Chapter 229
BECKY
After days and nights of hard work, | finally hit my breaking point and collapsed.
D ickson had been right when he’d tried to tell me to slow down, but | hadn’t been eager to listen. So, when my body finally eaved, | succumbed to an intense bout of illness. Di ckson ushered me into a private room in the clinic and started treating. me right away.
| was feverish for days and my mind was dizzy. The hours move in ways | couldn’t comprehend, and | didn’t know how long | had been sleeping. | could feel it when D ickson came into my room and applied a cool cloth to my forehead, but | didn’t have the strength to say anything. | was far too weak to move or speak
Sometimes, | had nightmares. In those wicked dreams, | would see the faces of Marina and Angela, as well as shadow-like beings that lingered in the background. The shadows would surround me and try to engulf me with their black power.
| would wake from them crying but then fall back into heavy slumber. This continued on for a while, until finally, one night, | opened my eyes and found the strength to move.
| was woken up by a loud noise downstairs. Though the voices were faint. | heard someone talking with great emotion. Soon after, another more soothing voice tried to calm them down. As they spoke, | glanced at the clock. It was quite late and well past clinic hours.
So, who was the mystery visitor?
| removed the cloth from my head and carefully got out of bed. My legs wobbled, and | took a moment to acclimate myself before | took a timid step forward. Once | was certain | could move without falling, | walked over to the door and then quietly moved to the staircase.
After a moment of pause, | climbed down the stairs, and when | reached the bottom, | was surprised to see Jasper and D ckson. “Becky?” D ickson asked in surprise, and he rushed to my side swiftly. He instinctually held his arm out to steady me and I accepted it gratefully. “What are you doing down here?”
“What happened to you. Becky?” Jasper asked with concern as his eyes trailed over me. | hadn’t had a chance to look at myself, but | was almost certain that | looked pale and terrible. There was no way that | appeared as put-together as 1 normally did, not if I'd been unconscious for so long.
“She’s been working too many hours,” Di ckson explained for me, and he led me over to a chair. “She’s worn out.”
“But I’ve slept enough now,” | insisted, though | took a seat anyway. “Or maybe I’ve been asleep for too long How many days was out for?
Di ckson frowned and stared at me as if | were insane. “You've only slept for half a day, Becky”
| was unmediately taken aback. Considering how many had dreams | had | thought I’d been asleep for at least three days. It certainly felt like it.
But despair my conson. | brushed my thoughts aside and loodied at Jasper What was the tall, muscular guard tromm Wild Crawler doing here Shouldn’t he have been at Marley’s side, attending to the many aiding patients in the Pack’s chine
“What a going on | wondered and Jasper’s expression gees serious
Marley se me he explained vaguely and after he exhaled sleeply, he continued Something happened my Wild Crawler
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My heart began to race in anticipation. “What happened?”
Jasper exchanged a glance with Di ckson. They seemed reluctant to share, but the time for vagueness ha They needed to be upfront with me.
Don’t hide anything from me. | insisted as | glanced between them. “I’m feeling much better now. | can hand
Jasper hesitated, but after a deep breath, he said something that made me stop in my tracks.
“This is going to sound crazy. But some of the patients the ones that have died...well.. they've come back to life.
1 stared at him in disbelief, but | knew at once from his solemn expression that he wasn’t joking.
“What are you talking about?” | demanded. “I don’t understand.”
“| know it sounds crazy,” he repeated. “It’s rather shocking, but I’m telling you the truth.”
He shook his head and then leaned against the nearest table and crossed his muscular arms.
“The death number in Wild Crawler has been increasing,” he explained. “As a result, some of the corpses weren't burnt or buried in a timely fashion. Two days ago, two of the guards of the mortuary were attacked. One died and the other was heavily injured. The one who survived reported what happened to him. He told Marley and Alpha Rayden that he’d been attacked by a corpse, only it wasn’t a corpse... it was a moving, breathing entity.”
My lips parted in shock.
A breathing corpse?
This sounded like a twisted nightmare, one even scarier than the ones I'd endured upstairs.
“Marley and Rayden thought it would be necessary to send me here and tell you both what happened.” Jasper said. “We thought you might have an explanation.”
“| don’t know.” | admitted as | shook my head. “Nothing like that happened when the first patient died. The coroner took quite a few days to examine the body and complete his report. The body never reanimated.”
Jasper nodded “Marley considered that as well. But she proposed a theory... she believes that the first patient didn’t actually die from the disease”
“What do you mean Di ckson spoke up, and he pushed his dark glasses up the bridge of his nose.
“The first one who died was old and he had many other diseases, Jasper offered. “The mysterious illness might have been a trigger but it wasn’t the ultimate reason for his demise
| considered this idea for a moment and then frowned. “So that would mean that the patients who died directly from the disease are more likely to reanimate? To become the living dead”Copyright Nôv/el/Dra/ma.Org.
“That’s Marley’s speculation” Jasper sad..
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How was it possible for a corpse to come back to life? The idea sounded reticulous. But ridiculous things happening lately It something as grand as sorcery existed, why would
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| nodded thoughtfully Did Marley manage to take a blood sample
“There was no blood sample.” the guard answered. “The living dead had no blood in their veins.”
| felt a little defeated at his reply. A blood sample could have given us a great deal of answers and would have been immensely helpful.
When | frowned, Jasper reached into a leather bag beside him and retrieved some papers. He held them out to me.
“You'll understand what | mean after you read Marley’s report”
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