• A bright light. She felt a sharp pang in her chest, and the memories rushed in. The time she fell off her bike when she was five, scraping her knee while her father rushed over to see if she was alright. The time she went to prom and had a blast, but accidentally and drunkenly wrecked her father's car. This morning when she finally said yes to going on a date with her best friend Blaine... and then a fire consumed her senses. Every past malady and every past pain was nothing compared to this. The pain being unbearable, unconsciousness grasped and seized her, and never let go. The coroner would determine the cause of death as her heart exploding from the bullet impact.

    And like that, she fell.

    There were two young men, both in their early twenties, that were approaching when they noticed the body on the sidewalk. "Melody!" one of them cried out, nearly getting killed by a car while dashing across the street. His friend just stood there in disbelief, denying the scene in front of him. The first boy knelt beside her, tears forming. Staring into her dull eyes, he saw that they were frozen with fear, the moonlight amplifying her horror. He muttered something that I couldn't hear. He turned to me, yelling, "Why?! What did she do to deserve this?" I lowered my pistol, not quite sure of what to say. What did happen? My mind was reeling, desperate to find a reasonable explanation for ending her pathetically short existence on that dark, deserted street.

    "I don't know," I whispered to myself. I dropped my weapon while the siren grew louder. The ambulance arrived first, rushing her corpse to the hospital. "Mr. Falkner, you are under arrest! Put your hands in the air!" I did so, and accepted my fate. The officer handcuffed me and told me the rights I've heard multiple times. As I was being led to the vehicle, the second boy ran up to me with his hands in his coat. I turned just in time to see him unsheathe his antique knife and