent crowd. The day was unusually warm and sunny. Between the shimmering skyscrapers, Kalei spotted a narrow strip of bright, clear blue sky. The weather was much too nice for E-day. For once, Kalei was grateful for the perpetual gloom down on the streets. Even so, her hands sweltered in their black polyester gloves. Regulations stated she had to wear them at all times, but she didn't see what good it did to wear gloves when her short sleeves left the rest of her arm exposed. She was about to say as much when her radio went off next to her ear. "Estranged event reported at Sixth and Elm. Local units, please respond."

Kalei grabbed her radio and replied, "Officers Distrad and Douglas on our way, current location Fifth and State."

Kalei got the rest of the details over the radio as they ran: suspected Estranged, a young white female, small grocery store, shots had been fired.

The once-indifferent crowd of commuters and tourists stopped to watch Kalei and Marley run past. Kalei ignored them, focusing on the path ahead, dodging those pedestrians who didn't hear her shouts to get out of the way.