The voice on the other end was not the dispatcher.

It was the same synthesized, distorted voice from before.

“It’s too late, Captain,” the voice said.

“Look behind you.”

I stopped in the middle of the road, the cold water pooling in my boots.

I slowly turned around.

The front door of Patricia’s house was wide open.

Standing in the doorway, framed by the yellow light, was a figure holding a small bundle wrapped in a pink blanket.

The figure stepped out onto the porch.

The light caught the brass buttons of a military dress uniform.

It wasn’t the shadow from the window.

It was someone I had trusted with my life.

My hand holding the phone began to tremble.

“No,” I whispered.

“It can’t be.”

The figure raised a hand, waving slowly.

Then, the screen of my phone went completely black.

The headlights of a second vehicle turned onto the street, blinding me as they accelerated directly toward where I stood.

I raised my arm to shield my eyes, my boots frozen to the asphalt.

The engine roared, the tires screaming against the wet pavement.