The police station was filled with craze that rivals a mental asylum, the dispatchers phone lines were flooded with calls. Every sworn officer in the Department, including desk jockeys like Sergeants and Lieutenants were adorning various tactical and riot gear. Desperate times called for desperate measures, the national guard was supposed to be dispatched since the force of only fifty couldn’t handle the scale of the “civil unrest” occuring. The dispatch station was entwined with the Fire Department, which only had a staff of twenty firefighters and ten dispatchers.
“Excuse me, ma’am! I’m going… going to need you to remain calm.” A blonde Public Safety Dispatcher in her mid-20s did her best to keep her and the victim’s nerves down. “Can you repeat that? You said there’s hundreds of people walking through the downtown area rioting and biting people?” It was just like those zombie movies she always hated watching growing up, plus there wasn’t any weapons since she was at the fire department aside from axes.
“Yes! Yes, they’re fucking zombies! Don’t you fucking understand?! We’re all screwed!” The woman over the phone shrieked, her shock spreading to the public servant. “Listen ma’am, we’re sending twenty officers over there right now. Stay on the line with me until they get there, ok? Right now, I need you to find a place to hide. Can you do that for me? What’s around nearby? Can I have your name by the way?”
Frightened as the civilian was, there was a feeling in her tone that she was slowly coming to her senses. “My name is Mary and there’s a few bars and stores here.” The blonde’s fingers wrapped around the mouse tightly, trying to get some tension out of her body. “You’re in Downtown Elton, go to the Large Hex sporting goods store. The bathrooms there are secure along with means to protect yourself. My name’s Ashley, by the way. Can you do that for me, Mary?”
The connection to the emergency call dies, causing Ashley to drop her headset after trying to pull it off. Clack from the plastic thud filled the dead air in the room, the city is small enough that only she needed to be on shift tonight due to the size of the city. She’s alone, the firemen on duty already having gone out to try and assist the police.
She stands up from the chair, walking outside of the windowless room to check the entrance. All that greets her is a barred door, haphazardly applied plywood nailed to the front door to keep anything out. The handle also liberally padlocked with a chain, causing her to sigh at being trapped inside the Fire Station. “Great, now what? Eventually they’ll come to the outer areas of the city and get me too…”
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Her body hunches forward, hugging herself as the cool breeze of dread fills her soul. Those intestines flopping around inside as her feet guide her up the staircase to try and find any way to escape the station. Frankly, there wasn’t much hope for her even if she managed to get out but she wasn’t going to just sit inside and wait until the zombies broke down the door and came inside to eat her. “Zombies… I wish I had gotten a gun and my concealed carry license… I never thought I’d ever need a gun…” The inner critic was having a field day with Ashley, finally getting to the top of the stairs after berating herself more.
The bunks were empty and desks were empty, even the Fire Chief went along with his men to escape the isolation. “I guess I really am all alone, aren’t I?” Despair filled her voice, causing her to stumble over to the Chief’s desk as her adrenal glands kicked into overdrive. She was panicking, brain racing with coming to terms of Ashley most likely dying tonight. After rummaging through the desk, she found her salvation which took the form of an older, but still functional S&W Model 19 .357 Magnum revolver. A box of Hollow Point bullets was next to it, she grabbed both and stuffed them in her jacket pockets.
Right thumb pushes against the cylinder release button, swinging the handgun down to roll the steel wheel out of the gun and see if there’s rounds inside. Six empty chambers greeted her, causing her to fumble as she tried to fiddle with the loose cartridges. Box fell out of her hands, spilling bullets on the floor in each direction. Loud banging on the boarded door downstairs happened right after, rushing her to load the gun.
Unnatural growls came from inside the department now, the distinct blood curdling cry echoing inside her noggin. She managed to ram in three of the six bullets she needed, hands shaking with anxiety. “No…” The smooth round nose of the cartridge slipped off the cylinder and went to the side, the monstrosity that tore down the door now in her view. It looked liked a skinless human, muscles exposed and covered in blood. The brain was in pure view, able to see all it’s grey, meaty texture along with various juices secreting and dripping down. It was latched to the ceiling, staring down at her as its fingers jammed into the drywall. Eyes were removed from their sockets, nose sliced off with only the nasal cavities visible.
Ashley slammed the cylinder back into the revolver, the humanoid creature dropping to the floor as she extended her right arm out to point the Magnum at the creature. Thumb cocking the hammer down, the creature swung its right arm back while getting in a position to pounce. Finger yanked on the light trigger, deafening her instantly along with ample muzzle flash to blind her. Her right arm felt warm yet numb, a sensation of something wiggling and digging inside the forearm.
It was still alive, it took opportunity of disabling her right arm by ramming its long fingers inside the woman’s head. Index and middle fingers sunk in, tearing apart her eyeballs as Ashley wailed in pain, vainly trying to pull the trigger to no avail. The creature’s right fingers had dug deep into the forearm and severed her connective tissue along with the muscle, blood flowing out of each wound at a steady pace. The monster’s jaw unhinged, wrapping itself around her neck before biting down and ripping out her throat.