Mirror Me

11: Shattered Glass Everywhere- SERGEANT BECKER

Hours earlier...

A police car arrived on the east side of the rundown office buildings situated on the corner of Halbert Street and Pennington Ave. Reporting from the sidewalk, a horde of newscasters stood by detailing the latest breaking news.

"Janus Springs is normally a quiet neighborhood with little action... except today. Around 3:45 PM an explosion rocked the abandoned Francis & Kyle Law building to its core shattering all the windows and filling residents yards with broken glass. No injuries reported yet and no word on the cause."

Behind the camera danced a growing crowd of spectators eagerly stretching their necks to get a glimpse of the juicy scoop beyond the yellow tape. A squad car's red and blue flashing lights reflected off a glass littered ground, beaming in and out like glow sticks at a rave party.

"Sergeant Becker," said the officer to the man exiting the police car, "it is good that you are finally here."

"Yes, yes," said Segreant Becker surveying the scene. He presented himself professionally with a clean shaven jaw and slicked back hair curving around his ears. A small mole poked out under his left eye. A news station camera turned in his direction along with the newscaster. Becker twisted away and whispered to the officer. "We should move before the local news starts asking the hard questions."

"Follow me," said the officer. "I'll take you to the scene and brief you along the way. Though in all honesty, I can't make out heads or tails of what happened here."

The two walked under the police tape, away from the news vultures, and into a dead end alley between the two buildings. With each step their boots crunched on the glass.

"So what do we know?" asked Sergeant Becker.

"We know for a fact that a few hours ago residents nearby heard a loud crash and saw a flash of light coming from this abandoned complex. One might say it was a bolt of lightning, but none were reported in the area. The same goes for any evidence of a bomb. One resident that was walking his dog witnessed a 'greasy un-kept fellow' flee the scene with a green backpack in his arms. He was screaming hysterically as though he had gone mad with fright."

"Have we questioned this greasy fellow?"

"No, sir," said the officer. "We have been unable to locate him."

"Hmm," said Becker pushing shards of glass with his shoe. "So we have a hysterical man and a mysterious explosion with enough force to shatter every window in a block radius but not powerful enough to disturb the dust inside the building." Becker squatted down and ran his finger across the dust covered floor. "All the windows exploded outward. Curious." He stood up and nodded at the officer. "What's your name, young man?"

"Greyson, Officer Greyson, sir," said the officer. "I just joined a week ago."

"Alright, Officer Greyson, I think it is time you tell me everything you know."

"But I did, sir," said Greyson. Becker gave the young man a stern look. "Well...maybe there is uh one other thing that we found that has us all spooked. But, sir, it's...strange. Something out of fiction."

"Reality is often stranger than fiction," said Becker sarcastically. "Show me."

Officer Greyson took Sergeant Becker to the end of the alleyway. A single pane of glass remained. Greyson pointed his flashlight at the window.

"So one survived, undamaged," said Becker crouching down and tapping the glass. "And all the ones around it shattered to tiny pieces. What made this one so special?"

Greyson walked behind it.

"It's like the Twilight Zone or the X Files, Sergeant," he said standing back as Becker inspected the glass. His hands shook in fear. "Just watch, sir." Greyson shone his flashlight through the glass. Becker gasped and ran his hand over the smooth surface.

"What in God's name..."