Apartment 2: Ryland Acts

The corpse later. First, settle the woman. Alert police. Cordon off body. He puts his arm around the woman's shoulders. Looks up again. Even from here, he's satisfied it's dead.
Looks down.
Sees the head. Instantly, explosions and machine-gun fire spray inside his head. Desert heat burns him as do acrid chemical smells. Screams return, nerves fail, tumble.
He hears everything: fear, agony, sharp jagged clatter, enough to wake the dead. Legs weaken and he sinks to his knees, which brings him closer to the severed head. Rolls away from it, repelled, frantic, curls up foetus-like, and sobs.