"I'll tell you a story, Devdoot… a very interesting one. But before that, answer me something—have you ever imagined a world like ours… this beautiful world filled with nature and countless living beings… completely destroyed? Or worse… a world where every living creature turns into something that is neither alive… nor truly dead?"
Kakbhushundi's voice turned deep and unsettling as his eyes fixed on an ancient painting carved into the cave wall.
"Creatures whose bodies have rotted… whose souls are corrupted… who feed on each other… and if they bite someone, that being turns just like them… mindless… emotionless… alive only in the brain, not in the heart… because their hearts have already decayed. Have you ever seen such a world… or even heard of such beings?"
The moment those words sank in, Vipul's eyes widened. The answer came out of him almost instinctively—
"Zombies."
Kakbhushundi slowly turned toward him.
"So you do know about them," he said, his voice calm but probing. "Then tell me… in detail. What exactly are these creatures? And more importantly… how do you know about them?"
For a moment, Vipul went silent.
His mind drifted back… to a time he wished he could forget.
Taking a slow breath, he began,
"Zombies… aren't exactly creatures. They're not truly alive either. Back when I was working as a scientist… my wife Veena and I were part of a secret organization. We were assigned to a very… unusual department."
His tone darkened.
"In that department, experiments were conducted on humans and animals… disturbing ones. The goal was to alter their internal biological structure—to make them stronger, better… or even to fuse traits from different species into humans to give them extraordinary abilities."
He paused briefly, as if the memory itself was suffocating him.
"It wasn't fully possible yet… but we were getting close. That's what we believed."
Kakbhushundi suddenly raised his hand, stopping him mid-sentence.
"Wait… wait, Devdoot. Speak in simpler language," he said with a faint smile. "After spending centuries among humans, even I've grown used to your modern way of speaking. And honestly… I don't think your Hindi is that great either."
Vipul let out a small, tired smile and nodded.
"Alright… I'll keep it simple."
He continued,
"Even after days of treatment, instead of getting better… his condition kept getting worse. Slowly, his body began to rot. His skin started peeling off… burning in patches… and a strange green smoke began coming out of him."
The cave seemed colder as his words echoed.
"That's when we realized… during one of his experiments, something went wrong. A substance he was working on… entered his own body."
Vipul clenched his fists slightly.
"And that's what started changing him."
"No matter what we tried… nothing worked. Then, within a few days, two doctors who were treating him also got infected. That's when we understood… it wasn't just a condition."
"It was a virus."
Kagraj and Kakbhushundi listened in complete silence now.
"We isolated everyone—him, the doctors… anyone who came in contact. Separate rooms. Full containment. At the same time, we continued researching… trying to find a cure."
Vipul's voice grew heavier, almost shaking.
"But things didn't just get worse… they turned into something else entirely."
"They stopped behaving like humans."
His eyes stared into nothingness now—as if he was reliving it.
"They lost awareness… stopped speaking… stopped understanding anything. Their bodies turned completely green… the smell… it was unbearable… and that green gas kept leaking out of them."
A chill ran through the air.
"We checked… their hearts had stopped beating."
"…but their brains were still active."
Kagraj's eyes widened slightly.
"They wouldn't eat normal food… but the moment we brought any living being near them… they would tear into it instantly. And anyone they bit…"
Vipul swallowed hard.
"…started turning into one of them."
"Even if half their body was gone… they wouldn't die. But they weren't alive either… not really. No emotions… no humanity left."
"That's when we gave it a name—Zombie."
The word hung heavy in the silence.
"But the organization…" Vipul continued, his tone now filled with anger, "…they didn't want to destroy them."
"They wanted to study them."
He shook his head slowly.
"Our team realized something terrifying—if even one of those creatures escaped into the world… what happened during COVID-19 would look like nothing in comparison. This… this would wipe everything out."
His throat went dry.
He immediately grabbed the jug beside him and drank water, his hands trembling slightly. Then he looked at Kakbhushundi—fear clearly visible in his eyes.
Kakbhushundi gave him a calm, understanding smile.
"For you… witnessing all that must have been no less than hell. Take a moment… then continue."
Vipul nodded, taking a deep breath.
"We informed the organization. We told them—everything needs to be destroyed immediately. The infected… the lab… everything."
"But they refused."
A bitter smile appeared on his face.
"We later found out why."
"After the COVID outbreak… countries across the world had secretly started biological warfare programs. Everyone was trying to create deadlier and deadlier viruses."
"And this organization…"
"…was no different."
"They wanted to turn it into a weapon."
His voice dropped.
"A weapon that didn't need bullets… didn't need fire… didn't even need a battlefield."
"Just one infection… and everything would be over."
"One tiny exposure… and the entire world could turn into zombies."
The weight of those words was crushing.
"And obviously… an organization chasing power like that… would never let go of such a weapon."
"They ordered us to find a cure instead."
Vipul's eyes hardened.
"But we knew the truth."
"If this thing ever got out… not just humanity… even the last trace of life on Earth would disappear."
He paused.
"And that's why… we made a decision."
"A decision no one should ever have to make."
"We destroyed everything."
"The lab… the research… every single trace of it."
"And one night… we escaped."
Silence followed.
Heavy. Suffocating.
Kagraj finally broke it.
"But Devdoot… what about those creatures? You didn't just leave them like that… did you?"
Vipul didn't answer immediately.
Instead, he looked at Kakbhushundi.
Kakbhushundi was watching him… with a knowing smile. A sharp, almost unsettling awareness in his eyes.
Tears began to roll down Vipul's face.
His voice cracked as he spoke,
"Sometimes… in the worst situations… you're forced to make the hardest choices."
"Even if it means sacrificing your own people."
Kakbhushundi's expression turned serious.
"So… you killed them all."
"You wiped them out."
Vipul nodded slowly.
"Yes… in that explosion… I… my wife… and all of them… we died."
The moment those words left his mouth—
Kagraj snapped.
"What nonsense are you talking about?!" he shouted, stepping forward. "Just a moment ago you said you escaped from there… and now you're saying you died in that explosion?!"
"There's no connection in your story at all!"
The cave fell into a tense silence once again.
Because now—
The truth wasn't just horrifying.
It was impossible.