All the guards were killed without mercy, leaving Ethan alone once more with the entity.
Ethan did not dare to move. The moment it noticed him would be the end.
After killing them the monster began humming hysterically "Doctor, Doct_or Doctoooorrrrr" then collapsed onto the ground sprawled out.
Its arms stretched out seizing the corpses and it began feeding on them quietly.
On the opposite side Ethan was watching them quietly waiting for the right moment to escape. The choking stench nearly killed him and terror cut through his heart.
While he waited he noticed something strange.
The head with the eyes had been watching him calmly for some time but the entity did not move toward him.
Ethan thought it was the end but the entity still did nothing.
All it did was look at him with sad eyes as if pleading for help and its eyes were dripping with tears.
Suddenly one of the hands moved picking up a spear belonging to the guards.
With extreme slowness and caution it threw it a few small steps away from Ethan who was confused and unable to understand exactly what this entity wanted.
While the other hands continued feeding the same arm moved pointing toward a specific spot higher up.
Ethan remained frozen in place not knowing whether to take that step or not.
But he was fully aware that if he stayed longer in the same place with it things would get worse.
He made his decision then prepared himself.
With a speed slower than a turtle he began dragging himself backward away from the entity.
Every crawl moved him only a few centimeters farther while all his focus was on reducing the sounds.
When the eyes noticed what he intended to do an expression of disappointment mixed with sadness appeared on them.
The arm went limp and the eyes closed surrendering to something unknown.
After thirty minutes of sneaking Ethan managed to reach a turn far from the entity.
He stood on his feet quietly then turned to the opposite direction.
He thought he could finally escape quietly.
But the moment he looked behind him he found a tall man standing in front of him.
He wore white medical clothes with long curly hair and round glasses along with a thick neat beard.
He looked at him with a disturbingly cold expression.
Ethan's features trembled with terror the moment he saw him but he felt a kind of safety because he was no longer alone.
He signaled him to stay quiet then pointed with his finger toward the place where the monster was.
The man did not utter a word and simply walked quietly to the corner of the corridor to glance at the entity.
Meanwhile Ethan realized something.
This man was the same man he had seen in the library… Alexander Locke.
After staring at him intently for a few seconds he returned to his place quietly.
Then he whispered in a cold tone "It seems they escaped their containment… I should have expected this (sigh) Unfortunately I will have to sacrifice a valuable specimen."
Without any warning Alexander pushed Ethan knocking him to the ground which alerted the entity to his location.
Ethan rose quickly from the ground with a mixture of shock and anger settling in his eyes.
Alexander said coldly "Sorry kid but dying here will be more merciful than what awaits you if you survive."
Unacceptable… completely unacceptable… that was the only feeling that manifested in Ethan's heart.
With pure rage Ethan lunged at the doctor's body and began making noises deliberately toward them.
Alexander tried to push him away quickly but Ethan was biting scratching and striking without stopping as if he had decided to drag the doctor with him to death if he was going to die.
The entity that had been sprawled on the ground slowly raised its head.
The sad eyes suddenly widened then every arm moved at once.
A muffled roar came out from several mouths at the same time and the massive body charged toward the source of the sound with terrifying speed.
Alexander kicked Ethan hard this time sending the boy flying several meters and slamming into the wall.
Pain flooded his back but he smiled a small bloody smile as he watched the doctor run in the opposite direction trying to get away from the advancing monster.
The entity paid no attention to Ethan. All its focus locked onto Alexander.
Alexander looked behind him for only one second and his eyes met Ethan's who was still lying on the ground breathing heavily.
There was nothing in the doctor's gaze except irritation at the complication of the situation.
Then he disappeared behind the next turn while the monster chased him and its arms struck the walls with force that made dust fall from the ceiling.
Ethan remained alone once more in the corridor listening as the sound of the chase gradually faded away…
He took a deep breath finally feeling some relief.
On the other side…
Alexander was still running the monster a very short distance behind him. The arms struck the walls and broke the pipes and the filthy water sprayed with every step.
His breathing was rapid and his heart was pounding madly.
He turned quickly and locked himself inside one of the rooms.
He began hearing the monster screaming his name while striking the door violently and repeatedly.
Alexander put his entire body weight against the door whispering to himself in a trembling voice "Aaaah damn it…"
Every blow made the metal door bend inward a little and rust fell from the hinges. The room he had taken shelter in was small its walls covered with iron shelves full of bottles and old files and the sharp smell of chemicals filled the place.
Outside the door the pounding suddenly stopped.
A terrifying silence settled for a few seconds.
Then a human voice was heard near the place in a familiar tone "Unknown entity… clear threat."
Then he heard the monster attacking the source of the voice.
Alexander seized the opportunity opened the door and began fleeing.
He burst out of the room at full speed glancing back lightly to see who had bought him this luck.
His eyes met the lenses of Marcus who was standing firmly completely unconcerned by the danger coming toward him.
The arms lunged lightly trying to seize him.
Reading the movements of its limbs Marcus avoided every one of its attacks with the smallest possible motions.
He ducked jumped to the side moved his head a few inches and every arm passed by him within a hair's breadth without touching him without any tension only cold concentration.
Four arms descended at the same time toward his head.
He avoided them lightly and widened the space between his feet taking a fighting stance.
In a lightning moment his arm vibrated at an imaginary speed leaving multiple shadows behind it as if a thread had been spun rapidly then stopped suddenly leaving a haze of motion.
He delivered a hook punch directly into the arm.
The vibrations transferred from his hand to his enemy. The monster's arm began shaking violently.
The vibration was not superficial. It spread like a wave through the exposed flesh until it reached the shoulder joint.
The monster's arm trembled hysterically then stopped functioning completely.
The eyed head looked at the dead arm and a faint gleam appeared in its eyes.
The entity continued its attack in a hysterical and random manner.
Marcus repeated the same process again and again.
Until the entity fell to the ground completely paralyzed.
It screamed in pure despair and fury trying to move its limbs with everything it had… but to no avail.
Marcus approached closer placing his foot on its body and observed its moving heads.
All of them were screaming begging suffering.
"No no no no we are going to die"
"And he will live…. the Doctor the Doctooooor"
"All I want is to go home (crying) I want to see my mother and my sister"
After hearing their words and recalling the contents of the case Marcus immediately realized what had happened.
He whispered in a cold tone "So this is what happened to you how brutal."
Suddenly Marcus noticed a head that was different from the rest.
The one with the eyes did not cry did not rage but was calm and a faint happiness even gleamed in its eyes.
From among the paralyzed arms one of them rose with extreme slowness.
Marcus noticed it and prepared to remove it.
But he realized it had no intention of attacking.
The arm moved toward the body tearing out a few of the threads and black blood mixed with a black substance began to seep out.
It smeared its fingers with its blood then began writing something on the walls.
Marcus watched as it wrote in a messy and unclear hand then another arm rose helping it write for one minute and twenty seconds.
Alexander created monster guards chief accomplices we are the monster please kill them kill us.
The writing ended.
The eyed head's arm finally went limp and fell while the eyes continued looking at Marcus with a strange steadiness… waiting for the response.
Marcus remained silent for a moment before answering them in the same tone "It was as clear as the sun that Alexander was the culprit for almost all the evidence pointed to him. He was carrying out the abduction crimes using the village chief and his soldiers as a means to achieve his goal threatening them in some way but the thing that occupied my mind was the motive… what was the culprit seeking And now I have obtained the answer…"
The silence stretched for additional seconds.
Then Marcus whispered again "I will end your suffering now. As for Alexander the chief and those with them… their end will not be better."
He climbed on top of the entity standing directly above the heads.
The entity closed its eyes in surrender the moment it had waited for all this time had arrived…
Marcus raised his arm above his head and it began vibrating violently as before.
He brought it down in a lightning strike that ended the lives of all the heads in a matter of seconds ending their suffering with mercy.
He raised his gaze to the place Alexander had fled from and began walking in the same direction.
At the same time in a different area.
Alexander stood in front of the fallen Ethan their eyes met with a shared expression of anger and hatred.
Alexander did not utter a letter and simply took out a device resembling a dog whistle.
He raised it to his mouth and blew a short sharp note.
Nothing happened the first time but after a while that was not long Ethan began hearing the sound of footsteps in the shallow water.
Two creatures resembling humans emerged.
A human body with metallic claws coming out of their wrists their muscles and blood vessels prominent their eyes completely white without pupils and their mouths sealed with thick surgical threads.
He raised the whistle again and blew a shorter note this time.
The two creatures moved immediately.
They charged toward Ethan with inhuman speed the metallic claws gleaming in the dim light as they stretched forward. The sound of their footsteps in the water was heavy and wet.
Ethan crawled backward quickly trying to get up his heart pounding violently. He tried to scream but no sound came out of his throat.
Then he heard the sound of flesh being cut and blood spraying.
Ethan opened his terrified eyes and saw the tormentor with a glass shard in the middle of its neck.
Blood gushed from its throat like a fountain drenching Ethan in crimson red.
Marcus yanked the shard from the tormentor's neck and it fell into the shallow water where its suffering ended.
The second one tried to attack him but its fate was the same as the previous one.
Then he slowly raised his gaze toward Alexander in whose heart terror had taken control.
With slow steps.
With regular steps.
And with covered features.
Marcus approached Alexander.
The latter tried to flee from him but the shard was thrown at him piercing his foot and dropping him to the ground.
He remained without power or strength.
Alexander sat on the muddy floor holding his injured foot with both hands the blood bleeding rapidly between his fingers. He tried to crawl backward but every movement only increased the pain and left a red trail on the ground.
Marcus stopped directly in front of him looking at him from above without saying anything at first.
Alexander raised his head with difficulty his voice coming out trembling "Just do it end it quickly."
The moment he finished his words a sound resembling a ringing emerged from Marcus's arm announcing the activation of the same previous ability.
He brought a direct punch down onto Alexander's brain.
His head shook violently like a bell then he fell…..
At a later time and in another place. (Yes I am lazy my unattractive reader)
Alfred Tell entered the room slowly with serious features on his face.
Alexander was sitting on a wooden chair his hands and feet bound with a face full of despair.
Alfred approached him while looking at him with eyes full of hatred and contempt.
He said while sitting on the chair "I assume you know why I came you animal."
Alexander raised his head toward the old man then replied coldly "To tell me my sentence I suppose."
He replied with a lot of anger in his voice "With everything you have done your sentence has been clear from the beginning."
Alexander took a deep breath then replied with a note of irritation in his voice "Then why did you come to me It is impossible that you came only to tell me that I will be executed and leave."
He replied while adjusting his seat "Actually I came to ask you some questions."
Alexander replied while scratching his head "Fine ask whatever you want."
The old man took a deep breath then said quietly trying to restrain his anger "Why do you mutilate humans What is the purpose of all this And how were you able to do this in the first place for we do not have these advanced medical tools"
An expression of annoyance appeared on Alexander's face then he said "It is like an addiction."
An expression of surprise appeared on Alfred's face while Alexander continued his words "Every time I perform those experiments every time I cut off their limbs and reassemble them in the way that pleases me that gives me a kind of happiness a kind of relief that I have never felt except when doing that. And to be honest I do not really like what I do even though performing these operations fills me with euphoria and happiness but those feelings are met after a while with a feeling of regret for what I have done a terrible feeling that punishes me for my heinous acts. But even when I decide to stop that craving comes that cannot be resisted to perform more operations and the same scenario repeats again."
Alfred remained silent for a moment after hearing Alexander's confession while the feeling of surprise inside him increased upon hearing his words then he replied in a tone rising with surprise "Then tell me since when have you had this addiction And why did you not ask for help from any psychiatrist to solve this problem of yours We have many of them in the village."
Alexander coughed for several seconds then replied after that "This problem is not new old man I have been like this since my childhood but in a less dangerous form specifically at the age of ten I used to sew the tails of lizards together or sew the mouths of animals shut for fun that made me want to learn new things. New methods to do what I love and with the spread of those creatures across this continent and the collapse of the laws that might prevent me from doing what I want I set out to learn surgery at the age of fourteen I would go to the hospitals take the necessary tools and take the books to learn how to perform surgery and amputate organs without causing damage to the organ itself and I always experimented on those creatures with what I learned or if I was lucky I would find some humans to experiment on. In the beginning the fate of every creature I experimented on was death either from bleeding or something else but that changed later when I found a monster among those creatures that was a lifeless corpse at the time. I approached it and began performing my experiments on it and on another creature. For the sake of amusement I took some of its blood and placed it inside the hand of the second monster then cut it off only to be surprised that the hand remained intact and was still able to move for a few minutes. I was shocked by that but I continued the process until I was able to create my first artificial monster. A monster with different limbs that still had life in it. From that moment on I only performed that type of operation after I took all the blood of that monster. And after several years specifically upon reaching the age of twenty a feeling of regret began to come to me a bad feeling about everything I had done. I realized at that time that what I was doing was something hideous something worse than evil but even with that even with accepting the truth that I was doing monstrous things that no one should do that desire to perform experiments never left me for with all those years that habit became an inseparable part of me. Even when I entered this village I tried to change I decided to become a doctor to help people and to help myself stop as well but that was wrong… The moment I entered the village and obtained the position of doctor in it the craving became stronger and stronger because of the large number of humans around. Every operation I performed to help someone here increased my craving and addiction to a degree that could not be resisted but I could not do anything because there was no safe place for me to perform my operations so I remained tortured by my craving and desire to perform the operations for days and weeks and months until one day while I was walking outside the village trying to restrain myself from doing that I saw a small hole in front of one of the trees which sparked a little curiosity. I passed by it and saw a ladder leading to a place underground and later discovered that it was a hidden prison under the ground and from that time my craving completely took control of me and as you know I began abducting people in the dead of night and performing my experiments in it. In addition how was I supposed to say this to a psychiatrist Do you want me to tell him that I have a craving to perform experiments on people That would have caused me to be expelled from the village or even executed so I remained concealing my condition."
Alfred remained silent for some time while looking at Alexander with looks of shock and disgust then stood up from his place and said in a firm tone "Disease or craving I am not interested in this for your actions have crossed the boundaries of savagery and no one can justify this amount of suffering you have caused others and even with the absence of law in the world but in our small village the punishment you deserve will be applied."
Alexander looked at him with an empty look then said in a cold voice "Do whatever you wish."
Alfred left the room leaving Alexander bound to the chair resigned to his fate.
Outside he met Marcus who was waiting beside the door.
He asked him quietly "Have you finished now"
He nodded his head and replied in a calm but heavy tone "Yes in short there will be a public execution in the middle of the village after one hour and that is so that the citizens may rest with the disappearance of the killer who has terrorized them throughout those days."
Marcus replied with lack of interest "Good… Anyway after the execution and all of this is over I hope you keep your promise and return one of our carts to us."
He replied to Marcus calmly "Do not worry when we finish we will give you a vaccine for the plague and give you what you want for you are the one who helped us in the end."
(In the middle of the village)
The villagers gathered after the announcement of the execution of the man who caused the disappearance of the citizens.
The first public execution in the history of their village.
Alfred stood in front of Alexander who was bound kneeling on the ground with features of despair and surrender on his face.
While the noise of the citizens filled the area.
Alfred raised his hand into the air and silence fell after that.
He lowered his hand and spoke in a loud and clear voice to everyone "People. We have gathered today to make a fateful decision. Alexander whom we trusted as a doctor in this village it later became clear based on what we saw and the testimony of Marcus that he committed unforgivable crimes against the citizens as it became clear that he was abducting the citizens and performing horrific experiments on them leaving them in lifelong torment inside their own bodies."
Silence filled the place and expressions of disgust appeared on the faces of those present.
Some exchanged looks and whispers in a low voice.
He continued his words "The continued existence of this monster is a direct threat to every one of us. He lived among us. We thought he was one of us. But he committed unforgivable crimes against every one of us."
Alfred looked toward one of the guards in the place who was carrying a pistol in his arm.
The only pistol in the entire village all the villagers swore that it would never be used except in dangerous situations.
Then he nodded his head ordering him to prepare for the execution.
Then he looked toward Alexander whose face still showed features of despair and coldness then said to him "Do you have any last words"
Alexander looked toward the citizens and found them looking at him with looks of disgust and hatred. Alexander took a deep breath then said in a voice filled with pain and sorrow "I will not ask for mercy because I do not deserve it. Everything I did was driven by an urge I could not control. I tried to stop but I failed and this is not a justification for what I did to others and here I sit before you ready to receive my punishment."
The echo of his words spread among the crowd of citizens.
Who showed on their features nothing but anger and disgust along with their shouts filled with hatred and loathing that filled the place.
The old man looked toward the guard and signaled him to begin the execution.
The guard approached Alexander and placed the pistol at the back of his head.
Alexander's body began to tremble and sweat poured heavily even though he had accepted the reality of his death his body refused to believe that.
His body.
His mind.
His heart.
Every cell of his body did not want to die.
Alexander tried to say something but the guard pulled the trigger and the bullet entered his head throwing him to the ground dead and a pool of blood began to expand beneath his head announcing the end of a life filled with turmoil and crimes.
The voices of those present filled with joy at their victory over the killer. The old man signaled a group of guards in the place who then wrapped Alexander in a black cloth and carried him away from the place.
People began to disperse gradually some still feeling anger and others feeling relief at the death of the killer finally and still others sad at the state the village had reached.
And in a distant corner Marcus was watching everything in silence. He turned his head toward Alfred then said in a calm tone "Old man may I go check Alexander's body I need to verify some things."
Alfred nodded his head agreeing to his request and before leaving he turned toward Nicholas and said to him "Take the cart that the old man will give you and wait for me outside." Then he went away from them.
Nicholas looked at him with surprise for some time but he ignored his feeling the moment he saw a group of men carrying the same carts they had brought earlier to them.
Alfred approached Nicholas and placed his hand on his shoulder saying "Well this is what we promised Marcus. One cart of those you brought and the medicine for your plague. I think that is everything."
Nicholas turned toward Ethan and Jenny who in turn exchanged looks with him then he signaled them to help him carry the cart.
They headed toward the cart and the three of them cooperated carrying it outside the village.
They placed the cart outside then all sat down to rest until Marcus returned.
"My head hurts"
"My memory is foggy"
"What happened"
"Was all of that a dream"
Alexander slowly opened his eyes. He found himself on one of the hospital beds. He could not get up at first but he eventually rose from his place.
He could not see anything because he was not wearing his glasses so he began moving his hand around the place and feeling everything he touched in the hope of finding them.
After a while that was not long he managed to find his glasses which were on one of the tables in front of him.
He picked them up from the table and slowly placed them on his eyes and his vision improved afterward.
Alexander began looking around carefully.
There were dozens of medical beds and on them appeared to be dead humans all covered with black cloth except for their feet which were sticking out from every corpse.
An expression of anxiety and surprise appeared on Alexander's face then he said in a tone rising with anxiety and tension "W… where am I The last thing I remember is that I was executed….. Could this… be hell"
Seconds after finishing his words he heard a voice behind him a voice familiar to him "No you are not in hell yet."
Alexander slowly turned around with features of shock and confusion on his face. The man standing behind him was Marcus looking at him from a distance while sitting on one of the beds.
Alexander said with shock dominating his features "What are you doing here And how did I end up alive I am certain the bullet pierced my brain!!"
Marcus replied "All I did was modify the pistol of the person who executed you before the execution and make it weak enough not to kill you but strong enough to make them believe you were dead. Do you have any other questions"
Alexander remained frozen in place from the shock trying to process everything that was happening. Marcus continued his words "If you are wondering about the reason I saved you then simply because you are an incredibly useful person. Just think that there are still doctors who can reattach severed organs to their owner. Not only that but even transplant them onto other humans in the way he wants that is something that truly cannot be described."
Alexander remained silent for a moment while his eyes were widening with terror and tension while listening to his words.
And he said in a voice that increased in tension and agitation with time "Are you in your full mental faculties After everything I have done you save me only because I am useful Are you insane I have tortured hundreds of souls only because I cannot control myself and my craving I will not be of any use but will only repeat the same scenario again!"
Marcus replied in his usual calm serious tone "If you are worried about that craving of yours then I can cure you of it. So you cannot consider it a problem."
Alexander replied in a tone filled with shock and confusion "What What are you raving about How can you cure me"
Marcus stood up from his chair and began walking toward Alexander slowly until he reached him. Alexander raised his head upward tensely to find Marcus looking at him calmly from behind his mask. Marcus directed his clenched fist toward Alexander's head and said to him "Do you remember this"
Alexander answered him with difficulty "Huh"
Marcus continued his words "Let's say your memory is a little foggy."
Suddenly and without prior warning Marcus struck his hand against the wall with force which made Alexander move away from him a few steps startled by what he did. He opened his eyes in alarm with features of surprise and confusion on his face.
And in the middle of all those conflicting feelings Alexander noticed something strange in Marcus's arm. It had begun vibrating in a strange and rapid manner which increased his surprise.
Marcus continued his words "Noxis. It is a special technique that allows me to create certain frequencies that are sent directly to the brain which I usually use to erase a precise portion of a person's memory starting from the time he receives the blow but the duration multiplies with every successive strike. You might ask what this has to do with your addiction Simply put I can use the same technique but with different frequencies to target the organ that causes you this addiction and reduce its activity and just like that you are cured."
Alexander looked at him with looks of doubt and disbelief "Are you certain that you can do anything of this"
Marcus replied "Yes and if you do not believe then how about taking a look at the place."
Alexander replied "What do you me__"
Alexander was surprised that they were not in the same place and that they had moved to another different area in the same room "What Where are we"
Marcus replied "Do you believe now"
Alexander looked at him in astonishment while a faint feeling of hope began to appear in Alexander's heart.
Then he said in a hurried tone "What are you waiting for do i__"
And before he finished his words Marcus delivered a strong blow to a specific area of Alexander's head which made him fall to the ground from the intensity of the pain. Then he said to him in a calm tone "Well we are finished. Get on your feet quickly for we do not have much time."
Alexander rose from the ground with difficulty to be surprised that he had become outside the village. He remained standing for a few seconds trying to regain his full balance and consciousness. After fully waking up a strange feeling came over him. A feeling he had never felt before.
"What is this feeling I was always used to feeling incomplete after any period without performing my operations even if it was short but it was a constant feeling for me but the matter is different now… That feeling has completely disappeared I no longer feel the usual discomfort. I am no longer visited by the feeling that I want to perform any operations after now. He really did it He was truly honest But I did not expect to be able to feel this this quickly. I thought I would only know after several hours which is the time when I would normally become active to do what I do."
Marcus interrupted his thinking saying "Did you not hear me I told you quickly I do not want night to fall on us halfway."
Alexander replied "Wait a moment my tools and the materials I use are in my medical room. I cannot do much without them."
Marcus began sighing then replied "Unfortunately they searched your room and your cell and took those materials you were using. And they are now trying to know their source and how they are made so they can benefit from them in medicine."
An expression of annoyance appeared on Alexander's features then he said "To your misfortune all those things I do require those materials as a fundamental component in order to succeed."
Marcus with indifference "Not a problem you can tell me on the way how to make them and I will provide you with everything you need just do your work and give me the best results."
Alexander "If the matter is like that then there is no problem then."
Marcus "Then let us leave this place."
Alexander and Marcus set off toward the team who were waiting for him.
Everyone was surprised that Alexander was still alive. But Marcus told them that he would explain everything to them on the way.
Then they went afterward on a long journey returning to their original village.
(End of the chapter)