The rain hits the asphalt. It hisses. It sparks. You stand still. The cold seeps in. Your bones ache. The pain is a language. You speak it fluently. The city breathes. It is sick. The neon bleeds. Red. Blue. Purple. The colors smear. The world is a bruise. You are the hand that pressed it. You are the eye that watched it swell.

The badge sits heavy. A lead weight. A tombstone. You touch the fabric. The wool is wet. It clings. It suffocates. The precinct is a hive. The air is stale. The smell is old coffee. It is fear. It is sweat. It is the metallic tang of blood. You know the scent. You have worn it for years. It is your perfume. It is your curse.

The file opens. Paper rustles. The name is there. Elias Thorne. The photo is grainy. The eyes are hollow. The mouth is tight. You look at him. He looks at you. It is a mirror. It is a trap. The ink blurs. The letters swim. You know this face. You have seen it in the dark. You have seen it in the dream. It is your face. It is your shadow. It is your sin.

The superior enters. The door creaks. The light shifts. The shadow lengthens. He is tall. He is thin. His coat is dark. It absorbs the light. His eyes are cold. They are stones. They are flint. He does not blink. He does not breathe. He is a machine. He is a ghost. He is the law. He is the end.

The dossier is thick. It is dense. It is a wall. You turn the page. The paper snaps. The sound is a crack. It is a bone. It is a gun. The text is small. It is sharp. It cuts. It stabs. It draws blood. You read the words. They are lies. They are truths. They are both. They are neither. The truth is a fluid. It moves. It shifts. It defies the container.

The mission is clear. The target is fixed. The time is now. The clock ticks. The second hands spin. The minute hands crawl. The hour hands loom. You are running out of time. You are running out of life. The body is failing. The heart is weak. The lungs are tired. The muscles are tired. The spirit is tired. But the duty is not. The duty is iron. The duty is steel. The duty is fire.

The street is empty. The shops are closed. The windows are dark. The silence is loud. The silence is deafening. The rain continues. It drums. It beats. It pounds. The rhythm is a heartbeat. It is a war drum. It is a funeral knell. You walk. The steps are heavy. The boots are wet. The water squelches. The sound is wet. The sound is cold. The sound is dead.

The building is old. The brick is cracked. The mortar is loose. The ivy is black. The ivy is dead. The ivy is alive. It strangles. It chokes. It kills. The door is heavy. The wood is dark. The wood is wet. The wood is cold. You push. The wood groans. The hinges scream. The sound is high. The sound is thin. The sound is a cry.

The inside is dark. The air is stale. The air is thick. The air is heavy. It sits on your chest. It presses. It pushes. It squeezes. You breathe. The breath is shallow. The breath is quick. The breath is hard. The lungs burn. The throat burns. The chest burns. The pain is sharp. The pain is bright. The pain is white.

The room is small. The walls are bare. The floor is wood. The floor is cold. The floor is hard. The chair is old. The chair is broken. The chair is waiting. It is waiting for you. It is waiting for me. It is waiting for us. The table is bare. The table is clean. The table is empty. The cup is there. The cup is full. The liquid is dark. The liquid is thick. The liquid is black.

The smell is strong. The smell is sweet. The smell is rot. The smell is decay. The smell is death. The smell is life. The smell is the same. The smell is the different. The smell is the same. You cough. The cough is dry. The cough is hard. The cough is loud. The sound echoes. The sound bounces. The sound dies.

The figure is there. The figure is still. The figure is small. The figure is hunched. The figure is breathing. The breath is shallow. The breath is quick. The breath is hard. The face is hidden. The face is covered. The face is turned away. The back is exposed. The back is thin. The back is weak. The back is fragile. The spine is visible. The spine is a line. The line is a wire. The wire is taut. The wire is ready to snap.

You step forward. The foot strikes. The sound is a thud. The sound is a knock. The sound is a warning. The figure moves. The movement is slow. The movement is stiff. The movement is painful. The hand reaches out. The hand is pale. The hand is cold. The hand is trembling. The fingers are long. The fingers are thin. The fingers are like twigs. The fingers are like bones.

You stop. The hand stops. The eye opens. The eye is wide. The eye is white. The eye is red. The eye is black. The eye is empty. The eye is full. The eye is a well. The well is deep. The well is dark. The well is endless. You look into it. It looks into you. The gaze is heavy. The gaze is cold. The gaze is dead. The gaze is alive.

The weapon is in your hand. The weight is familiar. The weight is comforting. The weight is dangerous. The metal is cold. The metal is smooth. The metal is hard. The trigger is ready. The trigger is waiting. The trigger is hungry. The finger is on it. The finger is tense. The finger is trembling. The muscle is tight. The muscle is ready to fire. The muscle is ready to kill.

The rain stops. The silence returns. The silence is total. The silence is absolute. The silence is void. The world is still. The world is paused. The world is held. The moment is stretched. The moment is long. The moment is infinite. The moment is eternal. The moment is now. The moment is forever. The moment is a point. The point is a needle. The needle is a pin. The pin is a thorn. The thorn is a pain.

The face turns. The face is yours. The face is his. The face is the same. The face is the different. The face is the truth. The truth is a lie. The lie is the truth. The boundary is gone. The line is blurred. The line is erased. The line is a phantom. The line is a ghost. The line is a memory. The memory is a scar. The scar is a mark. The mark is a brand. The brand is a sign. The sign is a signal. The signal is a call.

The finger moves. The finger presses. The pressure is slow. The pressure is steady. The pressure is firm. The pressure is final. The sound is a click. The click is a snap. The snap is a break. The break is a tear. The tear is a rip. The rip is a cut. The cut is a wound. The wound is a hole. The hole is a void. The void is a nothing. The nothing is a something.

The shot is fired. The sound is a boom. The sound is a thunder. The sound is a crack. The sound is a scream. The sound is a cry. The sound is a song. The song is a dirge. The dirge is a hymn. The hymn is a prayer. The prayer is a wish. The wish is a hope. The hope is a dream. The dream is a reality. The reality is a nightmare.

The body falls. The fall is slow. The fall is graceful. The fall is tragic. The fall is beautiful. The fall is ugly. The fall is final. The body hits the floor. The sound is a thump. The thump is a heartbeat. The heartbeat is a stop. The stop is a silence. The silence is a peace. The peace is a death. The death is a life. The life is a death.

You stand there. You are alone. You are with him. You are with yourself. You are with the past. You are with the future. You are with the now. The now is a ghost. The ghost is a memory. The memory is a lie. The lie is a truth. The truth is a pain. The pain is a lesson. The lesson is a cost. The cost is a price. The price is a life. The life is a debt. The debt is a bondage. The bondage is a freedom. The freedom is a prison.

The superior is there. The door is open. The light is bright. The light is blinding. The light is white. The light is cold. The light is sharp. The light is a blade. The blade is a cut. The cut is a wound. The wound is a hole. The hole is a void. The void is a nothing. The nothing is a something.

The body is there. The body is still. The body is cold. The body is dead. The body is gone. The body is a shell. The shell is empty. The empty is a full. The full is a void. The void is a nothing. The nothing is a something.

The superior looks. The eyes are cold. The eyes are stones. The eyes are flint. The eyes are dead. The eyes are alive. The eyes are a well. The well is deep. The well is dark. The well is endless. The eyes see. The eyes know. The eyes judge. The judgment is a verdict. The verdict is a sentence. The sentence is a chain. The chain is a lock. The lock is a key. The key is a door. The door is a wall. The wall is a barrier. The barrier is a limit. The limit is a boundary. The boundary is a line. The line is a blur. The blur is a smear. The smear is a stain. The stain is a mark. The mark is a brand. The brand is a sign. The sign is a signal. The signal is a call. The call is a command. The command is an order. The order is a law. The law is a rule. The rule is a code. The code is a cipher. The cipher is a secret. The secret is a truth. The truth is a lie. The lie is a truth.

You look down. The gun is in your hand. The gun is heavy. The gun is cold. The gun is dead. The gun is alive. The gun is a tool. The tool is a weapon. The weapon is a symbol. The symbol is a sign. The sign is a meaning. The meaning is a value. The value is a price. The price is a cost. The cost is a debt. The debt is a bondage. The bondage is a freedom. The freedom is a prison. The prison is a cell. The cell is a tomb. The tomb is a grave. The grave is a home. The home is a shelter. The shelter is a refuge. The refuge is a sanctuary. The sanctuary is a church. The church is a temple. The temple is a shrine. The shrine is a relic. The relic is a memory. The memory is a ghost. The ghost is a shadow. The shadow is a mirror. The mirror is a face. The face is a self. The self is a soul. The soul is a spirit. The spirit is a fire. The fire is a light. The light is a hope. The hope is a dream. The dream is a reality. The reality is a nightmare.

The rain returns. The rain is a wash. The wash is a clean. The clean is a pure. The pure is a white. The white is a blank. The blank is a page. The page is a book. The book is a story. The story is a life. The life is a death. The death is a birth. The birth is a beginning. The beginning is an end. The end is a start. The start is a stop. The stop is a go. The go is a run. The run is a walk. The walk is a stand. The stand is a fall. The fall is a rise. The rise is a climb. The climb is a peak. The peak is a valley. The valley is a plain. The plain is a hill. The hill is a mountain. The mountain is a stone. The stone is a rock. The rock is a dust. The dust is a sand. The sand is a grain. The grain is a seed. The seed is a plant. The plant is a tree. The tree is a wood. The wood is a fire. The fire is a ash. The ash is a smoke. The smoke is a cloud. The cloud is a sky. The sky is a space. The space is a void. The void is a nothing. The nothing is a something.

You leave. The door closes. The sound is a click. The click is a lock. The lock is a key. The key is a door. The door is a wall. The wall is a barrier. The barrier is a limit. The limit is a boundary. The boundary is a line. The line is a blur. The blur is a smear. The smear is a stain. The stain is a mark. The mark is a brand. The brand is a sign. The sign is a signal. The signal is a call. The call is a command. The command is an order. The order is a law. The law is a rule. The rule is a code. The code is a cipher. The cipher is a secret. The secret is a truth. The truth is a lie. The lie is a truth.

The city is vast. The city is small. The city is loud. The city is quiet. The city is bright. The city is dark. The city is warm. The city is cold. The city is alive. The city is dead. The city is you. The city is me. The city is us. The city is them. The city is all. The city is none. The city is one. The one is many. The many is one. The one is none. The none is one. The one is all. The all is one. The one is none.

You walk. The steps are heavy. The steps are light. The steps are fast. The steps are slow. The steps are sure. The steps are uncertain. The steps are forward. The steps are backward. The steps are left. The steps are right. The steps are up. The steps are down. The steps are in. The steps are out. The steps are here. The steps are there. The steps are now. The steps are then. The steps are forever. The forever is a moment. The moment is an eternity. The eternity is a second. The second is a heartbeat. The heartbeat is a breath. The breath is a life. The life is a death. The death is a birth. The birth is a beginning. The beginning is an end. The end is a start. The start is a stop. The stop is a go. The go is a run. The run is a walk. The walk is a stand. The stand is a fall. The fall is a rise. The rise is a climb. The climb is a peak. The peak is a valley. The valley is a plain. The plain is a hill. The hill is a mountain. The mountain is a stone. The stone is a rock. The rock is a dust. The dust is a sand. The sand is a grain. The grain is a seed. The seed is a plant. The plant is a tree. The tree is a wood. The wood is a fire. The fire is a ash. The ash is a smoke. The smoke is a cloud. The cloud is a sky. The sky is a space. The space is a void. The void is a nothing. The nothing is a something.