Veiled Horizons

Chapter Fourteen: Edward

“I didn't choose this life,” Ed began, his voice echoing softly off the cave walls, the flickering firelight casting dancing shadows around the circle of listeners.“Maybe none of us do, but we just have to go along with it, I guess, and that's what I did”

He glanced at each face in the circle, a mix of curiosity and wariness reflecting back at him. "I was a scientist, fresh out of university with dreams of making a difference. Then Zack Wolfe entered my life—a powerful figure in an organization I knew little about. He offered me the world: funding, resources, freedom to pursue my research. Zack wasn't just the manager of a small group, it was a big Organisation. Named— The Veilcraft Ascendant"

“The Veilcraft Ascendant?” Ed heard a soft voice of Ron muttering to himself with his head bowed, dark hair loosened down onto his face.

“Yes,” Ed said, “And they have their hands on everything. Even the ship you came on, the one that brought you to this island—it belongs to the organization”

As Ed scanned the room, he noticed the confused expressions on everyone's faces. Everyone except one. A figure stood apart from the rest, nodding slightly, head bowed, with a smirk playing at the corners of his lips. Ed didn't know his name, but the demeanor unsettled him. The brief encounter lingered in his mind as he resumed his narrative, the dark memories flooding back.

“The experiments were... unsettling,” Ed continued, his voice trembling slightly. “They made me research hybrid creatures, pushing me to create one. They brought in creatures—half-alive, mangled forms—so I could experiment on them.” His face contorted with a mix of horror and regret, as if the memories themselves had clawed their way out of the past to torment him once more. The shadows cast by the flickering fire seemed to deepen the scars of his recollections.

“So, the weird creatures we saw on this island were made by you?” Anderson asked, his voice tinged with a mixture of curiosity and accusation. Ed nodded, the weight of his actions pressing down on him like a physical burden.

“And the zombies?” Sia’s voice trembled as she spoke, eyes wide with horror. Ed nodded again, his head hanging low, the weight of his regret evident in his posture.

“The big Venus-Flytrap-like monster too?” Harvin’s question pierced the tense silence. Ed couldn’t bring himself to nod anymore. His heart raced, and he covered his face with both hands, as if to shield himself from the accusing stares.

“But you made sure to add weak points to each and every one of them,” Adlyn’s calm voice cut through the murmur of disbelief. Ed’s hands fell away from his face, and he looked up at Adlyn, his eyes searching for something—understanding, perhaps, or redemption.

“Why?” Adlyn added, his gaze unwavering.

“Because… I haven’t told you why they were making me experiment on creatures and create zombies.” Ed’s voice wavered as he searched for the right words. “It was all for an experiment—they wanted to observe teenage minds.”

“What do you mean by that?” Bellamy asked, his brows furrowed in confusion.

“They wanted to experiment on teenage minds, to observe how they react and adapt to certain situations,” Ed said, his voice echoing off the cold, damp walls of the cave. The flickering fire in front of them cast long, eerie shadows on their faces, revealing a collective sense of confusion and disbelief. “They needed an isolated place to conduct these experiments, far away from any interference. After a long search, they couldn't find any land remote enough, so they decided to build their own island.”

“And that island is where we are now?” Harvin’s voice trembled, his face paling as the gravity of Ed's words hit home.

“Yes,” Ed confirmed, watching as the revelation sank in. The fire in front of them flickered, as if it was almost going to burn out, like even the fire was shocked by his confession.