Feathers of life Chapter 7
Everyone was holding their breath waiting for what could be the end of everything to pass and with every second that passed the sound got louder. Then I heard something strange in the sounds we heard which was confusing but everything was confirmed when we saw what made the noise. Another human was pretending to be a bear vividly which raised so many more questions that needed to be asked. After it passed the room we decided to move while we still could, hoping Martha could keep up with us since she seems near ready to shatter. Every hallway was white and so basic it began feeling like walking in a maze of looping hallways. We had no map or guidance, just a flicker of hope that we would find someway out of this hellish nightmare.
After making our way forward we managed to find another room that seemed important with how it was decorated, yet it was not as messy either. With Erin resting in a chair and Martha following her, I decided to search everything possible. Every drawer of this desk was empty except for the middle one which seemed different from the others, like it had a hidden compartment. I tried hoping I was right and at some point my finger brushed over a sensitive switch opening the compartment up. Inside were tape recorders and maps of this facility with another gun laying on top of everything. I know this should be ignored but I wanted to know what was happening here and hoped these would answer my questions.
" Our research seemed to be a random collective of tests and inhumane experiments without a goal. We wanted to unshackle the mind and see if it could be done, which we accomplished. We started with animals because it seemed the easiest way to brainwash another person. Every subject was a success and we reported it as such. But the higher ups wanted us to push beyond one success… We have been tasked with breaking the mind further and trying to see the limits which as a researcher seems like we are crossing into a world unknown to us. We often wanna play god and this is no different."
"The second attempt was with numbers but… everything was a disaster and a success. Some couldn't handle it and failed the experiments. They developed child-like behavior with uncharastically high resistance to pain. They are uncontrollable and difficult to manage. We managed to sedate those and put them behind the x-15 security containment rooms.
The others that succeeded became more empty and violent. For reasons unknown, when they are disturbed while they recite lines of code, it becomes violent… This is a failure and we should never try again.74 casualties this time."
"After my report we received a box of experimental drugs. This should have been the moment I stopped everything but… We continued. A new type of steroids was to be injected in the disposable subjects with high pain resistance. It was difficult to see changes at first but then we noticed the body's structure changing slightly. Muscles had formed and some grew taller by a few inches. I'm still unsure of what they expected or wanted from this but we received orders to double the dosage on one of them. A vault designed to hold the strongest of animals was caving in seconds when the subject reacted violently from the second dosage. The results seemed to satisfy them but I don't approve of the casualties."
"The subjects reciting code became subjected to another form of experiments… We started to rewrite them in a painstaking process, recreating them. The success of this was Subject 32, she was perfect beyond imagination. If we continue these experiments I could even reach a place far forbidden to humans, but now that this opportunity has come I won't let it pass."
The moment that last recording played the sound of sirens could be heard like someone triggered an alarm system or something.
"It worked in the most astonishing way possible… I can bring back the dead, rewrite a person and shackle another's life into them. Subject 32 was perfect for this and my daughter has returned, as if she had never left. This feels perverse but I guess nothing matters anymore since the militarized research orders failed. If i survive this i'll come back for you and if i don't then may you sleep undisturbed."
No one wanted to speak up about everything we heard even if we all had similar opinions it was so easy to see because we didn't bother hiding it. But his words make me worried about that girl. It makes me think she could still be inside this place, but what good would that information do us when we can barely save ourselves.
"So this place is just a twisted researcher's fantasy… And someone authorized him to be unhinged, how amazing."
"Yeah it's terrible no matter how you look at it. We have the maps out of here now so we should head to the staircase."
Martha seemed to be the most unattached to reality currently so I handed Erin the gun hoping it wouldn't need to be used. Every document and recording was shoved into my bag but I'm not even sure what I could do with it, but maybe it could save that girl if she's really here. With a map we started to move once again hoping no more surprises were waiting for us as we continued trying to regroup with everyone else.
Erin had the ability to walk on her own every so often which helped us move faster but every so often we did check rooms on our way to the staircase. Each room was a mess and we couldn't find much worth taking with us. It felt like we had come closer to the exit which felt good because I wasn't sure how much longer my mind could hold on at this rate. I felt nearly detached again but it just faded in and out as I continued fighting for control. Everyone was struggling and if i break down i'm not sure if i could recover this time with how fragile i feel.
After reaching the backstairs we found some of the works disfigured and others mangled beyond comprehension. We did our best to move through them trying to go up higher but then Martha bolted past us as her voice cried out. The familiarity of her breakdown was painful to see but we couldn't call her back to us. So we tried to rush after her hoping nothing happened to her but Erin still couldn't move the best which made it difficult to keep up.
"You should go after her, I'll catch up. I think I need to rest anyway hannah."
"I won't leave you that easily, I'm sure she will be fine. We are heading upstairs so someone should find her and the screaming will help them find her."
"Yeah maybe so… What do you think did this to those people."
"That thing we saw chasing Kris and Kacy, that is the best guest right."
"That guy on the recorder mentioned weaponizing these people… How far do you think he got with it, and that girl he mentioned."
"Considering what we have seen, I'm sure he got far. But this place seems like it was mostly cleaned out during whatever happened at that time. Plus Kris apparently killed most of those more scary ones from what Martha said."
"Speaking of, we should keep going and find her, I'm getting worried."
I couldn't disagree since Martha was becoming unhinged mentally after all she's been through here, Erin seems to be so kept together at least. I wonder if she's worried about my own mental stability since I'm probably the worst in that area.
After exiting the stairwell we found ourselves in a room that seemed way different than the rest down below. The scent in this room was strong and had a flowery aroma but I couldn't identify anything else even though it was assaulting my sense of smell. The room looked like a preparation room with lots of wall storage and some tables spread about. Erin couldn't resist poking around inside the boxes and everything she pulled out just seemed weird, but it did fit what this place was at least. That's when my head started to feel like it was ready to explode any second. The pain crippled most of my functions and when I thought I was screaming in pain, it was complete silence.
It felt like I was losing control of my body again and that scent seemed so much stronger than before, as if it was the cause of my head splitting so painfully. Just when I thought my consciousness was fading away, a loud explosion shook the entire facility harshly. Enough to snap me back to reality and to see that worried look on Erin's face again, was heart wrenching.
"Hey, can you hear me Hannah?"
"Yes.. Fine, now I think. That scent in this room is affecting me strangely, I feel so hot and almost delirious."
"Come on we need to hurry up, that explosion couldnt be good news."
Erin was still injured but now she's supporting my weight since my every step is nearly a stumble forward. I couldn't begin to explain why my legs feel so weak and shaky right now but Erin was right about that explosion not being good news. When we entered the hall the sounds flowing through this place seemed almost haunting. We made our way towards the sound and smell hoping the others were waiting for us so we could just go home. Unfortunately our luck was far from good but we did find Timothy who had just blown up an entire room for whatever reason.
"Tim?... What the hell are you doing?"
"Erin and Hannah, man it's good to see you both… Chemistry 101 still works."
"Whatever that means, can you explain the point of this, did you really need to destroy an entire room?"
I was still trying to regain functionality but something seemed a little off with Tim but again nothing came to mind right now. These gut feelings are becoming more terrifying than the episodes if they keep proving to be correct.
"Oh those crazy people were chasing me, so I tricked them into coming here and blew up the room."
They were still humans but he seemed fully unfazed by that fact and even went further than just locking them up in the room. Yet do I have any right to judge him right now, discovering what kind of hypocrite I am can wait either way.
"She does not look good and you seem to have a limp, need a hand.?"
" Thanks, we are trying to find Kacy or Kris. Also Martha came up this way… did you see her at all?"
"Nope, just me and the crazies."
When you watch movies or read stories an often subtle detail added is the change in a person's eyes when something is said. If this was one of those things then Timothy would fit perfectly, it gave me the chills. I am missing something obvious right now but everything just sounds like I'm creating fantasies in my head. I hope nothing happened to Martha and that she managed to find Kris or even Kacy.
"So you found a map, did you find anything else while looking around."
A strange yet direct question as if he was digging for something specific from Erin. If only I could function just a little better, maybe I wouldn't feel so vulnerable being carried around by him.
"Nothing exciting at least. Oh, according to this we are almost back at the first room we entered."
Those words became a comforting blanket to me and soon this nightmare could end. It may sound selfish now but I can't help but wanna go home right now, even though I don't know how many people were lost or if Martha made it out.