Chapter 73

Chapter 73: Chapter 73

A technician approached with several wires attached to small metallic sensors. Before Ingrid could ask what they were for, the woman began placing them against her temples, forehead, and the base of her skull. The cold metal made her shiver, and she tried to turn her head away when another sensor was pressed against her skin. However, the technician simply adjusted the wires and continued working as though Ingrid’s discomfort didn’t matter.

"All the sensors are connected," the woman reported after checking the equipment. "The machine is ready to start."

Jowe’s grandfather stood beside one of the control panels, his expression stern as he looked down at Ingrid. "Begin the memory search. I want you to examine everything related to the settlement, the zombies and the source of those Star Glow Herbs. Even if she concealed anything important, I want to know about it."

Ingrid glared at him, silently wishing she could leap off the platform and slap that self-satisfied expression off his face. Unfortunately, wishing wouldn’t get her anywhere, and she couldn’t even lift her hands to pull the wires from her head. She tried calling for Lorna again, but the system remained suspiciously quiet, leaving her alone with the people who were about to invade her mind.

’Lorna, you better have a damn good reason for telling me not to worry.’

The machine started with a low mechanical hum. Several screens flickered to life, and the technicians began adjusting the controls while watching the information appearing before them. At first, Ingrid felt nothing beyond the discomfort of lying helplessly beneath the wires, but within seconds, a strange warmth began spreading through her head. She frowned, hoping it was merely a normal part of the procedure, only for the warmth to grow stronger until it felt as though someone had placed a heated metal plate against her skull.

Her breathing became uneven as the temperature continued rising. Ingrid squeezed her eyes shut, trying to endure the discomfort, but the heat seemed to seep deeper into her head rather than remain on the surface. She could feel something moving through her mind, searching through thoughts and memories she hadn’t willingly offered, and a terrible sense of violation settled over her. When she tried to fight against it, the pressure increased until she felt as though her skull might split open.

Then the electricity struck.

A violent surge shot through her head, sending pain racing down her spine. Ingrid screamed so loudly that her voice echoed throughout the room, her entire body jerking against the restraints as the current tore through her. Her eyes rolled backward, and for a moment, she couldn’t tell whether she was still lying on the metal platform or had been thrown into some terrible nightmare.

Cold water splashed over her face.

Ingrid gasped, her body trembling as the familiar scene unfolded around her. She was no longer in the examination room, yet she could still feel the pain from the machine as the memory dragged her into the same nightmare she’d experienced on the bus. Now, she was standing in the snow, soaked and shivering, while someone loomed over her with a tone of cruelty that made her chest ache. The first time she had experienced this memory, she hadn’t been able to see the person’s face, but now the darkness surrounding them began to clear.

And it wasn’t actually just one person standing in front of her.

There were four of them, standing in front of the trembling girl, sneers on her face and derisive looks in their eyes and it felt as if they had gathered to pass judgment on her. A woman stood nearest to her, her expression twisted with disgust, she was older, has strands of grey scattered all over her hair, while a young man with features strikingly similar to Ingrid’s watched without offering a word, standing beside the older woman.

In front of them were two more people, a younger female and an older man. The older man also had streaks of silver running through his hair, his arms were crossed and compared to the others, his face was more cold and unfeeling. He didn’t care about the girl kneeling in front of him.

But the worst, was the younger girl. She had flowy blonde hair that went past her back and stopped right on her waist. Her face was beautiful, so beautiful that for a moment, Ingrid couldn’t tear her eyes away from the woman. That was how beautiful she was. However, sometimes people with the most beautiful faces have the most venomous hearts.

She was holding an empty bucket that still had drops of water falling on the snow, making wet dents and her face was twisted with the kind of emotion that suggested she hated the original Ingrid with passion.

The original Ingrid was crying so hard that her words came out between desperate gasps. She reached toward the people standing before her, her fingers trembling as she tried to hold on to the only family she had ever known.

"Please, don’t abandon me!" the girl cried, clutching at the woman’s clothes. "I’ll do whatever you want! I won’t ask for anything, and I won’t cause trouble anymore. I can wash your clothes and clean the house, and I’ll be your servant if you want me to be. Please, I’m begging you, don’t leave me alone!"

They were supposed to travel, but the zombie apocalypse had hit so they were locked up. But they had awakened a beast core while Ingrid never did. Or rather, she did but it was an incomplete one. They were going to leave the house to join other people in looking for food and a good place to stay as hiding in the house was going to do them more harm than good.

However, due to the fact that Ingrid’s beast core was incomplete, they thought she would only be a burden and slow then down so Ingrid’s younger sister had suggested that they get rid of Ingrid so she wouldn’t become a burden to them later.

Her plan was to make Ingrid suffer in the snow before dying painfully and alone. What a malicious person!