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The original was posted on /r/nosleep by /u/Hobosam21 on 2024-10-25 16:56:36+00:00.
My town is in shambles, and I feel some of the fault is my own.
For the past 40 hours I have been at my desk fielding calls from all over the area. People are hurting, dying. And there’s so little I can do.
When they can someone from Greenbrier PD will drop off food, water and fuel for the generator. The call center must stay open, it’s something that has been ingrained into us as far back as middle school.
It's why the pay is so high, it’s why the building is built like a bunker. But generations of ease have led to things being neglected. Equipment that should have been updated was ignored, maintenance left undone.
I need a break, I get an hour of sleep here and there but the phones are always busy. There’s been a call for volunteers but no takers yet.
By now everyone has heard that I’m alone here, that everyone else that worked here is missing.
I heard the mayor made a call to our governor, but as in times before we were told to handle our own affairs. We really are on our own.
I haven’t updated the board, I haven’t filled out reports. I don’t know how this will affect things in the future but I simply don’t have the time.
All missing persons calls are being forwarded to the church turned shelter on Hugh Everett Avenue. That way I can focus on the people who need immediate help.
In the last hour I talked a mother through putting a tourniquet on her child’s leg when a stray bullet came through their wall shattering the bone and severing an artery. A man who needed an ambulance after his dog, who had been laying there peacefully suddenly exploded taking the man’s arm with it. Then there was the case of someone claiming a raccoon had gotten into his gun cabinet and stolen a valuable M1 Garand.
That last one wasn’t worth the polices time, not with everything else going on.
Jordan showed up, I couldn’t believe it. He walked in looking no different than normal. He went to his office, organized a few things then came back out.
“Take a break Kylie, you’re tired and your work performance is reflecting it. I’ll man the phones for the next couple hours”. I just stared at him, the voice in my headset sounded muted.
With an annoyed sigh Jordan walked over and pulled my headset off of me and put it in himself. “This is Greenbrier 911, sorry for the inconvenience could you state the nature of your emergency?”
I wanted to hit him, I wanted to scream. I wanted answers, but I needed sleep. In my current state of mind I doubted I would even understand anything he had to say.
I made my way to the lobby, to my surprise there was an air mattress with a blanket waiting for me. That’s not all, there was a table with food and drinks. Most disturbing was the stack of my own clothes folded on the floor.
It was almost enough to make me stomp back into the call room and demand an explanation. But that bed was too welcoming.
I don’t know what time it was when I went to sleep, and I don’t know how long I slept for. When I woke up I had to pee so bad I’m surprised I made it to the bathroom. After shedding five pounds of monster and coffee I felt a lot better.
Leaving the bathroom I saw Jordan was still manning the phone. I didn’t miss the stack of reports neatly organized next to him.
He briefly glanced in my direction. “Don’t even start Kylie. We have a lot of catching up to do”. I slapped him hard enough to knock him out of his chair. He looked stunned for a moment. A little bit of fear cut through my anger as Jordan stood up, I was suddenly aware of just how isolated we were. He looked down at me, “I could fire you for that”.
I humphed in disbelief, “really? And who would take my place? It’s time to start talking Jordan, who’s blood is that? Where is everyone? And why were you in my house?”
The phone rang, Jordan reached for it but I hit the cancel button. “Start talking or I’m out”. He was pissed, the slap had been a minor annoyance, but hanging up really set him off.
“Kylie you are so inconceivably stupid sometimes, the call center has to stay open. And that’s means answering calls!” Jordan pushed me back before hitting the redial button.
I let him field the call, someone likely needed help after all. But as soon as he was done I was going to rip into him.
The second I saw the green light go out I dropped my ultimatum on him. “Tell me what is going on or I’m leaving, you’ll have to handle everything yourself. Sooner or later you’ll pass out and the phones will go unanswered”.
Jordan watched me with cold eyes, “as for the people who will die, you are ok with that? Because that is what leaving would lead to”.
He had me and he knew it, I tried a different approach. “Jordan will you please just tell me what you know? My life has gone to hell the last month and I would appreciate some answers”.
We sat in silence for an uncomfortable amount of time. “I don’t have all the answers. Or even a lot of answers, the things you’ve dealt with aren’t hell on earth. That would be the thing you let out of that room. We have to take the calls, I don’t know why but I know things get a lot worse if we don’t answer the phones”. Jordan stood and walked to his desk, he opened a drawer and pulled out a paper.
It was a check list, no more like a list of rules.
- The station must be manned at all times, if for any reason the station is left absent immediately take shelter until the situation is remedied.
- All incomplete calls must be redialed as soon as possible.
- The power must remain on at the station, take any action necessary to achieve this.
- Do not enter ________ unless required.
- This station is the fourth and final barrier, as such it shall receive the utmost attention at all times. I pointed to the fourth rule, “why is that blacked out? Where can’t we enter? And what does five mean? Seriously this just adds more questions”.
Jordan took the page and walked back to his desk where he locked it away. “I don’t know Kylie, maybe it’s the basement? Maybe it’s somewhere entirely different. As to rule five, I have a hunch as to what two of the other barriers might be”.
“Wait… this place has a basement??” Jordan nodded, “yeah, there’s an access outside. It’s locked up tight though, looks like it’s been that way for a long time”.
I was glad that was the case, I wasn’t ready to face anymore basements. Not yet at least.
“Ok, what are the other two barriers? And what are they barriers against?”
“Really? Do I need to spoon feed you everything? What two places have the most red pins around them?” I glanced at the board but I really didn’t need to, I already knew. There were two obvious clusters, one in the woods at the top of a hill and the other just outside of town.
“And the third?” Jordan looked at the map, “I don’t know, but if those two clusters are two of them. And we’re the fourth I would assume the third would be where there is no cluster at all”.
I followed his gaze, Darkwood Park.
“The government building?” The section of Darkwood that was fenced off didn’t have a single pin, causing it to stand out from the rest of the area.
Just then the phone rang, Jordan held out the headset. “Your turn”.
I took it, “don’t think I’m done here, I’ll have more questions in a minute”.
As I sat to handle the call Jordan walked into the lobby.
“Greenbrier 911 what is your emergency?”
“There’s a crucifix in my thigh!” Yelled a male voice with a bit of an accent. “Ok sir, let’s get a few details and get some help on the way. Did someone do this to you or was it self-inflicted?”
“Ah hell you think I’d do this myself? Naw lady, I just woke up with my leg a burning and BAM! By golly there it was, a cross under my skin”.
“That’s definitely a situation where we can help, what is your location and name?”
“Al Smith, my friends call me Big Al. I’m in my house down by Radio Lane, you know, the road that goes to the radio station”.
I punched in his info and sent it to Greenbrier FD, “I have help on route, could you help me understand how this might have happened?”
“Listen little lady, I live two miles from the radio station on subsidized land. Need I say more?” He really didn’t but I wanted to keep him on the line until help arrived or another call came in.
“I understand how that could…” I was interrupted by the callers pained yelp, “oh sweet baby ray! It’s a growing!” His breathing grew stressed, “where them at lady? Where them at? Ahhh owie it’s hurting!”
I bumped his call up an urgency level, “help is on the way, can you describe the situation so I can have them briefed when they arrive?”
The caller groaned in pain, “it… It’s… By golly!”
There was a thunk, like the phone had dropped to the ground followed by whimpering.
“Sir? Sir are you there?” A single gasp was my only reply. Still, I remained on the line until the paramedics arrived.
I heard them pounding on the door and announcing their presence. When there was no reply I confirmed they were in the right place, they kicked down the thin door.
“What the fuck?” Exclaimed one of the two medics. The other one shushed him, “hey get a move on, he’s still alive”. I had to piece together what was happening by the sounds. It wasn’t until I heard a chainsaw fire up that I really began to grow concerned.
I was able to grab a few details from the fire departments dispatch. The medics had arrived to find a 56 year old man unconscious in his dilapidat...
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