EVILUTION

THE HOUSE

Deputy Mark Henderson responded to a 911 call. A woman called saying how she hadn't heard from her mother for nearly a week and she was getting worried. Mark showed up to the house with his partner Ron Donaldson and got out of the police car. He stepped up to the front door after looking around the front yard and knocked on the door. 

"Hello," he said while knocking. "Police!"

No answer. He peeked inside the window and didn't see any movement inside. The house was quiet. Too quiet. There was no TV or any other sound coming from inside the house. He knew someone was there since there was a car parked in the driveway. A foreboding feeling came over him as he turned to look at Ron who was standing in the front yard and said, "I'm going to check around back."

"Okay," replied Ron, nodding his head.

Mark went behind the house and looked around. As he started to walk up the steps to the back porch, the back door creaked open a little. He stopped where he was and said, "Hello? Hello? Is there anybody there?" 

Just then, he saw the barrel of a rifle poke out the opening in the door. Mark reached for his gun but it was too late as whoever was holding the gun shot at him. Mark fell back onto the ground as he felt shooting pain in his right leg. He grabbed his leg where he felt the pain and gazed down to see two bleeding bulletholes. As he tried to crawl away, he was shot again in the abdomen. Mark thought he was a goner, but then his partner Ron ran into the backyard with his gun drawn. Before the shooter could fire again, Ron fired a few rounds at the back door. The door slammed shut, allowing Ron to drag Mark out of the line of fire.

"Shots fired!" Ron kept yelling into his radio. "Officer down! Requesting backup!"

It wasn't long before the house was surrounded by police cars and an ambulance. While the EMTs were attending to Deputy Mark, the gunman who had shot Mark stormed out of the house and began firing at the other officers, shooting out the window of one of the police cars. The other officers began shooting at him and killed him.

The gunman's name was Seth Goodson. He had been living with his grandmother Ruth and his younger sister Cathy, both of whom were found dead in the basement. Seth had shot them both execution style and threw their bodies down in the basement. Afterwards, he had mutilated their bodies with a hunting knife. Further investigation revealed he had been discharged from the Marines after serving tours in both Afghanistan and Syria. His medical records showed he had been diagnosed with PTSD. Investigators weren't sure if his PTSD had contributed to the horrific events inside his grandmother's house. He had moved in there just a few months prior after he got a divorce from his wife Marlene. Marlene had told investigators they had marital issues before he had been shipped off to Afghanistan and Syria and that their problems had just escalated upon his return. She said she believed his PTSD contributed to their problems but that she never believed he would ever be capable of doing something as horrific as this. Investigators also found the rifle he used belonged to his late grandfather Bill that his grandmother kept around for protection, which was ironic given what happened. The brutal murders rocked the small town of Placer that had never experienced anything as horrific as this. Seth, for all of his personal issues, was still well-liked and well-respected in the town.

As for Deputy Mark, it took him nearly four months to fully recover from his wounds. However, even though his physical wounds had healed, his mental wounds were a different matter entirely. He did consider not even returning to work, but he never wanted to do anything else but be a cop. So, in spite of his misgivings, he returned to work and tried to put what happened at Ruth Goodson's house behind him.

But, just when he thought he was putting what happened at that house behind him, something happened while he was working the night shift that forced him to relive the horror of that day all over again. It all started when someone called 911 from inside the house asking for help. The trouble was, no one had been living at that house for months. What made it even more perplexing was that all the power to the house had been shut off not long after the murders had taken place.