Author's Note: It may get a bit disturbing here, but hopefully not too much. I would appreciate if you would review this chapter and tell me your opinion on it.
Here's what Jack saw. In the corner of the dimly lit room was a corpse. It was shriveled and its skin was mottled with gashes everywhere. Dried blood surrounded these gashes.
"Hello? Is- is any- anybody here?" Jack called nervously. He was put off by the gruesome sight, and rightly so.
The corpse spoke. "Help me… help… me…" it mumbled weakly. It sounded like a woman.
Jack almost jumped back in fright.
"How exactly can I help you?" he said as he inched closer to the person, who was not a corpse like he previously thought. The person was alive, but only just.
"What- what is your name?"
"Em- Emil- Emilia," she said weakly. She was going to die soon if Jack didn't help her.
"But that's impossible! You- you were killed as the test subject for that ray!"
"No. It was merely an injury. They took me away to a 'hospital'. It wasn't really. Just a prison. I escaped and hid here. My food supply and water supply ran out. Soon my skin started looking like what you see now. I started noticing open gashes all across my body. In knew it wasn't because of the shortage of food or water. It was the ray. 'Perfectly safe!' they said. I wanted to be adventurous for a change, and look what I got."
"Don't worry, Emilia. I'll help you. Just like you said."
"You must stop them from making others who try the ray into monsters like me!"
"You're not a monster, Emilia. Don't worry. We will help. We'll- we'll cure you!"
"Thank you. Please, don't be disgusted by me. I won't blame you if you are. But please, help me up and get me to a certain building that I know could possibly help me. Quickly, or I may die on the way."
Jack took Emilia to a building (another futuristic-looking skyscraper) where others took her into it via a transport machine.
He hoped she would be okay. But now, he had it stop the people behind the ray that caused temporary happiness, but horrible side effects. Were they intentional side effects?
Jack knew one thing. It was a race against happiness.
