Untold Story ║ Book 1 of The Untold series

Chapter 29 - Secret experiment

I've been busier than usual at the nurse station today. The atmosphere feels heavier, and there's an unspoken tension hanging in the air. Alice, who has been a source of camaraderie and support, seems more distant today, her usual warmth replaced by an almost imperceptible aloofness. I can't help but wonder if something changed after our conversation, or if it's the result of Thomas's injuries that have strained our usual rapport.

It's in the midst of my work that General Hargrove suddenly enters the room, and his presence immediately commands attention. His body exudes an even sterner and more demanding demeanor than usual, and his perpetually constipated expression seems even more pronounced today.

I offer a respectful nod as I inquire, "Can I help you with something, sir?"

The General's lips curl into a grin that sends shivers down my spine. "You are exactly the person I need help from," he asserts, his tone carrying an air of expectation. "Follow me," he commands.

Curiosity mingles with apprehension as I follow him into a tent that I've never seen before. It's immediately apparent that this place is off-limits to the ordinary camp residents, and my presence here raises questions.

"Where are we going, sir?" I ask, my voice tinged with a mix of uncertainty and curiosity.

"You will see," he responds cryptically.

Inside, we enter a lab, and in the center of the room lies a figure. But it's not a person; it's a walker. My heart races as I move closer, the sight both alarming and surreal. The walker isn't dead, and the low growls emanating from it send a shiver down my spine.

"I wouldn't get too close," General Hargrove warns, his voice resonating with a hint of caution.

"Why?" I ask, turning to face him. and i get a shock from the sudden movement and sound from the walker. The revelation that he's brought me here for a reason begins to dawn on me.

"Why would you have a walker inside the camp?" I question, trying to make sense of the situation.

"Because we need you to experiment," the General states matter-of-factly.

"Experiment?" I repeat, unable to conceal my shock.

"Yes," he confirms. "Alice told me about your qualifications." The puzzle pieces fall into place, explaining her distant behavior.

"You must be out of your mind if you think I would experiment on a living walker," I retort, my sense of disbelief giving way to righteous indignation.

General Hargrove's lips curl into a chilling smile. "Oh, trust me, you don't know how crazy I can be," he quips. "I want you to find out anything and everything there is to know about these walkers. You have all the equipment you need. I'll be back tonight, and I expect a report."

As he turns to leave, his parting words are laced with a veiled threat. "And don't you dare tell anyone about this little secret of ours."

He exits the lab, leaving me alone with the living walker, and I can't help but sigh in exasperation. I've already been burdened by the relentless pursuit of knowledge about "Light," but now, within the confines of this covert experiment, I find myself even more entangled in the web of secrets. The relentless cycle of discovery and fear continues, and it's a heavy weight to bear.

As I stand in the laboratory with the living walker before me, I can't help but feel a mixture of revulsion and fascination. General Hargrove's demand for experimentation has led me to this unsettling juncture, where I find myself dissecting a creature I would rather keep my distance from.

My first set of experiments revolves around the walker's eyes. The milky white appearance has always intrigued me, and I've often wondered why their sight seems so impaired. Using a pair of latex gloves and a scalpel, I carefully extract one of the walker's eyes. Its texture is disturbingly pliable, like a water-filled balloon, and I cringe as I work.

Upon closer examination, I discover the source of the milky appearance – the cornea seems to be partially eroded, and the lens is clouded with cataracts. The retina appears distorted, with signs of necrosis. It's clear that the walker's vision is compromised due to multiple factors, rendering their eyes nearly useless.

The next avenue of investigation is the walker's hearing. I cautiously inspect its ears, gingerly separating the external structures. What I find inside surprises me. The auditory canal seems relatively unaltered, but the damage becomes evident as I dissect the inner ear. The cochlea, the auditory part of the inner ear, shows significant degeneration, with hair cells lying in disarray. Despite this damage, I make an intriguing observation – the walker's hearing has adapted to lower frequencies, explaining their uncanny ability to detect low-pitched sounds, such as human voices.

Driven by my relentless curiosity, I move to the walker's abdomen, an act that I find thoroughly repulsive. Using a surgical scalpel, I make a precise incision. To my dismay, I uncover the grotesque reality that resides within. The walker's digestive system seems to have decayed, leaving remnants of its last meal – human flesh and clothing fragments that have undergone minimal digestion. It dawns on me that the walkers are hardly capable of properly digesting their prey, leading to their insatiable hunger and constant need to feed.

Finally, I turn my attention to the part of the brain that requires damage to eliminate the walker's threat. The center of the brain, the limbic system, to be precise, houses the walker's primal instincts, such as aggression and the drive to feed. A well-placed injury in this region, such as the hippocampus and the amygdala, effectively disables these essential functions, rendering the walker harmless.

Throughout this gruesome process, my discoveries are both unsettling and enlightening. The walker's impaired vision, heightened sensitivity to low frequencies, compromised digestive system, and the key brain regions vital for their existence have unveiled essential insights into the nature of these creatures.

Despite the morbid nature of my work, there's an odd sense of accomplishment that comes from uncovering these hidden truths. Knowledge is power, and the more we understand about the walkers, the better equipped we are to survive in this unforgiving world. However, I can't shake the feeling of disgust that lingers as I remove my blood-smeared gloves and step back from the dissected corpse before me.

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Word count : 1037

By night-ed

Book one : Untold Story

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