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### Chapter 4: The Call
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The fluorescent lights flickered overhead in the Hayesville Police Station, casting a harsh glow over the dispatch desk.
Officer **Mason** sat hunched over, fingers dancing across the keyboard as he logged routine calls.
The station was quiet, the kind of quiet that felt heavy in the air. Suddenly, the phone rang, cutting through the stillness like a knife.
"911, what's your emergency?" Mason answered, his voice steady.
"Get to 123 Maple Street," a shaky voice crackled through the receiver.
"Unless it's going to be a stench and a vultures desire ."
Mason frowned. "Ma'am, can you explain what's happening?"
The dispatcher's tone shifted from routine to concern as she leaned closer to her headset.
"No time!" the voice interrupted, panic lacing each word.
"Just come! I'm in danger!"
The call abruptly ended, leaving an unsettling silence in its wake. Mason exchanged worried glances with his partner, Officer **Davis**, who had just walked into the room.
"Did you hear that?" Mason asked, his heart racing.
"Yeah. Let's move," Davis replied, already reaching for his jacket.
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Meanwhile, at 123 Maple Street, Jane sat alone in her dimly lit apartment.
The world outside felt distant as she clutched her phone tightly, her heart racing from the call that had just ended—her mind swirling with memories of betrayal and pain. Images of Mark and Lily flashed before her eyes; their laughter echoed cruelly in her ears.
Tears streamed down her face as she sank to the floor, overwhelmed by a suffocating darkness. The weight of her heartbreak settled heavily on her chest. "Don't do this," she whispered into the emptiness of her room.
A bitter chuckle escaped her lips in that moment of despair and rage.
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Just moments later, sirens pierced through Hayesville's quiet night—a cacophony of red and blue lights illuminating Maple Street as police cars and an ambulance screeched to a halt outside Jane's apartment building.
Neighbors peered out from their windows and doorways, drawn by curiosity and dread.
"What happened?" whispered one woman to another as they stood frozen on their doorstep.
"I don't know," replied her neighbor, eyes wide with fear as they watched officers rush towards the entrance of 123 Maple Street.
The air buzzed with tension as more officers arrived on scene.
Mason and Davis pushed through the throng of officers gathering outside, their hearts pounding in sync with the sirens still echoing in their ears.
Inside the apartment, chaos awaited them—an unsettling scene where heartbreak had taken a dark turn.
The atmosphere was thick with tension; something had gone terribly wrong.
As they stepped further into the apartment, they were met with an eerie silence and shadows that seemed to whisper secrets of despair.
It was clear that whatever had transpired here was just beginning to unfold—a mystery waiting to be unraveled amid heartache and fear.
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