The Town That Stayed Silent Part 1

Chapter 2: Nowhere Is Safe

I stood frozen as I had no idea what to do, then I braced myself for him to crash into me and tackle me to the floor and he did just that. He pinned me on my back as he tried to takes bites at my face. During the struggle, I noticed I was still holding the kitchen knife. When my hand was free for a moment, I took that opportunity to swing the knife into his face. Sure enough he let go of me and fell back in agony while still screaming and screeching. I struggled to my feet and threw myself on him as he tried to get back up. He swung at me and scratched me in the face. Attempt after attempt this man tried to take bites at me. Then I drove the knife into his neck. The screaming quickly died down into silent gurgles and the reality of what I had just done set into me. I decided it would be best to call the police, but I had no service so it would be best if I just headed down to the station not far from my house.

Before going to the station I sat for a moment just staring at the mans corpse. I couldn't believe that I had taken that mans life, although he looked nothing like a man to me. Upon closer inspection his face seemed to be scarred, as if he tried to scratch all of the skin off with his nails but failed. Well... also ignoring the fact that a put a huge gash through his face. Another thing I noticed were his teeth, and that was the problem, just his teeth. He was missing his lips, like he cut them off. He looked like a zombie would but still human. But that wasn't even the worst part about his appearance. His eyes were sunken into his head. This wasn't normal for any human too. It was as if his eyes were pushed all the way to the back of his head... just two gaping holes where his eyes used to be. His clothes stained with blood and dried puss. I started to question if it was a man I killed or a thing straight from hell. I decided not to waste anymore time staring at a corpse, the police station was the only thing I needed to get to at the moment.

Walking through the streets seemed very off and ominous. Cars were scattered randomly across the main roads and intersections. I wondered if some sort of apocalypse had happened or something like that. It seemed plausible but that wouldn't explain why i'm still here. I look up and notice that all of the traffic lights are just blinking. I wasn't going to play dumb anymore or pretend like I had no clue what was going on. I knew that possibly everywhere I went was going to be destroyed or ransacked or abandon. Maybe the black sky had something to do with this? All of these thoughts ran through my head and then I thought back to that man or... thing from earlier. Is everyone going to be like that? It wouldn't be the weirdest thing I've seen today in full honesty. I look off into the distance of the sidewalk as far as what was visible in my line of sight. There's a woman walking around a corner, but she too had a sort of limp. My heart started racing again. She slowly edged closer and closer... and closer. Slowly readying the knife that was still in hand, I stepped forward. Then again, then again and again. The distance between the two of us was getting smaller and smaller by the moment. She was now in ear shot.

I called out to her, hoping maybe she was someone trying to figure out whats going on too. But I already knew in the back of my mind the answer. She was another crazy thing too. Sure enough, she charged toward me screaming like a lunatic as well. When she got within arms reach, I drove the knife into her heart. She went down like a sack of potatoes. I heard more screaming in the distance from behind me. This time from multiple people not just one. Could they be attracted to the other screams? If this was the case I didn't want to stick around to find out. Within seconds i was running down the empty sidewalk and across an intersection. I knew I was close to the police station, I could see it from where I was after all. At this point finding a cop or someone to help me was out of the question. It seemed so dark and desolate. When I got to the station, I noticed the lights were on inside. Could there actually be someone inside? If there was they could be hiding from all of this craziness. 

The front doors were made of glass and they appeared to be smashed open. I stepped through the door being cautious as to who or what might be lurking somewhere into the station. This wasn't a huge station so I knew that if I made any loud noise and anything happen to be in the building, they would be able to find me within seconds. I whispered as I went through the building in case someone was hiding. But my mind was also focusing on finding any guns, batons or tasers that might be of use. I entered into a small room. It was dark, almost to the point where I could barely see my own hand. I searched near the door way for any light switches. I lifted the switch and at the same moment the foul stench of death hit my nostrils. I fell to my knees and puked. There in the center of the room next to a table was a police officer sitting in a chair. The body still holding the shotgun pointed to where the top half of the head used to be.

I stood up and slowly approached the body. There was a note next to him saying 'I'm sorry'. His badge read the name, 'Richards A. Collin'. I looked at his belt and thought for a moment, I could use his equipment. I never thought I would have to loot a dead body for any reason, much less liking the idea, but it was all I could find in the station and I need to make sure I can defend myself against these things. I took the gun and placed it on the table as I strapped The belt around my waist. I got everything, a baton, a sidearm, a portable radio, and a shotgun. I also took an ammo vest that was hanging in a locker near the table. After stocking up on as much ammo as I could fit into the vest, I slowly and quietly made my way out of the police station.

"What to do next", I thought to myself. I need to find a way out, a way to get somewhere safe. There's gotta be other people somewhere i thought. Then it hit me like a brick. I grabbed a radio that I had taken from the station just minutes ago and tried a couple different frequencies. I got an answer. But it seemed very static very broken. I couldn't seem to get a clear signal from where I was. You would think a police station would have a clear radio signal but I lived in a city surrounded by forest for miles. Its a big city with skyscrapers and suburbs lining the edges of the forest. Then I thought the signal might be from the nearest town or city. Its the only thing I could think of that made any sense at the moment. I looked over to see a tall building. Maybe a could get a good signal from up there? The screaming of the group of insane people start to come within ear shot again. I knew I couldn't just stand there and think. I had to move fast, and it seemed like the office tower looked like my best option at the moment. I ran to the front entrance. Locked, of course, but there had to be another way right? The screaming got closer so I knew I had to get in the building or at least to somewhere i can stop and plan out how I'm going to get out of here. I ran around to the back of the building. The screaming had finally reached what sounded like the other side of the building near the entrance.