Episode 44

The conversation between the three had turned into a sort of story time where Scarlet and Flinch recalled their various shared experiences in the past. While Helfeirch mostly listened, only asking a few questions.

Just as Flinch had not failed to notice how Helfeirch regarded Scarlet, neither had Helfeirch failed to notice the affection Flinch held for Scarlet. Given their shared history, he could guess that Flinch had cared for Scarlet for quite some time. But all this mattered very little to him.

Regardless of their history, or how good of friends they were, or how much Flinch liked Scarlet, or even how good of a guy Flinch seemed to be, Helfeirch had absolutely no intention of letting Flinch have Scarlet. Only if Scarlet insisted, would Helfeirch back away.

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Scarlet had found comfort in her time spent with the two people she likely trusted the most. But such times were not to last. For after a few hours, a ding came from Flinch's machines, interrupting the peaceful, lighthearted moment they'd been sharing.

Flinch quickly made his way to one of his screens. "Well, looks like it's all done. Ready to find out what's on this drive?"

The smile Scarlet had sported only moments before had now been replaced with a far more grim expression as she nodded. "I'm ready."

With the push of a button, Flinch sent the data onto a larger display so they could all see. Scarlet had already made her way over and immediately began sifting through the mountain of files.

All the files seemed to be connected to one lab that went by the name of Dynol Nesaf, which appeared to be solely dedicated to human experimentation. Given her flashback memories in her dreams, Scarlet had expected that she would find such evidence on this drive. But the sheer amount of files left her in horrified shock.

'Just how many people…?' She hadn't considered that the scavengers might only be one of many groups of victims.

Several files were dedicated to testing out how the human body responded to certain poisons and chemicals over both short and long periods of time. And there were just as many files dedicated to how certain illnesses and diseases were handled by humans. Some of the victims were left to suffer for decades before dying.

Scarlet also began to notice several other files that dealt with human behavior and psychology. And in these experiments, they studied how their victims handled things like absolute isolation or darkness, pain, various sound frequencies, and other forms of torture.

Scarlet could feel her stomach begin to churn as she looked over these files. She closed her eyes in an attempt to quell the rising urge to vomit. It was only when she raised her hand to her mouth that she realized that she was trembling. Taking in a deep breath, she forced her eyes back open.

'I can't stop here. I have to keep going.'

Just then, her eyes settled on a particular file. It was dedicated to the study of a colony that had been both isolated and placed in darkness. Even as she reached to open the file further, she could feel dread coiling around her chest and heart. Her dread washed into a dead coldness at what she found there.

'Of course. Just like the scavengers, they're the ones who essentially created the Bwbach.'

Inside the file, it had been laid out in great detail how this particular human behavior experiment had progressed over several generations.

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Helfeirch had been quietly standing not far behind Scarlet, next to Flinch with his arms crossed over his chest. He could not read all the words in the various files Scarlet had opened, but from the accompanying photos and video footage, he could surmise what the files were about. The content of which even made him frown deeply.

And the more he saw, the more his gut was telling him that the people responsible for all these acts also took great pleasure in them. It was a thing he'd seen plenty among his own people. However, if one such person were not careful, they would be eliminated by someone more powerful than them. This kept a sort of balance, as there was always a place and opportunity for someone to become more powerful.

But what he was seeing in these files suggested that these people had no such balance to keep them in check. They held an iron grip on the power to partake in whatever they wanted with next to no fallout or risk. It meant these people were indeed very dangerous. But it also meant they could be prone to arrogance and the delusion of invincibility.

It was while Helfeirch considered these things that something on the display in front of him caught his eye. There were countless images and videos of his people and where they lived. His eyebrows furrowed deeply as his eyes narrowed behind his goggles. In the next moment, he reached over Scarlet's shoulder to open one of the video files.