In The Blink of An Eye

CITY OF MAYBERRY POLICE DEPARTMENT

INCIDENT REPORT

CASE #: 2030-7143-B

DATE/TIME: August 29, 2030/22:00

REPORTING OFFICER: Ofc. Woodrow Dinkleberry, #7315

INCIDENT: Collision and abduction/kidnapping

DETAIL OF EVENT:

I, Officer Woodrow Dinkleberry, while on patrol received a call to the intersection of Elysium Way and Tartarus Court concerning a collision. My investigation revealed the following information.

Fannie Perdue and her husband Zhi Peng walked northbound on Elysium Way at 07:30 on their customary morning walk. The couple approached Tartarus Court and an opossum darted out in front of them into the intersection of Elysium Way and Tartarus Court, followed by Ranger, a German Shepherd who broke loose from his owner, Tangelisse Mayfield, to chase the opossum.

Simultaneously, Sven Nilsson drove his 2014 navy blue Chevy Impala (NC plate OGD-4927) westbound out of Tartarus Court. Nilsson swerved left to avoid hitting Ranger and plowed directly into Perdue and Peng. Nilsson exited the vehicle and called 911 immediately. Peggy Applegate, a neighbor who lives at 667 Elysium Way watched the event unfold from her kitchen window. Security cameras on her property recorded the event.

Rescue 7, a fire and rescue unit led by Lieutenant Scott Helmsworth, arrived on the scene before I did. The unit responded to multiple calls in the same neighborhood this morning and encountered the same dilemma each time: The people they were sent to help had disappeared leaving behind an assortment of personal belongings, but no trail of where they went.

ACTIONS TAKEN:

Upon my arrival, a bewildered and distressed crowd had gathered in the intersection. I asked everyone to step back so that I could see Perdue and Peng. The couple was not there. Only their personal effects remained.

I spotted Nilsson who was visibly shaken standing next to his vehicle. The front bumper was badly damaged. No visible blood or bodily fluid at the scene. Given the reported severity of the impact, this absence is medically inexplicable. I asked Nilsson where the couple went. He stated that he did not know. He said they vanished into thin air.

Nilsson did not appear to be under the influence of any substance or injured in any way. I administered the NHTSA-standard field sobriety tests and a preliminary breath test as precautionary measures. He passed them all and declined medical treatment. I referred him to Hope for Tomorrow, a crisis intervention facility that administers psychiatric evaluations.

A thorough check of the vehicle's interior revealed no items of evidentiary value. Nothing unusual was observed or located. I recovered the following items from the immediate vicinity of the vehicle:

* One (1) North Carolina state driver’s license - Fannie Perdue

* One (1) South Carolina state driver’s license - Zhi Peng

* One (1) gray wig

* Two (2) pairs of dentures

* One (1) cell phone, screen shattered

* One (1) key ring with a house key on it

* One (1) permanent cardiac pacemaker

* Five (5) dental fillings

* Three (3) hip implants

* Two (2) knee implants

Items were photographed in place, then collected and placed into a sealed property bag (#P-84597) at 08:36 hrs. Chain of custody initiated and items transported to the precinct for safekeeping until claimed by family.

The pedestrians involved in the incident are currently classified as dual missing persons, as their whereabouts are unknown and no remains were located at the scene. Attempts to contact their next of kin are ongoing. Due to the unprecedented nature and apparent replication of similar disappearances throughout the Mayberry area, as well as nationally and globally, federal authorities have been notified for further investigation and coordination.

See attached recorded interview transcripts from witnesses Sven Nilsson, Lucius Mayfield, Peggy Applegate, and Lieutenant Scott Hemsworth for further details.

RECORDED INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT (PARTIAL)

Date: August 29, 2030 Time: 08:03

Case #: 2030-7143-B

Witness Name: Sven Anders Nilsson

Date of Birth: 07/31/2000

Phone Number: (336) 555-0684

Address: 1282 Glen Ridge Ln, Dobson, NC 27705

Location: Intersection of Elysium Way & Tartarus Court (at collision site,

body-worn camera active)

Sven: I was driving to work from Maggie, my girlfriend’s, house when this huge dog shot out in front of me. It looked like a wolf, but an orange leash dangled from its collar. I swerved left to avoid hitting it and I think I hit… I think I hit two people. They came out of nowhere. I felt the impact. I saw them fall. But when I got out of the car, they were not there. I saw their stuff—a phone, photo IDs, keys, but no people, no bodies. There’s no blood on the ground, man, but I swore I… I know I… Where are they?

Shortly after the ambulance arrived, a man walked by calling out, “Ranger! Tangie! Ranger! Tangie!” He asked me if I saw his daughter, Tangie, walking a German Shepherd named Ranger. I told him I nearly hit what could’ve been a German Shepherd with my car this morning, but no one was walking with it. He asked me which way the dog went. I pointed to show him the way and he headed in that direction. He kept uttering to himself, “It’s happening! It’s happening!” I asked him, “What’s happening? What the heck is happening?” But he didn’t respond.

I’m freaking out, man. I can’t deal. They appeared out of nowhere, then vanished. And left their frickin’ stuff! What gives? I need a drink. Wait, scratch that—I don’t drink, officer. I just think I could use one right now.

(End of relevant segment. Full video saved under AV ref. #AV-2030-0829)

RECORDED INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT (PARTIAL)

Date: August 29, 2030 Time: 13:35

Case #: 2030-7143-B

Witness Name: Lucius Mayfield

Date of Birth: 03/16/1968

Phone Number: Unknown

Address: Unknown address

Location: Mayberry Police Department (body-worn camera active)

Lucius: Man, I had just left from buying a lotto ticket at the mini Mart and I saw my daughter, Tangelisse (I call her Tangie) walking her dog, Ranger. I called her over because she’s supposed to be getting ready for school. She looked me dead in my eye. Before I could cross the street to reach her, a big semi truck drove by and when it left she was gone. Ranger ran down Elysium, leash flying in the wind. Looked like he was chasing a squirrel or something. I know he heard me call him, but he ain’t pay me no mind. Kept on gettin’ up like he usually do.

But Tangie was gone, like, she just disappeared. And that’s not like her. She come when I call. I went to the spot where she was at and all I saw was her cross necklace and a little pocket Bible she carry around. She one of them goody-goodies, you know. I picked up the necklace and the Bible, put ‘em in my pocket and went looking for her. I must’ve passed about 10 or 11 car crashes on the same street today while I was looking for her. You seen ‘em? People screaming and hollering like they lost they minds, man.

I saw this cat up by Elysium and Tartarus earlier this morning and asked him if he’d seen Tangie or Ranger. He said he saw Ranger, but not Tangie. Looked to me like he had just seen a ghost or something, though. He stood right next to a bashed up car, looking under it, over it, inside it, everywhere, for something that wasn’t there. I would’ve stopped to help him out, but I was on my own hunt. He showed me where Ranger went and I kept it moving.

Them ambulance workers were busy today, man. When I saw one fall to his knees crying out to Jesus for mercy, it hit me: Folks been caught up. Everything the preacher man, my grandmama, my mama, and my daughter told me was gonna happen, done happened. Quick! In the blink of an eye, just like they said. And here I am, left back. Five-Oh, y’all gon’ have y’all hands full, sure enough. Mark my words.

(End of relevant segment. Full video saved under AV ref. #AV-2030-0829)

RECORDED INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT (PARTIAL)

Date: August 29, 2030 Time: 8:32

Case #: 2030-7143-B

Witness Name: Peggy Applegate

Date of Birth: 01/15/1995

Phone Number: (336) 555-0982

Address: 667 Elysium Way, Mayberry, NC 27030

Location: 667 Elysium Way, Mayberry, NC 27030

Peggy: I seen everything right from my front window. I was in the kitchen drinking my coffee. I had just fired up my laptop to get my day started and I heard a loud screech, two screams, and a bang. Maggie’s honey, Seven, I think his name is, flew down the street in his Chevy (late for work again, no doubt). A big old dog darted straight out in front his vehicle. He jerked that car around so fast, I know he must’ve got whiplash. He missed hitting that dog by a hair, but he clean creamed that elderly couple that live up the street. I mean, he laid. Them. OUT.

I pulled out my phone, got that camera running, and pressed record. Seven got on out the car, frazzled as could be, to check on the couple, I guess. He looked and looked, kept pulling at his hair. He liked to pull his hair clean out his scalp. He was going plum crazy. He reached into his back pocket to pull out his phone. I’m guessing he called y’all or maybe, Maggie. I don’t know. But when he stepped out the way, I saw no bodies on the ground. Not a one. Looked like all them people’s stuff was on the ground. I saw some glasses or a wallet or something, but not them two people Seven hit. They was gone, gone, gone. And I know they didn’t get up and walk off. I would’ve seen ‘em. Heck, my phone's camera would’ve caught ‘em. My Ring Doorbell camera too, plus the extra security cameras I got at the corners of the house. (Can’t be too careful nowadays. Got to stay safe.)

My lil’ phone pinged up a storm, first with notifications from my security cameras, then with breaking news announcements from major news outlets. Some clown on TV mentioned that the rapture had happened.

Ofc. Dinkleberry: What’s the rapture?

Peggy: You know? That great gettin’ up morning when dead Christians climb out they graves to meet Jesus in the sky.

Ofc. Dinkleberry: So, you need to be dead to be raptured?

Peggy: No, no. Living Christians, like myself, will be raptured too. We’ll join Jesus in the sky too and make our way into eternity. Anyhow, I know good and well the rapture ain’t happened yet because nearly everyone from my church, Temple of the Blessed Savior, is still here and accounted for. We checked in with each other via Facebook a bit ago.

The only one who hasn’t checked in yet is Pastor Pettigrew’s wife, Betina. She’s an oddball, that one. Always praying, asking God to forgive this one, save that one, begging people to repent and give their lives to Jesus Christ, head always stuck in the Bible. She stay busy handing out tracts and Bibles, but most people just shake they head and say, “Bless her heart” while they try to hurry her on out the way. Sweet lady. She’s just too…extra. Always doing the most in the name of the Lord. Like she got to work her way into the kingdom. She need to take it easy. Live a little.

Her husband, Pastor Pettigrew, is my kind of people, though. He save the church stuff for the church house and when he hit them streets, oooweee, Lord, have mercy! [Remainder of the recording mysteriously deleted].

(End of relevant segment. Full video saved under AV ref. #AV-2030-0829)

Although the following conversation was not a part of the formal interview, my body-worn camera was active per department policy. At approximately 11:00 while bagging evidence, Rescue 7 Lieutenant Scott Hemsworth made the following unsolicited statements.

RECORDED INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT (PARTIAL)

Date: August 29, 2030 Time: 11:03

Case #: 2030-7143-B

Witness Name: Scott Hemsworth

Date of Birth: 07/31/2000

Phone Number: (336) 555-1543

Address: 1282 Glen Ridge Ln, Mayberry, NC 27705

Location: Intersection of Elysium Way & Tartarus Court (at collision site,

body-worn camera active)

Scott: I can’t believe this actually happened. I just can’t believe it.

Ofc. Dinkleberry: Collisions happen all day, every day.

Scott: People are disappearing, man! They’re evaporating.

Ofc. Dinkleberry: You know that’s not what’s going on.

Scott: Are you blind? Are you insane?

Ofc. Dinkleberry: Are you?

Scott: I’ve lived without thinking about God my entire life. Laughed at the religious freaks who said something like this would happen. And now, I’m going on calls and the people I’m called to help have vanished. How do you explain that?

Ofc. Dinkleberry: Night of the living dead, maybe? Beats me.

Scott: Not funny.

Ofc. Dinkleberry: Listen, I will believe that Godzilla himself swooped down into our little town of Mayberry and scooped these people up before I believe that a nonexistent God Almighty grabbed ‘em. I learned at seven years old when my Grammy died after I prayed all night for her to get healed that there is no God. Aliens, maybe. Criminals, certainly. Demons, perhaps. But there is no God.

Scott: Don’t talk like that, man. You could get snatched next.

Ofc. Dinkleberry: Check out what I found in Mr. Peng’s phone. It’s a text thread between him and the pastor of Christ Alive Bible Church. He said that his wife finally accepted Jesus Christ as her Lord and Savior this morning at 7:16 am. She claimed to have a dream where Jesus showed up and told her that she was forgiven for all of her sins. He told her everything she ever did and said he loved her as if she had never done anything wrong. She just needed to put her trust in him so that she could live her life free from shame and never-ending pain and so that she could be with him in eternity.

Mr. Peng was so happy. Look at all these smiley face emojis. They had planned to stop by Dickey’s Ice Cream Shoppe later today to celebrate. Isn’t that rich? The lady finally gives God the thumbs up and gets clobbered by a car along with her husband 15 minutes later. Who wants to serve a God that lets that happen?

Scott: What did you say the name of the church is?

Ofc. Dinkleberry: Christ Alive Bible Church. The one on Freeman Avenue.

Scott: Well, I’ll catch you later, man. I’m gonna head to that church and see what I can find out. I will lose my mind if I don’t get down to the bottom of this.

Ofc. Dinkleberry: Do what you must, but I can assure you, there’s a logical and reasonable explanation for all of this. Don’t be fooled.

Scott: Later, man.

Ofc. Dinkleberry: See you around.

(End of relevant segment. Full video saved under AV ref. #AV-2030-0829)

————-

Officer Dinkleberry ran a quick spell check on his report and pressed send to submit it through the department’s records management system.

“Hey, Dink, you about ready to head out?”

Sergeant Mulvaney—big enough to pass for a linebacker—stood in the doorway, shadows under his eyes, exhaustion in every line of his face.

“Yes, sir,” Dinkleberry replied. “Got plenty more, but I’ll knock ‘em out tomorrow.”

“Tough day,” Mulvaney said. “Weird day.”

“No doubt.”

Mulvaney squinted past him. “Since when did you get a K-9 unit? I didn’t know you put in a request.”

“Huh? I didn’t.”

Mulvaney nodded toward the corner of the room. There, a German Shepherd with an orange collar and matching leash vigorously shook a hairy mass clamped in his mouth--something that looked eerily like an opossum playing dead.

“What the—? Where did he come from?”

Mulvaney shrugged. “You were too wrapped up in reports to notice him?”

Drop it,” said Dinkleberry.

The dog obeyed. The mangled mass fell to the ground with a soft thwack.

Dinkleberry got up and approached. “That’s no opossum. That’s a wig.” He crouched, eyeing the tight gray curls matted with dog slobber. The dog’s tag caught his eye: Ranger.

He frowned. “Wait a minute. I know I bagged, logged, and secured the wig from the crash site. Where did this one come from?”

Mulvaney lifted an eyebrow. “You tell me.”

Ranger tossed the wig up, let it fall, then picked it up again with a playful shake. Dinkleberry watched from his desk. Something lodged in his throat.

“My Grammy had a wig like that,” he said—immediately regretting it.

Ranger dropped the wig and looked up, panting. He thumped his tail once.

“Guess she made the cut after all,” he muttered—then looked away.

The wig lay there. Like it was waiting. Ranger barked.

Dinkleberry looked away first.

“Alright, Mulvaney. Let’s head out. Tomorrow’s gonna be another long day.”

Dinkleberry left the room. He doesn’t believe in signs.

Ranger followed him out, the wig still dangling from his mouth.