chapter 4

Chris drove down the empty streets of the cozy town of dellwood. He arrived at his hometown and looked at the clock 3:59am which meant almost 2 full days since he last slept. Once he checked in and entered his room the rest was a blur. When Chris awoke to his phone ringing he looked at the time 11:47am. Well that's enough sleep for today. "Hello" He said into the phone as he wiped the sleep from his eyes. "Chris this is the sheriff, we need you over at the mercantile. We have something on camera maybe you can help explain." He felt as though someone had punched him in the stomachache and let all the air out of his lungs. Dressing quickly and rushing out the door he enter the location into his GPS. Driving through the small town he ignored the rumble in his stomach knowing he hadn't eaten in around two days. When he arrived at the mercantile he was expecting another crime scene but instead only the sheriff was present. "Good morning Chris. Hope you had a good night's rest because I'm going to need quite a bit of your time today explaining what is going on. Walk with me to their office, I want to show you some security camera footage from last night." They walked through the small quaint shop that laid empty on an early afternoon. The maze to the office, around the office, past the milk and finally next to the charcoal was a large sign reading managers office. When the sheriff knocked the door opened almost immediately. A young man in his mid-30s greeted them and Chris saw the camera views behind him. He had seen them approaching on the computer screens, Chris thought. He had never really liked computers but he had to incorporate them at home to help manage time and inventory. Such a fickle creation and the world became more and more dependent upon it. His name tag said Greg and he left the office saying "it's all yours guys, I've watched it enough today. Sherriff you know how to operate this system?" The sheriff nodded saying "I have been dealing with systems like these for quite some time."

As they closed the door the sheriff spoke. "So I know you said you know what's going on but I want to prepare you, what we saw that walled by this building last night was horrendous. What I want to know is what is going on I feel like you owe me that explanation. First let's watch the video then I want to hear everything you know." As the sheriff rewound the video to 1:47 am a shadow crept in the corner of the screen. While it played a creature of sorts, maimed and covered in what looked like blood streaked across it fur. Chris recognized the experiment immediately and the other followed behind, their eyes glowing red in the light. "Care to explain what we are looking at?" Just then the sheriff's radio went off. "You're needed at the Williams residence, there has been another attack." The sheriff locked eyes with Chris. "You want to ride with me or meet me there, if you ride with me we can discuss what's happening on the way." Chris thought about it as they walked outside and waited for the sheriff to unlock his car. This is not what he had hoped, no one was supposed to find out but he had to tell the sheriff the truth.