Chapter 14: Origin?
Every post online whether in the news or on social media was about the pandemic. Some people took pictures inside the camps while others posted that they were against the idea of going to them. They expressed that being there would be like putting all of your eggs in the same basket. Aside from those people, a few declared that they would head to higher ground while some with boats decided to sail and stay in the water. A few more even said that they would face this thing head-on while most said that they would just try and ride this out.
I checked my email and saw that some of the people that I invited to stay at my place decided to go to the camps or stay in their homes. However, a few friends didn't even reply. I decided to make another email to inform everybody that the offer still stands. They could take anybody they trust with them but I wanted them to get here as fast as possible. It was because I'm not sure if we could maintain contact with everybody using the Internet for long. We have other means of communication but the others possibly didn't have anything more than their phones.
I turned my laptop off, changed my clothes, and headed to the 3rd floor. When Kaley and Olivia saw me, they decided to join me along with other people that frequent my gym. I started with a light jog on the treadmill, completed a set of stretches, proceeded to the machines, and then to the free weights. I ended my workout with core exercises and a few more stretches before I went for a hot shower. The whole process took me two hours and I was the last one to leave. The gym was already empty and I walked down to the 2nd floor just covered with my towel, carrying my clothes in a clump.
As I was about halfway towards my room, the bathroom on the 2nd floor opened.
I saw Kaley walking out with only a towel covering her nice figure. Let's just say that she had everything in the right places plus an extra more in the chest area. A small towel was also on her head, holding her hair up while exposing her neck. Her jade-like skin, rosy cheeks, and pretty face made my chest thump. I was stunned briefly but I made sure to make proper eye contact.
Kaley's face flushed red as we saw each other covered only by towels but she tried to play it off like it was nothing, "Ah— U-Umm— hi... I just finished helping Oscar with everyone, he said he'd—"
But Rin instantly came from downstairs, "Boss Sky, your aunt said that the— U-Umm… S-SORRY FOR THE INTERRUPTION!"
Rin just went red as a tomato after seeing us together and she probably assumed something else in her head again. She ran down as quickly as she came up and she already disappeared from view before we had the chance to say anything.
With that said, Kaley and I were looking at each other but instead of laughing off another misunderstanding, we had never been so quiet from staring at each other's eyes. She eventually looked away but I continued to look at her face. After that, her gaze eventually went back to me but she looked even cuter when she was slightly embarrassed.
"W-What? I-Is there something on my face?"
"N-Nothing, I just thought that you're really beautiful," I said as I scratched my nose.
As soon as I said it, her eyes widened and her cheeks became redder but I was even more shocked at myself for suddenly saying what was on my mind. However, Kaley wasn't alone in the bathroom.
"Ayiee~!" a voice behind her shrieked.
Olivia was actually behind Kaley! She started teasing us nonstop and she even tried to push her sister toward me. However, she got bonked in the head and stopped from causing a ruckus. Kaley and I just let out faint smiles but Olivia saw the tattoo on my arm. They didn't see it fully before because I was wearing a jacket but when they did, they showed surprise, especially Olivia.
"Whoa~! That's so cool!" Olivia immediately approached me and she started to touch my arm.
"Did it hurt?" Kaley asked just looking at it.
"Yeah, it was inked by thin bamboo, it took a week before it was finished."
"Oh~ Is that so? Woah! Sis! Feel his arm too! He's jacked!"
Kaley was a little embarrassed at first but further pressure from Olivia made her comply. As she touched my arm and traced the tattoo patterns, she noticed one of the few scars that I have. Her eyebrows raised and she immediately looked into my eyes with a questioning expression. However, I pulled my arm back as she was about to ask about it. She didn't pursue the matter but Olivia was still oblivious about what happened in that short moment.
"A-Anyway, let's get dressed because dinner might be ready. We'll also have a meeting later and everyone can ask their questions there," I said as I excused myself.
"Y-Yeah, sure..." Kaley said as she was giving me a concerned glance.
It only took us a short moment before the three of us got dressed and went down. The utensils were still being placed on the table and the food was about to be ready. We chatted with everyone for a while then someone played music using their Bluetooth speaker. It wasn't as loud to attract the dead and was just enough for everyone in the pool area to hear it.
We were eventually served with noodles prepared with chicken stock, boiled eggs, chopped vegetables, and a few pieces of meat. A small bowl of chili flakes was sitting on a corner if you wanted to add a bit of kick to it. Nicole and Alicia were coming back for it nonstop, seemingly unaffected by the spice and thoroughly enjoying it.
As soon as we finished eating, I noticed that most of them were already tired from the work they did. Add to that the toll on our minds of what was happening around us. Despite that, everyone was having a nice chat with each other but some were more stressed while some were doing fine.
Before they got even tired, I took it upon myself to start the meeting.
"While we're all gathered here and resting, let's have the meeting now before we get some sleep," I said as I placed my laptop on one of the tables.
We arranged our tables and chairs properly so they could face me. A big LCD screen was also prepared so that anything I showed them would be clearly seen. It only took a few minutes to set up because I had people helping me.
"Before we start, I'd like to thank you all for being greatly cooperative and for being here. It's been a very taxing day for all of us and it's safe to say that we're all fucking tired. I want to make this meeting a bit shorter so we could all get some sleep and be ready for tomorrow. I will show you a little something first and then I will let you ask anything about it, okay?" I said then they all nodded.
"A few years ago, while we were building this place for fun and security, there were reports, news articles, and even whispers lurking out there of what appears to be people exhibiting very strange behavior. You can see them everywhere since there are a lot of them on the Internet but we can't be too sure if it's real or not. However, take a look at this..." I trailed as I picked a file from my laptop and sent it to the TV.
I first showed them a CCTV video of a businessman in a bus station lying down on the floor.
It seemed like a normal footage at first but after a few moments, he rolled over and then he smashed his head on the ground over and over. After that, he started to shake and convulse then a guard approached him to offer help. As the guard was getting closer, the man suddenly propped up, dashed towards the approaching bus, and was hit dead on.
The video stopped there but I managed to acquire footage from a different angle. It started a few seconds before the man was hit by the bus and it continued to show what wasn't shown in the earlier video. It showed that the guy flew several feet in the air and crashed down on the pavement. He wasn't moving at first but it suddenly stood up for a few seconds before falling like a puppet that got its string cut.
No one was saying anything because they saw I have more files to show them.
The second one I played was from a phone camera and the heathen who recorded it should be cursed for all eternity because it was filmed vertically.
It showed a group of friends partying inside a house full of party decorations. One of the girls brought out a white, crystalline powder from a satchel and she snorted some of it. Her head jerked for a moment but she yelled loudly and everybody cheered her on.
However, her eyes rolled over and she dropped to the table she was standing at.
It was then cut into a scene outside where an EMT was giving her CPR. The EMT touched her wrists to look for a pulse then he shook his head after a few moments. When the body was being placed in a body bag, it suddenly clawed the EMT's neck and he bled profusely. The girl immediately dropped dead after that and both of them were confirmed dead that day. However, there was no explanation about how the girl managed to do that.
I continued to show the group video after video up to the most recent one. It showed footage of a man in a maintenance uniform biting the neck of another guy wearing the same outfit. It then cut into another angle where a very familiar man, woman, and older man were in front of it. The group turned to look at me, Kaley, and Oscar, as they watched Oscar swinging the fire extinguisher, smashing the head of the figure.
Kaley was the first one to get a realization from the group watching it then she asked, "Is it progressing or evolving? Was that the whole timeline then?"
I nodded, "That first video was in 2016 and the most recent one was earlier this morning. I found the last one earlier and downloaded it."
"So, it wasn't like real zombies from the start?" Olivia added.
I nodded and continued, "It was first described as an extremely rare phenomenon where people would just move even if they're already pronounced or declared to be dead. It was somewhat a similar occurrence when a lizard's tail got cut off but the tail would still move for a certain period. Going that route, the tail would never stop moving and continue to live for all eternity. There were supposed to be a lot more of these videos but the craziest ones got removed a few minutes or even seconds after it was uploaded. We could conclude from what happened that someone or a group was behind this and was keeping it a secret for a while."
"What happened to those other videos? Have you seen some of them at least?" Rin asked.
"I've seen a few but one of them seemed to be the only real one from the rest that got deleted. They must be trying to give out red herrings but I couldn't be too sure."
"What happened there?" Kaley asked.
"It was a recording in a lab. Ten people were strapped to a bed while in the other room, a 'zombie' was being taken apart. They've taken its teeth, nails, bone, blood, flesh, etc. After they did that, they started pressing the teeth on one person until it drew blood. They did the same thing with the bones and nails and recorded the results. After that, one of them got injected with dark-reddish blood—directly into his bloodstream—while one was fed the rotting flesh forcefully by forcing his mouth open. It goes on and on and some of them started to show different changes and the scientists present started to note and record what they were. When the camera panned to another room, it showed that a lot more people were to be used as test subjects."
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