Chapter 7: Research

“Now that we’re working together, I think we should…” Before Dr. Atlas could finish, he heard Ferral chuckling as he walked over to him. Ferral placed his hand on Atlas’s shoulder, squeezing it tightly. “No, no, we aren’t working together on anything. Understand?” Dr. Atlas winced in pain as Ferral slightly dug his claws into his shoulder. “I’ll come with you, but I’m only doing this to help MY people. You can struggle and inevitably let your race down with your failures.” Atlas smirked through the pain, “I don’t know how you’re daughter would feel if she heard that. Pretty bad, I’d say.” “Are you threatening me, boy?” Ferral gripped Atlas’s shoulder and knelt, eye to eye. “Get this through your worthless little mind. YOU are in ZERO position to be making threats or deals. Because if you say or do anything, NOTHING is stopping me from disemboweling you and letting your pathetic race go extinct.”

The sound of footsteps started coming from the stairs as Laura, Berus, and Nia made their way up. “Good talk.” Ferral said, slapping Atlas’s left cheek twice before getting up. “PAPA! PAPA!” Berus exclaimed as the three got to the floor. “Is it true you are gonna help humans?!” “Yes…” Nia started, “Is it true?” She raised an eyebrow, and Ferral sighed. “For better or worse, I am.” “See! I told you!” Laura said. “Woooow!” Berus awed, “Papa is so cool!!” Nia looked at Dr. Atlas, her eye squinting slightly. “You must be the one who started this, huh?” She asked. “Yes, ma’am. I’m Doctor Armin Atlas Jr.” “I thought you looked familiar. I’m well aware of your father.”

Nia walked over to Ferral, leaning over to his right ear. “You’re not really going to help him, are you?” She whispered. “Of course not,” Ferral responded, “But for now, just play along.” She nodded. Laura walked over, poking Dr. Atlas’s leg. “Hey, how smart are you, Mr. Armin?” Dr. Atlas looked down and smiled, “Well, I graduated from college at fourteen, became head scientist for the biology division two years later, and am currently co-leader for our weapons development.” “Whoa! You do a whole lot of stuff, you must be really smart.” “Well, my parents were quite the big brains themselves.” Ferral scoffed while Nia rolled her eyes. Berus tugged at Ferral’s pants, “Are you going to leave again, Papa?” He asked, sounding upset. Ferral patted his head, “Most likely, bud. But I won’t be gone for too long. I promise.” “Alright, you two, you still have to finish your afternoon training.” Nia told them, “Go on.” They nodded, “Good luck, Papa!” Laura hugged Ferral. Berus joined in, “Don’t be gone for long, Papa.” Ferral smiled and held them tightly, “I won’t. I’ll be back in no time.” They let go and started walking off. “Good luck to you, too, Mr. Armin.” Laura said, quickly turning around before waving goodbye to him. He waved back, and she turned back to walk down the stairs.

Once they left, Ferral sighed. “Alright, Atlas, let’s get this over with.” “Please, you can call me Armin.” “Why don’t I call you dumbass instead?” Dr. Atlas cleared his throat, “You know….Atlas works too.” Nia lightly hit Ferral's shoulder, “Try to play nice. It’ll go faster that way.” “I’ll try. You’ll be fine running the village by yourself, right?” Nia smugly scoffed, “Please, I run it better than you.” Ferral laughed, grabbing her waist and pulling her closer. The two kissed, holding it for a few seconds, before pulling apart. “I’m REALLY not looking forward to this.” Ferral sighed. “It’ll work out fine,” Nia looked over Ferral’s shoulder at Dr. Atlas, who was waiting awkwardly, then back at Ferral. “Just be on your guard. Can’t trust him, alright.” He nodded, “I know.” She started walking off, stopping for a moment. “I'd better expect him back in one piece, Dr. Atlas,” She said, “If not, it’s your head.” He gulped, and she continued off.

“You guys have some hospitality.” Dr. Atlas chuckled nervously. “Let’s just get this over with.” Ferral said callously. The two made their way down the stairs. “So what’s the plan, Mr. Ferral?” Dr. Atlas asked. “Well, we need to see just how much of this fungus has spread around the world. Then, pick somewhere close and collect samples to see just how it works.” “That’s a good plan, unfortunately, we don’t have the means of doing so. At least, not at a rapid pace.” They made it to the first floor, Ferral walking toward the back of the mansion, Atlas confused, followed. “You expected to be going to your lab? No, we’re going to mine.” “You have your own lab? It would explain how you were able to create such amazing cloaking tech.” They exited the back of the mansion, heading out of the village and into the jungle. Ferral slowly started walking at a faster pace, causing Atlas to try and catch up. Then, he started jogging, which turned into a full-on sprint. “H-HEY!” Atlas shouted as Ferral bolted off.

Ferral jumped up, grabbed a tree branch, and swung into the air. He hopped from tree to tree, flipping and twirling before landing. Ferral landed back on the ground and continued sprinting on all fours. Then came to a stop once he made it to a large dome-shaped structure. He smacked the dirt from his hands and rested against a boulder. It took about an hour and a half for Dr. Atlas, wheezing for air as he fell on his knees. “Boy, you sure are slow.” Ferral teased. “Why…..for……what?” Atlas gasped. “Why not?” Ferral shrugged, “Now pick yourself up. We’ve got work to do.” Atlas forced himself up, stumbling and staggering before regaining balance. He followed Ferral toward an already-opened door, leading into the building.

“What is this place?” Atlas questioned. “The last remaining facility from that damn Organization.” Atlas gasped, “What?! B-But I thought they were all destroyed! How did this never show up on any of the trackers?” “When I first found this place, the first thing I did was rip it out as quickly as possible.” Atlas gazed at the facility in awe, “So this is what one of these looks like standing. Incredible. The Organization was truly ahead of its time.” They made their way to the main room, where a massive electronic table stood in the middle. Once at the table, Ferral started typing on one of the keyboards. The table lit up, and a projection of the Earth popped up.

“Alright, this is how we’ll find just how much of this fungus is around the Earth,” Ferral said, “It may take a couple of hours since we don’t have a sample of it to give the scanners and make it easier.” “About that, actually,” Atlas interjected as he took out a vial with something inside. “I had a feeling this would be needed; it contains the fungus, though it has to be dead by now.” He handed it to Ferral, who inspected it. It was a blood red, looking similar to roots or veins. “This is it? Interesting.” Ferral turned on one of the scanners next to him, putting the vial under it. “Oh shoot!” Atlas exclaimed, “I need to give an update to my escorts before they try and send search parties. It’ll be a moment.” Ferral didn’t respond, nor was he really paying attention. Atlas took out a phone and called the soldiers walking off.

Once the scanner had finally finished analyzing the fungus, multiple red dots started popping up around the Earth. Most of them were in Europe, but there were some scattered throughout the other continents. Even here in Australia. “Good, looks like there’s some here.” Ferral said, “Located on the west side, so we’ll have to travel a bit. Not ideal, but could be worse.” He turned to tell Atlas, but he was gone. “Atlas?” He looked around the room, but didn’t see him anywhere. “Atlas!” Ferral shouted before picking up his scent. “There you are, you little rat!” Ferral bolted to one of the other rooms on the right.

He went toward the first door, crashing into Atlas, who was walking out. Atlas fell, groaning. “Ugh, you’re really like a brick wall.” He started to get up, but Ferral picked him up by the collar. “What the hell were you doing?!” He shook him a little. “Nothing, I swear!” Atlas yelped, “I just wanted to look around more! Honest!” Ferral threw him to the ground. “Give me your phone.” He demanded, “I don’t trust you for a second!” “Look, we’ve got bigger problems,” Atlas said as he started getting up, “They didn’t answer my call. That means they’re either dead or busy with other things. Probably sending out a search.” “They’ll never find the village or this facility. Why even bother?” Just then, Atlas’s phone went off, and he answered it.