The Flashback (short story)

The Flashback

7:28 p.m.

What the hell’s going on? Where am I? Why can’t I remember anything?

As I look around, I realize I’m under a desk in a sort of office. There’s a chair turned over in front of me, lots of papers scattered around it, everything’s in disorder. Upon further inspection I realize I’m drenched in sweat, a gun in my hand.

BANG!

A shot goes off close by, though not in this room, that I can tell.

What the hell’s happening?!

The face of a man: “Look, we ain’t done nothin’ wrong, let us go!”

Another face: “He’s getting away sir!”

Blurry images of cars and people shouting flash by in my mind’s eye.

I’m outside a building. A bunch of police cars pull up behind me with their sirens on, I go into the building with the gun in my hand.

What the-? Am I being followed by the cops? I can’t picture myself doing something wrong enough to get the police involved. But then what? No time to think now, I’m being shot at! I get up and stumble towards the door, as I do so a second shot is fired in the next room, followed by a blood chilling scream. After less that a second, I hear a thump as a body falls to the floor limply.

6:42 p.m.

“Oh come on ‘Dirty Joe’ I know you did it, so just give it up” I say to this ugly bastard sitting in front of me in the interrogation room.

“Look, we ain’t done nothin’ wrong, let us go!” He replies.

“Your buddy just confessed to it in the other room”

“WHAT?! That son of a B-! I mean, no man, I don’t believe you, we ain’t gone and killed that woman” The jig’s up, he just confessed involuntarily. Oldest trick in the book.

“No, no you didn’t,” I say calmly. “you raped her as well you sick bastard!”

“Screw you”

I turn and leave, my job here is done.

7:13 p.m.

As I get ready to leave, Officer Johnson comes running at me screaming:

“He’s getting away sir!”

“What?”

“Joe, he disarmed the guard and shot him, he’s out of the building!”

“Damn it! Let’s go!” I shout and run with him and the rest of the present officers out of HQ. I get into the car on the passenger’s seat, Johnson drives.

We follow Dirty Joe to a building.

7:26 p.m.

We’re here, I don’t know why he decided to get into this building. I get out of the car and the rest of the officers pull up behind us. I take the lead and run into the building, after Joe.

I follow him up to the third floor where I lose him. I go into the first office I see, nothing, I turn to leave and Joe is at the entrance, I shoot at him as I get behind a desk and knock a chair over on the way, I miss. He does the same and misses, however I fall hard on my head and fall unconscious.