The Blackened Journal

Unfortunately I have to head to bed early tonight, so I can't get anything written; Whiskey phase of training starts tomorrow so I need my rest. I still wanted to put something up here, so I'm posting an excerpt from a story I'm working on titled "The Blackened Journal." Enjoy!

Marek ducked behind the old soda machine as the man he had been tailing stopped at a rundown town house and sunk himself into his sweat jacket before knocking at the door. Marek peeked out from his concealed location and snapped a few photos of the man as someone answered the door. From his location, Marek couldn’t make out what the two men were talking about, but he could see the man at the door pull out a badge; he was an officer from the city. After some yelling the door was slammed in the officer’s face.  He scanned the area to be sure he was alone, then withdrew what appeared to be an M9 with a silencer attached from the pocket of his jacket. After scanning the area once more, he kicked in the door and stepped in. A flash could be seen, followed by a blood curdling scream, then another flash. The building fell silent. Marek quickly ran up to the side of the building, readied his camera, and peered in through a broken window. The officer from outside was rummaging through the pockets of his victim who was laying limp on the floor. Marek again began to photograph the gruesome scene. The officer threw his findings into a bag and began searching the area for anything else he could find. Suddenly he stopped dead in his tracks. He slowly began creeping towards the broken window where Marek was hiding. As he neared the window, suddenly the floor upstairs creaked. The officer quickly turned and ran up the stairs to the second floor. Marek pulled back from the window and looked to a fire escape to his right. After debating with himself for a moment, he quickly climbed the escape and hid himself beside the upstairs window.  Inside he could again see the officer, floating silently around the room, searching. He walked up to an old decaying closet door. Quiet whimpering could be heard within. The officer threw the door open revealing a man and woman huddled together on the ground. The woman was crying and praying quietly with the man holding her in his arms. The officer readied his weapon and fired three shots; two into the man and one into the woman. Marek photographed the scene. The man fell limp on the spot while the woman writhed and pleaded on the floor. As the officer again took aim, Marek snapped another photograph. His camera’s flash went off, filling the room with a blinding light. The officer turned quickly to the window. Marek stood, frozen with fear, locked into the killers eyes. Just as the weapon was raised, this time on Marek, he found himself able to move again. Snapping one final picture he retreated down the fire escape as rounds met the metal railings just behind him. As he reached the ground and ran back down the empty street, the officer emerged from the front door. He loaded another clip into his silenced weapon and quickly unloaded it at Marek who was too now too far for the man to get an accurate shot. Marek rounded the corner into an alleyway and secured the bicycle he had left before. He took off as quickly as he could, and never looked back.