Chapter 1.

"Meeting commenced at 5:28 in the evening. People present are Detective Malcolm Kelly...".

Another voice interjected, "Detective Haileigh Wright.".

"And..." Malcolm spoke up again, looking Valerie's way, prompting her to speak up.

"Valerie Simmons.".

"Alright, Ms Simmons..." Detective Kelly spoke up again. "We understand that you came from the migrant emergency from Lailin, is that correct?".

"Yes, that's correct... I didn't have much of a choice anyway...".

Detective Wright nodded emathetically at her. "We're glad that you're here with us, Detective Simmons.".

"You used to work as a detective in your local police station in the town of Artull. is that correct?" Detective Kelly asked again.

"Yes, that is correct," Valerie responded.

"Alright..." Malcolm Kelly voiced as he looked down at the pile of pages in front of him. Taking a few into his hands, he turned them, read them through and after a few seconds, he cleared his throat. "How are you feeling after what you've witnessed back home?".

Subconsciously, Valerie let out a mere snicker at the detective's words. "I-I don't know... I don't know what to feel... It all feels surreal. I thought it was all a bunch of shit, pardon my language...". Valerie paused for a moment. "But after seeing what I saw...." She tried to swallow down the lump in her throat. "After seeing what I saw, whatever this was... I knew it was some fucked up shit...". She cleared her throat, before repeating, "Again, excuse my choice of words.".

In return, the detectives nodded their heads.

"You were working on a case yourself, is that right?" Wright asked next, a few seconds after she looked into the page that Kelly was holding.

At first, Valerie nodded her head. "Yes, that's correct.".

"Two minors and an older man, a father and his sons is what the records show. Also, two of your fellow police officers, is that correct?" Wright added on.

"Yes, from what I was told, that's correct.".

"Alright..." Kelly took over the interview again. "Detective Simmons, we won't keep you long, however... We would like to hear your side of the story. We would like to hear what you've experienced in Artull and your journey here, is that alright?".

"But I don't see what's the correlation in my journey here nor my case back in Artull..." Valerie responded.

"We agree, there is no correlation there, Detective Simmons," Detective Kelly began. "However, there could be some relevance to what's happening now. I am sure that you see it as well as we do, the outbreak is slowly getting out of hand." The detective paused for a moment before he spoke back up. "You were in that forest and you were the only one who came out of it, alive. That's really the only reason we have you here now, with us.".

Detective Kelly's words caused Valerie's stomach to drop to the ground. She didn't know what to say, so she remained silent. After a moment, once the words she received settled within her, she muttered, "Just to be clear. I have nothing to do with the murders that had occurred in the forest.".

"We weren't accusing you of such. We have evidence that you're a competent, well-respected Detective, Ms Simmons," Detective Wright spoke out next. 

Silently releasing a sigh of relief, Valerie tried to swallow down the lump that continued growing in her throat. "Okay... Where do you want me to begin?".

"Where it makes sense to begin, Detective... We understand if you need a moment to gather your thoughts. There's a beverage machine right outside the interview room if you'd like one of us to fetch you something to freshen up. Likewise, considering your exhaustion, we can continue the interview some other day since I know it's an inconvenience we took hold of you so quickly after your arrival," Detective Kelly responded, licking his bottom lip, anticipating Valerie's answer.

"No need to postpone the interview, Detective. I think I'll manage to regurgitate most, if not all information today.". She paused, taking in a deep breath. "However, would I be able to have a cup of water, please?".

"Of course," Malcolm spoke out as he looked to his right. Almost immediately, Haileigh stood up and left the room, returning with a cup of water moments later. She set the plastic cup in front of Valerie.

Taking a quick sip, Valerie cleared her throat before biting her inner cheek. She tried to decide where to begin. "I suppose I'll start when I was briefed on the disappearance of the father and his children. I remember it was... an early morning and I was on a phone call with my mother while I was on my way to the station...".

---

*A couple of days prior*

By the police station stopped a car and out of it emerged the youthful Valerie Simmons. It was early in the morning and the cold, Autumn air made her think as though Winter had already come about.

With her on the phone with her mother, her breath in front of her condensed into small clouds of fog that disappeared seconds later.

"I don't have much time left, Mom. I'm in front of the station...". She listened to her mom speak as she locked her car. "I have heard of the new outbreak, Mom. Please be safe, both you and Dad. And keep my brother and sister safe... while on that, how's Clara doing? Is she better?". Listening for a few more seconds, Valerie spoke up again. "I am unsure what 'in the middle' means, Mom... Is she recovering?... Slowly but surely... Alright, that's what I wanted to hear. Alright, Mom. I love you, but I have to go. I'll call you again later on. Yes, Mom, yes. I'll be careful. Alright. Bye, Mom. Bye, bye.".

Hanging up her phone, Valerie proceeded to walk up the stone stairs and into the reception. 

"Simmons!... Good morning," she was greeted by her Chief who happened to be in the reception.

"Good morning, Chief. How are you this morning?".

"Chilly, but I think we'll manage," he responded. "Once you're signed in, I want you in the conference room. I have an announcement to make.".

"Oh?... Is everything okay, Chief?".

"I'll tell you more in the conference room, Simmons," he responded before walking toward the conference room.

"Yes, Sir," Valerie responded before signing herself in. And with that, she followed her Chief's footsteps. The small, conference room was half-filled. Just as Valerie expected for such an early morning.

"I apologise for ordering a meeting so early in the morning. However, today. Or, should I say, last night, we were phoned in reporting an emergency, and we have two officers already set out, investigating what had happened. However, I want to get the rest of you prepared for this investigation as there are two minors involved. When Officer Radley and Detective Cooper are back, I'll choose a few more officers to head out to the crime scene for further investigation.".

With that, the Chief proceeded to show his force the recording of the phone call. "They- they are everywhere, please come and help us!" were the final words before the tape was cut.

"We suspect that multiple persons were involved in such a crime. However, the exact number is unknown," the Chief further stated.

With that, a few more words and questions were tossed within the conference room walls before the meeting was concluded and everyone returned to work.

The time slowly ticked to midday and the news came back on. Valerie looked up at the TV screen and her eyes were greeted with figures. "This is the total amount of people recorded who were infected with the PET Virus since the beginning of the outbreak. 408,776.".

"It's merely been 2 months... 400,000 infected already?... Holy shit," Valerie's colleague, Jerry, spoke up.

"That is a lot..." Valerie muttered under her breath. However, before another thought could enter her mind, the pacing of her Chief caught her attention.

"Jefferson?... Jefferson, where are you?..." he called out and to her Chief's calling, a tall woman stood up.

"Here, sir...".

The Chief further approached the woman, however, Valerie was still close enough to be able to make out the conversation.

"Where are Cooper and Radley?... They should have come back by now...".

"I am unsure, Sir... the last contact we had with them was when they said they were going into the forest.".

The Chief cleared her throat as he looked down at the floor. "And... and do we have any information on the father and his sons?".

"I... I don't think we do, Sir. No.".

"Shit..." the Chief muttered under his breath. With that, he turned and called out a few names, one of them being Valerie's. "I want you all to go to the forest to check up on what's the situation like... We have two minors missing, their father and now two fellow officers.". Just as the Chief was about to turn around and walk away, he added, "Please, contact us if anything is wrong. We will send backup.".

Not much needed to be said, those named all stood up and rushed out the door and into a police vehicle. With that, the siren was turned on and they rushed toward the forest.

The drive took them a total of 20 minutes. When they arrived at the parking, they saw the police car of Cooper and Radley. They haven't returned to their car.

"They are still here..." Tim, one of the officers, spoke out.

"A bad sign..." Valerie responded.

"You think they got lost in the forest?" another colleague of theirs, Una, said.

"Very likely..." the final officer, Luke, voiced as he eyed the entrance to the forest very warily. "Shall we go in?".

"Yes..." Una spoke out and everyone followed her lead.