Spiders From Hell (Part 1)

Dexter's day had begun like every other. Slow. He stood up and stretched before going to get ready for work. It was his first day on the Exeter Police Force. The remarks were bound to come. They'd call him a newbie that wouldn't make it a day on the job. Like usual, he started his morning with coffee. He drank it hastily, putting his uniform on. Considering it only arrived last week, he was surprised at the perfect fit.

His uniform was the normal dark, navy blue with the golden officer badge to strap to his belt. There were also flags on either side of the button-up shirt. Even though the morning had just started, Dexter was already tired. He grabbed his keys, a bagel, and opened the front door.

"Hey, Dexter! Glad to see you're awake, bud! We've got a nice long list of patrols to do today!" called out his best friend and partner, a 23-year-old named Dawson.

Faking a smile, Dexter sighed, "Hello, Dawson. What's on the list for today?" He zoned out after asking as Dawson went off, reciting the list of duties the pair had for the day. His imaginative mind brought him to his dream home and family. Unfortunately, the daydream was interrupted when Dawson's voice called Dexter from the reverie.

"Dex, we leaving or what?" the former asked. The latter nodded, walking out to the black and white patrol car. He got into the driver's side before inserting the key and twisting. The engine gave a few sputters then roared to life. Dawson sat in the passenger seat as he opened the dash laptop. After entering a couple of passwords, he searched for their first route. When Dexter was looking around, he noticed several kids walking around a corner. Their hoods were up as they snickered to themselves. This caused the man to chuckle.

Dawson looked at him with a puzzled expression, "What's so funny?"

"Remember when we were in school and you used to be super terrified of cops? All your friends thought it was so funny to have you walk past them at night? I remember telling you that you needed some better friends. And look where we are today!" Dexter said, smiling.

Returning the grin, Dawson replied, "Yeah, best decision I ever made. You really have become my best friend and I'd have never made it this far without you!" Dexter continued to smile as they drove on in silence for about five more minutes. His partner spoke, breaking the quiet atmosphere. "Alright, looks like our first patrol is the Fortune Plaza."

Dexter sighed, steering the patrol car in the right direction. While keeping an eye out for suspicious activity by strange people, he hoped to catch someone in the act. Arresting someone would make the others stop calling him a newbie. Approximately ten minutes later, the two finally arrived in Fortune Plaza. They pulled into a parking spot and stepped out of the car. Bit by bit, equipment was taken from the car as they set out. Once inside the plaza, they got to the arcade before screaming was heard. Loud footsteps quickly approached the officers as they pulled their pistols, prepared for the worst. A man in an entirely black outfit complete with hood and half face mask came into view.

The odd man saw them and bolted down a side passage instead. Dexter and Dawson ran after him, barely catching up in time to see a truck arrive at the end of the corridor. The man seemed to smile through his mask at them. Dexter reached for his taser only to see Dawson had beaten him to it. He sheathed his pistol and watched him pull the trigger. The man fell immediately, convulsing severely as the truck sped off, tires screeching against the asphalt. Dexter smiled at his best friend.

The two jogged up to the now unconscious man as Dexter complimented Dawson on his quick reflexes. Dexter cuffed the man, instructing Dawson to go check on the screaming. He nodded, sprinting back inside the plaza. Dexter towed the man to the patrol car. They had almost made it there when the man looked back at him with bloodshot, solid yellow eyes. Dexter quickly deposited the strange man in the car before asking through the bars if there were any drugs on him or in his system. The responding silence was deafening. The man stared at him the way a predator watches its prey, giving Dexter unnerving chills. The look told him the final blow was about to land. Dexter shudder, quickly pulling his radio from his shoulder and calling into headquarters.

"Hold your position, squad cars are en route," said the person on the other end. After confirming it, Dexter began to jot down notes about the man's odd behavior. Suddenly, Dawson came running. His usual shiningly happy face had turned to a solid visage of fear and disgust.

"Dexter, you need to come to see this. Now." Dawson panted. He then turned back around and returned the way he came. Dexter ordered the man to stay put, locking the car for good measure before following his partner. The crowd had grown in size, making him need to push his way through to the scene. A woman no older than 19 lay on the ground with her throat torn open. A pool of blood had formed beneath her on the concrete; her eyes took on a yellowish tinge, resembling the man from before.

"I don't know what to do, Dexter. Her heart has stopped and she's not breathing but she's still alive!" His partner said.

Dexter kneeled down next to the woman, "Ma'am, can you speak?" She looked petrified as she shook her head to indicate no, she couldn't. He then proceeded to radio this in to dispatch as well. Someone threw a shirt they had procured from the crowd to him so he could attempt to stem the bleeding. Tears streamed down the woman's face. She looked at Dexter, her throat gurgling as if she were trying to speak to him. Blood dyed her blonde hair a dark crimson.

He commanded Dawson to hold the crowd back as the wail of additional police sirens grew closer. A few minutes later, five more cops had arrived, assisting him in keeping the crowd at bay. Dexter spoke with an unknown sergeant named Jane. She took down notes, trying to assess the damage and the current situation. Ten minutes had passed before Dexter realized the bleeding woman was not moving anymore. Dawson, no longer needed in crowd control kept an eye on her. As Dexter took Jane to observe the man in the car, they saw he was missing. The bars were bent like someone had slipped through them. But that was impossible... wasn't it? No human could possibly do that.

They rushed back inside, dispersing the crowd and shouting for everyone to go home. Go and don't help ANYONE along the way. Once the crowd was gone, the officers called their chief to tell him what was going on. They asked for more help. After being informed it would be about 20 minutes, the officers realized it was quickly approaching three o'clock in the afternoon. They requested it be a bit faster. Dexter headed off to speak with Dawson to let him know what was going on. His best friend's face went even paler than before. Jane gathered three others along with Dawson and told them to search the plaza for the man.

"Be careful," she warned. "He's dangerous. We don't know what he's capable of so bring him back alive if possible. If violence is necessary, use it." The four officers jogged off to search the perimeter. "Dexter, Sam, and Denis, your job is to stay here and keep an eye on this woman. I'll wait for everyone else to show up." Jane walked away, leaving the remaining three men to watch the lifeless corpse.

Sam spoke up in aggravation, "Man, why do we have to be the ones that need to stand here and stare at a dead woman? We should be out searching with the others. Next thing you know we'll be stuck at our desks with the red tape."

"Because we are police officers. We protect and serve. It's the least we can do to make sure her body doesn't get messed up before the ambulance arrives," Denis replied stoically. Dexter quietly agreed with Denis. Sam sighed, keeping his position as he admitted his comrades had a point.