Days continued to pass endlessly. I didn't know what to do with my life after that. I didn't want to keep living; I was exhausted, but I could never take my own life. I knew my mother would be disappointed in me, and I wouldn't be able to look at her when we met again. So I just sit here waiting for death to come.

I needed something to help me pass the time, but what?

After work one night I missed the train home, the sun had gone down. The street lights flickered, and flashing signs illuminated the sidewalks. The world looks very different in the dark.

I didn't really have a destination; I was just walking, lost in my own thoughts. I barely noticed the cars driving by and the people walking past. Before long, I was lost, but the world kept moving around me.

I wasn't sure if I should quit being a police officer but what else would I do? I needed money to pay my bills and buy food. I let out a long drawn out sigh.

As I stopped walking, I thought I heard a scream in the distance. It wasn't the scream of a few drunken idiots mucking around; it was a chilling scream of distress.

I picked up the pace as I made my way towards it, and as the screams continued, I began to run.

The alleyway I ran down was dimly lit and it was hard to see. The screams had gone quiet but this was the spot I heard them coming from.

In the distance up ahead, I could make out a tall figure looming over something on the ground. As I told them to freeze and drew my weapon, the perpetrator bolted. As I approached, I saw it was a woman lying on the ground.

She was badly beaten to the point that her face was hardly recognizable. Her white dress was soaked red with blood, and her shoes had fallen off her feet. I leaned down to check for a pulse when her hand tugged at my coat. She was trying to tell me something.

"Save.. me," her voice was hoarse and barely audible.

Her tiny hand didn't let go of my sleeve, her fingers bruised and broken, holding onto life with all the strength she had left.

For the first time in my life, I heard my heart thump.

I considered chasing down the assailant, but I couldn't leave. I held her hand tightly and told her she was safe, although I didn't even believe the empty words I was trying to comfort her with. I doubted she would survive the night.