[A/N: Hello everyone.
Another long chapter.
Today we have a new character, and something similar will happen in the following chapters.
Comment, give me power stones, and if you can, hit the heart button on my profile.]
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Sunday, November 15, 2026, City Police Department.
That Sunday was like any other day for the local police station; however, the early morning shift personnel had received urgent directives from their superiors, instructing them to immediately report any incident involving extreme violence, psychotic outbursts from criminals, or brutal assaults.
The directive had taken the officers by surprise, who initially considered it part of a routine training exercise. Furthermore, three hours have already passed since the order was issued without any calls with the characteristics described being registered.
"Shane, you're finally here… I thought you wouldn't show up," expressed the officer in charge of the night watch.
"You know I would never miss a shift, even if it's a Sunday," Shane replied with a seriousness that barely concealed a certain haughtiness. "Did anything significant happen last night?" Shane inquired, picking up the call log and reviewing it.
"Nothing serious… Just reports of suspicious individuals, domestic disputes, drunk drivers, and fights outside nightclubs… Though there is something unusual," his interlocutor replied. Both began walking towards Shane's office.
"What exactly happened?" Shane questioned his colleague, stopping abruptly and turning to face him.
"The commissioner has instructed that any incident involving violent attacks against individuals must be immediately reported to the nearest military base," his colleague responded, shrugging his shoulders. "They will handle those matters directly, and our role will be limited to providing support for these types of calls," he continued explaining.
"How? Will they intervene in our jurisdiction? Are you completely sure about this?" Shane inquired with some reluctance.
Even though he was a man of deep respect for hierarchy and orders, he found the idea that the authority and jurisdiction of the police force he served would be taken away utterly incomprehensible.
"I'm completely sure… I even requested a second confirmation from the commissioner himself. The notification was issued at 4 in the morning, and even the officer in charge of the city's provisional military camp called to inform that they were ready to deploy," he answered with grave seriousness.
Shane furrowed his brow; his gaze lost on a city map adorning one of the walls.
"This… this is quite strange," he mumbled, and ran a hand through the back of his neck before adding: "Why do you think they are intervening in the city? It makes no sense."
"It's not just the city," his colleague pointed out. "I spoke with a friend who works in a police department in a southern town, and his department received identical instructions… According to the information he gathered, this is a nationwide directive. The orders come directly from the Ministry of Security," he detailed, while his gaze scanned the surroundings for any unwanted listeners.
"I see," Shane replied, pretending to grasp the reason behind the government's directive, but internally he pondered: "Is something serious happening in the country? Could it be a terrorist attack? Or perhaps a coup d'état?"
Uncertainty filled his mind, hindering his clarity of thought. Although he was aware that many of the conjectures that assailed him were improbable, the lack of concrete information allowed his imagination to run wild.
"I hope it's just a drill," Shane reflected, as he prepared for what he believed would be a normal Sunday.
Desolate Park, on the outskirts of the eastern sector of the city.
7:00 PM.
"Good evening, Sergeant. I am the officer in charge of deploying Camp 3 for this operation. I trust that we will achieve effective synchronicity in the coming days," expressed a military officer who was proceeding to cordon off the park's perimeter.
"I also hope our collaboration will be fruitful… However, I would first like to understand the situation. What is the reason for your intervention in these cases?" Shane inquired with a serious, yet deferential tone.
"I regret to inform you, Sergeant, that I lack the authority to disclose that information… To my knowledge, our first lieutenant will visit the police department tomorrow for a joint meeting with the commissioner. It is highly probable that all developments will be revealed to you at that meeting," the soldier explained, as he guided Shane through the park.
"Understood… So, how can we assist you then?" Shane asked the soldier.
"Your men have already taken the necessary measures to keep civilians at a distance, which is more than sufficient for now," the soldier replied, pointing into the distance where a couple of homeless individuals appeared to be inquiring of the officers about the condition of their companions residing in the park.
"What about the bodies? Do you require our forensic team to take charge?" Shane inquired, offering the police department's assistance once more.
He had previously been informed that their roles in these specific scenarios would be limited to a support function. In any other type of incident, military personnel would not intervene nor possess any decision-making power.
"It is not necessary; our medical team will handle the bodies, the injured, and these agitated individuals," the soldier politely declined, pointing to some infected individuals who were struggling to free themselves from the restraints imposed by the army's medical personnel.
"If I may comment… This incident is quite unusual. It seems that many individuals are behaving strangely and aggressively… Could it be the effect of some new illicit substance?" Shane interrogated the soldier, as he knelt beside the corpse of a woman whose abdomen was disemboweled.
The scene unfolding before them seemed to have been ripped directly from a horror film.
Before them lay the body of a slender woman, whose appearance suggested she had been attacked by a pack of wolves.
Her abdomen was completely torn open. A portion of her intestines and organs had been brutally removed. Additionally, she had a neck wound, caused by a bite.
However, contrary to what a rational mind might infer, the bite had been inflicted by a human.
The perpetrator of this savage attack was found near the woman's body.
This man, as slender as the woman, exhibited clear traces of blood around his face, which attested to his authorship in such an atrocious aggression.
Nevertheless, the most enigmatic feature on both bodies was an unequivocal puncture mark on their heads.
"That's not the point… Surely, they will inform you about this tomorrow," the soldier replied, still not disclosing the reasons for the anomalous behavior of the individuals.
"Did your men do this?" Shane suddenly asked, pointing to the wounds on their heads.
"No," the soldier firmly denied. "When we arrived, they were already like that," he explained without hesitation.
"How strange… Did they find anything similar at the hospital?" Shane asked, remembering a call they received from a hospital in the northwest area of the city.
"No, there we only found people injured similarly to this woman. Although they only had bites… Not this disaster," the soldier replied, emphasizing the severity of the woman's injuries.
Thursday, November 19, 2026, In the heart of the city.
6:00 PM.
"ATTENTION! The police will proceed to take measures to maintain order in the streets… Please, retreat immediately!"
"Repeat! The police will proceed to take measures to maintain order in the streets… Please, retreat immediately!"
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[A/N: In my country, they just advance and strike, they don't warn. (Just kidding.)]
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In the city center, a large demonstration had formed against the military's actions in recent days.
This march had been called nationwide, as military actions were being carried out in various cities across the country.
People, out of fear and caution, joined these marches, which at first seemed peaceful demonstrations, but as more people gathered, along with the presence of extremist activist groups, the march began to spiral out of control.
The scale of the unrest reached such a point that police forces requested support from the provisional military camps to contain the chaos.
"Sergeant, the message has already been delivered… Shall we advance against the protesters?" asked the soldier who had just spoken through the megaphone.
"Not yet," Shane replied, his posture erects and shoulders tense showing the seriousness of the situation. "Let's wait for the call from the other units and the military to proceed simultaneously," he added, looking at the mob that was not retreating.
"Understood."
Beep… Bzzz.
"This is second unit ready."
"Third unit ready."
"Military unit two in position."
"Proceed," Shane said over his radio.
He adjusted his protective gear and positioned himself behind the line formed by police officers with riot shields.
The tension was palpable in their ranks.
They knew that in this confrontation they would always be criticized.
It didn't matter if they did their job well; people would seek reasons to legally pursue them.
"Come on, bastards! Damn pigs! Murderers! Slaves of the big corporations, die!" shouted the hooded men in front of the police.
Friday, November 20, 2026, City Police Department.
5:00 PM.
"…You must be very careful with your wound… You were very lucky; a little higher and you would have ended up seriously injured or could have died… Yes, just as I told you, things are getting quite complicated… You should listen to me; it's best for you to leave town and avoid crowds… You must get your family to safety… Of course, he's just like his father… He'll surely be a police officer like you… Say hello to Lori for me… Remember: people are getting sick with something irreversible… If you don't believe me, ask the sheriff… They didn't tell you anything because you were sick… If you have problems, you must let me know… I will rescue them if necessary… Goodbye, I have to go."
"Sergeant, I've already contacted the officers closest to the captain's son's high school; they will go and pick him up and bring him here," a police officer informed Shane after he hung up the call with his friend.
"Well done… I'll notify the captain immediately. Which area of the city center where you assigned to?" Shane asked his colleague before heading to the captain's office.
"To the city center area, Sergeant… In the protests," he replied with some hesitation.
"Do you have a partner assigned?"
"No, Sergeant, I'm going as backup due to the intensification of the protests," the officer replied.
"Wait for me 5 minutes, you'll come with me," he ordered.
Half an hour later, in the city center.
"Containment unit 4, I need a brief report on the damages," Shane requested near a special police forces SUV.
"Sergeant, the protesters have concentrated in at least twelve streets around the city center. All of these are completely full of people. Businesses closed a couple of hours ago due to reported looting in some nearby areas. The military is awaiting the curfew. The commissioner decided to clear the streets before military intervention. We are waiting for orders."
"Understood, do we have emergency routes for ambulances and firefighters?" Shane asked after receiving the report.
"The areas controlled by the military are the areas designated by emergency groups as safe routes, Sergeant."
"Okay… Has the captain's son's extraction group reported anything?" he asked the police officer he had spoken with earlier at the department.
"Sergeant, they reported via radio that they were waiting for one of them to attend to a stomach upset at the high school infirmary and then they would come here to be transferred with the captain… They will possibly arrive in 15 minutes," the officer informed.
Half an hour later.
Bang! Bang!
Tear gas and riot control ammunition shots were heard.
The situation had worsened significantly in the last half hour.
The protesters had heard about the establishment of perimeters throughout the central area of the city, and as if they were frightened rats, they began running everywhere trying to find a way out of the encirclement the military was setting up.
The problem lies in the fact that a clearly organized group of people began to direct these mobs to areas near the city center, and to important areas outside the center to set up new demonstrations, disturbances, and mainly looting.
"Sergeant, the officers arrived with the captain's son," the officer from before informed.
"Get him out of here, take them to the SUV," Shane ordered, quickly heading to a special forces SUV and waiting for the officers to arrive with the young man.
"We're all here… We can go, Sergeant," the officer informed him.
"Okay."
Shane skillfully droves the SUV through the remains of burned containers, vandalized cars, and people running chaotically back and forth.
As he looked in the rearview mirror, he noticed that one of the officers was in poor condition and the other looked noticeably scared.
"They told me three of you went to get the young man, what happened to the other officer?" Shane asked them in a dry tone.
"We had a small problem, Sergeant… Our colleague had been infected and didn't notify his condition. Then, when we went to get the young man, nausea and fever suddenly assailed him. The high school nurse tried to keep him alive, but she couldn't do anything… Then he attacked the nurse, and I had to get rid of both," recounted the officer who appeared ill.
"He turned into one of those things?"
"That's right."
"Did you follow the procedure indicated by the military?" Shane asked him.
"I shot both of them."
"In the head?"
"Only our colleague… I don't remember where I shot the nurse," the officer replied, ashamed and scared at the same time.
"Immediately notify the high school about possible infected individuals in the vicinity," Shane ordered the previous officer.
"Understood."
After driving for a couple of minutes, they arrived at a military post where a separate patrol was waiting to take the captain's son home.
Everyone got out of the SUV and was thoroughly inspected by the military.
"It seems things have worsened considerably, Second Lieutenant Walker," Shane said to the soldier he had met in the park the previous Sunday.
"That's right, Sergeant Walsh," he replied courteously.
"Stop!" a soldier suddenly shouted, drawing everyone's attention.
Shane and Second Lieutenant Walker approached the area where they were inspecting the officers who had come with Shane in the SUV.
There they noticed one of the soldiers pointing his weapon at the officer who appeared ill.
"What's happening, Corporal?" Walker asked him.
"Sir, this officer has been infected… He hid the bite on his arm and tried to pass without notifying, as protocol requires," the soldier reported.
"Impossible," Shane said, doubting the soldier's words as he approached that officer, trying to protect him.
"Sergeant, you know the protocol… Besides, things are escalating too quickly. Perhaps by tomorrow we won't be able to control what's happening in the city," Walker commented, noticing that Shane was insistent on protecting his colleague due to his loyalty.
"But he's a colleague…" Shane said with hesitation, looking at the officer, who looked increasingly scared.
"I know they are colleagues, but we must follow the superiors' orders… We must follow the protocol; only then can we save the most people."
Walker's last sentence penetrated his mind as if a hammer were pushing a new reality into his consciousness.
The infected.
The protests.
The constant calls.
The uncertainty.
All the chaos he had experienced in recent days seemed to have subtly altered his way of thinking.
From being a model officer, he had to witness the military taking people against their will for a supposed virus, which he did not believe in at the time.
But now it was different; the infected were a tangible reality.
A series of dangerous thoughts began to emerge in his mind because of this sudden realization.
"The infected are a danger."
"Chaos will begin to reign in the streets."
"She will be in danger."
"Rick won't be able to save her."
"I must protect her."
"Do what you must do," Shane told Walker with an indifferent tone, only looking at the officer one last time and walking back to the SUV without looking back.
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[A/N: CHAPTER COMPLETED
Thanks everyone for reading.
I hope you enjoyed it.
This is a character I wanted to develop and give some prominence to in the novel, although I haven't decided how to integrate him yet.
I've noticed the novel is losing support again.
Maybe it's because the chapters are too long?
Should I make them shorter?
Or the story just isn't engaging hahaha (I think this is most likely)
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Read my other novels
#Vinland Kingdom: Race Against Time.
#The Walking Dead: Emily's Metamorphosis from Visions of Future Saga
You can find them on my profile.]