368 Inside the Medical Center, An Eerie Exploration (2/2)
Each of their steps caused a squishy sound as the two walked over the floor covered with flesh-like membranes.
The stench was quite nauseating.
Because of the membrane covering all the possible exits and entrances in this area, the air was stagnant and the smell of rotting flesh permeated the hallways. The smell became worse as they went further in.
Then...
”UUWAAA! UWAA! UWAAAA!”
”UUWAAAA! WAAA! UWAAAAAA!”
”UUUWWAAAA! UWWAAA! UWWWAAAAA!”
A chorus of many infants echoed across the hallway. It was a very chilling experience and Mei could not help but move closer to Mark.
Like before, Mark decided to ignore the cries and continued forward. Now, however, Mei was clinging to his arm.
There was another strange thing.
Since they entered this area, they did not encounter any infected along the way. Normally, an infected nest would be brimming with a large number of infected and they would not leave the nest unless under some special circumstances.
Before the next corner, Mark stopped and looked at a sigh which seemed to be a directory of the hospital. Of course, the location of the temporary blood bank was not in it but he found out that they were still quite a distance away.
At the next corner...
”UUUWAAAA...”
They heard another voice of an infant. This time, however, it was not a cry similar from before. It was more of an eerie moan.
Mark and Mei continued forward. Now in a very cautious state.
”UUUWAAAA...”
The eerie infant voice continued and was getting louder for every second that passed.
”UUUWAAAAAAA...”
Finally, Mark shot the ball of light forward illuminating the area upfront.
And the horror scene finally happened.
A baby could be seen crawling...
Upside down on the ceiling...
The baby seemed to be about a month or two old. Its head was twisted backward staring at Mark and Mei with its head upright and its body upside down on the ceiling. Its right eye was half closed while its left eye was hanging out of its sockets.
Aside from those infected like traits, the most prominent thing on the infected baby's body was its umbilical cord that was still attached.
However, the umbilical cord was not cut short but was actually horrifyingly long. It was too long that it led somewhere else while hanging unstably and swinging side to side.
Without further ado, Mark shot his crossbow.
PLOP!
The infected baby fell on the floor with a squishy plop as its head was pierced by the bolt of Mark's crossbow.
”RRRUUUUAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!”
Mark and Mei flinched as a deafening screech of a woman echoed cross the closed off hallways.
”UwwaAAuAA...”
”UUwWwUAAAaaAAA...”
”UWWAaaAAaA...”
”UuUWWwwAaAaA...”
Lumps appeared on the membranes on the walls, ceiling, and floor. Each lump moved at fast speeds and all of them came from both in front and behind.
Each lump was accompanied by eerie voices of infants.
SPLURT! SPLURT! SPLURT! SPLURT!
One by one, the unsightly looking babies burst out of the lumps on the fleshy membrane. While all of them had different appearances, the unbelievably long umbilical they had connected to their bodies. The weirdest part in that was some of them had their umbilical cords attached to the wrong places on their bodies.
In any case, they were surrounded.
Mark grabbed Mei's hand and the two vanished in a puff of black mist.
Inside the subspace, Mark and Mei continued to move forward leaving who knows how many infected babies were there.
As they ran, the two could not help but notice that the umbilical cords, like electrical wires on electric posts, went somewhere else.
”Mei'er, we'll check what kind of abomination this umbilical cords lead to. Are you in?”
Mark asked as they stopped at the stairs leading to the upper floor. The same way where the umbilical cords hanged and headed to.
”Un. Let's go.”
Mei replied readily grasping Mark's hand tightly.
They did not take the stairs on foot but Mark used his [Shadow Mist Movement] to follow the leads.
It was not far from the stairs on the second floor. The Maternity Ward along with the Nursery.
And there, Mark saw a two and a half meter tall abomination. A woman with a bloated body plastered unto the wall of the maternity ward. And all those umbilical cords connected to the infected babies, those were connected to her stomach that had a huge gaping hole.