"I thought tonight was going to be slow until we got that call. Some trash hotel in downtown." My colleague mentions as we look around this cursed house. I'm trying to focus away from the situation myself.

He doesn't seem to want to let it go though. "How can someone live in a place like this?" The boy and the mom were taken to the station for questioning, but it probably won't go far. There is clear evidence of domestic violence.

If I have anything to do with it, the boy will go clean for the murder. The rat deserved it, based on everything going on here. Bloody razors in the garbage, bugs and unknown stains on the walls. This place must have been a living hell for the kid.

"You alright, man?" I look back, my colleague pointing the flashlight at the rough carpet below. I take a hard breath, tired of the night shift already.

"You know, I'm not really. I'm thinking about how awful this kind of life really is. I was raised by my grandparents on a farm. This kid was raised in a hellscape." He shrugs his shoulders, going into the boys room to examine it.

I should of known it would be pointless to tell him. He is the new recruit after all, wet behind the ears.

That woman was so wounded before. Could the kid be like that too under that hoodie? Sadly, probably... I enter the master bedroom, if you can call it that. The floor won't stop creaking and roaches run away every time we enter a room. It's fucking disgusting.

"We'll need to get a health inspector down here." I speak to the dust in the room. I look at the mirror shelf near the door, cracked. And below it is a family photo, also shattered... All of them look a lot happier.

You'd think that I'd be used to these kinds of sights by now, but I'm not. When people in my life complain, sometimes I wish they could see these sorts of hellscapes. So they can appreciate their lives. I guess all I can do is hope we can fix the lives of those two...

They didn't make a great decision by not calling authorities. Or by firing 6 shots into a man. But honestly, I'm just happy they did something... It's unprofessional for me to feel that way as a cop, but I don't care at this point.

This world of ours is sick in its darkest corners... but there is a light to be found. It's just not so easy for some... "Come on, rookie. We're heading out." I walk out of the room and move my head to point toward the apartments exit. He nods, and follows behind.