Two paramedics rushed in, their hands steady despite the urgency. They loaded David onto the stretcher, his head lolling weakly to the side as his eyes flickered open and shut. The wail of the ambulance siren outside cut through the oppressive silence, signaling their hasty departure.
***
By the time the officers led me out of the house, the street was a mass of bodies. Neighbors craned their necks from behind the police tape, their faces pale in the flickering red and blue lights. Some whispered in hushed voices; others hurled accusations with venomous fervor.
“Wasn’t this supposed to be a wedding day? I saw Sarah this morning, so happy as she picked up groceries! And now, this? Blood everywhere?”
“What kind of monster murders the people who raised her? She killed them in cold blood! Do you think her parents died the same way?”
The weight of their words pressed down on me like iron chains, but my expression remained neutral. My gaze swept across their horrified faces, lingering momentarily on an elderly woman clutching a rosary, her lips moving in a silent prayer.