Edward was staring at the ground outside, his body rigid, his mind seething with fear. He had no idea how long he had been standing there, but the events of the morning still swirled in his head, everything outside feeling like it had taken an eternity.
Now the streets were strangely quiet—almost too quiet. The military and CDC vehicles had moved on to the next block, leaving the neighborhood to catch its breath, at least for the moment. But then, his eyes were drawn away from the chaos to the street where he had last seen the woman.
The same house—the one right across the street and a few doors down. The one where he'd seen her through the kitchen window the night before. The soft light had revealed her face in the gloom, and he couldn't shake the unsettling glint in her eye—a hollow, almost ghostly look that had felt so out of place for such a mundane scene. Now, the same house, but something was terribly wrong.
The front door was ajar, swinging back and forth on broken hinges as if it had been slammed shut in a hurry. The windows were shattered, jagged glass jutting out in sharp slivers, casting twisted reflections of the morning light.
Edward's heart pounded in his chest as he blinked, unable to fully comprehend what he was seeing. The woman. It couldn't be. And yet... it was.
She stood there in the yard, unmoving. Her skin was pale, her clothes disheveled, her face blank—teetering on the edge of death. Her arms hung limply at her sides as she swayed slightly, her posture unsteady, as if she could barely keep herself upright. But she wasn't walking.
The scene felt too quiet for what it suggested. The house had been broken into, yet there was no sign of a struggle, no bodies, nothing except the woman, standing motionless in the yard—like a ghost.
Then, the shrill wail of sirens cut through the stillness. Police cars, their lights flashing, screeched to a halt outside the house. Officers in black uniforms, their faces pinched and stern, poured in. They surveyed the broken door and shattered windows with clinical detachment, as if they'd seen it all before.
Edward stood, his heart racing, as the officers began to seal off the perimeter. Grimly, they advanced, stepping over debris and broken glass in the yard. But they didn't approach the woman. She stayed where she was, as though she were part of the scene—a silent witness, frozen in place by some force beyond human control.
Two officers shoved the stuck door open with a groan. The others stood outside, some speaking into radios, others pacing the perimeter. None of them hurried. None of them showed any sign of panic. They had something Edward didn't.
A chill crept up the back of his neck as he watched the woman. She just stood there, unmoving, as if completely unaware of the officers around her. She reminded him of Laura—Laura, who had seemed so distant and unengaged. This woman was no different—just left there, abandoned, as though she were part of the landscape.
Minutes passed, and then two officers stepped out of the house. They exchanged a look, their faces impassive, before one of them spoke into his radio again.
"Clear the area," the officer's voice was flat. "No one comes in. No one goes out."
The words hit Edward like a sledgehammer. His legs felt weak as he stepped forward, his gaze fixed on the officers as they methodically set up barricade tape across the yard, draping it over the house. The woman still stood outside, her eyes never once lifting from the ground. She moved slowly, deliberately, as if she weren't fully aware of what was happening around her.
Edward's stomach twisted. Why did she remain outside? Why wasn't anyone doing anything?
Then something else struck him. The officers hadn't found anyone else inside. No bodies. No sign of life. The house had been breached, but it was completely bare. There was no evidence of anyone else having been inside.
His hand trembled as he reached for his phone, dialing Kyle's number. But before he could hit send, his phone buzzed in his hand. It was a text message from Kyle.
Kyle:"Stay at home. Do not go near that house. They're trying to make it seem like nothing's happening, but something is going on. Keep low. Don't get too close. I'll call you if I hear anything."
Edward stared at the message, his mind racing. None of this made sense. Why would the police hide something like this? Why was no one talking about the woman? Why were they so intent on sealing off the area, giving no explanation of what was happening?
A few minutes later, another message from Kyle came through.
Kyle:"Trust me. Something bigger is happening. This is beyond containment now. I don't know who to trust. Just keep your head down."
Edward read the words, his heart sinking. The house. The woman. The broken windows. The police tape, the silence... Something was terribly off, and it gnawed at him like a growing pit in his stomach.
While the officers continued their work—sealing off the house, blocking any exits—Edward couldn't shake the feeling that he was standing on the edge of something far bigger than he had ever imagined. This wasn't just a quarantine anymore. This was something far darker, something moving faster than he could keep up with.
The weight of the silence pressed down on him like an invisible hand. And as he stared out the window, helpless, the town around him seemed to grow more and more unhinged with each passing moment.
One final thought struck him: How did Kyle know I was looking at that house?
Was Kyle watching him? Or... was Kyle somehow involved?