Dave Keller looked out the window of his patrol car as he drove down the empty street. Millers Point Missouri was a small town, and technically there was only about a dozen streets in the town, but there were a few. And tonight he was keeping a careful watch over them.
The past couple of days had sort of kept the small town on edge. Although nothing actually happened, things had been turning up strange. The local goth kid had gone missing about three days ago with three of his chronies. A thorough search had been made, but given up, as the entire town with notable exception of the parents figured they ran away.
Two days ago, a rabid dog had turned up, and eventually killed by two local farmers, eventually being the primary word. It had managed to bite both of them before a 12 gauge blew off the top of it's head. Both men had been given rabies shots, but yesterday, both had disappeared.
But now, he was wondering if it had been rabies. It wasn't like he believed the ooga-booga bullshit that conspiracy people thought of, but it might not have been rabies, although they wouldn't know until the lab tests came back. Although he hadn't seen the body, and the local vet hadn't autopsied it, apprently a load of 12 gauge birdshot had hit it square in the chest, and hadn't fazed it. It probably just hadn't penetrated, but even so. Something should have happened. If he hadn't known the guy who said it, Dave never would have believed such a thing.
"Deputy Keller, this is dispatch," the car's radio crackled. He keyed the mike, "This is Keller go ahead."
"A motorist reported two drunks wandering the road outside of Hillgate cemetary. He barely avoided a collision, but was late for work and did not stop."
"Okay Marsha. As long as he didn't hit no one. I'll go over and sober 'em up," he let go of the mike and pressed down on the gas, sending the Crown Victoria out of town and towards the cemetary.
Hillgate cemetary was about a mile out of town, perched atop of (what else) a hill, with the only highway in twenty miles curving around the hill's base. He slowly pulled around the hill, and then stopped as his car's headlights picked up two figures at the road's edge.
Dave stopped the car and got out. He habitually checked his Glock as he got out of the vehicle, and withdrew the large Maglite from it's stand in the center console. He slammed the car door, and the two figures slowly walked towards him.
"Late night boys?" he asked, just before flipping on his flashlight. He recieved no response, and then he turned on the light. The two figures were now lit up, and revealed the two missing farmers. But both were differant. Their clothes were ripped in several places, the one named Larry had his arms covered in blood. The thing both had in common was the drunkeness. Or sort of, they weren't wobbling, or swaying, they were just moving, almost mindlessly.
Dave backed up into his patrol car as the two approached him. Pulling his Taser from his holster he addressed them again, "Larry? Carl, what the fuck. Guys?"
They didn't answer but came even closer. Dave shivered as a thought ran through his mind. 'Zombies. No dumbass, no such thing. They're drugged up,' he raised the taser, and still holding the flashlight, fired it into the closest of the two.
The barbs impacted, and as he pulled the trigger, you could hear the slight contact noises as electricity surged into it, but it never stopped the figure. "Larry" simply lurched forward, swinging his arms towards the deputy.
"AW SHIT," Dave backpedaled away from the person and dropped the taser, yanking his Glock from it's holster. By now, he was in the early stages of terror. If a taser wouldn't even phase it, he sure as hell wasn't going to try wrestling it, whatever the hell IT was. The tasered body moved around the front of the car, while tthe second bumped into one side and proceeded around the back.
A quartet of shots rang out as Dave triggered his glock, sending four 9MM hollowpoints into the chest of the nearest one. It jerked as the bullets impacted, but didn't stop and moved towards him again. Switching his aim, he fired into it's skull, sending two slugs into it's brain, and dropping the body onto the asphalt.
Without even thinking, the deputy turned and fired into the second, putting three bullets into it's skull and dropping it as well.
As the deputy stood, there, half shivering and taking in what just happened, the radio attached to his shirt lit up, "DEPUTY KELLER. WHAT'S GOING ON? DAVE? DAVE YOU THERE?" the dispatchers frantic voice came over the radio. Although he hadn't realized it, sometime between the taser and the last round, he'd grabbed his throat radio with his left hand, holding down the transmit button.
"Uh. Uhm. I...What.I," he stuttered a minute, trying to comprehend what happened. It seemed like slow motion, but in reality, it had only taken seconds from stopping, until two bodies were laying on the ground.
"Dave, I'm calling Sheriff Phillips and getting him out there. He should be there soon, just hold on."
He just about replied, when he heard a moan behind him. Whirling, he just avoided the oncoming teeth of a zombie, it missed him just as he swung aside, it's momentum carrying it into the side of his patrol car. Not worrying about damage to the Crown Victoria, Dave emptied the remaining ten rounds into it's upper body and head, dropping it alongside the front tire.
The last zombie's apperance shook him from his trance.
"MARSHA. CALL JEFFERSON COUNTY. Get all the backup you can fuckin' find and have them rolling, call the damned National Guard," he ejected the empty magazine and inserted a new one as he ran around the car. He yanked open the door and literally threw himself inside before continuing, "Call everyone you can think of near The Hillgate Cemetary. Tell them to lock their fucking doors and keep a loaded gun with them."
The dispatcher stammered a minute, "Uh, okay Dave, what the hell's going on out there?"
"I," Dave started and then was interupted as a hand beat on his window. This face was differant than the others however. Whereas they were almost complete, as in just dead, this one was half gone. A skull, with only the area around his eyes and lower jaw showing flesh, the eyes were dully glowing red.
"FUUUUUCCCCCKK," the deputy roared as the side window shattered. One hand slammed down the car's shifter into reverse, while the other worked to unlock the Ruger AC-556 carbine bolted to the car's center console. He slammed the accelerator and was rewarded as the car screamed backwards down the highway.
About thirty yards back, his car ran over something. Dave slammed on the gas again, and backed up another dozen yards before turning the car sideways, and aiming the flashlight into the darkness. There on the road, a figure was starting to stand. He pulled the Ruger out and chambered a round. As the body regained his feet, Dave centered the head in the sights and pulled the trigger, firing twice before the body hit the ground.
He barely recognized it as the missing Goth kid before a new sight drew his attention. It was the half skeleton, half human. It wasn't just stumbling down the road at him. It was RUNNING. The black night had kept it concealed, and Dave didn't notice it until it trotted over top the dead teen's body. He just managed to flip the Ruger's selector switch to full auto as the undead hit his car door.
The carbine emptied the thirty round magazine in a couple of seconds, the bullets ripping into the skeleton, shattering bones and ripping away at the fleshy pieces at point blank range. The wight let out a inhuman howl, yanked away the gun and then continued in the window. Dave ducked, trying to avoid it's flailing arms. Luckily the window was a slightly small hole to crawl through and so far only it's shoulders were inside.
Dave pulled the Glock from it's holster and aimed upwards at the creature. However just as he pulled the trigger, a claw scraped across his right arm. His pistol dropped from his hand as his entire right shoulder went numb. It felt cold as the paralysis forced his arm limp.
"SHIT," Dave thought quickly. He just barely avoided another slash of claws and keeping out of reach also kept him from reaching the Glock laying loose on the floorboards. The undead pulled back for an instant, seemingly analyzing it's difficulty in reaching it's meal, when a idea hit him.
Dave yanked up the door handle, and bracing his shoulders against the console, slammed his feet into the door, catching the wight by surprise and shoving it away. Taking the instance, the deputy groped for the floorboard and grabbed the 9MM. The wight was on him again as he emptied the magazine. A full 19 rounds, rapid fired at point blank range.
And it didn't even phaze the creature, even shaking away the head shots.
'Oh shit. I'm gonna die,' repeated itself in Dave's mind.
The creature grabbed a leg and pulled him from the patrol car, and Dave felt the cold feeling overtake his legs. He reached for his folding knife he kept in his back pocket, but he knew it was too late.
The creature hovered over him and then moved to drop on him. Dave closed his eyes, but immediately opened them as a burst of full automatic fire rang out from the night. He glimpsed the creature as it forgot him and charged it's new target. Another burst of fire, then something exploded, pelting him with little pieces of undead, and a metal fragment dug into his now-feeling left arm.
He struggled to get up, but stopped as a black-clad figure appeared above him, aiming a FN2000 bullpup at him.
"FREEZE," came the barked command. He froze, but looked up as another figure approached. Clad in a suit, he had a professer's air about him, and was followed by another dark armor clad figure, this one sporting sunglasses and a permanently angry scowl on his face.
"Deputy Keller?" the man asked. The deputy nodded somewhat confused.
"We're from the MCB. We just got that rabies test..........."