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instinct melted away.
    The sound of a police siren blaring behind me was followed by blinding light and a familiar voice shouting. I jerked away to look over my shoulder and saw Officer Turner approaching.
    I was happy he had survived, but if he wasn’t already suspicious of me, he had more than enough reason to be now.
    Regaining a lucid state, I turned back around, but the mysterious swordsman was gone. If not for the headlights of Officer Turner’s car illuminating the dark alley, I wouldn’t have noticed the cop’s latest injuries. His nose was bloody and quite possibly broken.
    “What happened to you?” I asked, still anxious to leave the area as soon as possible.
    “Where’s the officer that took you here?” he asked, successfully countering my question with a better one of his own.
    “Down by the water.” I pointed in the direction of the massacre.
    “Is he dead?” I was a little surprised he jumped to that conclusion.
    “Yes, but for the record, I didn’t do it,” I answered frantically. “Some guy with two swords killed a whole bunch of people, including the sergeant. We have to leave or he’s going to kill us too.”
    Officer Turner looked completely desensitized, most likely from shock. “Take me to the sergeant.”
    “We’re going to die! How did you know where I would be anyway?” I asked.
    “Police GPS told me where the sergeant’s car was parked,” he explained. “I spotted you without him, so I assumed the worst.”
    “The worst for who, me or him?”
    “There was no reason for him to be all the way down here,” he continued. “If there was trouble he would have called it in to dispatch, unless he was already dead.”
    “Not to push my luck, but it sounds like you think I killed the sergeant and stole his car, so why aren’t you arresting me?” Jail might really be the better option at this point. At least I’d be safe there.
    “If there is a dead body where you’re taking me, then we’ll talk about arrest.” I wasn’t sure I followed his logic, but he definitely knew something he wasn’t saying.
    The police cruiser was just how I had left it, but something wasn’t right. The pile of men’s suits was gone, as was the officer’s corpse. There wasn’t any blood or signs of a struggle, not that it was much of a struggle to begin with.
    I was expecting to be questioned about the disappearing evidence, but instead Officer Turner took out his flashlight and began investigating the area.
    “They were right here, I don’t understand.” I swore to myself.
    I began to search with him. Not that I wanted to find a dead body, but more to make sure I hadn’t lost my sanity yet.
    “Let’s go,” he said after finishing his search of the sergeant’s car and recovering his empty gun.
    “You seem like you were anticipating this.” Now I was starting to become suspicious of him.
    “The only thing I knew for certain was that it was going to be something weird,” he answered as we made our way back to his car.
    “So, you aren’t going to arrest me?”
    “No reason to yet. Get in and I’ll explain.”
    We sat in silence for a minute as he drove us out to Eleventh Avenue. I looked out the passenger window at the city lights. Seeing normal people on the sidewalk helped restore my sense of safety.
    Officer Turner was the first to speak. “Describe in as much detail as you can remember what happened once you left the apartment.”
    Recalling the whole scenario was more difficult than it should have been. Everything was so surreal. I must have been in shock myself, because I was having trouble talking about things that happened just a few minutes ago. He did a good job humoring me, though.
    “No offense and not to sound ungrateful, but I’m surprised you’re even listening to my side of things. I figured the only thing you would care about is what your fellow officers had to say and how bad this looks.”
    “You’re innocent until proven guilty. It’s my job not to be