# "I’ve Been a Cop for 20 Years. Nothing Prepared Me For What Happened Last Night" Creepypasta

An episode of [CreepsMcPasta Creepypasta Radio](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1492008134), 28 Jun 2025, 37 min.

Audio: https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/api.spreaker.com/download/episode/66788640/i_ve_been_a_cop_for_20_years_nothing_prepared_me_for_what_happened_last_night_creepypasta.mp3

CREEPYPASTA STORY►by Saint Zander Creepypastas are the campfire tales of the internet. Horror stories spread through Reddit r/nosleep, forums and blogs, rather than word of mouth. Whether you believe these scary stories to be true or not is left to your own discretion and imagination. LISTEN TO CREEPYPASTAS ON THE GO- SPOTIFY► https://open.spotify.com/show/7l0iRPd... iTUNES► https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast... SUGGESTED CREEPYPASTA PLAYLISTS- ►"Good Places to Start"- • "I wasn't careful enough on the deep web" ... ►"Personal Favourites"- • "I sold my soul for a used dishwasher, and... ►"Written by me"- • "I've been Blind my Whole Life" Creepypasta ►"Long Stories"- • Long Stories FOLLOW ME ON- ►Twitter: / creeps_mcpasta ►Instagram: / creepsmcpasta ►Twitch: / creepsmcpasta ►Facebook: / creepsmcpasta CREEPYPASTA MUSIC/ SFX- ►http://bit.ly/Audionic ♪ ►http://bit.ly/Myuusic ♪ ►http://bit.ly/incompt ♪ ►http://bit.ly/EpidemicM ♪ This creepypasta is for entertainment purposes only

## Transcript

[0:02] Speaker 1: License and registration. The driver flinched, blinked a few times,
[0:07] Speaker 1: and scrambled for the glove box. He panicked missed the latch.
[0:12] Speaker 1: When he finally opened it, papers spilled out, and he
[0:15] Speaker 1: sat there frozen before scooping them up. I've been a
[0:20] Speaker 1: police officer for two decades. Night shifts out in the
[0:24] Speaker 1: country usually meant nothing more than drunk drivers, runaways from
[0:28] Speaker 1: one of the nearby shelters, or coyote calls from ranches
[0:31] Speaker 1: with loose venting. It was rare for anything to linger
[0:35] Speaker 1: in my mind after a shift ended. Most of it
[0:39] Speaker 1: was the same monotony, repeated again and again. But that
[0:44] Speaker 1: night was different. That one etched itself in slow, vivid pieces.
[0:50] Speaker 1: I still haven't managed to fully pull apart. The moon
[0:54] Speaker 1: had been high in full casting a silver wash over everything.
[1:00] Speaker 1: Parked off country Road eight, half asleep when a car
[1:03] Speaker 1: zoomed past me, going at least two times the speed limit.
[1:08] Speaker 1: I sighed and figured it was just another guy out
[1:11] Speaker 1: too late, probably drinking. I flipped my lights on and
[1:15] Speaker 1: found them pulled over near the bend without much resistance.
[1:20] Speaker 1: I walked up to the driver's side. The car was
[1:23] Speaker 1: an old Toyota, probably early two thousands, primer patches and
[1:28] Speaker 1: the fender muffler rattling. Both men inside looked wrecked. The
[1:34] Speaker 1: driver was gripping the wheel hard enough that I could
[1:37] Speaker 1: see the tension pushing veins through the skin. His hair
[1:41] Speaker 1: was flattened with sweat. The guy in the passenger seat
[1:45] Speaker 1: stared forward, not blinking, hands in his lap. That's where
[1:52] Speaker 1: it all began. The driver handed me his license with
[1:56] Speaker 1: both hands. Finally, his voice cracked when he spoke, can
[2:02] Speaker 1: you give us a fine? Anything? Please? We really we
[2:07] Speaker 1: just need to go. I ignore the nagging, and he said,
[2:12] Speaker 1: asked what I always ask. Have you two been drinking?
[2:18] Speaker 1: They both answered, but not together. They looked at each other,
[2:22] Speaker 1: first silently, like they were trying to argue how much
[2:26] Speaker 1: to admit. Then the driver said no. Passenger echoed it,
[2:31] Speaker 1: his voice low and scratchy. I looked them both over again.
[2:38] Speaker 1: All right, I'm going to run your information turn the
[2:41] Speaker 1: vehicle off for me. The driver hesitated, but ultimately killed
[2:47] Speaker 1: the ignition. I returned to my cruiser and ran the
[2:51] Speaker 1: plate and driver's name. Nothing suspicious, nothing at all. Actually,
[2:57] Speaker 1: the owner of the vehicle matched the driver. Everything came
[3:01] Speaker 1: back clean. When I returned to their window, they gotten
[3:06] Speaker 1: significantly worse. The driver's head was twitching toward his shoulder
[3:10] Speaker 1: every few seconds, like a muscle spasm. The passenger was
[3:15] Speaker 1: in a similar condition. When the driver spoke again, his
[3:20] Speaker 1: voice had a strain that sounded close to breaking. You
[3:24] Speaker 1: don't understand. We have to go. We're out of time, sir.
[3:28] Speaker 1: Can we just go now? That's when I started getting angry.
[3:35] Speaker 1: Everyone always at somewhere to go. It gets old. I
[3:40] Speaker 1: told him to keep his hands on the wheel and
[3:42] Speaker 1: to relax. This doesn't have to be a big thing.
[3:46] Speaker 1: You listen, I listen. You're making this worse by acting jumpy.
[3:51] Speaker 1: I'm going too easy to perform a field sobriety test
[3:53] Speaker 1: for me. The driver's eyes darted to the mirror and
[3:58] Speaker 1: then to the trees ahead. His leg was bouncing. Now,
[4:02] Speaker 1: heel thumping against the floorboard. We don't have time, please.
[4:08] Speaker 1: I took a deep breath, stepped back, and started a
[4:11] Speaker 1: circle toward the back of the vehicle to get them out.
[4:16] Speaker 1: That was when the engine roared to life again. Tires
[4:19] Speaker 1: screamed against the dirt shoulder as they shot forward, fish
[4:23] Speaker 1: tailing back onto the road and vanishing around the bend.
[4:29] Speaker 1: I stood there for a second, blinking. My first thought was,
[4:34] Speaker 1: what the hell are you running from? I sprinted to
[4:38] Speaker 1: the cruiser through the door open and called it in.
[4:42] Speaker 1: This is Unit eighteen. We got a ten eighty fleeing vehicle,
[4:46] Speaker 1: silver Tiota heading eastbound on country Road eight two occupants.
[4:50] Speaker 1: I'm in pursuit. The tires back gravel as I pulled
[4:55] Speaker 1: out onto the road behind them. The moon followed us,
[4:59] Speaker 1: both glaring and wide. The car struggled to hold a line.
[5:05] Speaker 1: It swerved out of its lane every time. The tires gripped, overcorrected,
[5:09] Speaker 1: and skidded. The tail lights bounced in and out of view.
[5:12] Speaker 1: Ahead of me. Ahead of us was a wooden sign
[5:17] Speaker 1: camp winding pines youth retreat. The trees thinnerhead and the
[5:24] Speaker 1: gravel turned to soft earth. My head lights caught the
[5:27] Speaker 1: rear of the car as it fished out sideways, back tires,
[5:31] Speaker 1: chewing up dust and pine needles. The engine reved again,
[5:35] Speaker 1: the lost traction entirely. I saw the nose of the
[5:39] Speaker 1: Tiota swing off the road and the whole car vanished
[5:43] Speaker 1: through the tree line. A split second later, there was
[5:48] Speaker 1: the sound of branches snapping and a hollow metallic thud.
[5:53] Speaker 1: I hit the brakes and threw the cruiser into park.
[5:56] Speaker 1: My boot hit the dirt before I'd finished radioing the update.
[6:01] Speaker 1: Vehicles crashed east perimeter of Winding Pines, approaching scene. Now
[6:07] Speaker 1: my blood was hot. My thoughts weren't entirely rational, because
[6:11] Speaker 1: all I could focus on was the fact that they'd
[6:14] Speaker 1: gone from a routine stop to endangering everyone at that
[6:17] Speaker 1: camp and themselves too. I pulled the flashlight and unsnapped
[6:22] Speaker 1: my pistol holster, just in case. People typically get dangerous
[6:27] Speaker 1: when cornered, and this is about as cornered as you
[6:30] Speaker 1: can be. They had to have a reason for speeding
[6:34] Speaker 1: away like that. The car had come to a stop
[6:37] Speaker 1: against a thick pine, The front end crushed in but
[6:41] Speaker 1: not folded. Steam hissed from the hood. A branch had
[6:45] Speaker 1: punched through the back window and scattered glass across the
[6:48] Speaker 1: back seat. Put your hands where I can see them,
[6:53] Speaker 1: I shouted, no movement. I approached the driver's side, light
[6:59] Speaker 1: cutting through the cabin. The driver's air bag had gone off.
[7:03] Speaker 1: He was slumped against it, head back, mouth open. A
[7:08] Speaker 1: thin line of blood ran from his eyebrow to his cheek.
[7:12] Speaker 1: He was breathing. I swung the beam to the passenger side.
[7:17] Speaker 1: The guy in the passenger seat hadn't survived. His arms
[7:21] Speaker 1: were bent under him, and his legs were angled against
[7:24] Speaker 1: the passenger's side seat in a way I didn't think
[7:27] Speaker 1: was even possible. The neck hung off his collar, bone
[7:31] Speaker 1: head tipped unnaturally with a jaw slack and lopsided. It
[7:36] Speaker 1: was a grotesque scene. That's when the driver gasped awake.
[7:42] Speaker 1: He fought with the seatbelt for a second, then shoved
[7:45] Speaker 1: the door open, landing on all fours in the dirt.
[7:49] Speaker 1: I stepped up fast and pointed the flashlight at him.
[7:53] Speaker 1: What the hell do you think you were doing? You
[7:55] Speaker 1: ran from a stop and killed your friend over what?
[8:00] Speaker 1: He didn't answer. He didn't even look at me. He
[8:04] Speaker 1: rolled on to his back, eyes skyward, then suddenly turned
[8:08] Speaker 1: over again and started scrambling to his feet. I grabbed
[8:12] Speaker 1: for his wrist, but he tore away, stumbling once before
[8:16] Speaker 1: crashing into the tree line. God damn it. I snarled
[8:21] Speaker 1: and ran after him. Low branches clawed up my shirt,
[8:25] Speaker 1: pine needles filled my boots. The sound of him moving
[8:29] Speaker 1: ahead wasn't fast or steady. He was desperate and clumsy.
[8:34] Speaker 1: I caught up to him nearer slope, where the tree
[8:36] Speaker 1: cover thickened. He was crouched with one hand pressed to
[8:40] Speaker 1: the dirt and the other to his chest, trying to breathe.
[8:44] Speaker 1: Sweat poured off him in waves, soaking through the collar
[8:48] Speaker 1: of his shirt and streaking down his arms. His pupils
[8:52] Speaker 1: were huge, swallowing almost all the color. I grabbed him
[8:57] Speaker 1: by the elbow and pinned him against the pine trunk. Hey,
[9:00] Speaker 1: are you on something? You high? I held my grip
[9:04] Speaker 1: and looked him over again. His pulse was racing under
[9:08] Speaker 1: my thumb. You need Narkan, tell me now. He didn't
[9:13] Speaker 1: answer right away, and people that need narkan usually never do.
[9:19] Speaker 1: His mouth open and close a few times before anything
[9:22] Speaker 1: came out. What did make it out didn't make sense.
[9:29] Speaker 1: Listen you if you just if you hide now, maybe
[9:34] Speaker 1: I won't know you are nearby. I'd seen overdoses before,
[9:40] Speaker 1: plenty of them. Some twitch and mutter, others go still
[9:45] Speaker 1: and drop. This looked like the textbook interpretation of a situation.
[9:50] Speaker 1: When Narkan was to be administered at AESAP, I told
[9:54] Speaker 1: him to stay with me and started guiding him back
[9:57] Speaker 1: the way. We came. He will with me, barely. It
[10:02] Speaker 1: almost seemed like he was trying to fight my grip,
[10:05] Speaker 1: but he was too weak. He dragged his feet and
[10:09] Speaker 1: his breath scraped through his throat, eyes darting wildly. We
[10:14] Speaker 1: made it to the tree line and I got him
[10:17] Speaker 1: too the cruiser. The back seat was clean. I helped
[10:21] Speaker 1: him in, closed the door and stepped back. I reached
[10:25] Speaker 1: for the radio on my shoulder, despatch, there's is Unit eighteen.
[10:31] Speaker 1: I've got one fatality of the crash site and one
[10:33] Speaker 1: possible overdose. Suspect is incoherent, requesting e MS priority. I
[10:40] Speaker 1: went around to the front of the cruiser and opened
[10:43] Speaker 1: the glove box, pulled the knark and kit free checked
[10:46] Speaker 1: the spray, and turned back. The shouting coming from the
[10:50] Speaker 1: back of the vehicle stopped me. It was a low, thick,
[10:56] Speaker 1: clicking sound, almost like wretching, but wetter. I stepped around
[11:03] Speaker 1: and aimed the flashlight at the rear window. He was shaking.
[11:08] Speaker 1: His whole body was moving with these wild spasms, his
[11:11] Speaker 1: limbs flailing against the seat and his jaws snapping open
[11:15] Speaker 1: and shut. He started to break apart. It began at
[11:21] Speaker 1: the arms, skin pulling apart in long wet lines. Muscles
[11:26] Speaker 1: swelled underneath it, roar and coiled, growing outward. Thick strands
[11:31] Speaker 1: of fir pushed through the seams. His shirt tore open
[11:35] Speaker 1: at the chest, then peeled away as his shoulders expended.
[11:39] Speaker 1: Bones cracked and reset themselves. I heard them go, one
[11:43] Speaker 1: at a time, snapping like twigs under foot. His mouth
[11:47] Speaker 1: opened in a silent scream, and a second row of
[11:51] Speaker 1: fangs pushed out of his gums, while the original teeth
[11:54] Speaker 1: dropped into his lap. His face stretched forward as the
[11:58] Speaker 1: scullery shaped eye suckets shifting as they sat further apart.
[12:03] Speaker 1: A snout forced its way forward, the cartilage crunching as
[12:07] Speaker 1: it grew. The cruiser exploded outward as it launched itself
[12:13] Speaker 1: through the window. The back half of the car ripped open.
[12:17] Speaker 1: Metals screamed, and plastic shattered. I staggered back and drew
[12:21] Speaker 1: my side arm, took aim and fired one, two, three.
[12:28] Speaker 1: The shots hit. They had to have. I saw dark
[12:32] Speaker 1: bursts bloom through the fir, but it didn't drop. It
[12:37] Speaker 1: didn't even flinch. Then it started moving. Its nose twitched,
[12:44] Speaker 1: turning toward the direction of the camp. There was a
[12:48] Speaker 1: noise off in the distance somewhere far beyond the trees,
[12:52] Speaker 1: it sounded like a bell or something similar. It heard it,
[12:58] Speaker 1: and it started running toward the youth camp. Its whole
[13:04] Speaker 1: body dropped low, and it moved on all fours, fast
[13:08] Speaker 1: and lopping each stride pushed it deeper into the woods
[13:12] Speaker 1: until I couldn't see it any more. I stood in
[13:16] Speaker 1: front of the scene I just witnessed, with my gun
[13:18] Speaker 1: stillop frozen in time. I raised the radio to my
[13:22] Speaker 1: mouth with a hand that wouldn't stay still. My finger
[13:26] Speaker 1: hesitated on the transmit button because I didn't know what
[13:30] Speaker 1: to say. My head was still ringing, but that wasn't
[13:34] Speaker 1: why my voice came out unsteady. This is Unit eighteen.
[13:41] Speaker 1: I paused and tried again. Someone is heading toward camp
[13:45] Speaker 1: winding pines, um big, heavily armed. I think my vehicle
[13:50] Speaker 1: is destroyed and he he ran off toward the camp
[13:54] Speaker 1: and eaed back up. Now emergency priority, he replied. Didn't
[14:00] Speaker 1: take long copy that Unit eighteen. The nearest support is
[14:04] Speaker 1: sixty minutes out. Dropper sport is unavailable. Do you need medical?
[14:10] Speaker 1: I stared at the ruined back of my cruiser. I
[14:14] Speaker 1: didn't waste time trying to rationalize what I'd seen. If
[14:17] Speaker 1: I stood there thinking about it, I wasn't going to move.
[14:22] Speaker 1: I keyed the mic again, negative, unmed. I'm going in.
[14:29] Speaker 1: I let the radio fall back to my shoulder, then
[14:32] Speaker 1: turned toward the trunk. It took some force the pride open.
[14:37] Speaker 1: The frame had twisted when the back exploded out. I
[14:40] Speaker 1: grabbed the shotgun from inside, racked it to make sure
[14:43] Speaker 1: it was live and check the sling for rounds. I
[14:46] Speaker 1: kept clipped in a side pouch. I jogged up the trail,
[14:50] Speaker 1: following the dirt where its weight had torn into the soil.
[14:54] Speaker 1: They were wide at the front and dragged behind, deep
[14:57] Speaker 1: enough to catch a boot heel and trip someone if
[14:59] Speaker 1: they were aren't careful. Up ahead, tucked behind a split
[15:04] Speaker 1: rail fence with a cheap floodlight flickering against the roof,
[15:08] Speaker 1: I went up and knocked hard against the window. A
[15:11] Speaker 1: man inside jolted awake and nearly spilled the styrophrone cup
[15:15] Speaker 1: from the desk. I raised my badge before he had
[15:18] Speaker 1: any chance to say anything. Police Officer Dunley, something's loose
[15:23] Speaker 1: in the camp. I need you with me. Are you armed?
[15:28] Speaker 1: He blinked at me, still half way out of sleep,
[15:31] Speaker 1: then nodded, yeah, what's going on. There's something in the camp.
[15:37] Speaker 1: I don't know what, but the kids aren't safe. He
[15:42] Speaker 1: stared at me a second longer, and I could see
[15:45] Speaker 1: the disbelief behind his eyes. But a moment later he
[15:49] Speaker 1: opened the drawer and pulled out a pistol, tucked it
[15:52] Speaker 1: into a hip holster, and locked the door behind him.
[15:56] Speaker 1: We started toward the center of the camp. He finally
[16:00] Speaker 1: spoke behind me, are you going to tell me what
[16:04] Speaker 1: we're looking for? I didn't stop walking. You wouldn't believe me.
[16:12] Speaker 1: I just saw a police officer walk out the woods
[16:14] Speaker 1: looking mannick. You might be surprised what I'll believe to night.
[16:19] Speaker 1: I didn't answer. He picked up his pace to match mine.
[16:24] Speaker 1: The kids they're all inside right now, I asked. Yeah,
[16:28] Speaker 1: we just got here to day. I drove the kids here.
[16:31] Speaker 1: Most are probably asleep. Staff as light out around ten.
[16:35] Speaker 1: It's a full week retreat. They get the run of
[16:38] Speaker 1: the place during the day, bonfires, archery, swimming, all that
[16:43] Speaker 1: at night dispose the staying cabins. What's out here? I
[16:49] Speaker 1: didn't have answers. Every question he asked was something I'd
[16:54] Speaker 1: already tried to ask myself and come up short. After
[16:58] Speaker 1: a while, I raised the and and told him to
[17:01] Speaker 1: stop asking so many questions I didn't know. We cleared
[17:06] Speaker 1: the brush line and the tree cover opened. Ahead of
[17:10] Speaker 1: us was the center trail, wide enough to fit a vehicle.
[17:14] Speaker 1: On the left, two cabins faced each other across a
[17:17] Speaker 1: patch of lawn, and at the end of the trail,
[17:20] Speaker 1: angled slightly toward the turnlop, was a boss. As we
[17:25] Speaker 1: approached the cabins, I slowed and lowered the barrel of
[17:29] Speaker 1: the shotgun. The guard caught up beside me, still scanning
[17:33] Speaker 1: the dark. Tell me how this place is laid out,
[17:38] Speaker 1: I said. He glanced around and started pointing. There are
[17:43] Speaker 1: six cabins in total, all lined up in two rows,
[17:47] Speaker 1: three on each side. Staff buildings over there, past the
[17:50] Speaker 1: main trail near the mess hall. We've got a generator
[17:53] Speaker 1: shared behind that, and the first aid hut closer to
[17:56] Speaker 1: the lake. No perimeter fencing, but we've never needed it.
[18:01] Speaker 1: And inside, I asked, each cabin's got two rooms, one
[18:06] Speaker 1: for the kids and one for the staff assigned to them.
[18:10] Speaker 1: Usually a counselor or a teacher sleeps in the same
[18:12] Speaker 1: space or the next room. How many in each. This
[18:17] Speaker 1: group is light, maybe six or seven per right now.
[18:22] Speaker 1: We stopped outside the nearest door. The building was quiet.
[18:27] Speaker 1: A single bulb over the entryway flickered but stayed on.
[18:31] Speaker 1: I looked through the window, nothing but the outline of
[18:34] Speaker 1: bunks in the dark. Here's what we're doing, I said,
[18:40] Speaker 1: We go in quiet. Wake the adult first. You help them.
[18:43] Speaker 1: Get the kids up, no screaming, no explaining. Tell them
[18:47] Speaker 1: to head for the bus, Stay low, stay quiet. Once
[18:51] Speaker 1: they're there, they crouched behind it and wait. He swallowed hard,
[18:58] Speaker 1: then nodded. Push the door open. It lead out a creak,
[19:03] Speaker 1: but not enough to wake anyone. The air inside was stale,
[19:07] Speaker 1: heavy with the warmth of sleeping bodies. I moved toward
[19:11] Speaker 1: the back, where I could make out a single adult
[19:14] Speaker 1: figure in the bed along the far wall. I leaned
[19:18] Speaker 1: in close and shook their shoulder. Once they starred and
[19:22] Speaker 1: squinted at me. Please stay quiet, I whispered, flashing my badge.
[19:28] Speaker 1: Wake the kids, get them dressed enough to move. Tell
[19:31] Speaker 1: them it's a drill. If you need to lead them
[19:34] Speaker 1: to the bus and crouch behind it. The teacher nodded
[19:38] Speaker 1: and sat up fast, already calling out in a low
[19:41] Speaker 1: voice to the bunk nearest to her. The kids began
[19:44] Speaker 1: to stir. The next few minutes passed without a sound
[19:48] Speaker 1: louder than soft shuffling and half whispers. The children dressed
[19:53] Speaker 1: in silence, the teacher guiding them out one by one,
[19:57] Speaker 1: leading the group with a hand pressed to the water.
[20:01] Speaker 1: I stood at the threshold and watched until the last
[20:04] Speaker 1: pair ducked into the dark, headed toward the bus. The
[20:08] Speaker 1: guard moved beside me, his hand on his weapon, breathing unevenly.
[20:14] Speaker 1: One down. I said, we didn't linger. We moved onto
[20:19] Speaker 1: the second location. We eased in flashlight, low barely tracing
[20:24] Speaker 1: the floor. Bunk beds lined both walls. The kids in
[20:28] Speaker 1: them were out cold, limbs tangled in thin sheets. Some
[20:32] Speaker 1: are toys on their pillows, shoes beside the frame, an
[20:35] Speaker 1: old paperback books slipped beneath mattresses. I stepped between two
[20:40] Speaker 1: of the beds, careful not to let my boots squeak
[20:43] Speaker 1: on the waxed floor. No movement, no sounds except snoring
[20:48] Speaker 1: and the soft click of the cabin windowpanes shifting against
[20:52] Speaker 1: the breeze. This cabin was bigger. We woke the teacher up,
[20:57] Speaker 1: gave them the same commands and got underway to the
[21:00] Speaker 1: next room. In the third room, it was the same
[21:04] Speaker 1: drill on the fourth one. However, the door's base had
[21:09] Speaker 1: visible claw marks on it. I motioned to the guard
[21:13] Speaker 1: and we took our positions on either side. I opened
[21:16] Speaker 1: it slowly. I could feel it before we even stepped inside,
[21:22] Speaker 1: a drop in the air pressure. My flashlights scanned the bunks.
[21:28] Speaker 1: Kids were asleep, and I kept scanning the room looking
[21:31] Speaker 1: for anything. The security behind me let had an audible
[21:35] Speaker 1: gulp and touched my shoulder. I turned to look at him,
[21:40] Speaker 1: but he didn't speak. He pointed up above us, pressed
[21:46] Speaker 1: against the beams between the rafters who was watching it.
[21:52] Speaker 1: Its claws were buried in the wood, six of them
[21:55] Speaker 1: spread outward to anchor its weight. The arms were stretched
[22:00] Speaker 1: long and sinewy joints bowed out in unnatural angles. Its
[22:04] Speaker 1: stomach rose and fell with short breaths. Mucus hung from
[22:08] Speaker 1: its mouth in strands. Its chest was still wet from
[22:12] Speaker 1: the transformation. Patches of firm matted to beare swollen muscle.
[22:19] Speaker 1: It stared at the smallest bed in the room. The
[22:22] Speaker 1: girl in it had a face turned up, breathing through
[22:25] Speaker 1: a mouth. One arm hanging over the edge of the mattress.
[22:31] Speaker 1: I raised the shotgun and fired. The blast lit the
[22:38] Speaker 1: room in one flash. The slug tore through its shoulder,
[22:41] Speaker 1: ripping a chunk of its back out. It roared no,
[22:46] Speaker 1: It screamed something deeper than anything I'd ever heard to
[22:50] Speaker 1: this day. Kit woke up instantly, and chaos erupted. I
[22:57] Speaker 1: pumped the shotgun and fired again. This time, the thing moved.
[23:02] Speaker 1: It came down fast, not a fall, but a lunge
[23:06] Speaker 1: that ripped it free of the ceiling and sent pieces
[23:08] Speaker 1: of beam flying with it. I tried to shoot once
[23:11] Speaker 1: more as it hit the floor, but before I could
[23:14] Speaker 1: even so much as take another step, it slammed its
[23:18] Speaker 1: arm into my weapon and shattered it clean in half.
[23:22] Speaker 1: The guards shouted behind me. The monster rammed into him
[23:26] Speaker 1: and knocked him against the back wall. Then it disappeared
[23:30] Speaker 1: through the open door in a blur of limbs. I
[23:33] Speaker 1: stood there, holding the ruined half of my shotgun, my
[23:37] Speaker 1: arms shaking, lungs heaving. Get the kids to the bus,
[23:42] Speaker 1: I shouted, turning toward the guard. Now move. He stumbled up,
[23:48] Speaker 1: paled and wide eyed, but he nodded. We yanked open
[23:53] Speaker 1: the rest of the doors and started dragging everyone awake.
[23:57] Speaker 1: Any One who asked what was going on got told
[23:59] Speaker 1: to move on. Some listened, some hesitated. I shoved them forward.
[24:06] Speaker 1: Screaming started in the distance, not children, adults, someone farther
[24:12] Speaker 1: in the camp, in a separate spot. I turned toward it,
[24:17] Speaker 1: but didn't move. I couldn't go. If I left now,
[24:21] Speaker 1: even to try and stop it, the kids would be
[24:24] Speaker 1: put in danger. Keep them moving, I told the guard,
[24:29] Speaker 1: get them to the damn boss. I'll follow go. I
[24:34] Speaker 1: stayed behind them, waiting for it to show again. The
[24:37] Speaker 1: only thing I had now was my nine millimeter, nothing
[24:41] Speaker 1: worth using, but I had to try. The bus came
[24:45] Speaker 1: to life, cutting through the noise of crying children and
[24:48] Speaker 1: panicked adults. The last few teachers climbed on, pushing kids
[24:52] Speaker 1: down the aisle. I looked out toward the woods once more.
[24:57] Speaker 1: The trees were quiet, and somehow that was worse. I
[25:03] Speaker 1: boarded last, and the door slammed shut behind me. The
[25:07] Speaker 1: guards sat in the driver's seat, white knuckled on the wheel,
[25:10] Speaker 1: eyes flicking between the road and the mirrors. Awoke the aisle,
[25:15] Speaker 1: gun drawn, scanning every window. The bus groaned as it
[25:20] Speaker 1: moved forward. I felt each shift in the tires, every
[25:24] Speaker 1: bump of dirt and gravel. We got back on the
[25:27] Speaker 1: road and kept moving at a steady pace. I was
[25:32] Speaker 1: near the back of the bus, facing the left side,
[25:36] Speaker 1: and suddenly, through the trees there was movement. It was running,
[25:44] Speaker 1: keeping up with the bus. Its gate was off. One
[25:49] Speaker 1: arm hung the limp at his side, still dragging the
[25:53] Speaker 1: arm I had hit with a shotgun. The other clawed
[25:56] Speaker 1: forward with each leap, digging through brush, flinging it behind me.
[26:01] Speaker 1: Its face was set forward, mouth open, eyes locked onto
[26:04] Speaker 1: the vehicle. I shouted toward the front, faster, go, don't
[26:10] Speaker 1: slow down. The trees gave way to the slope that
[26:14] Speaker 1: led down toward the bridge. I could feel the edge
[26:17] Speaker 1: of it coming. It jumped. The impact shook the entire frame.
[26:23] Speaker 1: The roof blowed inward, and metal popped near the rear.
[26:27] Speaker 1: Kids screamed in every direction. The bus tilted for a
[26:31] Speaker 1: moment before rocking back into balance. Something's on the roof.
[26:36] Speaker 1: There's something on the roof, the guard shouted. He slammed
[26:41] Speaker 1: the brakes for a second, but the whole chassy veered, wheels,
[26:44] Speaker 1: catching the edge of the bridge. We can't swerve, I barked,
[26:49] Speaker 1: keep it straight and we're never going over. The bus
[26:53] Speaker 1: started to shake again. The weight shifted from front to
[26:56] Speaker 1: back as the creature moved. You could hear the metal
[26:59] Speaker 1: stre with every step it took across the roof. In
[27:03] Speaker 1: a split second, a massive claw tore through the ceiling
[27:06] Speaker 1: above the driver's seat, ripping down clean to the thin steel.
[27:11] Speaker 1: The guard didn't even have time to scream. The strike
[27:15] Speaker 1: came fast, and his head separated from his shoulders in
[27:18] Speaker 1: a clean diagonal motion. His body twitched once, then slumped sideways,
[27:24] Speaker 1: arm locked against the wheel. The bus tilted hard to
[27:28] Speaker 1: the right. Then it flipped, metal tore against pavement. Screams
[27:34] Speaker 1: drowned everything. The lights inside cut out, and my body
[27:38] Speaker 1: slammed into the back seat in front of me. I
[27:42] Speaker 1: remember the sound of windows shattering, the screech of steel folding,
[27:46] Speaker 1: and the wet thump of bodies hitting the walls. We
[27:50] Speaker 1: slid to a stop. Smoke seeped in from somewhere behind me.
[27:56] Speaker 1: I was on my side, face mashed against the wall
[28:00] Speaker 1: and my vision blurred. I heard screaming, but not from inside.
[28:06] Speaker 1: Through the cracked windshields and side panels, I could see it,
[28:11] Speaker 1: its arms, had wrapped through part of the roof's metal lattice,
[28:15] Speaker 1: caught in the bend. Its legs thrushed against the air, claws,
[28:19] Speaker 1: tearing through the breeze, searching for traction. It was still
[28:24] Speaker 1: attached to the bus with its arm, it sought their
[28:28] Speaker 1: useless arm was dangling in the air outside. Its weight
[28:32] Speaker 1: was pulling the whole vehicle forward. The bus had stopped
[28:35] Speaker 1: on the slope near the drop. The concrete barrier outside
[28:39] Speaker 1: was cracked and sunken. If it tipped, we'd go over.
[28:45] Speaker 1: The monsters screamed again, voice roar and furious, spit raining
[28:50] Speaker 1: down through the cracks. Every time it flailed, the nose
[28:54] Speaker 1: of the bus dipped a little further down toward the edge.
[28:58] Speaker 1: I pushed myself up, head swimming. If it kept pulling,
[29:03] Speaker 1: the bus was going into the river, and we'd go
[29:06] Speaker 1: with it. I grabbed my pistol from beside me and
[29:10] Speaker 1: moved toward the front. Every inch I crawled made the
[29:14] Speaker 1: bus shift. The people around me were mostly unconscious, but
[29:18] Speaker 1: were slowly stirring awake, causing the bus to list even more.
[29:23] Speaker 1: I pressed my shoulder to the wall and used the
[29:26] Speaker 1: seats to guide myself forward. The smoke inside the cabin
[29:30] Speaker 1: had thickened. I raised the pistol up at an angle
[29:33] Speaker 1: from the side of one of the cracked windows. Aims
[29:36] Speaker 1: sent a mass and pulled the trigger until the slide
[29:40] Speaker 1: locked back. Countless rounds punched through it screamed, head snapping
[29:46] Speaker 1: back once, but didn't fall. It was completely stuck. I
[29:54] Speaker 1: dropped the gun. It was useless now. I looked around
[29:59] Speaker 1: for anything I I could do or use. The shattered
[30:02] Speaker 1: plastic and hanging wire offered nothing. I looked at the
[30:06] Speaker 1: front panel by the windshield. There was a fire axe mounted.
[30:11] Speaker 1: The bus was old, so old that it still had
[30:14] Speaker 1: a fire axe. The glass over the case had already
[30:17] Speaker 1: been cracked from the impact. I slammed my elbow into
[30:20] Speaker 1: it and broke through. My fingers wrapped around the handle,
[30:24] Speaker 1: and I yanked it free. The blade looked older than me,
[30:28] Speaker 1: but it was solid. I didn't have time to second
[30:32] Speaker 1: guess it. I crawled the last few feet, pushing through
[30:36] Speaker 1: snap seat supports and shattered glass. The closer I got,
[30:41] Speaker 1: the more it thrashed. Its body was angled down now
[30:45] Speaker 1: and it had made progress in its thrashing, but I
[30:48] Speaker 1: needed to send it down for good. I brought the
[30:52] Speaker 1: axe down. The first strikes sank into the muscle above
[30:56] Speaker 1: its wrist. It screamed and flailed maniacally, enough to tear
[31:01] Speaker 1: across my forearm. Warm blood poured from the cut. I
[31:06] Speaker 1: didn't stop. I raised the axe again and brought it
[31:09] Speaker 1: down where the elbow had bent backward into the metal.
[31:13] Speaker 1: The joint cracked, it loosened. I hit again and again.
[31:19] Speaker 1: The tendon finally snapped. The rest of the body fell free,
[31:25] Speaker 1: but the mangled arms stayed stuck. The monster dropped away, screaming,
[31:30] Speaker 1: claws raking empty air, then vanished into the dark gorge below.
[31:36] Speaker 1: The scream echoed for a few seconds, then cut off.
[31:43] Speaker 1: The bus groaned again and shifted. We needed to get
[31:47] Speaker 1: out of there fast. For a moment, no one moved.
[31:54] Speaker 1: At teacher near the middle broke the silence and began
[31:56] Speaker 1: yelling for everyone to stay calm and get out as
[31:59] Speaker 1: soon as possible. I limped back along the floor, holding
[32:03] Speaker 1: the cut across my arm with my palm to stop
[32:06] Speaker 1: the bleeding. I helped the nearest ones get out first,
[32:10] Speaker 1: guided them through the back panel as it opened. Other
[32:13] Speaker 1: adults took over from there, ushering the kids onto the
[32:16] Speaker 1: road and away from the bus. Smoke still clung to everything.
[32:22] Speaker 1: My vision blurred from the blood loss and the ringing
[32:25] Speaker 1: in my ears. I could barely feel my legs. Once
[32:29] Speaker 1: everyone was off, I lowered myself down from the rear
[32:33] Speaker 1: of the bus. I remember stepping on to the pavement,
[32:36] Speaker 1: still carrying the axe, and standing there without saying anything.
[32:41] Speaker 1: All the kids huddled together behind me. Everyone was covered
[32:46] Speaker 1: in ash and blood and smoke, but we were alive.
[32:53] Speaker 1: The bus led out a low groan. Something inside popped.
[32:58] Speaker 1: The weight had shifted again, its front tilted toward the edge,
[33:02] Speaker 1: the left side pulling down first. I yelled for everyone
[33:06] Speaker 1: to back up. The whole thing tipped off the edge
[33:10] Speaker 1: and slid forward. Tires scraped once against the concrete, and
[33:15] Speaker 1: it dropped. Red lights flickered between the trees as the
[33:21] Speaker 1: first cruiser appeared from the main road. Then two more
[33:25] Speaker 1: ambulance headlights swept the edge of the woods. They finally
[33:29] Speaker 1: came a blur of boots and flashlights closed in, radios buzzing,
[33:35] Speaker 1: Paramedics pulled out, stretchers, officers fanned out. I watched all
[33:40] Speaker 1: of it as if I were stuck in a tunnel.
[33:44] Speaker 1: One of them called out my name, Jesus Danley, What
[33:49] Speaker 1: the hell happened? It was Jameson, some one I knew.
[33:55] Speaker 1: He took one look at me, then grabbed my shoulder
[33:58] Speaker 1: and started leading me back toward them. Come on, sit down,
[34:03] Speaker 1: you're bleeding. You're out on your feet. I didn't argue.
[34:09] Speaker 1: I followed him to the back of a cruiser, where
[34:11] Speaker 1: a paramedic opened a kit and started cleaning the cuts
[34:14] Speaker 1: across my arm. Everything stung, but it didn't matter. The
[34:20] Speaker 1: paramedic asked something, but I didn't answer. Then another medic
[34:25] Speaker 1: approached through the clipboard. We need to know where the
[34:28] Speaker 1: first body is, the one you radioed in at the
[34:31] Speaker 1: original crash. You said, one fatality. I nodded where Jameson
[34:40] Speaker 1: touched my arm. You said there was a wrecked car. Yeah,
[34:45] Speaker 1: I said, My throat was dry in the forest back
[34:49] Speaker 1: on the shoulder, near the main trail. It's not too
[34:52] Speaker 1: far out. They helped me into the cruiser and drove
[34:57] Speaker 1: me down. You passed the broken fence and came up
[35:01] Speaker 1: to where the Toyota had hit the tree. Two meddicks
[35:04] Speaker 1: got out and moved toward the rear of the vehicle.
[35:08] Speaker 1: I stayed behind, leaning on the open door. Then One
[35:13] Speaker 1: of them turned back and called to me, there's no
[35:18] Speaker 1: one back here. I stood up straighter. What he motioned again,
[35:26] Speaker 1: there's blood, but there's no body. We walked toward them,
[35:32] Speaker 1: looked through the window myself. The back seat was soaked,
[35:39] Speaker 1: you could still see the pattern where the blood had dried,
[35:42] Speaker 1: pulled down to the floor mat. The seat belt was
[35:45] Speaker 1: stained red and stiff. But the body wasn't there? Not
[35:50] Speaker 1: a single bone, not a piece of fabric, not a trace.
[35:57] Speaker 1: I stepped back, blinking. Jameson stood next to me. Was
[36:03] Speaker 1: he dead when you saw him? Yea, I said, Could
[36:08] Speaker 1: he have moved? No? I locked past the car into
[36:14] Speaker 1: the trees behind the clearing. Her question rang in my
[36:18] Speaker 1: head at that moment. Was it not the only one

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