They passed the familiar sign welcoming them to Carlisle. Up ahead, things seemed unusually dark. Instinctively, officer Brown let off the gas. The street lights weren’t on and no lights came from the end of the road where the town would have been. It seemed rather unusual.
The patrol car came to a stop out front of the town center. Its headlights bathed the front of the building in a white glow from the LED headlights. The entire scene looked like something out of an apocalypse movie. The town was just quiet and empty. Officer Brown shifted into park and stared out the windshield.
"Alright, Jon," Elton said. "I'll admit it. This is weird. Power's out and no one seems to be here."
"Yeah."
It was all Officer Brown could think to say. Too many thoughts raced through his mind. There was definitely something wrong. He opened his door and stepped out into the silent night air. His partner, Elton, stayed in the car for a moment, not sure what to think. Finally, he stepped out and followed his partner.
There seemed to be nothing in the immediate area that indicated trouble. Officer Brown pulled out his cell phone and switched on the flashlight app. Walking towards the town center, he noticed something off. The parking area in front of the building had several marks. He got down on one knee to take a closer look. Brown wiped at the mark with a finger. The black residue spread under his finger and stuck under his nail.
He sniffed the substance and shook his head. “Soot.”
“There was a fire that night, remember? You said one of the houses burned down.”
“Yes, but across town. Not here.”
“Maybe they brought some of the pieces here?”
“Seems like a long way to transport garbage.”
Brown walked towards the town hall and peered into the window. It was too dark inside to see anything so he sidestepped to the door. Finding it unlocked, he let himself inside. He held the cell phone out in front of him and swept the light across the room. The open space looked like an auditorium. Wooden stadium seats lined the floor facing a stage. He noticed something in the center of the stage and shifted his focus there. Outside, his partner scanned the road for any signs of life.
“There’s someone in here, I think,” Brown said. Elton didn’t respond. Instead, he walked inside and pulled out his cell phone. Much like Jon, he scanned the auditorium with his cell phone. In the distance, Jon was approaching the stage. His cellphone pointed down at the floor.
“Ma’am, are you OK?” Officer Jon Brown called out, receiving no response. Now he was sure it was a person. An older woman lay in the center of the stage with her head facing away. A microphone lay a few feet away from her. “Excuse me,” he said as he climbed up on the stage. He approached slowly, not sure what to expect.
Bending down, Officer Jon Brown reached out and rocked the woman’s shoulder. It barely moved and he knew exactly what it meant. Rigor mortis had set in. The poor woman was dead. Wondering if it were the little girl’s mother, Brown stood up and stepped over the body.
“Oh fuck.” It was the woman he had talked to the night he had found Tara. She had leaned in the window and said she didn’t recognize her. Now, she lay on the stage in a dead heap. But it wasn’t merely a dead body that had made Brown feel uneasy. No, he had seen several dead bodies in his time. It came with the job. But he had never seen one quite like this. The poor woman had clearly suffered.
Her eyes were bulging from her skull like she had seen some terrible nightmare in her last moments of life. A mixture of drool, blood, and vomit covered her face and chest. Nearby stood a small, dry puddle of the same substance. Her teeth were loose in her mouth but not because she wore dentures. Her actual teeth had come loose. Scratch marks littered the floor like she had dug her nails into it to find relief. Brown also found blood and splinters under her nails. The most disturbing sight, however, was her tongue. It was swollen and caught in her throat. Her mouth was gaping wide as if to show off the horrid sight.
“Elton, we have a body here. Looks like this woman really suffered.”
“Um,” His partner stammered. “We have a lot more than just one body.”
Officer Brown turned to face his partner. Before he could ask what he had meant, he saw the sea of bodies sitting in the stadium chairs. He had missed them all. The body on the stage had diverted his attention enough to pass every single citizen in Carlisle. Each had the same horror-stricken expression glued to their faces. Drool, blood, and vomit caked every single face in the crowd.
“What…in…the…unholy…fuck?” Brown stepped down off the stage and scanned the audience with his phone. “I’ve never seen anything like this before.” Some of the citizens held hands, forever bonding their deceased bodies. Many held rosary beads and bibles. But the worst was the women, clutching their children. It was a scene Brown would never forget until his dying day.
“We have to call this in,” Brown said. Elton nodded and dialed a few numbers on his phone. A few hours later, the FBI crawled over the city of Carlisle. Bodies were bagged, evidence was taken, and photos were snapped. Meanwhile, Elton and Jon stood by their cruiser and watched the controlled chaos. Both men had already given their statements.
“We found a lot of cars a few blocks away with all their batteries missing. Not sure what to make of that.”
Jon shrugged. The FBI agent walked away
