CHAPTER 64: CHAPTER 63- HORRORS BEYOND THE MIND (PART 1)

Chapter 63- Horrors Beyond The Mind (Part 1)

"What?" Jack’s eyes slowly widened in shock as he stared at the man. "What did you just say?"

"The Undead... Aren’t the majority... Most people are in that laboratory... They walked there on their own feet..."

The words struck Jack like a train as his eyes lost focus and he fell deep in thought. His mind went back to every single detail of the events that transpired over he past two days. From the moment everything started to the same second he was standing there.

’Not all are turned into Undead, what? But... How? What did that? Why?’ He asked himself as he tried to find the answer. It didn’t take him long before he realized a detail he had ignored... A detail that he thought he had already found the answer to.

For the past two days, the city has been empty, incredibly so. Even though the invasion had just happened, most of the city was empty. It was as if all the humans and monsters alike disappeared.

When he saw the horde that surrounded the base, his mind immediately assumed that was all the people in the city clustered there. But... How could that even make sense?

’The number of Undead there is far from the actual population of the city. The city has at least 4 million people living in it... That horde is no more than 100 thousand. Even if we say that more than half died and never even had the chance to turn into Undead... There is still two million people who simply disappeared.’

Two million people.

That was more than the population of entire countries, just gone off the face of the earth. It should’ve immediately been apparent to Jack how wrong his assumption was. But, with everything happening so quickly, he didn’t have a moment to contemplate the missing piece in his logic.

Now... As the realization dawned on him, his heart started beating faster.

"What dragged them there? Why are millions of people inside one facility?"

"... I... Don’t know... When I went there... All I saw were people standing in blinding darkness, not moving or doing anything. They were walking in one by one like robots and disappearing inside... Nothing was normal about them. There were many people... Too many people..."

’Moving like robots... So there is almost certainly something controlling them in one way or another.’ Jack mused. ’Hm, perhaps there is some unknown force playing into this.’

He can’t say for certain, but Jack knew this wasn’t an effect of Aether or anything else aside from a monster or another culprit.

"..."

"I don’t know what you’re planning to do. But, I really don’t suggest going in... The feeling that place gave me is something I never felt before... It was the most afraid I have ever been. If Earth is evil, then that building is hell."

The boy stared at the man for a few seconds before he nodded faintly. "We shall see if what you said is true or not."

"Are you not afraid of death?! You will die!"

"If my death is certain... Why should I be afraid of the inevitable?" Jack asked as he started walking away.

He had gotten all the information he needed; now he had to go there himself and check.

Luna watched his silhouette go farther and farther away. A part of her wanted to call for him, a deep sense of worry planted within her heart. But, she quickly decided not to and looked away.

’He will be fine. I am certain he will be fine.’ She mused.

However, even when she tried to ease her own worry, she still could only think of one thing... That she doesn’t regret not insisting on going with him.

***

The city laboratory is the shortened name for the ’Noxford Research Facility’. It was built several decades ago, and its main purpose is experimental chemistry, virus and plague experimentation, and medical work. It played a crucial role in virus outbreaks several times across its long history.

It was one of the biggest facilities in the entire city, taking over a massive area with five different buildings. It was surrounded by walls and a very tight security due to its importance. Not many people really know what happens inside, but everyone knows that it is a very important governmental facility.

Jack personally didn’t know much about it aside from the general knowledge available to the public.

"Hmm, it looks pretty empty..."

Standing on top of a building, he stared at the mysterious facility from afar, searching for any abnormalities. However, the place looked completely wrecked from the outside with broken glass and other signs of the Undead passing through it.

"I’m there and I’m looking at the facility... Nothing is out of the norm. I will be getting closer to check." Jack said into his device.

"Roger that. Please be careful." Luna replied almost immediately.

After that, the boy descended to the ground and started making his way to the facility. As he got closer, however, he started noticing some odd things.

To begin with, as he was walking through the street, he noticed that it was covered in a wet substance. He couldn’t tell if it was water or something else. However, considering the fact that a pipe might’ve broken and leaked water, he didn’t think much of it.

The second detail, however, was far more interesting.

"*Sniff*... What is this horrid smell?" He stopped and smelled around as he frowned. "It doesn’t smell like blood or dead corpses..."

It was something stronger and more foul, almost unbreathable. However, since Jack’s senses improved a lot, he was able to somewhat bear it.

’It’s almost like feces... No, even feces don’t smell this horrible. Perhaps a mix of many things?’ He asked himself as he continued to get closer and closer.

Then, he noticed the third detail that made him stop again. It wasn’t something visual... Rather, it was a feeling that he felt hit him hard when he got to a certain distance from the facility.

A cold shiver ran through his spine as the har on his arms stood. Just a mere glance at the place made his instincts scream... Don’t get closer. Don’t get any closer than you did.

It wasn’t merely a feeling of looming threat but rather something far more profound... As if that place itself isn’t made for humans to step into. It was not a sanctuary a human should be allowed into.

"..." Jack blinked a few times before he sighed. "I’m starting to see why that man called this place hell... It certainly feels like I’m walking into a Godless place."

However, as much as he got a weird feeling from it, Jack didn’t stop as he simply continued approaching the building until he was standing at the broken gates. There were signs of blood and destruction everywhere. But, the main building itself and its surroundings were intact, more or less.

Yet, there were no signs of actual people, anywhere.

’This place can’t hold 2 million people, even if you ram them all in...’ Jack frowned. What could’ve happened to that many people, is the question he wanted to answer and it seemed that standing outside won’t do it.

"I’m going to try and get in. I can’t see anything from the outside." He said.

"... Roget that. Please don’t get too deep into the building."

"I won’t. I’m just going to check the entrance."

With that, Jack stepped over the broken gates and walked into the facility. He passed the front area where security was supposed to be and walked through the open front area toward the main building’s gates.

On the way, the feeling of fear kept increasing and growing deeper. It was like everything about this place rejected his presence and actively tried to push him.

However, he forced his way through, not caring about what his own instincts were telling him. Reaching the gate, he noticed that it was actually closed.

"Hmm..." He looked left and right before he tried to open the gate. It was locked. ’Someone locked it from the inside. I don’t think it would be wise to try and break the door since it could grab unwanted attention.’

So, he decided to do something different. Seeing a broken window nearby, Jack snuck his way toward it and with a simple move, jumped inside. His steps were silent and his presence was completely blended with the darkness of the interior. Upon landing, Jack was hit with an even stronger smell that almost made his head spin.

He felt a strong urge to vomit that made him close his nose.

’What the fuck is this smell? What can even make such a smell?’ He cursed inwardly. The room he found himself in appeared to be an office, a very dark and humid one with some traces of struggle but not much else.

So, the boy crouched and started making his way to the door. He then slowly opened it to peek outside.

Almost immediately, his eyes laid upon a silhouette that made him quickly freeze in place and stop any movement he was doing.

"What the hell..."

The silhouette was standing still in the dark hallway, staring into the wall with its back facing him. It wasn’t moving or even behaving like a human. Its entire body seemed to be tightened.

"..."

Jack tried to make out more details about it. At that moment, Hypervision activated automatically and the entire place started lightening up for him.

That was when he finally saw it... And for the first time since everything started, Jack was completely and utterly shook.