He bit me.
He hadn't looked like the biting type. It's pretty unusual for a suspect to actually bite you... a juvenile might, maybe, or a junkie. Not someone like this guy; a young man, clean-shaven, wearing a snappy suit.
And the way he bit me, right on the neck. Like... well, like a goddamn vampire. Straight out of a Vincent Price movie. It hurt. I think he must have hit an artery - there seemed to be a lot of blood. That's probably why I felt so woozy for a while.
Unconventional as it was, it worked. The bastard got away from me, back into the building. Barred the door behind himself somehow, so now I'm stuck up here on the roof. Stuck here until morning, probably – technically I'm off-duty, so no-one at the station is going to miss me until then.
I'm not really dressed right for spending the night under the stars. Just wearing a shirt, and no jacket. I should be cold out here, but I'm not, somehow. The adrenaline from the fight, perhaps.
I've never been afraid of heights. When I realised I was stuck up here, I spent a while standing near the roof's edge, looking out over the city. It was beautiful, in a noisy, crowded way. The grime of the daytime is invisible at night, the warm lights from the bars and streetlights giving a friendly glow to the streets. I saw the people down below, enjoying their Saturday night. Hailing taxis, meeting friends. The city's lifeblood, coming and going.
That was hours ago. It's the real night time now – even the latest opening clubs have closed up, and there's no-one in sight. It's eerie to see the city so empty. I unconsciously reach to my neck for my gold chain, my security blanket. It isn't there, and I remember how I pulled it off earlier when it began to irritate my skin. I guess I must be allergic to the metal. It's weird, though, I've had that cross on a chain for years, since my mother gave it to me. I never heard of an allergy coming on just like that.
I spot a broken folding chair lying amongst some of the other junk up here, and amuse myself for a while trying to make the thing stand up. My first attempt fails, but cruelly, the chair waits until I sit on it before collapsing. As I pick myself up, I taste blood in my mouth. I reach up, and feel a sharp edge to one of my teeth. I must have chipped it in the struggle.
Second time around, I'm more successful with the chair. I'm sitting in my chair now, just waiting for the night to end. I'm actually looking forward to watching the sun rise.