Submitted to: Contest #298

No remorse and forgiveness.

Written in response to: "Write a story about someone seeking forgiveness for something."

Crime Fiction Sad

This story contains themes or mentions of physical violence, gore, or abuse.

Part one.

Emily Rose and Mr Wells.

The best detectives in shadows hill.

As the sun was rising to create a beautiful warm autumn day in Shadows Hill I was able to walk through the park on my way to work. Shadows hill is enriched with secretive people. Always hiding inside sometimes never going out for days on end. Not eating properly, taking drugs instead. It was a scary place to walk alone. There was a gang of males sitting down at one on the park's benches. I could smell yandi. Another term from marijuana and infecting the air with its smell. This was a hazard to the children as they would usually sniff the air and have it in their system by passive smoking. Dangerous.

I ended up calling it in, Mr Wells was parked out the front where the entrance was. He was in an undercovered police car. I walked towards him and shook his hand.

"Hello." I said.

"Hello." He replied.

Small talk.

"Let's go." He said firmly with a smile on his face as he looked at me.

We adjusted our belts, pepper spray, our guns, our flash lights, and turned our body cams on that were strapped to our bellies. Two cops asking at least fifty people to move on. I was nervous as hell I'm not going to lie. I was shaky, and filled with anxiety. I'd never dealt with a gang that was this big what if they had weapons? As we got closer to them they started getting suspicious and looked over at us. They put their joints down onto the table. We noticed that they all had vests on with a snake symbol in the middle of it. Denim. Their Harley's took up most of the car parks. They had patches on one that said, depression, domestic violence, PTSD supporters. The alpha was spotted.

A big strong looking man no fat just muscles. The others had the same jacket on with the same stripes. Had people believing that they were fierce.

"This is not America fellas you can't smoke that shit in public. What if a child has inhaled it they could die." Wells said angrily.

They looked at him and looked at me and one of them

said "where's yah gun sir. " Being a smart ass in a no taking you into custody for doing illegal substances and creating harm to children? And I can most definitely find out who your dealer is and take them to jail too. Along with all your fellas here." Explained Wells.

One of them spat on Mr Wells him.Mr Wells shiny black shoes. When the fella turned around Wells grabbed his shirt and started to choke him. A reasonable response.

"Get out of here now." He said angrily slightly losing his temper.

The other men looked into his eyes and they all turned their backs and left. Just like that. But I was wrong, they didn't leave at all they called more boys in and the ground vibrated like an earthquake.

"Every one get out out of the park! Get out, get out get out! Run, quickly." Wells shouted.

"Calling for back up on shadows way street play ground park."

With in one minute there was fifty cop cars that pulled up ready to fight. Onlookers are to frozen to move. Stunned, scared crying.

As the snakes rolled in with their bats and their broken glass bottles rivalry was about to start. A riot. Against police brutality. They had signs, they had machetes, they had samurai swords. No guns in site yet. As we hid behind our cop cars with our riot gear on the snakes came closer and closer. Shadows hill was about to get very, very dark. The war started between the law and the outlaws.

As we clashed together blood was shed. Guns were fired, machetes covered in blood, and embedded in to th skin, people ran for their lives as the motorbikes revved. Within two days of war seven people where killed and 28 were injured. Their signs were dropped and snapped in half on the green green grass. Leaving just twenty chapters left. Shadows hill had seen its first ever Bikie/police war. The news crews risking their life just to get a story. Their job was to capture exactly what happened. Just to get views while endangering their lives.

From that point on the park was closed so that investigators could investigate. The rest of the chapters were admitted to the Golden Shire prison for the rest of their lives. Guilty of manslaughter along with ninty nine felonies. Rotting in jail. The onlookers that were injured were taken to the hospital next to the asylum. Some lost their minds and some deserved justice. Their stories all the same.

We had some of the worst criminally insane patients here. Being a police officer and detective is I must admit a hard job. Your family on edge all of the time as soon as you leave the front door. I don't have kids I have family. I love on my own they drop in from time to time. It's hard and it's traumatic but it's worth it. I won't rest until I help the people that need a bit of extra help.

The next morning was the trial, as i got to the car park unrealised there was no parks at all. I had to park around the corner the place was over flowing with guys in patches. Bikes every where. This isn't a good sign. I was scared. I started to shake. I hoped that Wells was inside waiting for me in the court house. I peered in to one of the bikes cars and I found weapons and then I looked at another car it also had visible weapons.

Now I was really scared that they were watching Wells and I. Our every move. Known to be stalkers. Known for violence. As I walked in to the court house they were everywhere. It was overwhelming and over populated. Guy, girls, wives daughters, sons. Well over a hundred of them waiting in the waiting room.

I saw Wells and pulled him aside into a private room and shut the door. I started hyperventilating in to my hands. Scared as hell.

"Are they all here to be the jury?" I asked quivering.

"Yes." He replied in a hyped state of mind and the look of anger in his eyes.

"They won't win, we caught it on camera the evidence is there and the main chapters are stuffed. You have to walk, talk and think like them to fit in to this trial like your the queen Em. Scare them look them in the eyes with a filthy snare." Wells replied with a smile on his face.

"If they pick up the fact that you are scared that'll be the end of you." He said.

" But I noticed they have weapons in there cars all of them the back window has a sticker on it that says "snakes" painted in green with a big green python that wraps around the letters."

I explained.

"What, show me? Put your body cam on." He said astoundingly.

"Okay." I said following his orders.

We pushed past the crowd and landed us in the car park. I took him over to show him what i saw. I confirmed which cars they were in and the weapons were always situated on the back seat. We put down their number plates and the kind of car it was in our notes quickly summarising in our notes. Made sure we got our body cams evidence. We ran back inside as the court hearing was at nine. We raced into the judges room.witj out her consent. Her name was Genevieve Boston, daughter of one of the worst Bikie gangs in shadows hill area.

We showed her the evidence from the cameras and she jotted down.the number plates and took snap shots of the evidence.So that she could add it to the PowerPoint slideshow.

"Quiet in the court room." The judge said banging on her javel.

The room went quiet. The smell of marijuana scented clothes.

" I can smell it from here, this is not America we do not accept this in our city especially when it comes to children or babies smelling it and passive smoking is an offence within itself. We do not have guns as weapons here, we do not tolerate violence her uber any circumstances. We do not intimidate our officers with disrespectful language and agree to bodily harm with armed forces that killed innocent people! Three officers were injured during the massacre that the snakes caused at first hand you are the ones to blame! You are the ones that shot innocent people like twenty years old Jessica Smith. She is now dead and her family is suffering from this jury being here today! Scared out of their minds so much that they think that they are being targeted for telling this bloody rivalry and for what! So that you can run this town! I run this town. And I will be making the decision that I first had and the other bikers will leave my court house. Affective immediately! GET OUT NOW BEFORE I PUT ALL OF YOU IN CUSTODY. BECAUSE THAT'S WHERE THE OLD Chapters ARE GOING TO RIGHT NOW. As for the weapons in the cars with these number plates will be confiscated by the police and the cars will be searched by our finest detectives. The old chapters are going into custody with a total of one hundred felonies against their name and will get a sentence of life in a confined underground high max security prison!" She banged her javel three times.

The cops headed out first and the other chapters left with them and willingly showed them the weapons in their cars and in their clothes pockets. While they were all wearing their jackets and patches attached. The policemen confiscated over one hundred illegal weapons within one hour. As the chapters walked out to the prison van in handcuffs with green jumpsuits on. Their prison uniforms. With the lady of justice on the front. This was the b biggest massacre ever seen in this city. I told you that it was enriched with secretive, shady people. People that create Chinese whispers. It's a small out of the way town. As the police bought their weapons in to the court house security grabbed them and took them to the confiscated weapons to the contraband room and locked the weapons up and away. Never to be used again.

Mr Wells and I walked out of the court room and out the front doors of the court house. No bikers in sight. Well this could be a win I thought. Hopefully they've left for good. Mr Wells had a smile on his face. I guess justice was served. We watched the chapters walk out of the court house in handcuffs and it was the best feeling I've ever felt. I could've gone a different path way but I have come to the acceptance that I'm a cop and a detective at the same time. This next case is pretty graphic and pretty horrible. But if you want to find out what happens next you'll read my words. You can do anything with your life if you push yourself out of your comfort zone.

Part two.

Wells and me.

You see Wells and I are really great friends when we aren't on the job even though he has been my mentor for a very long time. We would go to the bar after work and have a couple of drinks between us. Cops need time to wind down after w long day of solving the communities problems and keeping them safe. It was at about eight thirty pm it was really bloody cold outside.

I had my big fluffy jacket on and two pairs of tights on and two pairs of socks on because my body doesn't do well with the cold.

My bones ache like hell.

While we were on our third drink the boss called saying there was a matter at the asylum just across the road from the prison. It was built in the 1800's so the building blocks were fairly weak. It looked similar to the prison but it was on ground level as the prison was under ground. With its own haha walls so no one could escape.

As we walked in we saw a lady she was dressed in white and holding a doll crying and singing at the same time. No one would or could calm her down. She won't eat she can't sleep. She was threatening the nurses the nurses wanted to give her a sedation needle but she kept resisting. She had not told anyone about her past and it was time for me to try and get her to tell her past. She didn't understand why she was in there. The surgeon in the asylum had done a lobotomy.

The surgeon drilled a hole through her skull to get to her brain while only giving her a local anaesthetic. The surgeon kept drilling while she was screaming and fully aware what was going on. As he got further into her brain he took out the part that creates delusions and flashbacks trying to create a depression cure. Even though one of the other patients he did surgery on passed away while having dementia at twenty three years old. It also made her blind. She was scared and stressed.

"Mam, you need to come with me, I am a female police officer and detective I'm to listen to your story." I said In a gentle voice.

I took her hand and she new where her room was even though she had no sight and was on the brink of death with dementia symptoms she was only thirty, very skinny, very pale. She almost looked like an old lady. She was crying, I sat her on her bed making sure she didn't fall.

"I hate this room, don't you Mary?" I asked. She was fragile so I had to be careful. She put her hand over her mouth and said "I'm sorry Penelope I'm so sorry." She was hysterical. She threw her doll at me so I rocked it in my arms. It had green eyes, it was pale, every part on this doll looked so real. Even had its own cry and you could change its nappy and give it a bottle.

"Her names Penelope after my baby. My baby was strangled by her ambilical cord in my stomach while I was giving birth and she died, I didn't here her cry. They didn't pass her to me so I could see her. Why didn't they pass her to me. Why did they take my baby?" She cried.

It was clear that her baby had passed away with medical issues when she was sixteen years old. I found out that she was supposed to marry into an arranged marriage because she fell pregnant to the guy her mum said that she had to be with. Even though they both didn't want to marry young. But he made a promise to Mary that he would protect her and baby Penelope together and be a family without a piece of paper. They both decided to elope. Run from the drama and never return. But when Penelope passed away the fella went off grid. She never knew what happened to him. That's half the reason why she was here.

"What happens now?" She sobbed. Wiping her nose with her hands.

"Nothing happens now but we will try and get you out of here."

I replied.

"How can you do that?" She asked.

"I've got some contacts."

"Okay." She said quietly.

She was calm now and took back her doll. I made a promise and im going to keep it. All she wanted was forgiveness and for someone to listen to her story of complete agony. I went back to the station and looked up my contacts with the cabins for retired individuals. I called a number and i was on hold for three hours. But I waited it out.

"Hello who am I speaking with?" A male with a slightly intimidating tone.

"My name is detective Emily Rose and I would like to speak on behalf of Mary Ann Jones. She is currently blind and has dementia currently staying in the asylum. I was wondering if there were any spots left." I asked.

"You have luck detective. There is one spot left. But it's right on the water." He replied.

"Can I take it? She's thirty has lost a baby and a partner recently. Please." I asked in an excited tone.

"You've got it defective Emily Rose. This move Is going to change her life." He replied.

"May I have your name and could you fetch me the paper work we can move her in today."

It was late into the afternoon now. I raced over to Mary Ann and I got her discharge papers the nurses were happy that she was leaving. A new fresh start for her where she can get her treatment at home. After ten years of being confined and treated like an actual human! I ran to her bedroom and grabbed her hand and she took mine. We placed her gently in the back of the police car she loved having the windows down with the wind in her face and the smell of the outside world which he hadn't seen in so long!

Posted Apr 18, 2025
Share:

You must sign up or log in to submit a comment.

7 likes 2 comments

08:24 Apr 20, 2025

Interesting story that has a lot going on! I'd like to learn more about the location of shadows hill. Some sensory details like smells and sounds, and historical stories and stuff could really make this scary sounding place come alive. Happy that the MC could help Mary Ann at the end.

Reply

Ashlee Osborn
08:27 Apr 20, 2025

Thank you so much for the feedback I appreciate it :)

Reply

RBE | Illustrated Short Stories | 2024-06

Bring your short stories to life

Fuse character, story, and conflict with tools in Reedsy Studio. All for free.