"This is John Cole, and this is Matt Daviel," an officer distributed photos, introducing the two missing individuals, mainly addressing the local police officers. The photos had also been sent to them.
"Listen up, guys. We have two missing people, either lost or maybe they saw a beautiful girl in the town and couldn't resist following her. But either way, we need to find them. Even if they were eaten by a woman in a red dress..." It was clear that Chief Louise was being sarcastic.
However, no one considered their disappearance a serious matter. In any case, they hadn't returned. The main issue was that they couldn't be reached, so the task had shifted from finding a corpse to finding their own officers.
The local police, along with the state police, dispersed in groups, vowing to search every corner of the town. Just at that moment, Officer Patton delivered his announcement to each household in the town, advising residents not to go out at night.
The sudden announcement and the massive police operation surprised the residents, but after weighing their options, they decided to comply with Officer Patton's request. After all, the town was small, and they had never seen such a large-scale operation before, which made Officer Patton's orders well-executed.
However, the large-scale operation worried Officer Patton. It wasn't because of anything else but Jason's warning. So after delivering the announcement, Officer Patton immediately found Chief Louise, who was about to get in her car. When she saw Officer Patton, she stopped and stood by the car door, saying, "Want to join me?"
"No, no, Louise, have you forgotten Mr. Jason's warning?" Officer Patton anxiously replied, "This is going to end badly. If they were attacked and infected..."
"Infection? Are you talking about infection?" Chief Louise shook her head at Officer Patton and sighed, "Patton, why don't you take a break in the police station? I don't think... it'll take too long." As she spoke, she got into her car, closed the door, and left the station.
Almost all the police officers had left, leaving Officer Patton somewhat helpless as he entered the police station. He spotted Santos in the office corridor, organizing files. Seeing Officer Patton, Santos immediately stood up and spread his hands, saying, "Chief Louise asked me to organize files here, so..."
Officer Patton could only pat his shoulder and shake his head. What else could they do? Hopefully, they would get through the night safely. Damn Luke Prescott, if only he had listened to Mr. Jason, they wouldn't be in such a terrible situation.
Lights were now scattered around the town, with flashlights and searchlights interchanging, and police dogs tirelessly searching through the grass and trees. The night had enveloped the entire town, bringing a chilling coldness. The moonlight was dim, and people were loudly calling out the names of the two missing individuals. It seemed they were quite familiar with their colleagues.
"John... Matt... Hey! Don't hide!" someone shouted loudly.
Suddenly, the dog being led by someone ahead started barking furiously, stopping in its tracks and fixating on a low area in the front, where there was a pool of water, resembling a cave-like hiding spot.
"It must be here. These two guys must be hiding in the cave, trying to make fire with sticks like primitive people," a state police officer laughed and walked towards the cave. However, the dog being led by him stubbornly refused to move forward. The person tugged hard on the leash, but the police dog vigorously backed away, even breaking free from the rope and fleeing as if in a panic.
The usually loyal police dog's strange reaction immediately put the four officers on high alert. They all drew their guns simultaneously, slowly approaching the low area, spreading out to create a three-sided encirclement. At this moment, it was evident that all four of them were extremely tense. There was a crevice that looked like a cave entrance, but it was actually just a recess. Two figures were kneeling on the ground, their backs turned, and their heads nudged against the dirt. Their bottoms were poked up as if they intended to bury their faces in the mud.
Both were dressed in police uniforms, complete with holstered guns. Clearly, these were John Cole and Matt Daviel. Anyone familiar with them could recognize them from their body shape.
"Hey, buddy, quit hiding. We've found you, game over!" one officer said impatiently, reaching out to grab one of them. These two had triggered the deployment of over a hundred police officers. It was a massive waste and had left no time for rest since the morning.
"Hold on!" another officer felt something was wrong and quickly shouted a warning.
However, it was a bit too late. As one officer laid his hand on John's shoulder, John slowly turned around and stood up.
Everyone involuntarily gasped and took a few steps back. One of his eyes looked gouged out, leaving a dark hole with dried, black blood around it. It seemed like someone had gnawed on his lips, revealing a row of ghastly white teeth. Half of the flesh on his face seemed gnawed away too.
The officer who had touched his shoulder stood stunned for a moment. Suddenly, a sound like a gasp was heard and John Cole lunged at him, sinking his teeth into the officer's throat. With a swift movement of his head, he tore out a chunk of flesh, splattering blood everywhere.
The bitten officer clutched his ripped throat, trying to stem the blood gushing out between his fingers. He turned and reached out to his colleagues for help, his lips moving soundlessly.
The hissing sound of the blood spray sent chills down everyone's spine. After staggering a few steps forward, a dark figure lunged at him, knocking him to the ground. The nauseating sound of gnawing followed. It was Matt Daviel, and his condition was no better than John's.
"Bang, Bang, Bang!" Almost simultaneously, the handguns of the three remaining officers fired at the two men. Regardless of where they were hit, all it did was make them shudder momentarily. However, it got their attention. They stopped gnawing at the officer, who now lay motionless. They staggered to their feet and slowly advanced towards the three officers.
"Call for backup!" one officer yelled, panic looming in his voice before he turned and ran.
The remaining two also turned and sprinted towards the edge of the forest, shouting as they ran: "Contact the others, we found them, we found... Zombies!"
Indeed, as the report came over the radio, everyone involved in the search was stunned. Screams and continuous gunfire could be heard over the radio, followed by more screams.
Then, suddenly, all was quiet.
All the officers had heard the sounds. They all stood dumbfounded. They had heard the word clearly over the radio—Zombies.
Are there really zombies? That was Chief Louise's first reaction. Then something clicked, and she immediately pulled out her phone, dialing Officer Patton's number, and spoke swiftly, "Patton, no matter our differences, please... please get Mr. Jason here. Fast... You might have been right."
Yes, Officer Patton might have been right. Jason might have been right. Zombies, were now threatening their town.