(Samantha POV)
My name is Samantha Gartner. I am twenty-eight and am a trooper of the West Virginia State Police. I was born and raised in Fairmont, West Virginia. My mother is an elementary school teacher and my father is a part of the West Virginia University Marketing Department. I attended a baptist church regularly growing up and remained faithful despite a lapse in my attendance record. I am a typical individual with no criminal or disciplinary record to speak of. I am currently stationed in my hometown and am assigned regularly to patrol across the entire Morgantown metro area.
The date is Monday May 4th 2026 when I overheard on the radio a report of a suspicious individual purchasing a firearm. We have no right as law enforcement to prevent a store from selling their firearms. In fact, it was rare to hear any reports of this case from another customer. Suspicious individuals are traditionally reported by the stores themselves. The good samaritan claimed to have witnessed the customer viewing graphic and sexual pictures of corpses on their phone before purchasing the weapon.
The odd case was not something which immediately raised my suspicion. In fact, the officer of local law enforcement which followed up on the issue determined it to be a non-issue. Despite this, I had overheard the name of this individual and recognized it. The name Alan Anthony I recognized from high school. I was a senior at the time when he was a freshman. Usually such an age gap prevented any association apart from a few classes. The short time period in which we shared an environment and my memory of him was a testament to the impression he left.
It was the second week of school when the first fight occurred. There was never any conclusive evidence about who started it, but Alan had fought two juniors over some teasing comments made by them. Alan was a foster kid apparently and had a lengthy record as a troublemaker according to teachers and the few freshmen I spoke to. His graduating class knew very well to keep a wide distance from him or else receive a hit or screaming fit. Older classmen were not aware of this reputation and instead of keeping a distance kept approaching Alan.
Alan would be a part of at least six other fights in the first two months of school before being suspended for a week. Things slowed down after that and he had faded into a background character in my life as I reorganized focus to my post-education plans. He remained in my memory as a classic figure with a troubled home life who resorted to violence and outrage as a means to relieve their internal suffering and stress. It had been almost a decade since high school, yet if he was still the same individual he was back then I did not feel entirely comfortable leaving such a case as it was.
I volunteered to perform a welfare check on Alan and thankfully the slow day allowed for that. It was around six in the evening when I arrived at the apartment complex his address was listed as. It was a simple location with some of the cheaper rent in the city that wasn’t specifically designed for college students. His apartment was on the first floor and rather simply designed. A ring door camera was on the outside and actively filming as I approached. I was in my full uniform and very aware that this situation may not go over well. Frankly, I was expecting him to open the door and witness either drugs in plain view or erratic violent behavior. It was not the best policy to assume the worst of people, but it keeps you safe and it wasn’t like I had any reason to think Alan wouldn’t be either.
I could hear some talking on the other side of the door. One a deeper masculine voice and the other a high pitched female voice. I could assume the masculine voice was Alan, but the presence of a woman surprised me. It wasn’t childish, but I wouldn’t be surprised to find out it was a teenager or college-aged woman. I rang the ring door bell then knocked on the door. Both voices immediately went silent and I waited about twenty seconds before I heard locks disengage and the door open. The door opened only a sliver and I saw Alan taking up the entire space inside.
The first thing I noticed is how different he looked. Puberty did wonders for him, making him taller, thickening his hair, and deepening his voice. He was clean shaven and had a body type perfectly between fit, thin, and healthy which balanced all factors without overwhelming each. He was wearing a very plain outfit of a red t-shirt over a pair of baggy sweatpants. If I saw him on a dating app, I might have swiped right if the rest of the profile was good. He spoke confusedly.
“Can I help you, Officer?”
I gave a friendly smile and tried to show that I wasn’t any danger to him. He likely didn’t recognize me and that would be for the best.
“Hello Mr. Anthony, I’m Officer Gartner and we were requested to do a welfare check and just want to make sure you’re okay.”
He raised an eyebrow in suspicion. He looked back towards his apartment towards someone before turning back to me.
“Um… why?”
The policy here was to answer honestly. If it is a misunderstanding, he’ll explain and I can leave knowing nothing is wrong. If he acts suspicious, I’ll take note of it before leaving. I wouldn’t do anything urgent though, he did just buy one of the rifles most commonly used in mass shootings.
“It was noted by people that you were acting suspiciously while purchasing a firearm earlier today.”
He seemed confused at first before having some type of epiphany.
“Ah shit, the photo?”
I nodded and he sighed heavily.
“Yeah, that makes sense. It was work related.”
I decided to probe a bit with such a vague response.
“What work do you do, Mr. Anthony”
He was about to say something before seeming to stop. He looked back into the apartment for a moment before turning back.
“It would be easier if I showed you. Would you mind coming in? I’m sure that would be better than just me telling you.”