As Michael and I walked down to staircase, the sounds of our our footsteps was quite calming to me.

We have made significant progress and finally we're moving down towards the ground.

Unfortunately this staircase only goes down one floor, as annoying as it was, we had to continue to press forward. After all, we still have a few more floors to go before we actually reach the ground.

Michael and I both knew the risks of coming back inside the building, but after all we've been through we were ready for whatever or this for will have to throw at us.

As we entered into the next room, we stumbled into what appeared to be the main laboratory of Thunder science, this laboratory in question appears to be extremely well maintained, It looks practically new.

Unfortunately, this place doesn't appear to be safe from latex beasts.

There appears to be a red variant of latex creatures that inhabit this floor.

As we continue inward, I noticed that there was some Latex creatures that appear to be suspended in some kind of picture frame like device, It kind of reminds me of petrified Hon Solo from The empire's strikes back...

What made it even more unsettling, some of them appear to be struggling to get out of containment of that device.

By the looks of their body language, they seem to be scared and desperate to break free.

Both Michael and I were profoundly disturbed at the site, they also appear to have some light blue bioluminescence as well.

Then remembered that I have a cassette player that came from Dr. K's laboratory. I wonder if it had any information about this?

I then took it out of my so-called "pockets" then press the play button.

It then started to play some garbage noise, like some of the other concepts players before it.

Then it started to to sound like a voice of a man.

"They told us, that the Latex Beasts came from a single-celled organism, like bacteria. They told us it's going to be like any other genetic experimentation. At first, I was quite intrigued on contributing to the saviors of humanity." The scientist said his voice sounded shaky like he was deeply disturbed by something.

"But as time went on," The scientist continued "We have cut corners. Not out of greed, but out of desperation. We had little time to do our work properly."

"When the riot began, things went from bad to worse. Not only one of our most ambitious specimens escaped but, our higher-ups said was best to recapture it, despite the fact that the Delta sample is proving itself time and time again, that it is too much of a threat to be kept alive... I have seen what it did to our science team. It didn't hurt a single person... but it did twisted them beyond recognition..." The scientists then paused then I heard, what it sounded like paper???

I guess he was flipping for some notes.

After a while he then continued "During the start of the riot, I was doing my work as usual despite the chaos ensuing outside. But then, I got curious and walked into the archive where we keep sensitive information, That's where I discovered the truth about the latex beasts."
The scientist then paused, I then noticed that when the captured latex beasts became to shake violently their containment frame, making it a loud echoing noise in the process as it struggled.

"These creatures the very ones that we refer to as the prototypes, In reality, they weren't prototypes at all, but a creation of God, In our desperation for salvation from the pale virus, we have corrupted it... and now we have to pay for our sins, by becoming one with our experiments... there's no point of resisting, it's either become one of them, or slowly die by the pale virus... give up yourself." The scientist said before he suddenly started to change like he's throwing himself towards a bunch of latex beasts.

The consent player then made a large and unnatural sounding roar before it cuts off with a small sounding click.

Both Michael and I were really, disturbed when we heard that.

"Oh boy, I'm going to have a lot of fun trying to sleep tonight." Michael jokingly said trying to lighten up the mood.

Meanwhile, I was slightly traumatized, by what I've heard.

The very thought that someone would just give up like that willingly was terrifying.
It kind of reminded me of what happened to me but in different circumstances...

What came after that. I barely remember it's all fuzzy.

But I do know that we found some real pieces of clothing and started to wear those instead of the petrified living latex shorts.

Those these clothes in question were just under the pair of black shorts. Fortunately, this time they weren't made of a rubber-like material, and they were quite comfortable.

We then encountered, a whole bunch of latex beasts.

There was this room that we had to push our way through in high winds while also mimicking some kind of volcanic ecosystem...

Though, it's not the volcanic ecosystem that I was In through a dream, The area was too bright and then the floor appears to be some kind of hexagon pattern then the cave formation, that I saw in that dream.

When we got past that, Michael and I encountered a latex biome trying to mimic a jungle.

I don't exactly remember what happened in that place, maybe because it was extremely intense in there?

Along the way, we found a poster.

The poster was an advertisement for the Shelters Initiative, It read
"Prepare For The Future!!
Are you always worried about impending doom from tornadoes, earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanoes, or even meteors?
If so, then go to the shelters made by the Shelters Initiative. Originally founded after the year without the summer incident, our scientists worked tirelessly to make the perfect, disaster shelter on the planet!
Full with the comforts of your own home, and revolutionary greenhouse technology that works underground, it is the ideal place for you and your family to survive almost any disaster, including nuclear war!"

The poster depicted a cartoon character wearing a hazmat suit, they had a name tag that said, "Mazard, the hazard man."

Eventually we got to the first floor.

Exhausted, we decided to take a break in what appeared to be a abandoned kitchen.

This kitchen in question was extremely sanitary, There wasn't a even slight smell of a latex beast living here.

There was even some canned food that we could eat too.

Despite being in the fridge for 5 years.

The canned food was quite delicious. It was mainly composed of some kind of protein soup mix, It tasted very salty, a flavor that quite enjoy.

Unfortunately Michael didn't like the salty taste at all, as soon as he took in a spoonful he immediately spat it back out.

Of course, after Michael was done, spinning out the soup, we both have to clean up the mess.

After all, we don't want to leave a trail of salty protein soup for latex beasts to pick up.

Once we were done cleaning up the floor, we moved on into the next room.

But as soon as we walked in I started to lose control myself... again... we've unintentionally walked into a smaller Hive of white latex beasts.

Predictably the smell overwhelmed my nose, an animalistic instinct started to take over.

I snarled and growled at anything that moved, I was filled with so much hatred towards the White goo, that I can barely, even control my impulsive thoughts.

It felt like, I was trapped inside my own body.

But, even in my feral state, I didn't attack Michael, I was behaving like a loyal dog towards him.

Eventually and fortunately, Michael was able to get me outside of that room.

As soon as I got out, I was able to regain control over my own body.

"I'm sorry that you had to see that, again." I apologized.

I felt bad that I started to act like animal, It's something just feels unfamiliar, inhuman, and most of all, unnatural.

"I should really, try to pay attention to my nose, when I walk into rooms like that." I said.

I then looked towards Michael, He seems to be very tired.

"Is everything ok?" I asked them.

"Hm?... Oh, yeah I'm all right, it's just that, I'm getting all tired of this Thunder science nonsense. I'm really looking forward to finally leaving this place." he answered.

"Me too." I said in agreement.

We then walked into the next room this time with that gas mask on.

The room was really blinding, due all of the white latex on the floor that was reflecting the light from the ceiling.

To no one's surprise, some white latex beasts try to ambush us as we are passing through

Fortunately the weapon that I gave Michael served him well, Psychic Paralysis was also very useful on them too.

This hive wasn't as big as the previous two, there only appears to only be two rooms that they occupy.

As we move on into the next rooms the scenery dramatically changed.

It was a black latex territory, but ascend indicates that there was a unique subspecies of black latex beasts that used to live here...

Though this subspecies appears to be long gone.

as we continue to walk forward, I couldn't I help myself but, to look at the crystals that were sticking out of the ground and flooding in mid air.

It felt like I was walking in a graveyard... it felt like that there was a large skirmish here, which made sense since this is the first four.

Meanwhile, Michael was having a little bit of trouble of trying to get past the scarlet crystals to the other side of the room.

He was definitely having trouble with some of the scarlett spikes that shoot out of the ground when stepped on.

Meanwhile, I was able to make it to the other side with no problem, due to my padded feet, I was able to step lightly across the scarlett crystals.

Eventually, Michael was able to get to the other side, he was exhausted.

It must have felt like, that he had to run through a labyrinth non-stop until we got to the exit.

I then decided to ask about if he had experience any recent resets.

"I don't, want to talk about it, right now..." He answered.

Base of that, it appears that he didn't have a pleasant experience.

We then continue to move forward into the next room.

What came next was even harder than before. It appears to be a evolved version of the weird ice-like material in the Black latex Territories In the offices.

This time the material was scarlett red, and If you give it a slight touch, it would shoot out of the ground like a bunch of crystallized spikes.

By just the look of those crystals, I imagine stepping on one would be extremely painful.

But despite that, Michael and I continued push forward, we knew the risks.

As we were doing so, Michael did something quite interesting, to prevent himself from getting stabbed in the foot.

Apparently those crystals usually shot out within one square meter.

Theirs appears to be a 5-second delay before the so-called "ice" collapses on itself and becomes a crystal.

When Michael wasn't sliding along that scarlett ice, he'd made sure to not stand on the crystals that will come out right underneath his feet.

He was doing pretty well, until he got stuck.

Michael was just standing there, like he has seen a ghost.

Worried I walked over to him, to my surprise, it appears that my legs don't even activate the So-Called scarlet ice.

I guess my padded feet it is soft enough, that it doesn't make the crystals shoot out of the ground.

When I got to Michael, I then asked, "Do you need help?"

Michael then nodded.

I then carried my brother in my arms, and took him to the other side of the room.

As we finally got to the other side at a huge wave of relief washed over me, like the hardest part of our journey was finally over... or, so we thought at the time.

As we went into the next room, we found ourselves that we walked into what appear to be some kind of lobby.

Based off of all the items on the floor, and wore down ceiling and walls, it seems that people were having a struggle trying to get out, or, get in...

The riot must have been absolutely terrifying, I can easily imagine myself being so desperate to continue living when this pale virus is slowly killing me from the inside out... to only learn, that the cure is never going to be distributed in time, or at all...

I can easily see why people were so outraged when the conspiracy theorist gave out leaked information regarding the cure for the pale virus.

But that all happened in the past. I'm kind of glad that my brother and I were sleeping during that chaos.

We walked into the final room.

There was a sunrise, shining through the glass doors that lead outside.

It was quite beautiful.

Without any hesitation, Michael and I were about to finally leave the building for good, but then to our surprise this time, we were interrupted.

We heard a door open up behind us.

As we turn around, we saw a tall humanoid figure, it was Dr. K.

"You two, have given me, such a bad, headache." He said while placing his hand on his forehead.

"Oh great, it's you, again." I said sarcastically.

"I'm not, going to let you transfer my brother. There is nothing, that you can do, or say, to convince me otherwise." I said while I'm standing between him and Michael.

I thought I can make him to go away, buy intimidating him.

But he's just stand there calmly and said "I am well aware of that. I will not stop you from leaving this building. To be honest, I'm kind of tired of making the same mistakes that I did with your predecessors. But I want you to hear me out on the potential consequences."

"And what kind, of potential consequences will that be? Other than and Michael possibly being a carrier, and infecting plants and animals that's outside this building, which will somehow, put the end to human civilization." I said with a sarcastic tone with my voice.

"I see that you still don't believe me, one day your stubbornness will be your undoing." Dr. K said while I was crossing his arms while having a annoyed tone in his voice.

"Get to the point, dog face! My brother and I, have been waiting far too long to get out of here." Michael said out of annoyance.

"My point is, Michael, that's your name correct? This facility was designed to prolong the life of a carrier, to give us more of an open window to find a cure. The moment that you step out this building, within an hour you might die." Dr. K said in a very sounding tone.

"But there a possibility that he's not carrying the pale virus, besides, you haven't even tested Michael to confirm that if he is a potential carrier. So why should we believe in what you say?" I said while looking directly at Dr. K's eyes.

Dr. K then sigh and then said "I understand why, you would think that way. But you two are a bunch of kids. I am an adult. Besides, I believe, I already told you that most the equipment here, was either stolen or destroyed during the riot. I must have forgotten to clarify, testing Michael if he was a carrier or not, became an impossibility."

Dr. K had a really good point there.

It explains why he's assuming about Michael.

But that doesn't mean that he's entirely justified on trying to get rid of my brother's humanity.

I continued to stare at Dr. K.

It was like, a solid minute before Michael broke the silence by saying.
"Does anyone know where, the bathroom is?"

This sentence alone, caught both me and Dr. K off guard.

Eventually, Dr. K answered "The nearest bathroom down in the hall to your right."

"Thanks." Michael said as he proceeds to walk in that direction to do his business.

The next minutes felt like an eternity.

Dr. K decided to sit in a office chair behind a desk while I decided to sit on the floor.

The entire situation was really awkward, I was still angry at Dr. K for tormenting me, and my brother.

But then again logically speaking, he had no other choice.

I kind of feel sorry for him.

Then to my surprise Dr. K and wanted to start a conversation.

"So, are there any plans that you have, if you're able to reunite with human society?" Dr. K asked.

At first, I was speechless, but then, I build up the courage to talk back "I guess, we can go look for an orphanage, in one of the shelters, since Michael and I no longer have parents."

"So you're planning to regain a family, when you get out of here." Dr. K said.

"Indeed, though I don't know if I'll be good for adoption though... due to my condition, Michael, on the other hand, he is definitely has a better chance than I do." I then said.

"How do you plan on getting there?" Dr. K then asked.

"To be honest, I didn't even think that we would be able to get this far." I answered.

"I see, I guess, I can point you, and your brother in the right direction for one last time." Dr. K said.

Worried, I then said "What exactly are you planning on doing?"

"If you and your brother truly want to reunite with human society, I suggest heading North from this building. There should be a US military Outpost there, though it's been a while since I contacted them, hopefully it wasn't taken over by extraterrestrials, or destroyed by raiders. If things go well they should escort you with a vehicle to the nearest shelter." Dr. K Said.

The raiders. Those guys are definitely going to be a problem when Michael and I get out of here.

"Speaking of which, how is the raider situation going?" I then asked.

Dr. K seems kind of happy that I asked him a question.

"As far as reports go, these raiders completely wiped out with the residence of 10 different shelters across the country.
Some military strategists speculate, that the raider's based of operations are located within this very City." Dr. K answered.

He seems to be happy as he is worried to have some small talk. I can only imagine the amount of isolation that he had after the riot.

I bet them the amount of loneliness I felt for the past 4 months is nothing compared to what Dr. K felt.

"I see, that means Michael and I couldn't simply wander around the city without running into some trouble." I then replied.

"Indeed, though you have proven yourself more than capable of handling against threats." Dr. K said in agreement while nodding his head.

Dr. K was about to say something afterwards, but then suddenly, Michael came back from doing his business in the bathroom.

"I'm back! Did I miss anything, important?" Michael asked while looking around.

"Kind of, apparently there's some speculation that the raiders might operating within the ruins of Denver. We might need to look out for those guys once we're outside." I said.

"Good grief, It's like we're inside some kind of Fallout apocalypse." Michael sat out of annoyance.

"Indeed brother, indeed." I Said in agreement.

Michael and I then started to walk out but then... Dr. K interrupted our progress for the last time.

"Before you two go, Andrew, I think I have something that belongs to you." But the case said while holding it out what appeared to be, a picture frame.

"Is that, what I think it is?" I said an astonishment.

This wasn't any ordinary picture frame. It's the very picture of me and my brother, before everything went to crap.

"Where did you find this." I then asked out of curiosity.

"See you seem to dropped it, near the bathrooms of the office area, while you're doing some kind of fancy parkour to get over those metal boxes." Dr. K answered.

Dr. K also gave me a compass to help me navigate.

With that. We finally exit the building.

The heat of the Sun felt nice on my fur, and the sensation of fresh air, if you can call it that fills my "lungs".

But Then I started to feel sad. Very, very sad.

I have accomplish what I set out to do to redeem myself, and yet I still feel sad about Mom.

It was like the journey of getting out of thunder Science was distracting me from the pain of personal lost.

I know It's been months ever since she died, and yet somehow, I feel deeply disappointed.

Like, I was expecting her to resurrect from the dead as soon as we got out of Thunder Science...

I need to focus on getting to the outpost up north.

I tried to stop thinking about Mom, but yet her image kept popping up in my head... I can't stop thinking about her.

I noticed tears, coming out of my eyes.

I tried to keep it in, but I couldn't, I have started to cry.

Michael tried to comfort me.

"What's wrong? We finally got out, we don't have to worry about literal furry, parasites anymore." He said, worried about me.

"To be honest... I don't know, suddenly I am... so upset, about what happened to Mom... and that happened like, a couple of months ago... but yet I... feel as sad, as I was when... she was gone..." I said while sobbing.

Michael tried to comfort me, by hugging me.

Unfortunately I didn't stop crying, eventually I started to howl.

Little didn't I know, that My howling caught the intention of very unfriendly people.

Suddenly, I felt the presence of someone... I mean we stopped howling and looked around frantically.

Confused, Michael then asked "What's going on? One minute, you're howling at the moon, The next minute, you're looking around if something's going to attack."

"I feel a presence of something... no... someone nearby..."
I said when I finally caught, a glimpse of a shadowy humanoid figure.

"Is it Dr. K again?" Michael then asks with an annoyed tone in his voice.

"For truly not this time, I think. He made it pretty clear that he's not going to follow us outside of the Thunder science facility." I answered.

Concerned, Michael then asked "Then who is it? Is it the raiders?"

"To be honest, I don't know but, I'm getting this gut feeling that they Have the same kind of, energy that I do..." I answered.

"Wait, wait, back up for a second. Are you saying, that these guys, can do Pokémon moves like yo-" suddenly Michael collapsed onto the ground In a deep sleep.

Scared I try to wake Michael up, but as I tried to shake him awake, I felt this, energy, pulsating in his body...

It was psychokinesis, specifically Hypnoticinesis.

Someone used this ability, to make Michael fall into a deep sleep.

As I looked around to see who did it, I unfortunately found myself victim to that same hypnotic effect.

The last thing I saw was some kind of hooded figure, I was wearing some kind of mage rope...

End of chapter 3.
End of act one.

FIIIIIIINNNNALLY, after what felt like years, this part of the story is done.

What did you say, PRIMITIVE APE?

Who, am I?

I assure you that I'm not that magic goo lemur wolf, that you call Andrew.

But despite that, our stories are intertwined with each other. You may recall that there's some things in this chapter that remained unexplained.

Such as, that monster that absorbed a massive amount of biomass from a particularly large Gugl'lblogug.

What exactly is that creature's purpose? Who exactly created it?

Not to mention there is another loose end, that's as large as a gas giant, inside this novel ever since chapter 2.

What exactly are we? In case you couldn't guessed it, we are not from this planet, and you already heard the language of our people, I'm pretty sure you'll be able to fill in the dots.

But how, and why, myself and my people, are involved in this?

With time, you will get the answers you seek, but you'll have to wait for chapter 4, so you have a more proper introduction to our civilization and our history.