Distant siren wailing could be heard as Chris parked his car on the sidewalk near Lisa's house. There were three other cars parked at her house, only two of which he recognized. A police officer was standing guard at the gate. He glanced nervously at Elaine who was already eyeing the cars before saying what they were both thinking.

"We're too late," Chris said softly.

"Let's go!" Elaine replied quickly and they both got out of the car.

As they approached the house, Chris saw the police officer briefly looking at his car and taking notes. He eyed them gravely and made no attempt to talk.

"We're friends with the lady staying here. Lisa," Chris informed the officer whose expression only foretold the worst possible news.

"Names?" He replied flatly.

"Chris. And this is Elaine," Chris replied, briefly glancing at Elaine who was on the verge of tears.

"Wh..what ha....happened here Officer..." Elaine asked, barely containing the sob that was threatening to unleash. The police officer looked at Elaine intently and to Chris's relief, his expression softened.

"Officer Matthew here to serve you, Ma'am," he said nodding his head towards Elaine before continuing, "I'm afraid there's been some bad news with regards to the occupants of this house."

"What??" Elaine shrieked rather uncontrollably.

"Officer Matthew, Lisa's our close friend and we're here to fetch her and her son, Jake, so they can move to her parents' house," Chris explained. He felt an uncomfortable lump forming in his throat with each syllable he uttered.

Officer Matthew nodded and wrote some notes into his book before speaking into the walkie strapped vertically on his left chest. Tilting his head to the left, he said, "Detective Ramon, two visitors named Chris and Elaine are here. They claimed to be Lisa's friends."

He continued briefing Detective Ramon while Chris tried to calm Elaine who is now crying. A few minutes later, a middle-aged man dressed in smart gray suit with sleek black hair came walking out of Lisa's front door. His face was calm.

"Detective Ramon," he said as he offered his hand to Chris before turning to Elaine, "and you must be Chris. Are you okay, Elaine?" His expression was soft, and sincere with a genuine concerned look on his face when he spoke.

"Is Lisa okay?" Elaine managed to reply clearly, amidst fighting down tears.

The sound of siren in the background was now promiment and drowned the reply that came from Detective Ramon. Elaine squinted her eyes trying to make out what he was saying while Chris turned around and saw an ambulance moving fast towards Lisa's house. It parked right in front of the house and Chris overheard Officer Matthew telling them to go inside.

Everything that happened after that went by like a blur. Detective Ramon pulled Chris and Elaine to a corner and continued talking to them. Chris saw a few people wearing white running inside the house and soon after, he saw three stretchers coming out. He couldn't see clearly who were in the stretchers but he didn't think he needed to see to know. There were lots of blood. Blood everywhere. On the stretchers and he even saw some dripping from the stretchers. The lump in his throat felt like it was moving towards his heart. His eyes glistened with tears, blurring his vision. He felt like he was drowning and in the far background, he heard Elaine's screaming and the mumbles of both Detective Ramon and Officer Matthew.