We knew the peace wouldn't last

[noteasytobepink]

Who: Clarice & Bill
When: The beginning of Bill's ending
What: Guess who's back? Back in Town?

"Clarice?"

She blinked and looked down at the radio on her belt, attention drawn by the crackling voice even as she reached out to snag one of the kids, keeping them inside the crosswalk. It took a few minutes to corral all the kids out of the street, hell there must have been a birthday cupcake event or something to get the kids this wound up. Still. "Yeah?"

"Hey there, listen, we've got a report of an abandoned vehicle out on route 6."

"So?" she snorted. "Get Charlie's tow rig out there and call it a day."

"Charlie's already out on eighteen, got an RV breakdown. Just need to make sure it's an actual abandonment and not some idiots pissing in the woods."

"Charming," she noted. "Let me guess..."

"Still low man, girl, sorry. You get this one. Besides, you like jogging!" Dispatch laughed.

Yeah, well, if she caught someone poaching they were going to regret it, yes. "Soon as the munchkins are all herded then. If it's abandoned it's not running away," just saying. And if it wasn't abandoned, well, if they got it clear before she got there all the better? She didn't mind a door to door hunt in town, it was like hide and seek, but out on the road could get annoying.

It was another half hour before the last stragglers were safely crossed and handed off to parents. As to why parents couldn't escort their own kids instead of meeting them on the other side of the road, well, that had never been well explained but she was pretty sure it boiled down to 'we've always crossed the kids', big on tradition here. Another three minutes to shuck the crossing guard vest and sign, tuck them in the school closet, and then she was headed off. Route 9 wasn't that far, as the crow flies, as long as one didn't mind the fields between.

She ran the road up to the highway and back down to town before hitting her radio, "No sign of a vehicle," she called, annoyed. "Covered the ten miles from Hilliger farm to the highway and back. Saw some pull off points but no telling how fresh those tracks are."

"Hate to tell you Clarice, but there's a report out on Rout 22 now. We've got others checking the call from Route 8. You up for it?"

That was...odd. Yes. "I'm on it." Sure, it was clear across town but it wasn't like she had plans or anything. Was today some obscure pranking day? The drive cops nut day on the calendar? She'd guess 'tweaking the deputies tail' day but she'd kind of outgrown that point quite early on. The guys at the precinct learned to let her be after they found spiders inside their donuts. For a week solid. Sometimes it was all about knowing how to push back when boys were being jerks.

Night was falling by the time she hit the new road, scanning for any sign or headlights, tail lights, engine sounds...what she heard after a while was the soft crack and crunch of branches. She honed in on that and blinked at what she found, "Dispatch? I've got that car...it's been pushed off the road and behind some bushes. No sign of any driver, empty, doors open..." creepy as hell honestly.

That wasn't good.

"Repeat that? Did you say pushed off into the woods?"

"Yeah, I did," she admitted, backing up to stand firmly on the road again.

"I'll have the other guys looking out for that. We got more calls but we're missing cars..."

Hell. That was really damn weird. "Nothing about Rout 5 yet right? I'll go see if I can catch our prankers in the act and if I do I'm shaking them by their ears or something."

"Good plan, I'll let the sheriff know."

"Thanks, I'll call in when I can." Route 5 was less in favor these days, more of a back road since it didn't connect to the new highway, so it was a great place to lay a trap as it were. Hopefully she wouldn't be camped out all night waiting...

...granted, she found a truck sitting halfway down, lights on, doors open, empty. "Dispatch? I've got old James's truck here. He's not the prank sort. I'm coming in." To talk to the others and see if anyone else was having a creepy night.

And maybe she'd check on James's house on the way in, yeah. Lights were on and the TV was on when she passed by, so, Mrs. James was certainly alright and not worried but...

"Going to be one of those nights," she sighed.

Comments

[steahl_npc]

"Sure, say it all now Pardy, shit you didn't have the guts to say all your life. Think you got a spine now?" Well did he? They could fix that, the spine thing. In time. For now this was too damn funny.

[wheelsy_sheriff]

Bill's fingers were clenched tight as he shoved shells into a shotgun he'd pulled from the rack, seething as he listened to Grant.

"Just keep talkin', Grant, an' I'll do somethin' else I've always wanted to, like kick you're fuckin' ass." Or put a bullet in it.

[steahl_npc]

"Who's the other one on the radio, Pardy? Some little whore you got in because Starla wouldn't have you? How much do you pay her huh? Enough? She's a runner..."

[wheelsy_sheriff]

It took everything he had not to jump in defense at the mention of Clarice. Gritting his teeth, he yanked another gun from the cage and began loading it.

"She's a deputy. Where the hell are the others?"

[steahl_npc]

"Pretty thing, think I'll take her too, higher quality than you should have, Pardy, here in the boonies huh? And don't worry, I got my eye on them too."

[wheelsy_sheriff]

"You keep away from her an' them," he said, threat in his voice. It was some minor relief hearing that there was the chance his other deputies were still alive, but if Grant had eyes on them all it meant he'd taken others instead.

[steahl_npc]

"Or what, Pardy?" he laughed, thick and bubbling over the radio. "Let's play a game. Can you get to them first? You've got so many to lose this time..."

[wheelsy_sheriff]

"Sonuvabitch!" he barked, working faster to load the guns.

Grabbing a duffel bag he shoved as many weapons and ammunition as he could inside then took all that he could carry back out to the jeep.

Getting back on the radio, he put out a call.

"This is sheriff Pardy. Anyone out there, report."

[steahl_npc]

"Sheriff? It's the damnedest thing..." Rick allowed over the radio.

"...overturned trailer on state 9..." Terrence gave his two cents. "And abandoned truck."

"No one answering at the Ford's place..." another piped in. "Feels like a ghost town out here Sheriff."

[wheelsy_sheriff]

Bill's heart leaped when he heard the others come back. Dave also reported in from the feed lot, and Rudy was up at the point.

"Alright, I need you all t'listen close. Grant Grant is back. I ain't even kiddin' on this one, boys. The slugs are out there an' he's started taking people. Clarice is evactuatin' folks, but we gotta stop him.

"He's got eyes on you, an' he's on the radio so watch yourselves. I need you all t'meet me at the turtle pond, y'got me? I'll be there in a few."

Starting up the jeep, Bill peeled out of the parking lot and tore off down the road.

There were two turtle ponds in Wheelsy. The one everyone knew was back in the woods. Started by beavers decades ago, the pond wasn't the fishing spot the lake was, but it still drew people for barbecues and swimming.

It was back in the trees, isolated and familiar.

Bill was headed the other way, though, to the practice field at the high school; known as the 'turtle pond' by only the Earl Basset High football team, the Cooters, of which Bill and his deputies were former members.

Hopefully the deputies would get his meaning and be there.

[steahl_npc]

"That bitty deputy is sole evac?" Rick yelped. "We can split it up, why didn't she call for backup?!"

"Idiot, he just said Grant's got a radio! She called in she'd be jumped! Now just move your ass!" Terrence come on with.

"...slug are creepy Sheriff!" James added. ""Think I'll cover my mouth now, yeah, gonna stop talking." But they could all move!

[wheelsy_sheriff]

"She's handlin' it. Cover your mouths an' keep your eyes open. Now move!" Bill barked back before putting aside the radio to drive.

It didn't take long to reach the high school, an Bill had the duffel bag on one shoulder as he made his way to the practice field.

[noteasytobepink]

"...is she really a contingency plan planted here by Area 51?" Thomas asked before there was the general assent to mouth covering and such.

Was it more frightening or less that all of teh deputies made it to the meeting?

[wheelsy_sheriff]

It was a relief to have everyone show up, even if it put him more on edge.

Grant was playing something here, and it was pretty obvious he had some kind of plan going.

Time now for Bill and his men to work on a plan of their own.

"Y'all alright? Anyone hurt?"

[noteasytobepink]

"Creeped out sir!"

"I'm okay, wanted to stomp these things..."

"Think he followed us?"

"Is it really Grant Grant?"

Seemed they were alright really, which made the next question inevitable. "What do we do now boss?"

[wheelsy_sheriff]

Bill held up his hands to quiet them, nodding to everything they'd said.

"It's him, alright, had a couple conversations with the asshole already. He's playin' us, though," so being followed didn't seem like an issue. "That's gonna be his mistake."

Grant was underestimating him again, and Bill was going to prove once and for all that he was the better man.

"We gotta track him down. He's the source of all of this, an' just like last time we stop him, we put an' end to all the rest."

[noteasytobepink]

"Well, wouldn't he be wherever the zombie people are going?" the youngest deputy asked, "that's what your report said about last time right? That some of the infected people wandered to go merge into Grant?"

"Think we could tie bombs to the zombies?"

"Acid spit," another countered. "And he sees through their eyes dumbass."

"So? Blind the fuckers."

[wheelsy_sheriff]

"That's how I did it the first time," he confirmed, "But I ain't seen any zombies wandering any place, have you?" The last time they'd filled the streets, but now those streets were all empty.

"It's too risky gettin' near them. Besides that those are people out there. It might be too late t'help 'em, but we aren't goin' to go out of our way to make what's happened to 'em worse."

[noteasytobepink]

"Ain't there some kind of secret hotline you can call now, for like a government agency in case the alien came back?" Hell, come to that, "we don't we have any secret agents here?"

"And yeah, it's creepy no one's out. Houses are empty, cars are empty, you said Clarice is working on evac but how much could she clear out? That's a lot of people to hide in the woods or something..."

[wheelsy_sheriff]

"I can put the call in, but they'd have to mobilize from Columbia. Ain't no way they're gettin' here on time," he noted grimly.

"Don't worry about her, she's gettin' them to safety. Our job is stoppin' this thing. If we can't track him down, we're gonna have to drag him out. I get the feelin' when he realizes how many people are out already he's gonna get pissed an' come lookin' for 'em." And that would be their chance. Hopefully.

[noteasytobepink]

"Hey boss? Tell it to me straight. Is Clarice an alien here to fight an ancient enemy that we call Grant?"

"...Thom, you're a fucking moron." SOMEONE HAD TO SAY IT!

"Hey, it's possible! She's pink and she can save a bunch of people!"

"Just shut up and pay attention. I swear, pink aliens. You'd think an alien would blend in better!"

[wheelsy_sheriff]

"Hey, that's my girlfriend you're talkin' about," Bill reminded the man. "An' she ain't an alien." Not that the truth was much different, but still.

"Just-- shut the hell up, all of you. Has anyone been by Grant an' Starla's old place? He's askin' for her, maybe he'll turn up there lookin'."

[noteasytobepink]

"Sorry!" was the group wince. Yeah, Sheriff was dating a pink possible alien. Had to remember that.

"...no? Abandoned vehicles, Sheriff. They been everywhere around the edges of town and that place isn't at the edges."

[wheelsy_sheriff]

"Then we'll head there an' check it out," he said, letting the other subject drop. "Like I said, he's lookin' for her, an' we're gonna keep on lettin' him believe she's still around."

If they could keep Grant's focus on finding someone who was gone and Bill, the better for them.

[noteasytobepink]

"But boss..."

One of the slightly older deputies socked the youngest in the shoulder, grim and catching on quick, "no it would NOT be easier to just give him Starla. We promised to keep her safe when we signed on!"

The rest of the deputies blinked and glanced around nervously before figuring out there might be slugs near enough to hear that name, "damn straight!"

"Yeah! That's why we never even wrote the safe house address down at the office!"

The oldest nodded, "we pile in a truck and head out together? Separate ain't exactly a good game plan."