THE CHOSEN

CHAPTER ONE

Sheriff Evan Kane is parked at a local donut shop called, The Donut Hole on Hanson Avenue, enjoying his coffee while reading the front page of the local news. He continues to read and flips the paper to the next headline. Evan's eyes open wide in complete surprise. The article is about a suspicious figure, cloaked and hooded, and no one could see a face or any characteristic to report. The Sheriff in that town, Haley, PA, is Ben Johnson. Haley is just thirty miles from the city of Raine, PA. The reporter, Stephanie Williams, writes, "This suspicious person or thing has taken control of people. Men, women, and children. All of which suddenly went mute, and their eyes were as black as sackcloth. These people appeared to be in a kind of trance it seems."

Evan takes a sip of his coffee and sets it back into the cupholder. He continues to read the rest of the article, wondering what this could be. Evan gets on his radio to the dispatcher. When Cara answers, he asks if anything unusual has happened tonight. Cara told him nothing has, as always. Frustrated, Evan decides to call the Sheriff of Haley, PA, to see if he can get some answers, after all, who trusts the news these days. Evan tells Siri to call Sheriff Johnson, "calling Cheri Janson," Siri said. Evan tells her to shut up. He dials manually, "Stupid Siri," Evan hisses, "Siri never gets shit right. Why would I want to call my damn sister?"

Evan puts his iPhone on speaker and waits for sheriff Johnson to pick up. Evan calls back several times as he has not yet answered his phone. Then Evan hears the tri-tone alert, a text message. He looks at it and laughs, "Hey Evan, Ben Johnson here. I can't talk right now, I'm on the throne. I'll be with you shortly." Evan's eyes fill up with tears from laughing so hard. Evan sets the paper down, takes another swig of his coffee, which is beginning to get cold, and waits to hear back. While he waits, he decides to get a fresh coffee and goes back into the shop. The girl behind the counter smiles and says, "Hello, Sheriff. What can I get for ya?" Sarah asks with a grin. "I'll take another medium coffee, black, two sugars." Sarah turns and goes over and pours him a fresh hot cup of Joe. Sarah brings him a large cup and shoots him a wink. "I asked for a medium." I appreciate the gesture, you know I'm married, Sarah. Thank you for the coffee," Evan says as he leaves and walks to his car.

As Evans opens his door and gets settled in, his phone rings, and he sees it's his wife calling. Evan hesitates for a moment and then answers, "Hello babe, is everything okay?"

"Yes, I just wanted to check on you to see how you are doing."

"I'm just fine, Amy. There is nothing to worry about. I'm just having a coffee and waiting to hear back from sheriff Johnson."

"Oh, what about?"

"I can't talk about it right now. I'll be home tonight around eight, I love you."

"I love you, too. Please be safe."

Evan sits patiently, waiting for Ben to call. Sudden brisk wind swirls and howls, blowing leaves, and debris around the parking lot. Evan rolls up his window, but he quivers a little, and the hair on the back of his neck stands up. Evan checks the temperature, and his car is registering sixty-five degrees. This is not cold by any means. The windchill sinks deep into his vehicle. Evan turns the heat on, confused at the moment, maybe an unexpected cold-front hit. The heat blows quick hot air, yet the cold doesn't subside.

Evan shuts of his car, gets out, and begins to walk back inside The Donut Hole. Before he gets halfway, he realizes it's warmer, considerably warmer than in his car. "What the hell is happening here? What in Jesus' name is this?" he thinks to himself. As he walks into the store, he looks to see where Sarah is. Evan walks up to the counter and calls her name, but she doesn't reply. Walking closer and looking over the counter, he tries to see if she is hurt on the floor.