A DAY IN THE LIFE
by
G. W. Ellis
A Day In The Life Copyright 2012 by G.W. Ellis
Smashwords Edition
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. Published in the United States of America by G.W. Ellis as an electronic book
First Edition published as A Day In The Life by G.W. Ellis, February, 2012
A DAY IN THE LIFE
by
G. W. Ellis
The whole day had gone to hell in a hand basket faster than grease through a goose if one were to ask Mike Russell.
Unfortunately, no one was asking. They just continued to hand him problems. The day had just gone straight to hell and the whole situation was chasing it as fast as it could to get there.
Russell checked his tactical map. He had three officers down and another smeared along twenty-five yards of asphalt. That one was being scooped up with trowels. It's what happened when a normal tangled with a hostile Pulse. The man should have known better.
Probably did, Russell sighed. He just got in the freak's way and couldn't get out in time.
It had been the story of his life, his career with the San Francisco PD since the time of the first Pulse.
He checked his watch, noting the positions of the SWAT units on his computer's display. The three-dimensional holographic image projected by his smart phone was one of the many benefits the Pulses had brought, but he almost wished for the old days of paper maps and bulky radios. If only it would put a stop to the kind of shit he had to deal with every day.
A helicopter flew overhead, dangerously low considering nobody knew the potential of the gang and the Pulse they had cornered in the old warehouse. The place was completely surrounded by cops and SWAT now, but that didn't mean anything. Russell thumbed his phone and flashed a signal to the pilot to veer off and orbit at least five hundred yards distant. The only birds he wanted in the vicinity were SWAT Apaches armed to the teeth. He didn't even like having seagulls or pigeons around. There were far too many unpleasant possibilities wrapped up in living things these days.
Too goddamned many freaks, and too little known about most of them, he thought. He shook his head and looked up. A Sergeant was looking at him oddly.
"What?" Russell said.
"Nothing, Lieutenant," the Sergeant said. His uniform tag said his last name was Hastings. He looked very young, fresh out of the academy. Way too young to be a Sergeant already. He was holding a piece of paper. Russell held his hand out.
"Give me that."
"It's from the Chief," Hastings said. "It came in a few minutes ago over the secure line and I brought it right over."
"Good," Russell said. He knew he'd been too abrupt with the man who was only trying to do his job and go home alive. They all were. "Thanks, Hastings. I appreciate it. You can go back to the commo tent now."
"Thank you, sir. But, if it's okay by you, I'd rather stay up here near where the action's going to be."
So anxious, Russell thought. He's a Sergeant, but this can't be his first Pulse action. Can it? Are we so low on officers we're promoting right out of the academy? He nodded his agreement to Hastings' request and turned back to his map still wondering. He remembered the slip of paper Hastings had given him and looked at it absently.
He folded the paper carefully in squares after reading the message and tucked it neatly in his shirt pocket. He smiled, something that few others who didn't know him well would have recognized. That smile was menace, a down-turned scar pulling his lips into a grim reminder of his encounter with a Pulse.
###
"What the hell?" Sherman cried out, shielding his face with his hands. "I can't see."
"Sit tight," Russell shouted. "He blew in the windshield. The whole front half of the car is gone."
"Where'd he go?"
"I don't know. He's a flier. I think you maybe got some glass in your eyes, maybe flash burns. Sit tight. I'll call for back up." Russell pulled the .12-gauge shotgun from the clip between the front seats and rolled out of the vehicle to his left.
He ducked, trying to use the car's door as a shield, knowing it was virtually useless if the guy who'd just melted the engine down to its component parts was still around anywhere. He looked up.
The Pulse was floating there, about thirty feet up, like he was standing on air. There was a look on his face that seemed to say "What the fuck did I just do?" Russell knew that look. A newbie. Inexperienced. Young. Probably just got his powers and is still trying them out.