Infection - Part I

Chapter 9.

Valerie was about to speak up when her Chief beat her to it, "We need you here... I don't know how much longer we can fight them off.".

Her heart dropped to the ground. 

Through the static sound, a scream from the other side of the glass window in her living room caught her attention.

She walked up to the window right behind her television. Her eyes widened at the horror she saw unravel outside. People were getting chased. Attacked.

Artull was also on the outskirts of Liß. Her stomach began turning the more she dwelled on the possibility of the attacks reaching her home town.

"Detective..." her boss's voice pulled her out of her trance. "Are you still there?".

"Yes, sir..." Valerie responded. She took a deep breath and voiced her final sentence to her Chief, regardless of the pressure she felt against her chest. "I am on my way." And with that, she hung up the call.

Before putting her phone away, Valerie checked the time. Almost midnight.

Looking down at her television, she grabbed the remote controller before surfing through the different channels to see which worked. However, only the ones showing content from a month and beyond ago were still operative. None of the news channels were in operation.

Looking back out the window, she noticed the situation ramping up. It wasn't until a black silhouette planted itself against the window of Valerie's living room that she jumped and made her way up the stairs and into her room. 

There, hidden within her night table, she retrieved her pistol and inside a bag in her wardrobe, she got a few boxes of ammo. 

Moments later, she heard the shattering of glass. Someone managed to make their way into her home. 

Standing up, she quietly entered the hallway before moving down the steps.

Valerie ensured she had her gun on aim, in front of her.

Reaching the laminated, wooden floor of the downstairs hallway, she made her way toward the kitchen. 

It wasn't until she entered the kitchen and turned past the open door that she noticed a body on the ground. At first, it didn't move. So, Valerie decided to approach it.

However, with a mere growl, it slowly began to lift its head until it looked at Valerie. 

It was there that Valerie was once again greeted by that cold gaze that made her spine tingle. It brought back memories of the day before when she had her first encounter with such creatures.

Out of nowhere, the monster lunged for her, managing to grab Valerie by the ankle of her right foot. However, just as it was about to dig its teeth into the flesh of Valerie's leg, she shot the creature, bursting its head open as it fell back limp to the ground.

A foul smell flooded her kitchen, engulfing her. She could only assume that it was from the decapitated, rotting corpse that lay on her floor.

Her stomach slowly began to turn and she knew she had to get out of there, and fast. 

The will she felt to get out only grew more as she heard a loud shout. Looking through the broken glass of her sliding door, her gaze was met by another creature, alike, that tried to reach into Valerie's backyard by climbing the wooden fence.

With a loud thump, the creature - the zombie - did just that.

Not wanting to see anymore, Valerie slowly began to back up, entering her hallway.

She knew her keys, both from her home and her car, were on the fire mantle in her living room. So going there, she collected them before quickly inserting the right key into the keyhole of her main door.