Ash wearily opened his eyes. He was in his room. There was exhaustion written all over his face. He slowly sat up and realized that his body was in pain again. It seems like these days, he was always hurt in some sort of way.
It has been several days yet the newer wounds from the zombie bites were still slightly bleeding. These kind of wounds are always harder to heal. As such he was still wrapped up in bandages from head to toe. This didn't mean that he was exempted from taking part in those experiments. Ash felt that Dr. Hansen was in some kind of rush recently. He was frantic in his research as if he might not get this chance again.
Back in the basement that day, it was questionable whether Dr. Hansen wanted to study him or the intelligent Zombie. Or maybe he wanted to do both. Two birds with one stone. Ash had long before noticed that zombies in general don't seem too interested in him. Even Erva, the source, couldn't eat him back then. It was only when he caused loud noises or sudden movements, that those zombies would get triggered to attack. As such Ash had tried to stand absolutely still when the scientist released the two zombies at him. And as he had expected, they walked around him as if wanting to yet at the same time not wanting to bite.
The strange behavior must have confused the intellect zombie as Ash heard it roar in anger. That was the first time since they met, that the zombie made any indication of desire. Soon after the roar, the zombies who had been totally uninterested in him before, immediately launched at him. The rest was just bone numbing pain.
Before it got too out of hand, Dr. Hansen remembered to press on the remote control again, which tightened the chains wrung around the zombies' neck and pulled them forcefully back into their cages.
From the precautions set in place, Ash could guess that this had been done several times before. He wasn't the first case study. They must have moved the humans down to the basement when Kyle started snooping around. What experiences they must have gone through was unimaginable for ordinary people. Ash on the other hand didn't even have the strength to pity them, as his situation was a hundred times worse than theirs. They at least had the liberty to turn after one time going through this experience but he was not so lucky.
Since then he had been toggling between experiments with zombies and time for rest for recuperation. Ash was curious if he would as well turn into a zombie sooner or later if this kept up.
Today was another day were Shelly came to call him over. Ash now instinctively dreaded her visits as they always meant pain and torture for him. Although he had tried to keep his bodily discomfort from Emma, she would still notice. Well she had to be blind not to see to be honest. Whenever the situation got a bit too out of hand, she would cling to Ash refusing to leave his side. But Ash knew that Emma was his weakness and right now she was also within these walls surrounded by crazy scientists. He didn't dare test the patience of those men by indulging in her stubbornness.
"Let's get going." Shelly was on time with her arrival. Ash had to peel Emma off of him and ensure her that everything is gonna be okey, before he could follow the woman. They went straight to the basement. Ash looked down at his hands which were trembling and clenched them to try and calm himself. Yet with each step he took the fear just kept intensifying.
As soon as they reached downstairs, Ash immediately noticed a change. A familiar looking device was placed at the center of the room with the intellect Zombie. As soon as Ash's eyes fell on the object, he felt nauseous. A terror that he had been successfully suppressing all these time since he left the lab, came crashing back at him. Dr. Hansen was already waiting there playing with the different buttons and getting familiar with the devices operations.
'The Stimulator' the name popped up immediately in Ash's head. It looked like an electrocution chair with all the complex bands and straps to keep the test subject tied down. Although it looked different to the one that he remembered, this one still retained the general shape of the one he was used to. There were countless nights that he stayed up with dread imagining what he might have to face the next day. This was one of the many equipment that he hated the most during his life as a lab rat.
Any physical harm done to him would heal within a few days without leaving a trace. But the psychological trauma was hard to forget. Each time would live a deeper scar in his mind. Subconsciously, Ash's feet started backing away. One step, Two step... Before anyone could react, he had already turned around and bolted. Surprised and angry shouts sounded from behind him yet at that moment, his mind was blank to the surrounding. Except for the urging voice in his head that screamed at him to run, he couldn't hear anything.
But where was there to hide? Before he had even reached the door that lead outside of the basement, two burly looking men were already blocking his path to take him back. Dr. Hansen must have informed these men of his escape and they hurried over to capture him. Given the difference in their strengths it wasn't difficult for those men to drag him back down the flight of stairs and into the room with the stimulator. Under Dr. Hansen's instructions, the placed the desperately struggling Ash on the chair and strapped him tightly down.
"Ash behave. It will only hurt more if you resist." Dr. Hansen's soothing voice reached his ears. But Ash wasn't foolish enough to believe a single word the man said. He started struggling even harder. The straps biting into his skin as he started crying and begging to be let go.
Dr. Hansen glanced at him for a long moment before sighing heavily. He patted Ash on his head and then pulled on the helmet over Ash's head. it covered more than half of the boy's face. As soon as the helmet was in place, George pressed a button that made several needles shoot out of the headset and stab into Ash's head. Connecting with the different nerves and brain cells. Immediately the struggling boy calmed down as if he fell into a trance. Ash just sat there as if he was a doll without a soul.
"Check if all the signals are right." Dr. Hansen instructed Shelly, who quickly went over to the monitoring screen to check on the situation.
"Yes, Everything seems to be in order." Shelly replied.
"Let's start then." Dr. Hansen said as he took out a scalpel which would be used to add the additional pain factor along with the visions that Ash would experience. "We will start with something simple." Dr. Hansen whispered to the inactive boy that sat on the chair and then looked at the screen to the side which would show the stimulation that Ash would be going through. The scientist saw the screen loading for a moment and then the images started playing on it. Immediately Ash started struggling and panting.
Soon tears were streaming down the boy's face and his body convulse for the first time as the unregulated shock wave from the stimulator infiltrated his body. Without wasting any time George sliced with the scalpel across Ash's arm. The cut wasn't too deep but the pain effect was maximized. A loud scream tore out of his mouth that echoed throughout the basement. Yet the sound proof walls blocked the sound from reaching those upstairs.
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Stephanie Clifton walked out of her tent after checking on the supplies she has stashed away in there. This was only a small part of what she had received through blackmailing the scientist. The rest was hidden away somewhere else. Even she knew that she shouldn't keep all her eggs in the same basket. Now that her immediate food supply was secure, she wanted to search out her 'boyfriend' and work out their differences. Rhys had been getting more and more indifferent towards her. He has already mentioned several times that he didn't want to continue on with her. Since that night were she caught him kissing that boy, Rhys hadn't indulged her in spending any alone time together with her.
Although Stephanie knew that it was a fruitless pursuit, she still couldn't bring herself to let go. The only thing that gave her comfort was that Rhys hadn't denied their relationship in front of others yet. He just wasn't the kind of person who would let the entire camp know of their breakup. So, in the eyes of others, she and him were still a couple. And Stephanie was willing to keep up the pretense as long as she could.
Hoping to see her boyfriend and have a long conversation with him, she rounded a corner to get to the end of the camp were Rhys and his team had set up their tents. She must have been too focused on the words she should use once she met him, that she didn't realize how eerily quiet and empty the path was.
Iris stood hidden behind a tent and watched her target move unsuspiciously towards were she and her men waited in ambush. They had already cleared out the area in advance so that there wouldn't be any interference while they did their job. Now anyone who knew of their identity wouldn't dare come to this section until they were done with their prey.
Iris knew the risk they were taking this time was higher than usual especially considering the targets identity. She knew the moment that she accepted this task that they really had to get rid of this woman. Her talking would lead to disaster. Iris had consulted with their leader Amelia before she had decided to accept this mission. The girl had thought hard before making the decision. According to her, the benefits were good but the risks were high indeed. So, she had taken a few days to observe the situation and finally concluded that Rhys and Stephanie were having issues and that they might not be in fact together anymore. This fact boosted their courage more and finally resulted in todays plan.
Iris saw Stephanie walking closer. The woman seemed to finally realize the weirdness of her surrounding and her steps were hesitating. Iris quickly signaled her men, and they all jumped out of their hiding spots to surround Stephanie. The woman panicked and looked around at the people around her with large widened eyes.
"W-What is this about? What do you want?" Stephanie slightly stammered out as she tried to pretend to be calm on the surface.
Iris wasn't much for chit chat so she just jumped straight to the point, "We heard you got a large haul of food stored up somewhere. Maybe start by spiting out the location you have hidden it?" She wanted to make sure that after she eliminated this women, they would still be able to get their hands on the promised rations.
Stephanie's already wide eyes widened even further. She had assumed that she was very careful and discreet with her reward. Yet somehow the info leaked out. She could imagine how much trouble she would be in once this spreads even further than it has now. People will be banging on her door at all times and she wouldn't be ever safe of attacks. Just like the situation she was in right now.
Stephanie weighed her options and finally decided to eat a loss as she was outnumbered 1:5, "What happens once I give you the location?" She wasn't a complete fool. She knew that she had to properly bargain ahead of time if she wanted to walk out of this with minimal problems. She saw a eerie smile stretch across the women standing in front of her and felt a chill run down her back. Her instincts were telling her that she was in danger.
Iris pulled out a dagger from behind the waist band of her jean and slowly walked forward as she played with the weapon. "I don't think you understand the situation you are in. Let me make it clear to you. You are no position to negotiate so it's better that you quit the chitchat and give us the info. The sooner you do the sooner all this will be over."
Stephanie chewed on the words that she just heard and considered her options. Her options were not great. If these people dared to approach her knowing her identity as Rhys's girlfriend, then it only meant that they would only get enraged if she threatened them in his name. Her only sense of comfort was that from her observation, only the woman at the front seemed to be in possession of a weapon. The others must have thought she was easy to deal with and thus didn't bother bringing them.
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She gritted her teeth in anger. She had spend a lot of effort getting those supplies for herself. Now before she could even enjoy the fruit of her labour, it was about to be taken away. 'Never mind. Just call it bad luck. What I need to do now is make sure I preserve my life. If I do I can easily get hold of more food rations later on.' She was completely unaware that it was her blackmail that got her into this situation in the first place.
"Alright I will tell you and then you will let me go?" Stephanie asked. Her tone of voice was still a bit confident and reluctant. The woman across from her only smiled and didn't reply. She sighed heavily before giving away the information that she had treasured so much just a few minutes ago.
As soon as the location was heard. Iris send someone ahead to see if it was the truth. The man didn't take long to return since the place was not too far away from their current location. Once he returned he just nodded at Iris in confirmation. The smile on the woman's face bloomed. 'Okey now that it's confirmed, let's get this over with.'
Iris played with the tip of her dagger as she stated, "Unfortunately for you. You have offended the wrong person. You should know not to be greedy." Then she didn't hesitate as she rushed forward with her weapon raised. She swung it at the girl with severe killing intent behind the strike. Stephanie was startled for a moment, before she quickly reacted. She hadn't entirely let down her guard before and because of that she was able to narrowly escape a killing blow. The knife cut through the sleeve of her arm and soaked the cloth with blood from the fresh wound. Stephanie knew there was no point in talking anymore. These people were seriously after her life!
Stephanie immediately scrambled to the nearest tent and tried to find something to defend herself with. Having survived so far, she wasn't completely useless in a fight. In fact she had enough skills to hold her own ground if it was a one on one match. But right now she was outnumbered and unarmed. She somehow made it into the tent and she started throwing anything that came into her hand at the people who were behind her. Pots and pans and cloth flew out in hopes of gaining some ground. Finally her hands caught onto a kitchen knife in one of the shelves and quickly grabbed it and faced her opponents while panting heavily.
She waved the knife in front of her threateningly, "Don't come any closer or you will get hurt!" She then didn't wait for any response and slashed at the nearest man. She had been quick witted and moved in a different direction than the one she was pointing the knife at. As such the man was caught of guard and ended up with a deep slash across his chest.
Seeing one of their companions hurt, the others immediately became furious and rushed at Stephanie with full force. One of them slammed into her and pushed her onto the ground while throwing a punch at her face. Blood immediately started flowing from her mouth and nose. She cried out in pain as she struggled hard to throw the man off her. Between blows she managed to wriggle into an attack position and stabbed into the leg of the man who was straddling her. The man immediately howled in pain and rolled off while clutching his leg. The knife was still embedded in his flesh.
Ignoring his whining, Stephanie struggled to her feet while panting heavily. Her arm was still bleeding and her face was stained with blood. She cut a very sorry figure. Yet she didn't have any breathing room as Iris approached her while swinging her dagger between her fingers. Another woman was to her side and took a fighting stance. There was a short second of stillness before both those figures dashed towards her with lightning speed. Stephanie took a deep breath before turning around and running with all her might. Yet before she could get far, she was blocked by the one guy that was still uninjured from her previous attacks. 'Shit' she thoughts as she received a heavy blow to her stomach and gasped in pain. As she shakily dodged the next blow by an inch she thought, 'Am I going to die here?'
A slight moment of distraction caused a blade to be embedded in her stomach from behind, As Iris caught up with her. Stephanie coughed out a mouthful of blood as she glared at them reluctantly. She was too stubborn to die here. She used the last of her will power to shake them off and stagger off again in a half run. "Help! Somebody help me!!" Her sound came out strained and rough. She wouldn't be able to hold on much longer if this goes on. Her eyes were already starting to lose focus.
"What the hell is going on here!" She shout sounded from nearby and Stephanie used her last bit of strength to rush towards the direction it came from. As soon as she saw two pairs of blurry boots in front of her, she passed out.
Lena looked at the heavily wounded girl that was passed out in her hands and threw a worried and confused look at Jule who was standing beside her. He looked over at Stephanie's condition quickly and made sure that she was still breathing before directing his anger soaked eyes towards the people who were chasing her before. The trio had stopped chasing their target and was standing a few meters away observing the situation.
"We should take her to the hospital as quickly as possible. Her wounds are severe." Jule commented before he shot the attackers a provocative look and asked, "Do you intend to fight us too? If not go back and get prepared to answer for your actions."
Iris bit her lips in contemplation. The situation was not ideal. 'Of course only these group of people would dare to stroll over here when she had specifically blocked the area off. Her task was almost done and she didn't want to let it be. 'It is just two more people. Why not take them out as well.' She weighed the pros and cons for a long moment before she finally raised her dagger in an attack position. "Hand her over and I can consider letting you two off."
Seeing that the woman was not backing out, Jule turned to Lena and said, "You should go ahead and take the girl to the doctor. I will take care of these people."
Lena just looked at him for a moment before nodding her head and supporting the unconscious Stephanie away on her back.
Seeing their target being taken away. Iris immediately rushed forward and slashed at the man that was blocking her path. She had heard of Jule before. He was peace loving guy who seldom got into disagreements or fights. As far as she knew, he has never displayed any fighting skills. Yet he was well liked by his group and had two very strong brothers. Hurting him was the same as taking them all on.
So she was really taking a great risk here. As they was running towards the man, Jule pulled up his sleeves and stated calmly, "I have no issues in fighting women."
'Two wounded and three in perfect shape. Two with weapons' Jule thought as he dodged the dagger that was aimed at him. He effortlessly grabbed the hand and twisted and threw the woman over his shoulder, disarming her. She landed heavily on the ground and groaned in pain. Right after throwing her, he effortlessly raised his leg and kicked his next opponent away.
After several minutes the whole group was lying on the floor, no longer having the will to fight. 'The man was scary.' Iris thought and a chill ran down her spine as the man leisurely walked away after patting off the dust from the brawl. 'Who on earth said that he is easy to deal with?! This man is not to be messed with!'
They had lost their target. Stephanie should still be alive since they weren't able to deal the finishing blow. This is going to bring a lot of trouble to their group. Iris lay there for a long moment before she struggled to her feet and stumbled off to inform their leaders of the incident. They needed to be prepared for whatever that might come their way now.
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Jule looked at the woman that was lying in the hospital bed with bandages wrapped around her. It has been two days since she passed out from her attack. The doctor assumed that she would wake up soon. After two day of guarding her from other unexpected attacks, he finally realised from where he knew the girl from. 'Wasn't this Rhys's girl?' He thought for a moment and then send an errand boy to inform Rhys of the situation.
Soon after he was lost in thought. Lena and him were actually on the way towards the lab that day to pay Ash a visit. That was the reason they took that path. Lena had been crying and complaining to anyone and everyone she could find that she wanted her 'boy' Ash back. That it was because of their bullying that he was forced to make such a hard decision to stay at the lab.
She seemed genuinely worried about Ash and thus she had approached Jule who was known to have the best relationship with the boy compared to the rest and suggested that they go look for him. To try and convince him to return. Jule had already paid several visit to the lab in the past. Yet Ash was stubborn and refused to listen. That was until Rhys brought the completely blood stained boy back for treatment several days back. Jule had heard the doctors diagnosis of the situation and was furious. He had wanted to storm into that lab and beat everyone up. Then he accidentally overheard the conversation between Rhys and Ash in the hospital ward. From Ash's words, Jule understood in what kind of desperate situation Ash was in. How he could hardly place his trust in anyone. And Jule blamed himself for his powerlessness to do anything or refute the claim.
Ash had been spot on. His priorities were always his brothers. Although it was still the truth, that Jule had a soft spot for the boy. So, after a long contemplation, Jule had finally decided to go and try to convince Ash again. This time with Lena at his side as support. He had wanted to assure Ash that he would be on his side no matter what. Yet before he could get there, they encountered this situation of attacking a fellow resident.
Suddenly the sound of the door opening was heard which pulled Jule out of his thoughts. Rhys strolled in, in an imposing manner. He looked at the woman on the hospital bed and frowned. Jule noticed that there was no worry or adoration in the man's eyes as he gazed at his injured girlfriend.
"I heard what happened. Who was the attacker?" Rhys plopped down on an empty chair as his eyes moved towards Lena who was snoozing in the corner. He had to interact with two people he found unpleasant to the eyes. This made Rhys slightly annoyed. Although he and Stephanie were no longer involved, he still felt the responsibility to check up on her since she did help him through a tough time.
"From what I know, they call themselves Kobras." Jule stated as he observed the IV solution left in the bag. Lena and Jule did not really have an obligation to look after the unconscious woman. But on the way to the hospital, the woman had whispered that she was wrong to kidnap the girl. Lena immediately understood that she was somehow involved in Emma's disappearance back then. After all Ash had been mopping and going out of control for several weeks since they arrived at this refugee camp because of that reason.
When Lena informed Jule, they both decided that they wanted to get answers. As such they had to ensure there weren't any sneak attacks on the woman's life while she was out of commission.
"It's them again" Rhys said angrily as he rubbed his head in annoyance. That group had been clashing with them on and off during the past several months. Its as if they were testing his group's strength by provoking them. Rhys was already considering them a nuisance. Now that they attacked someone whom he considered 'his people', he was no longer willing to sit on the sidelines and silently observe. Once he gets the details of the attack out of Stephanie, he would go and inquire the reason in person.
"There is something else." Jule said and saw Rhys look over inquiringly. Jule had debated for a while if he should tell the man that his girlfriend was involved in Ash's misery. After all from his observation, he and Ash weren't on the best of terms. In such a situation he might try to protect his girlfriend over the truth. But after considering for a while, Jule still decided to tell Rhys everything. After he did, he saw the man's eyes tighten with an unknown emotion. His hands clenched tightly onto the bedsheets and his mind seemed to be a hundred miles away.
"We should definitely get all the details out of her." Rhys finally said, his voice laced with anger.
"And if she is found to be guilty?" A female voice drifted into their conversation from the side. Lena seemed to have woken up at some point and listened to their conversation. She was highly protective of Ash and she demanded that he received the justice he deserved.
Rhys was silent for a moment and then said, "If that's the case, Stephanie will obviously be punished accordingly."
"Good!" They all fell silent after that. It seemed like a long time passed before there was finally some movement from the hospital bed. All three of them looked over and saw that Stephanie had finally woken up. As soon as she opened her eyes, she started weeping with grievance.
But she noticed that her two saviors were not moved by her tears. She had hoped that these people would take revenge for her and had shed some crocodile tears but unfortunately there was no effect. Even her 'boyfriend' just watched from the side not even trying to comfort her. 'Did I let something slip while I was out of it?' She wondered for a moment and soon got the answer.
"Where you really the one who kidnapped Emma from us?" Lena asked ruthlessly.
Stephanie gaped for a long moment before she accepted that she couldn't play pitiful anymore. She shot a worried glance at Rhys but realised that his eyes were not friendly as he waited for her reply.
"I-I yes I did." She finally whispered under her breath.
"Why?" It was Rhys who asked her this time. There was bursting anger in the man's eyes which made Stephanie flinch.
"I can tell you everything. B-But you have to promise me that you will ensure my safety." Even at this cornered moment she didn't forget to strike a deal. She had already realised that it was Dr. Hansen who send people after her after Iris's snarky remark. He was a difficult man to take on. Her life was her greatest priority and right now she needed help in protecting it. 'You made a mistake not having killed me off.' She thought with hatred as she imagined the scientist's face. 'You left too many of your secrets with me. Just wait and see how I will tear you down.'