A/N Warning! death and decaying flesh (AKA zombie like) person in this chapter! Will be in most other chapters following this one. DO NOT READ IF YOU ARE GROSSED OUT OR OFFENED BY THIS CONTENT!!!!!!!!!!!!! Otherwise, Enjoy (: 

    Luckily for Eli, things smoothed over pretty quick; before he knew it, a week had passed since he started working at H.U.S.E.. Things were still awkward with Soohyun, but other than that, he fit in pretty nicely with the rag-tag team. 

    He walked in Friday morning with a fresh cup of expresso in his hand and a smile on his face. 

    “Morning Eli.” Kevin smiled at him from behind his full desk.

    “So, what are we up to today?”

    “Why don’t you ask your partner?”
    Eli stumbled a bit and made a sour face. Kevin laughed at him.

    “I’d rather not thanks.”

    “Things still rough?”

    “You could say that again.”
    Kevin patted his back with sympathy. “You’ll get threw it buddy.” 

    Eli chuckled at Kevin’s teasing and made his way over to the big boss’s office. 

    “Ah, Eli, there you are.” Inside the office Eli found his captain along with another cop.  “This is Officer Lee, he works for the Crimes Unit. They are running a little short handed and were looking for some help. Do you mind going over there to help out today?”

    Eli nodded and shot a smile at the officer. “I’d be glad to, anything I can do to help let me know.” 

    Grabbing his jacket and keys he made his way out of the base and met up with his temporary partner. 

    Outside of the office, Officer Lee seemed more relaxed. “Hey, my names Joon Lee, but you can just call me Joon.” 

    “Nice to meet you Joon,” Eli smiled, “my name’s Eli, but you already know that. So tell me about this case then.”

    “Well, honestly, we only need you to do some routine check ups on some of our witnesses while we work on this big case.”

    “Oh,” Eli replied, slightly put off, “I can do that.”

    “Thanks man, it is really a great help. Lets head back to our base and I’ll give you the files and addresses.”

    “Okay.”

    Thirty minutes later Eli chucked his now empty coffee cup in the trash and made his way out to his car. There were only four witnesses in the area that needed to be visited so he would probably be done around noon if he was lucky. 

    Just as he expected, Eli found himself pulling into the last driveway at quarter to twelve. Eli was surprised to see that the last witness address was actually part of the private apartment buildings owned by SALT Entertainment Company.

    Even though he wasn’t into celebrity gossip, even he had heard about the tragic death of actress Shin Hye Park. Four weeks ago she had been found dead in her apartment while getting ready for her engagement party to well known actor Minho Choi. 

    Originally Minho had been the prime suspect, as there were signs of ual assault, but later evidence proved him innocent. According to the files Joon had given him, he was now a key witness in her murder trial. He was the last witness that Eli was checking up on.

    The security guard at the gate eyed him suspiciously as he entered the building. By the time he reached Minho Choi’s apartment he was ready to turn back around and just call it good. 

    Just as he was about to knock he heard a bang coming from the apartment and then a yelp. 

    He was quick to reach up and rap against the door. “Is everything alright in there?” He pounded harder against the door. “Hello, I’m Detective Eli Kim and I’m hear to check up on Minho Choi, is everything okay?” 

    Just as he was about to pound his hand against the door again it opened. 

    Before him stood the recognizable, handsome face of actor, and now witness, Minho Choi. “Can I help you?”

    “I’m Detective Eli Kim, I’m hear to check up on you before the trial. Is everything okay in there, I heard banging.”

    “Yes, I’m fine, just dropped a pan, I best be getting back to cooking though, don’t want anything to burn.” He moved to pull the door closed.

    “If you insist-” Suddenly another bang sounded from inside the apartment. Eli watched as panic flashed over Minho’s face and as his knuckles tightened around the door. 

    Eli moved closer to try and peer inside the room. “Are you alone?”

    “Yes.”

    Again Eli found himself skeptical. “Do you mind if I come in and-”

    “I’m afraid you really need to leave now.” Minho’s hand yanked at the door, attempting once again to close it. Then there was a yelp and more banging. 

    Eli shoved Minho aside and made his way into the apartment.

    “Hello, who’s there?” 

    More banging was heard from the far room along with a chocked cry. From behind him Eli could hear Minho yelling at him, telling him to leave and threatening to call the cops. 

    Minho’s desperate voice rang in his ears as he finally grasped the door handle and yanked it open. 

    Cold air rushed against his face and the smell of rotting meat flooded his nose. He scrunched his nose up and raised his hand to his face to cover the smell as he finally raised his eyes to look in the room.

    What the saw left his speechless. 

    His eyes dried out and his mouth hung open in shock as he stared at the thing inside the room. It was almost to impossible to believe, but Minho’s hands pulling at his arm and torso pulled him back into action. 

    He pushed Minho aside and hesitantly stepped into the room. His shoes echoed against the hard tile floor of the bathroom as he moved closer and closer. 

    There before him was the undeniably familiar face of Shin Hye Park, the dead actress. Or, better yet, what used to be Shin Hye Park. 

    Her eyes were fogged over with a cloudy haze and her hair was hanging limply from her head. Her skin was sagging slightly and her nails were long and uneven. 

    But her skin, her skin was white. It wasn’t light peach or even pale; it was sheet white. It was dead, translucent white. 

    Then there was the smell, like the back of an old meat truck, left to sit on the side of a highway in texas for days, her skin stank. She stank. 

    Eli once again found himself stuck in place as he stared at her. Her dead eyes stared back at him and although no tears fell, Eli could tell, she was crying. 

    Her shoulders sagged and quivered as she clutched a comb against her chest. It was then that Eli finally looked around the room. 

    It was clearly a bathroom, and a messy one at that. Eli could see the the torn shower curtain and the beauty products all scattered around the floor. But the most noticeable thing was the mirror. It was shattered and glass littered the floor. 

    For a moment no one spoke, then Shin Hye’s knee’s seemed to buckle and she collapsed on the floor heaving in dry sobs. Eli was nailed in place as he watched Minho hurry over and collect her sobbing body into his arms.

    From the floor a teary eyed Minho looked up at him. “Please, please just leave.”

    But it wasn’t that easy. 

    Some time later Eli found himself sitting on a plush couch in Minho Choi’s living room, across from Minho Choi and his decreased fiancé. 

    Minho squeezed Shin Hye’s shoulder comfortingly, giving her support while she gathered the courage to tell Eli what happened. 

    “I-I died.” There was a pause before she started talking again. “I can’t really explain what it was like, but, but, I knew I was dead. It was like, surreal. I can’t explain it. But,” she looked up and met Eli’s frightened gaze, “but it was beautiful.” She looked down again. 

    “H-how are you here?” Eli felt himself stutter as he tried to talk. 

    “I, I don’t really know how to explain it but there was agonizing pain. I was being r-” she broke down again. “I was being r-ripped apart!” 

    Once again Eli watched as she broke down into another sobbing fit. His eyes followed her shaking heads as she pulled at her thinning hair. His heart clenched as he watched her now in her desperate and helpless state; it wasn’t just pity he felt for her, he also shared in her heart wrenching hopelessness. 

    After a while she was able to get back to her story. 

    “They were scientists, I think, and they held me in a lab. I remember lots of bright lights and lots of pain. I don’t know what they were doing to me but it just hurt. It hurt s-so much.” 

    “Who were they?” 

    “Dr. Yoshiko.” 

    Eli’s mind raced as he tried to remember that name, where had he heard it before? “You mean, you mean that guy who created the RMC?” 

    Shin Hye practically hissed at the mention of the RCM. “Yes, him and his scientists.” 

    “Why? What happened? How are you here now?’    

    “That man is insane,” she yelled. “He is a crazy nut job who is only after power and immortally, as if such as thing could ever exist.” She scoffed bitterly. 

    “What happened?”

    “I escaped. I-don’t, but...”

    “And you came here?” 

    “I didn’t know who else to go to...” 

    Minho wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into a hug. 

    “I didn’t know what to do when I found her outside my door. She was like, like this, and soaked. It was raining out that night.”

    “How long has she-”
    “She has been here for eight days now... I just don’t know what to do any more...”

    Eli was torn. He didn’t know what to do. He stayed at Minho’s house for another hour talking, mostly listening, to Shin Hye and Minho as they talked about what happened. 

    Apparently, from what Shin Hye gathered, the scientists were experimenting with different ways to bring people back, and more importantly, how to keep them back. Shin Hye was unfortunately one of the experiments. 

     They brought her back alright, and kept her back too, but not in a living body. Her body remained the same as it did when she died and continued to decay even as her mind remained, trapped, inside of her. 

    Eli had never given much thought to the RCM and if it was morally right to use it. After listening to Shin Hye though, he could not help but wonder if all of those other victims over the past two years had felt the same. Were they all brutally ripped apart and put through agonizing pain just to come back to tell the story of how they died?

    Also, did they even go back to that same happy afterlife after they were sent back? There were so many things that did not sit right in Eli’s mind as he thought back to his own team. 

    Kevin, the captain, and even Soohyun had used the RCM before. What did they think about it? Did they even wonder about the consequences of what could happen? 

    After sitting with Minho and Shin hye for a couple hours he left, with the promise to return, and headed home. It was only four in the afternoon, but Eli did not feel up for going back to the office for three more hours. 

    When he arrived home he plopped down on his comfy, brown couch and rubbed his face. He needed to talk to someone about this, he just didn’t know what to do. 

    Like an angel hearing his prayer, five minutes later his phone started vibrating on his side table. 

    “‘llo?” 

    “Well, well, well, what are you up to my friend?” 

    “Hoon,” Eli exclaimed happily. 

    “Eli,” he replied in the same overly excited tone. “What have you been up to?”

    “Ugh, work.”

    “That bad?”

    “Mostly just today, I just found out some disturbing stuff and I am so, ugh, I don’t know what to do.” 

    “Well, you know what I always say solves everything?”

    “Booze?”

    “Exactly. Wanna meet up in that bar on South Street in, twenty or so minutes?”

    And twenty or so minutes later, true to Hoon’s word, Eli found himself outside of “Harley’s Bar and Cafe” on South Street with Hoon. And thirty or so minutes after that he found himself, three drinks down, pouring his guts out to Hoon at the bar. 

    “And I can’t help but wonder, what do all the other guys think about this stuff? Yah know? Are they concerned about all the bad things that can happen?”

    “Eli, maybe you should, I don’t know, talk to them about it?”

    “And then there is those scientists! Where ever they are they are clearly performing terrible experiments on people, and they got to be stopped, right?” 

    “Well yes, but-”

    “And then there is Soohyun, and he is such an , what am I gonna do?” His rant ended with him flopping over on the bar ledge, berrying his hands in his arms. 

    Hoon chuckled and rubbed his friend’s back supportingly. “Lets get you home.”