Zombie Twister

From Journey Into the Unknown: Deluxe Horror Edition

The following story was previously published in the short story horror collection: Journey Into The Unknown.

ZOMBIE TWISTER 

"Jeremy, we found a video camera in the back of the Garland," the sheriff said. 

"Good, maybe we'll get a clue to what happened out here," Detective Jeremey Riggs said. 

Jeremy looked at the modified truck called the Garland with intrigue. The four door truck had been modified to look like a tank and was supposed to withstand the force of at least an EF4 tornado. The crew from the Garland was missing just like the inhabitants of the small town of Gleeson, five miles down the road. An EF5 tornado had recently havocked the city of Wichita, Kansas, a few hours prior, leaving massive devastation in its path. Whole towns were obliterated by the storm. Gleeson was the exception. The town was still standing but the inhabitants were gone. Something else was responsible besides the tornado. He was hoping whatever the crew recorded from the Garland, would give them some sort of clue. Maybe they caught something on tape. 

"Jeremy, we found a body. You have to see this to believe it," Sheriff Charles Santino said, almost out of breath. 

He followed Charles out into the corn field where a couple of deputies were hunched over a body. He looked at the body with disgust. Something had ripped the body to shreds. It looked like the work of a large hungry animal. 

"Get the coroner here right away," Jeremy ordered. 

"Might take a while. Phone lines are down. The tornado did major damage to the cell tower," Sheriff Santino said. 

"Be on guard. Whatever did this to him may still be nearby," Jeremy said. 

"A coyote?" Charles Santino asked 

"Perhaps," Jeremy said, looking at the body closely. "I don't see animal bites. These bite marks look human." 

"A human did this?" Charles asked in shock. 

"Won't know for sure until an autopsy is performed." Jeremy said. "Keep the deputies here until we can get the coroner here. I want to go back to the station to watch the footage from the video camera. Maybe they caught whatever killed this man on tape." 

Jeremy walked into the police station carrying the video camera. 

"Detective," Janice, the lady at the front desk, said as he passed her. 

He made his way to his office and walked over to his desk. He hooked the video camera's USB cord into his computer and uploaded the camera's files. He had a thirty inch computer monitor, bigger than the TV he had at home. Once the files were uploaded, he clicked on the first one. 

? 

"Is it rolling?" Trevor Cline asked. 

"Start." 

Trevor adjusted his red ball cap and walked over to his newly modified truck. "This is my latest invention, the Garland. Named after my favorite actress, the Garland is reinforced with thick steel plating designed to withstand the force of at least an EF4 tornado. The latest technology within the Garland will make tornado chasing a lot safer and we can, in theory, get real close to a tornado." 

"Cost a lot of grant money as well," Jake Tyler said, pointing the video camera at Trevor. 

"Well worth the money. The amount of information we will be able to learn from a tornado now that we can get real close is invaluable."