Infection - Part I

Chapter 1.

"Meeting commenced at 5:28 in the evening. People present are Detective Malcolm Kelly...".

Another voice interjected, "Detective Haileigh Wright.".

"And..." Malcolm spoke up again, looking Valerie's way, prompting her to speak up.

"Valerie Simmons.".

"Alright, Ms Simmons..." Detective Kelly spoke up again. "We understand that you came from the migrant emergency from Lailin, is that correct?".

"Yes, that's correct... I didn't have much of a choice anyway...".

Detective Wright nodded emathetically at her. "We're glad that you're here with us, Detective Simmons.".

"You used to work as a detective in your local police station in the town of Artull. is that correct?" Detective Kelly asked again.

"Yes, that is correct," Valerie responded.

"Alright..." Malcolm Kelly voiced as he looked down at the pile of pages in front of him. Taking a few into his hands, he turned them, read them through and after a few seconds, he cleared his throat. "How are you feeling after what you've witnessed back home?".

Subconsciously, Valerie let out a mere snicker at the detective's words. "I-I don't know... I don't know what to feel... It all feels surreal. I thought it was all a bunch of shit, pardon my language...". Valerie paused for a moment. "But after seeing what I saw...." She tried to swallow down the lump in her throat. "After seeing what I saw, whatever this was... I knew it was some fucked up shit...". She cleared her throat, before repeating, "Again, excuse my choice of words.".

In return, the detectives nodded their heads.

"You were working on a case yourself, is that right?" Wright asked next, a few seconds after she looked into the page that Kelly was holding.

At first, Valerie nodded her head. "Yes, that's correct.".

"Two minors and an older man, a father and his sons is what the records show. Also, two of your fellow police officers, is that correct?" Wright added on.

"Yes, from what I was told, that's correct.".

"Alright..." Kelly took over the interview again. "Detective Simmons, we won't keep you long, however... We would like to hear your side of the story. We would like to hear what you've experienced in Artull and your journey here, is that alright?".

"But I don't see what's the correlation in my journey here nor my case back in Artull..." Valerie responded.

"We agree, there is no correlation there, Detective Simmons," Detective Kelly began. "However, there could be some relevance to what's happening now. I am sure that you see it as well as we do, the outbreak is slowly getting out of hand." The detective paused for a moment before he spoke back up. "You were in that forest and you were the only one who came out of it, alive. That's really the only reason we have you here now, with us.".

Detective Kelly's words caused Valerie's stomach to drop to the ground. She didn't know what to say, so she remained silent. After a moment, once the words she received settled within her, she muttered, "Just to be clear. I have nothing to do with the murders that had occurred in the forest.".

"We weren't accusing you of such. We have evidence that you're a competent, well-respected Detective, Ms Simmons," Detective Wright spoke out next. 

Silently releasing a sigh of relief, Valerie tried to swallow down the lump that continued growing in her throat. "Okay... Where do you want me to begin?".

"Where it makes sense to begin, Detective... We understand if you need a moment to gather your thoughts. There's a beverage machine right outside the interview room if you'd like one of us to fetch you something to freshen up. Likewise, considering your exhaustion, we can continue the interview some other day since I know it's an inconvenience we took hold of you so quickly after your arrival," Detective Kelly responded, licking his bottom lip, anticipating Valerie's answer.