Chapter 6

After loading up the bag in the armory Cole and Bernard made their way to the garage, the long hallway was completely silent except for their footsteps. The door to the garage was creaked open with the light gleaming on the tile floor. Cole leading the way, pushed the door open. "Good you're here." Ben said as Cole and Bernard stepped out of the smooth tile hallway into the concrete floored garage with walls lined with tools like any other garage, and a large black van with S.W.A.T written on the side. Abe got in the front passenger seat and Ben got in the driver's seat. While Cole and Bernard got in the back and shut and locked the back door and immediately got to loading the guns in the bag. "Are you sure you can find this place?" "Positive." Ben nodded at Abe and pulled down the sun visor where the garage door opener was. Ben pressed the button and the steel shutter in front of them slowly started to rise as the sheriff turned the key in the ignition. The massive van rumbled as it rolled outside and Ben closed the steel shutter. It wasn't half as fast as the cruisers and twice as loud, but it was better armored. Ben turned the massive van out onto the street and took a left, the same way he went to go visit Francis Callahan who Ben really hoped wasn't fishing right now. In fact at that time Francis was awake at home with a rifle aimed at his door with a beer next to him and all the lights turned off. It was one of many long nights for the town of Amber.

It was snowing hard along the dark road. The vans lights struggled to keep sight of the road ahead as everyone in the vans thoughts were drowned out by the unnatural howls that filled the frozen air around them. "So Abe, how did you find all this out with your son? How could he be responsible for those monsters?" "I learned about him being alive when the Nocturnis Infernis sent men after me that were looking for him." "why?" "Don't know, But that convinced me my boy was alive. After that I went back to our old cabin, the place he died. It was a bear attack, gruesome. Only when I went back I found his journal." "did you find him?" "I did, I also learned there was no bear attack, he changed… we heard him screaming bloody murder in the woods and when I got there, a bear covered in blood. Any rational person could assume what happened. I still can barely accept what happened." "You mean, your son turned into a bear?" "I'm being serious, sheriff. I don't know how but Gerald learned things that should not be known by modern man. When I went back to the cabin I found him alright but he's changed. I think it's because of what he said in his journal. He shifted into a werewolf. Something that isn't natural, a product of a curse." "You think Gerald cursed himself?" "and anyone he bites, and anyone they bite, and so on, so forth. There's no guarantee killing Gerald would turn the already affected people back,, they all might just drop dead where they stand, but regardless. They are connected now." there was an uncomfortable moment of thought at the possibility of this thing not just wiping out the town but spreading. "You got a family sheriff?" Abe asked, trying to change the conversation to something a little less grim.

"Used to, Wife and daughter, they died in a car accident." "I'm sorry to hear that Ben." "My wifes name was Sandra and my daughter's name was Claire. She was three." "I'm sorry to dig up painful memories Ben. I'm sure they're watching down on you from a better place." Ben dug his pack of cigarettes from his pocket and took a deep breath before lighting it. "I think they are too, Abe." Ben said, blowing the smoke out the window as he passed a sign. They had almost reached the lake when Abe noticed something in the road. "Stop the van. Stop it now!" Abe yelled and Ben slammed the brakes. The first of probably a dozen thin metal rods welded in place atop a metal barricade spray painted black poked through the windshield creating what looked like a spider web of cracks to appear over the glass just as the Van came to a halt. "Jesus christ." "what's going on, why'd we stop?" Bernard called from the back. "Take a look." Ben said as Bernard poked his head in between Abe and Ben. "what the hell?" He said as Abe took hold of the door handle. "Whoa hold on a sec." "I'll be fine." "Oh I believe you." Bernard said with a chuckle before disappearing for a moment. "Take this." he said reappearing with a twelve gauge shotgun in his hands. "It won't kill those things but it should put them down long enough for you to beat it back here, if you aim for the legs, Cole and I have been discussing tactics on how we can kill these things for good." "Silver." "what? It can't be silver that's too easy. Too simple!" Cole yelled from the back. "Gerald created the curse when he first turned into the werewolf. Any preconceptions he had about a creature being made from imagination would have followed the change according to the rest of his journal. He's always been a superstitious boy, I can barely comprehend whatever power this is but I understand what he's saying in this journal."

"So the grenades we grabbed won't help?" Cole asked loudly from the back. "I didn't say that, it's gonna be a long night." Abe said as Ben let out a small laugh and the two stepped outside, the sheriff holding his trusty forty four. "What the… what is this?" Ben asked in awe of what looked like a construction site piled onto the road with sharp metal pointed intentionally and painted dark. Some of the poles looked bloody and frozen. It had pooled on the ground and there was a trail going off the road and trailing into the woods. "Let's bring the other two. This could get nasty. Come on." Abe and Ben walked to the back of the van and opened the door. Cole was loading M4 mags for the two rifles. And Bernard was wearing the grenade bandolier. "Let's move 'soldiers' looks like someone left a trap in the road. We're gonna need the firepower if there's more of those things around." Cole and Bernard stepped out of the van as Abe pointed the trap out for them. "Holy shit, who would do this?" Bernard asked? "I've got a pretty good idea of who." Cole said. "Me too." Ben said in agreement. "Nocturnis Infernis members are out here. Keep your guard up and shoot them before they try to do god knows what, to you. And Cole, take one gun and leave the bag. Bernard. grenades. bag." " Can I bring one?" "Okay but don't lose it. Now put the rest away and let's move.

Cole kept an assault rifle and Bernard took a shotgun. Ben pulled out his flashlight and led the way. "Hey Cole, about back at the hospital, I said to meet me in the dark room, in about six hours or something like that. I didn't think things would get this bad so I'll just tell you now. Officer Bradley, our friend was a spy for the Nocturnis Infernis." "What?" Ben said stopping in his tracks. "When were you gonna tell me this?!" Ben yelled through gritted teeth grabbing Bernard's collar. "He would have killed all of us the second anybody knew!" "That's not how we do this job. We could handle him safely." Ben said, still gripping Bernard's shirt. "If he's still back in Amber he's probably dead by now if that-" "That's not the point! How long have you known!" "Not long! I swear. I went to his apartment last week to bring him lunch and catch the hockey game after work but he wasn't there and his door was open. Believe me I wanted to tell you but discretion is important with those cult freaks. Lessons from the last sheriff." Ben released Bernard from his grip.

"She's dead, Bernard. I had nothing but respect for her, but her caution cost her and several other people their lives. She should have wiped them out the first chance she got" "All she wanted to do was prevent Canada's equivalent to WACO. Bradleys place was filled with pictures and string everywhere, pictures of you sheriff, Me, Cole, even you Abe. maybe even some of those creatures too." "What are they planning?" "Same thing that those maniacs are always planning, sheriff.They want to take over the whole town." "Quiet." Abe said in a hushed tone "we aren't alone." Everyone raised their weapons as something moved amidst the trees.

"Spread out. Abe stay close." Ben said. Bernard followed the rustle through a large bush but there was nothing on the other side of it. "Hey I got something over here!" Cole shouted from a distance. Bernard turned to follow but heard something else: a knock against the tree next to him. He raised his shotgun fast to the noise but all he saw was a small pebble roll down the tree trunk. As Bernard lowered his gun one of the last things he heard was a branch break to his right and a knife being unsheathed. The long cold steel penetrated his neck silently as a cold leather glove covered his mouth. Bernard was laid down on the ground and covered by a massive branch that had fallen the night before. Cole's distant voice faded out along with the stars and sky above Bernard.

Cole was standing next to a large tow truck that had been hidden poorly next to a massive barn. "You are not going to believe this Sheriff. The blood trails all lead to this barn. Well the tow truck as well. That isn't the weirdest part, take a look at this." Cole walked to the barn and swung the door open. "I picked the lock and nearly fell into another trap." "what was it?" "see for yourself sheriff and don't step inside." Ben raised his flashlight and saw the floor had been dug out. "What the hell…" he said, stepping forward but not getting too close. The hole was deep. At the bottom were four small cars wrecked and dumped by the tow truck outside presumably. "This explains the blood trail." Cole said. "Wait a minute Sheriff. We're missing someone." Abe said noticing the officer was missing."Shit, where's Bernard!" Ben turned raising his flashlight to the woods as he made his way back to where he thought they split up. "Sheriff, wait!" Cole shouted as he and Abe kept pace behind him. Ben didn't know where to go and if he was too loud he would bring those monsters out and he would definitely get someone killed. "Shit where did you go Bernard?" Ben muttered as he ran.

"SHERIFF BEHIND YOU!" Cole shouted but he wasn't fast enough. As Ben turned a steel blade sunk into his right shoulder and he screamed in pain. If that didn't kick his fear of being too loud right in the face, then the three bullets Cole put into the dark robed figure certainly did. "Sheriff are you alright?" Abe asked, helping him to his feet. Abe picked up his light and gun. "We have to find Bernard." Ben asked in a delirium of pain flowing through him."Sheriff it's too dangerous we need to get that thing out of the road and hopefully Bernard will find his way back to the van before we have to leave." A loud menacing howl filled the air before being joined by two others. "That was close, let's go!" Abe yelled helping Ben stand straight and get moving. They quickly reached the van and all three tried shoving the giant mass of metal but it was no use. The heap of junk was somehow welded together from cars to refrigerators to a full on dumpster topped with what they could now see was rebar. Whoever set this up really took the time to set it up. "Get in we gotta go around, there's no other way." Ben said hopping in the driver seat with Cole back in the passenger and Cole in the back of the van. He looked out to try and see any sign of Bernard but was instead nearly shot by a crossbow. "Jesus christ." Cole rasped slamming the doors shut and locking them as the van started to bounce as it was taken off road. The van nearly tipped as three more crossbow bolts penetrated deep into the steel doors before the van veered back onto the main road. "Hey is he gonna be okay?" Cole called forward to Abe about Ben and Ben answered "I'm fine."

"Is he gonna be okay?" Sarah asked as Gina tried to peel the putrid bandage off Deltons midsection. "He might. Hand me the peroxide please." Sarah grabbed the bottle and handed it to the doctor. Who poured it on a thick bandage and pressed it to his wound causing him to tense and wake up, he screamed violently as the peroxide came into contact with the wound. Delton fumbled for his glasses as soon as he stopped heaving and put them on. "How are you feeling." "well I had a dream where i got hit by a flaming truck that was driven by a wolf that I'm still feeling so how's that?" "I'm gonna say you should lay down again. We need to disinfect your wound with peroxide." "Oh that's what that was, my bad, continue." He said sounding out of breath as he laid back down. "Officer Arnold we need to find more gauze, can you find another first aid kit?" "I'm on it." He said making his way down the dark hallway towards the supply room below the clocktower stairwell. Arnold turned on the lights as he made his way down the hall and opened the door. He grabbed two of the orange first aid boxes and turned around the way he came. As he was walking down the hall he caught sight of something on the roof watching him. It had bright yellow eyes. He assumed it was just an owl as he shut the light off coming back to the lobby. A loud howl close by pierced the air and drew Gina's eyes back to the shotgun sitting on the table next to her father's briefcase. Arnold handed the cases to Gina who put them both on the table and opened one up. She pulled out the roll of gauze and another bandage. "Okay, officer Delton I need you to look at me if you're still awake." "hmm." Delton grunted and opened his eyes. "I need to disinfect your wound again. This is going to hurt, I need you to try not to scream okay?" "That's what I've been doing all night, darling." he groaned as he drifted in and out of consciousness. He was beginning to hallucinate.

"I��m ready though, disinfect away." he said, raising his arms out of the way as Gina pressed the bandage down. This time everyone else heard Delton scream but he heard a very different noise come from his throat. A horrifying pained roar. "Officer Delton lie down!" you are going to rip your stitches again!" Delton slumped back on the couch sweating and breathing hard. "You've gotta knock me out doc… this pain is getting worse. I feel like I'm burning alive." "Knock you out?" "Yes, please." "I can't. I don't have the equipment here." "fine I can push through it no problem. Just gotta sleep it off." The pain was intense as he laid back down. As he closed his eyes his mind wandered in darkness trying to sleep and in the darkness two bright yellow eyes opened and he heard the monsters call as his heart pounded. His eyes shot open. Gina was looking down on him with a look of confusion on her face. A tall black wolf creature with shining yellow eyes walked up behind her fast. "Doctor look out!" "What is it? What's wrong?" asked officer Arnold who was standing behind Gina coming over to check on Delton. "It's the monster." Delton whimpered. "I think he's hallucinating officer Arnold." Gina grabbed Deltons head steady and looked into his blue eyes which were dilated like somebody who just ate a bunch of psychedelics. "He is hallucinating, damn it. something in this wound is poisoning him." "Can you treat it?'' asked Sarah on the couch across from her. "Werewolf antivenom is not something we have an abundance of. And I have three first aid kits to work with so I hope so." she said looking across the table to the half asleep redhead.

"Officer Arnold are you sure there aren't any more medical supplies in the station? Somewhere we can find some morphine?" "The First aid room is on the far side of the second floor." "I need you to go and find the anesthetic and anything else that could be useful." "Got it." Arnold nodded and made his way down the hall. "Oh and officer Arnold the sheriff wanted the lights kept out so we don't get spotted." "oh y- yes I forgot, terrible mistake on my part doctor." "glad we're clear now go officer." Arnold took off down the dark hallway. Sarah was looking at the folder from Abe's briefcase. "What are you doing in there?" "When your dad was here he mentioned someone. In his son's journal. A man named Lukas Baker. That was my brother who went missing around september. He said this Gerald guy experimented on him. He went crazy and this guy Gerald, your brother is the reason he's probably dead right now." "Your brother isn't the only one who went batshit crazy. Don't blame me, blame that godless cult in the woods.nobody else could be responsible for any of this. I refuse to believe Gerald would choose to do this on his own." "I want to believe you." Sarah said in a grim response.

Meanwhile far across town the police van was making its way towards lake squire at a steady pace. The snow still wasn't letting up as Ben parked the van in the same spot he parked his truck when he went to meet Francis and turned the engine off to hide the lights. "Alright Abe which way are we headed?" "You see that clearing on the left over here?" "Abe pointed in the direction of what looked to the sheriff like a small hiking trail with trees on either side. He completely missed it the first time. "If we follow that trail fast enough we should reach the cabin in about five minutes. "Perfect." Ben said, checking the Ammo in his forty four. Still full. "Sheriff, take this, Cole passed Ben the other M4 which had a strap on it, Ben put the gun strap over his shoulder as he stepped outside with Abe and Cole who were all set to go. "Which way, sheriff?" was all he asked. "Hiking trail over there." Ben said, pointing to it. "Don't worry Abe knows the way." Abe, still holding the shotgun Bernard gave him, was looking around, like he knew they were being watched by someone. "Come on, we need to hurry." The old private investigator led the way through the dark snowstorm that still roared around them as they circled the lake along with more dense cold forest. The cry of the monsters was still loud, as distant as they were, but they were getting closer. With each howl the noise intensified from somewhere close and far at the same time it was nearly impossible to focus.

"Come on," Abe said leading the way. "Those things will find us soon." Abe said, walking towards the trail as Ben and Cole caught up to Abe. "How far is the cabin?" "Ben asked. "It's at the end of this trail. It's long. "Hold one what's this?" The trail was dark but Ben could see tire marks with his flashlight. "Somebody drove through here. You think it could be Gerald?" "It's possible, both of you stay close." the tracks appeared to be from a pickup truck. Thick roots sprouted up and over the trail. The wind picked up as everyone kept their eyes peeled for anything that moved. The group was maybe a hundred feet down trail which started to descend downward. "Watch your step, you get caught on a tree root on this slope, you're going down." Abe said keeping his balance as he kept a fast pace down the slope, watching the ground carefully for tree roots with each step that made him slide down the loose ground. Abe struggled to catch his breath for a moment before calling the others down. Cole and Ben both climbed down in the same similar manner. When they reached the bottom of the long slope. The trail twisted around a corner up ahead where a faint light was emanating. "Is that it?" Cole asked, noticing the light. "No, get down." Everyone slowly moved to the left of the trail near the cover of the trees while still moving. "There's a road he uses to get here. We must have missed it somewhere. They turned and could see another wide, flat and long trail next to where they slid down "He's maintaining a road, I don't know where it leads or how to find the rest of it. The original hiking trail must have fallen in a landslide but I know the cabins this way, the path leading up is probably the secret road into town he mentioned in his journal. We need to go there and steal it to find out how to stop Gerald." "Can't we just shoot him?" "That might not work, he's learned how to turn into things that don't exist in nature, he could kill us all easily if we aren't careful." Abe held his hand out in a 'wait' hand gesture as he poked his head around the corner to find the source of the light. He pulled his head back quickly. There was a dark truck idling in the middle of the road with its lights on. Abe couldn't see anyone in the driver seat. One of the tires at the back was flat. And there were a couple tools on the ground next to it.

"Be ready." Abe said in a whisper as he readied the shotgun stock to his shoulder and leapt around the corner with the gun ready.the two police followed with their guns ready listening for anything. The sounds of the creature's howls sounded like they were nearing the lake. They needed to be fast. They passed the truck and noticed it was empty. The window was rolled down. Ben peered in with his light and noticed nothing of interest on the seats or glove box. "Nothing, Let's keep moving." Ben said keeping his eyes peeled on the dark treeline around them. Abe picked up his pace and Ben and Cole picked up behind him. For several minutes they heard nothing but the wind and saw nothing but trees. "Look, up there." two faint lights were coming from the cabin up ahead, nearly a hundred feet or so down the dark road.

As they approached they saw a dark figure past by the light though no features could be made out. Everyone stayed low, quiet and out of sight. "Sheriff. We've got company." "Where?" " one up in the trees, the other on the road behind the truck. Don't panic. They Don't know they've been spotted yet but they can see us. I'm certain." Cole pointed slowly once. And Ben followed the direction carefully. Cole was right. He pointed up and on the other side of the trail up a large oak tree was a dark frame with yellow eyes gleaming down at them.Ben turned his head back to the truck and saw a dark shape slide out of sight behind the vehicle. Everyone kept their guns ready as they kept moving towards the small cabin ahead. "Wait a minute." Abe said, stopping for a moment. "They aren't stalking us." "what are you talking about?" "You said it yourself, they see us. I think they want us to go inside." "That's the plan isn't it?" Ben said holding his revolver near his chest, ready for any of the creatures to take a chance and try to pounce them. Abe let out a deep breath and approached the cabin, shotgun still ready. He was right. The creatures didn't move as he walked in the centre of the path and up the cabins steps to the door. Cole and Ben wasted no time getting into position behind him. "Hey Abe maybe you better let me lead this one, I'm the sheriff after all." "I'll be fine, sheriff. I'm old, not some defenseless senior citizen." Abe said as he pushed the door open with the barrel of his shotgun. Inside was dark but not blindingly dark. It was furnished with old chairs and tables. The room was lit with an oil lantern at the back of the room.

"On the table in the living room were almost a dozen candles laid out next to a dark covered book." "There it is." Abe said, stepping further into the cabin's living room. Ben and Cole followed him with their guns high and ready. "Great grab it and let's get out of here. As Abe's fingers wrapped around the book and picked it up, the creatures outside began howling relentlessly. Cole ran to the window and saw two very fast dark shapes moving from the treetops to the forest floor making there way to the door. A second later they heard the truck rev it's engine down the road. The blindingly bright headlights were coming right for them as the truck sped towards the cabin. ��Everybody out the back!" Cole Abe and Ben all ran down a dark hallway as they heard the truck screech to a halt outside and it's door slam. They reached the end of the hall but the doors were locked. Ben slammed into it with his shoulder repeatedly but it was no use. The thundering footsteps down the cabins hall made their hearts race. Ben slammed into the door one last time before hearing the wood split but the hinges wouldn't budge. A massive shape nearly nine feet tall shaped like a man behind a thick black coat turned the corner. It had bright yellow eyes staring over the collar of it's leather trench coat. It's hands were gigantic as it raised a powerful fist, ignoring their gunfire as it punched like a missile, luckily nobody was in the way as in it's lunging death blow went straight through the back door. Ben and Cole shoved past the behemoth as they and Abe fled outside to a large open backyard. The monster yanked its arm out of the door and was hit in the face by a shotgun blast from Abe. stopping him momentarily as it blew the collar covering his face It smiled a jagged shark-like smile it's nose was crooked and broken. And a long thin snakelike tongue flicked the air smelling the air like a snake. While putrid yellow eyes stared at them as it took a step forward. "Stop." It said with unnerving, wide eyes. "I will deal with them." It said in a contorted deep voice that sounded pained to speak. "Gerald. It's me you're father. Why are you doing this?" He didn't respond. He raised his arms again and stepped forward and smiled his jagged grin as he lunged forward and picked up Cole by the throat. And wound up for another punch.

"No!" Ben yelled, firing his forty four into one of Geralds eyes. The giant screamed in agony and stumbled backwards towards the cabin as it dropped Cole. "Run!" Cole yelled as he lobbed something into the cabin behind Gerald. "Run, Grenade!" Cole yelled, actually throwing three from the bandolier of twelve he brought with him. After Ten seconds they were running away from the cabin and piling into the truck which had been repaired in front of the cabin. Cole dived into the driver's seat and Abe in the passenger seat while Ben dived in the box of the truck and Cole threw the truck in reverse as the building shook and was soon engulfed in flames presumably from the lantern oil, as the truck sped into reverse. "Gerald watching them unphased by the fire. "Vae Victus." He says the words and the creatures leapt from the trees snarling as their hunt is ordered from their alpha to begin. The truck was practically flying backwards up the hill. "Hold on!" Cole yelled as he spun the truck forward and followed the mysterious dark road as howls and heavy barking chased them near ceaselessly. "Ben take this!" Cole swerved a little trying to take the rifle strap off and pass it through the window to Ben. "Abe, did you get the book?!" Ben yelled into the window as Cole passed him the extra rifle magazine.

"I've got it!�� "Good." Ben said, turning around to see one of the creatures keeping pace with the pickup truck, it's cold yellow eyes locked on the sheriff as it sprinted behind the truck catching up fast. Ben raised the rifle and fired a burst of three bullets into the creature as it reached for the tailgate causing it to crash and roll to a bloody stop. Two more dark shapes passed it's body quickly as the truck swerved a hard right. "Hang on Ben! Abe do you know where we're going?" "No, just don't stop the truck till we're back at the station, Abe flipped endlessly through the book not entirely sure of what he was looking for. An entry explaining how all this works or how it could all fail. A reason why was what Abe wanted more than anything as little as it would help. He needed to know what pushed Gerald down such a twisted path. Abe didn't want to risk it flying out the window so he tucked it in his jacket as the truck swerved a hard left turn. Ben fired another burst at one of the creatures missing as it jumped out of his shot after the first of the three bullets. Before firing another six rounds into it knocking it off the road. The one he shot first was now back and catching up. "Abe the shotgun!" Ben yelled, not taking his eyes off the two creatures still sprinting behind the truck which had to be moving nearly a hundred kilometres per hour. Abe passed it through the window. Ben clicked the rifle safety and dropped it on the truck bed as he took the shotgun and slowly stepped towards the back of the pickup aiming the shotgun. Within a second one of the creatures jumped and was blasted out of the air sending its body smashing into a thick tree with a loud crack as it slumped down. Ben cranked the shotgun slide as the last creature leapt with a massive arm wound up with several claws ready to shred him. Ben fired the shotgun, cranked the slide and fired again dropping the creature. "Hang on another turn up ahead!" Ben grabbed the edge of the tailgate to stabilize himself as the truck swung a hard right turn.

The road's end was dead ahead but Cole was willing to bet there was a road on the other side. As the truck smashed into the small hedges and swung out onto the highway south of town. Cole kept laying his foot hard on the gas as the tires screeched and the truck straightened out.. The road into town was well lit with street lights and it looked like the creatures weren't planning on following them. Ben rested against the back window of the truck and yelled through. "Back to the station!" "On it sheriff! What about the SWAT van?" Cole yelled, not taking his eyes off the road. "We'll get it in the morning." Ben responded resting his eyes as the truck sped towards Amber. They just passed a sign which read: Amber city limits 2.5km after a few minutes of peaceful driving the air was filled with a noise that shook everyone back to their senses. It wasn't the creatures, it was a horn. A vehicle horn. Sounded like a large van. Suddenly ahead of Cole on the road he was blinded by headlights as the horn got louder and louder. He swerved, unable to see and crashed into a railing. Luckily Ben was holding on tight when the horn started. "What the hell was that?" Cole asked, rubbing his forehead as he and Abe pushed airbags out of their way. Suddenly the blaring horn which passed them stopped and was replaced by a siren and blue and red lights as whatever just missed them turned around. "Get us back on the road Cole!" Ben yelled as he noticed what missed them was the SWAT van they left behind at the lake. He couldn't see who was driving but it was picking up speed. He quickly began checking the ammo for the rifle and shotgun and reloading them accordingly. As Cole reversed out of the railing and started driving forward down the road again, slowly picking up speed. "Get us out of here faster!" Ben yelled as the truck rolled just over sixty kilometres an hour. The SWAT van going nearly seventy and catching up fast. Ben was nearly knocked off balance as the SWAT van crashed into the pickup's bumper.

"What the hell?" Ben said in disbelief as he saw who was driving the van. It was Benny Crane. 'What the fuck does this psycho have to do with any of this' the sheriff thought as he stood in the truck with the rifle in hand. "Don't make me shoot you Benny!" the SWAT van rammed the bumper again. The sheriff fired at the bulletproof windshield and was met with another ram as retaliation. This time the sheriff was thrown off his feet, luckily still in the truck. When Ben Aster pulled himself to his feet the SWAT van was pulling up and ahead of and in front of them. 'We're almost in town, We just gotta survive this maniac.' Cole thought. That's when the back doors of the van were kicked open by a massive boot. One of the doors fell off and Cole swerved around it on the quickly narrowing roads as they drove off the highway and into the tight streeted city with vehicles parked on either side of most roads. Gerald appeared in the back of the truck crouching on one knee holding one of the spare shotguns. He began to open fire. Cole recoiled in pain as the ceramic plate in his vest flexed and made a crunching feeling as his chest was hit with buckshot and broken glass from the shattered windshield. He wiped the glass out of his eyes and struggled to catch his breath and hold the wheel straight. blood leaked down his lip as he slowly caught his wind again and kept driving. The second shotgun blast missed. The sheriff responded by opening fire with the rifle. The bullets tore into Geralds coat and no blood even seeped from the wounds. One bullet even tore off half of Geralds cheek though he barely reacted. Ben getting frustrated fired the rest of the magazine. The bullets did almost nothing. Ben raised the rifle again and fired the last three bullets into the back left tire of the van. Causing it to lose traction and crash into a street light up ahead. The truck slowed down as Cole put a grenade in Abe's hand. "Do it." Cole said. Abe didn't hesitate pulling the pin and throwing it into the back of the van before speeding off. "Good it's dea-" "He's not dead yet. We've merely bought minutes, keep driving."

Abe was right. Cole watched the smoldering flaming giant walk into the street through the rear view mirror as Ben watched him directly, reloading the rifle as The giant raised something in his hand towards the truck as it sped away. Before Ben could see what it was, a loud bang went off and a bullet just missed Ben's head followed by another that hit the roof of the truck as Ben dived down. Dodging as Gerald fired a handgun at them from the distance. Cole swung the truck around a corner and the gunshots stopped. Cole slowed down the truck trying to figure out what road he was even on. "Cole we're almost at the station, hurry!" Ben yelled as Howls and barks filled the air getting closer. "I finally understand!" Abe yelled, pulling out the journal. "He calls them and sends them at will. Don't you see? They stopped once he started chasing us and now that we've lost hi-" "Thank you Abe, kinda figured that out already!" Cole said, trying to make him stop talking so he could focus on the road. Ben's rifle was firing like mad as Cole raced for the station, Ben clutching the edges for balance with each turn. There were four of those monsters after them and they wouldn't go down for more than a few seconds before springing back up missing bits of flesh, fur and bone within about a minute and catching up. Nothing was stopping them. Ben picked up the shotgun and started firing till it was empty and throwing one of the three remaining grenades at their stunned unnaturally quick healing bodies that exploded as Cole turned a corner towards the station dead ahead with a horrifying series of from the exploded creatures whose bodies were attempting to heal. barks that sounded like screams mixing and twisting with one another before fading out altogether.

"Up ahead, there it is!" Cole shouted as the busted up truck came to a skidding stop as he, Abe and Ben hopped out of the truck and rushed up the steps of the police station as a menacing howl different from the rest, deeper and unlike the others which were furious and angry, these were hungering droning wails. Surely from the same creatures but nobody wanted to wait around to find out for sure.. "Open up!" Ben yelled and was met by the sight of Gina and Sarah. Ben, Cole and Abe flowed inside and Ben slammed the shutter and locked it. Abe hugged his daughter who hugged him back. "Did you find Gerald?" She asked, sounding afraid they actually did. ��Gerald is a monster now Gina. I didn't want to believe it either till I saw him for myself. These officers saw him too. He would have killed you for sure if you came, I don't even think he recognized me." "What the hell happened out there? Where's officer Bernard?" She asked. "He didn't make it. We lost him in the woods. We think the cultists got him, it all happened so fast." "Easy Abe, here sit down and get some rest." Cole said helping the tired middle aged man sit down. "How's Delton been?" "Not good. We changed his bandages and the bleeding and pus stopped but that's when he started hallucinating. If we can find Doctor Barker he might know what to do, he was treating Claude Williams who survived one of those things too and he was hallucinating almost identically." "Okay, it's almost morning, once the sun comes up those things should be gone and we can get Delton and I patched up." Ben said slumping in a waiting chair next to Abe, his shoulder stinging painfully where he was stabbed as he sat down..