The Fallen Rookie

The night air in Los Angeles is thick with the scent of exhaust and the distant hum of the city. Rookie police officer Ainsley Whitmore lies in the grass, gazing up at the crescent moon, a rare solitary light in a sky dominated by urban glow. Beside her lie her best friends and fellow rookies, Zayn Hassan and Leonardo Gordon, drawn together by the shared weight of their first day on the job.

Their conversation, initially lighthearted, quickly turns somber as Zayn speaks of the stars he used to see in the Afghanistan desert and the friend he lost there. The city lights, a stark contrast to those distant stars, feel suffocating. As if summoned by their thoughts, gunshots ring out a few blocks away, pulling them from their quiet reflection and back into the unpredictable chaos of their new reality.