The terminal was gigantic as it was, like a train station. The style was like Resident One but looked a lot older. These blue, white, and silver flags hang along the high ceiling. "United Earth Coalition Colony," One building closest to us said, "Colonial Central Administration," There were holo emitters everywhere. Stores lined both sides of the terminal, and it seemed to curve around both ways like it was a vast circle around a larger structure. Many statues of figures that held no meaning to me stood gallantly. We saw things we'd never seen before. 'How could something this grand exist, and no one in the world knew it was here?' I thought while we explored. The place was well-kept and clean, yet neither of us saw anyone in sight. It looked to have been abandoned a long time ago, or the people merely didn't need it anymore.

I was awestruck by what we were seeing. This place was a work of genuine wonder. A marvelous place to behold. We came to an area that seemed to lead inside a central structure. A corridor that led inside had more artwork and statues displayed. It seemed to go on for miles. More like a path or trail than a scenic route. Halfway in, we came upon a giant globe that looked like our planet. It had holo displays showing everything. It had all the twelve continents and the names of the countries. I noticed the American Union was there, too, which was the nation we were from. The globe was. "New Earth" showed the world the way it was in the history books, yet a lot was missing. "Founded in the year 2601,"

"So our world is New Earth. Then what is Earth?" I asked.

"It must be where our race came from," Rachel suggested.

We continued on a while further, walking for many hours, when we came across another miniature globe. It was "Mother Earth," Like the last globe, it was very detailed. I saw the name "United States of America and the United Kingdom," and I found a place called "The Great State of Texas." It was nowhere as big as the Texas territories I live in and know of. Not even a fraction of the size. We found more words that we knew the meaning of. Even more, that sounded like some words we use today.

A lot of the artwork depicts the history of Mother Earth. A history that seemed alien to us was a lot to take in. This whole place was marvelous and a testament to ancestors we have forgotten.

We worked our way through a miles-long gallery until we came to an archway that led into an atrium. The vastness of the inner area was awe-inspiring. As we walked further into the structure, there was an open area in the center. From where we stood, neither the top nor the bottom could be seen. 'How deep underground were we? How could a structure like this have been built?' I thought. A small city or a dozen city blocks could easily fit in the center.

"Look at the size of this place?" I muttered.

"I can't believe such a place exists underground. How many more places are like this in the world?" Rachel whispered.

"Thousands of people live here?" I said.

"Try hundreds of thousands. Maybe millions. You saw that hallway type tunnel. I bet there are more places like this all over the world," Rachel explained as we walked exploring.

"What do you think this place was for?" I asked.

"Maybe something happened in our world's ancient history that required us to live deep underground," Rachel suggested.

"Do you think this place leads to the surface?" I questioned.

"More than likely. There are probably multiple ways in," Rachel said.

We walked to the railing by the open space. The whole place was lit up brightly. There had to be a thousand or more floors. 'How are we going to find a way out of here? I don't even know where to start,' I thought.

"What should we do next?" I asked.

"Let's see if we can find a way to the top," Rachel suggested.

"Good thinking. I think we should look for an elevator or stairway," I added.

"Alright!" Rachel said, nodding.

From the size of this place, it could take days or hours to search this floor alone. As we went from the various storefronts and areas, we located several elevators and stairs. None of which went more than a few floors upwards or downwards. We spent the next few hours searching and exploring.

"Maybe we should try one of those computer terminals?" I asked.

"Okay," Rachel replied.

"There, that looks like a terminal," I pointed out.

We investigated the computer-like terminal. It looked to still be functional. I touched the panel, causing a holo interface to pop up. The texts were in a language we didn't understand. Examining the words, I soon realized I didn't even know where to begin. Without knowing what the words meant, I couldn't understand anything. Rachel scrolled through various tabs and pages. She stumbled upon something that resembled a map. As we had figured, this place was massive. There was no way we'd find anything without a map.

"Maybe we can download this map onto a portable tablet or device," I suggested.

"Yeah, but where are we going to find something like that?" Rachel asked.

"Good question," I replied.

"If we could find an electronics store," Rachel went on.

"I think this might be something like that," I said, pointing at an image on the holo map.

"That seems like it might be what we are looking for and it's not too far from here," Rachel said.

The spot on the map was up one level and a few stores over from a stairway. It took us about fifteen minutes to find the store from the holo map, but the place wasn't what we expected. It had a computer inside, but when we went inside the store to explore the interior. There were several rows of cubic-style booths. 'What was this place used for?' I wondered. Every booth had a number above it. I reach my hand to touch one display in a booth. A holo-Interface popped up this time, too, with some prompts. It seems to ask for login information.

"Looks like we need a login to use these terminals," Rachel said.

I checked a few more booths while Rachel tried accessing one. All the ones I tried needed a login. 'Was this a library or an internet cafe?' I wondered. At the back, there was a long counter with shelves behind it and other devices behind it. To the right of that were several round tables with recliners. The devices looked like tablets or laptops.

"Hey! Over here. I think these are laptops, tablets, and phones," I shouted.

"Really?" Rachel jogged over to look.

"Do you think we can use one of these?" I asked.

"We can try. Let's take a few of each," Rachel suggested.

"By the way, looks like your ankle is healed now?" I pointed out.

"Oh yeah, it has. I didn't even notice. You look a lot better now too," Rachel went on.

"I don't feel like I have a fever anymore. Does that mean we have turned like Cordelia said?" I inquired.

"I didn't even know vampires existed. For some reason, I feel that I should have. I'm sure that's because DNA Labs have done something to us. There are many questions I want to be answered," Rachel explained, opening her backpack.

"Me too. We have been so focused on staying alive that we haven't had the time to ask the important questions," I said, collecting a few of the devices.

I put the devices inside Rachael's backpack, and we set off back to the computer terminal we'd found. A short walk later, we returned. The interface was still active. Rachel pulled out a laptop and gave me a tablet and phone-like device. 'This could take a while,' I thought while fiddling with the devices. The devices still worked and were in perfect condition. In fact, everything here was in mint condition. It was not new or anything, but it was like something had been keeping up with the maintenance.

"For all one knows, a primary computer is responsible for properly maintaining this place," I said out loud.

"I was thinking the same thing. We're growing closer," Rachel replied.

"Who wouldn't want to get close to you? You're amazing," I whispered.

"I'm glad we met each other. Even if we are going through a nightmare. Plus, you're easy to be around and cute," Rachel said.

"You're cute too!" I exclaimed.

'Oh shit, did I say that too forcefully?' I thought.

"That's good to know!" Rachel said, laughing.

'She thinks it okay?' I thought more. 'Maybe I should go further?' My thoughts were going wild with her words.

"I mean, you're really cute," I stuttered, feeling my cheeks turning red while trying to conceal it.

"Oh, that sounds good coming from you!" Rachel said, laughing even more.

"Why are you laughing so hard?" I snapped.

"I like you too, Kristonia?" Rachel added, smiling.

My heart skipped a beat. 'Did she say that she liked me?' I thought. 'She couldn't have said that so easily? Could she?' the more I thought.

"Funny, you're messing with me!" I exclaimed shakily.

"No, I'm not. Why would I do that?" Rachel assured.

"What do you mean, you like me? I mean, I like you too, you know. I just want to figure you out," I asked with more confidence.

"What I mean is I like you," Rachel answered.

"Oh, then I like you too!" I said excitedly.

"I thought so. You like Diane too, don't you?" Rachel asked curiously.

"Yeah, I do. The two of you are the only good thing that came out of this," I responded.

"When we get out of this, let's go out on a date, the four of us. I think that would be fun," Rachel suggested.

"That would be fun! I can't wait for that," I said eagerly.

"Ah! I got it transferred," Rachel exclaimed.

"Show me how you did that!" I asked.

Rachel placed the laptop on the floor and came to show me what she did. I felt my face still blushing from the conversation we just had. Her being this close was making me excited again. She walked me through the steps she took to transfer the map to each device. It surprised me it was easier than it looked. The devices didn't require a login or password. I did the job of giving us a reliable map of the whole complex. Now, we had to find a way out. Together, we studied the map from the laptop, sitting close to each other. There was no direct path to the top floor. The map is conveniently divided into districts, sectors, and, finally, sections. Many vital areas are colored red and show no access. We'd have to find a way around those areas. Other regions had yellow and black stripes over them.

"What do you think it means?" I questioned.

"My guess is they restrict those areas from the general inhabitants. Military, Law Enforcement, or Government," Rachel assumed.

"Some of these areas look like industry based or hospitals," I pointed out.

"Yeah, and there are a lot of storage and residential areas," Rachel stated.

"We're going to have to go through some of these areas. Do you think Kristen and Diane are here too?" I questioned.

"I hope so. Without a way to communicate, then it's going to be difficult finding them. That's if they are not on the surface already," Rachel explained.

"Mother said they were in some cave system. They could have found a way out by now," I stated.

"Then again, they could be here. They could be further up if those cave systems somehow lead here," Rachel added.

"Alright, let's do this in sections. We'll make our way here today, then rest. Once we find a place to rest, we can plan the next leg. That way we don't get overwhelmed," Rachel suggested.

"We should look for supplies on the way," I said.

We packed up our devices and pocketed two of the glass-like phones. The route we were taking should take up twenty floors. About thirty minutes later, we found the stairway we needed to take. It took us up a couple of floors, and we needed to travel the floor to find a way up. While we were walking and exploring, I didn't see any signs of life. 'How is this place so clean? There has to be a reason. Something strange was going on, and I felt like I was being watched,' I thought. The feeling I had was hard to shake. From Rachael's expression, I could tell she was wondering the same as me.

On the path the stairs took us, it took a good amount of hiking before we had to find another stairway. 'Why weren't the stairways taking us all the way to the top? Was there not a central stairway? Where were the damn elevators that we could use? Everyone had a locked door. Yet everything else seemed to be open. This place had an eerie surrealism to it,' I thought about all these things when we came to something different. It was some police post or security post. We both looked at each other and we decided. This might be worth exploring.

Inside looked like what a police station would look like. On the floor was "Golden Orchid Tree Police Department Floor 390," The word "Police" was the only familiar word. This place had to be a place where Law officers operated. The front area had rows of seats facing a central desk area. Behind that area, I could see offices. We searched the various desks and offices for any clues about this place's origin. Most of the texts made finding helpful anything impossible. 'I would like to know what all these words meant,' I thought. At the rear, we found stairs that led to the floor above and below. The lower floor was our first stop.

There were many cells down here, but what caught our eyes was an armory. It was open and not locked. Inside, we found weapons we'd never seen before. They looked similar to the weapons DNA Labs used but more advanced. 'Could we figure out how to use these?' I thought.

Diane picked one that was similar to a pistol. The weapon used ammunition also.

"You think you can figure that out?" I questioned as she inspected the firearm.

"It appears it's a ballistic type weapon," Rachel stated while she examined it.

"Good, that means it's something we can use," I exclaimed.

"Some larger weapons look to be beyond my understanding. We can take two of these. Those rifles over there appear to be the same type as these," she said, pointing to a rifle cabinet.

I walked to the cabinet, looking over the weapons inside. They looked like we could use them. I picked up a pair, discovering that it was light. In a drawer below were magazines. I took several and placed them in my backpack. We couldn't carry much. We only had a couple spare magazines for the rifles we already had. If we had to use them, the ammo would go fast. I felt safer knowing we had more weapons at our disposal. Even knowing that I had done something earlier that I still couldn't explain, I didn't want to rely on that in a pinch. There was other hardware inside that, without knowing what it was, could be a danger to use without knowing how to handle it.

Rachel signaled she was looking around, and we packed up our gear to leave. I swung my backpack on and shouldered the spare for Kristen when I noticed something in my peripheral vision. My feet froze in place again. Fear was bellowing in my stomach as I turned to see Death again. She stood in one cell quietly. 'Why was I seeing her again? There was no danger. Was I losing my mind? This was the second time I had seen her outside of that place called Ruin,' I thought as my stomach tensed even more when she pointed up the stairs leading out.

"Hey, are you alright?" Rachel said, bringing me back.

"I'm okay," I replied as I looked back.

She's gone. 'Had I imagined seeing her? After what happened last time, I felt drained. Maybe I needed a rest after using whatever I had done to fight off those wolflike creatures,' I questioned, walking up the stairs. We still had a lot of ground to cover before we rested for the day. Rachel was walking by my side when I noticed something. I felt motionless, and everything was moving in slow motion. Then I saw it hurdling in between us. My eyes grew wider as I realized what I was looking at. The spiraling object was an explosive. I knew this from watching Holo videos about modern warfare in high school. In a pure fit of instinct, I kicked Rachel back down the stairs. No sooner had I done that than a bright flash wiped out all my senses.

The explosion blocked my sight, and all I could feel was this searing pain. From that, a deep rage was building inside of me. A rage that I never felt before. It was uncontrollable and dominating. With that followed the worst hunger I had experienced in my entire life. Like the rage, it was uncontrollable and frantic. Between these warring sensations and the unbearable searing pain, I felt like I was losing my mind. 'Had I just died? Was I in Ruin again? Either was possible,' I thought. A hazy light came into my vision. It was small at first, a blurry image. The more it came into view, the more sound I could hear. A mute dulling turned into what sounded like voices in slow motion. The sight I was looking at became clearer. I was holding my hands crossed in front of me as if I instinctively shielded myself at the last second. My clothes were burning and smoking. The skin on my arms and hands was burning badly, yet it was healing at an impossible rate. Pieces of red chunks fell from my arms. More like a hardened shell had wrapped around my body.

I was healing faster than the surrounding time. A green energy that looked like plasma or an aurora was around the wounds. It was spiraling into the scars. Something drew my attention from the spectacle of my healing arms and hands. They were blocking something out of my view. Something that sent a violent rage at me even when I couldn't see it. My hands moved to reveal several dozen soldiers through a thick smoke. Small projectiles spiraled at me in the hundreds. This slow-motion effect was fading. One moment later, time was normal again. A salvo of bullets hit me as the sound of gunfire drowned out all other sounds. I felt every bullet hit my entire body. There wasn't any pain from the bullet wounds, and most passed right through me. The ones that didn't, I felt being pushed out of my skin. All this was happening at a rapid speed.

As fast as it began, the firing stopped as the assailants checked to see what was occurring. They all had the same gear that DNA Labs security wore, except it was more tactical. They wore helmets, and I could see the two green dots in each of their helmets. My eyes were burning with this deep, burning green glow. They looked like the slitted eyes of a predator. Even at this distance, I noticed this greenish-flaming thing waving behind me. A long thing that I could barely believe. A tail like those wolf men. Then there were the ears that stood sloped back on my head, burning like candles. They were a greenish color, the same as the tail that was apparently mine.

If I could see the faces of the aggressors, I knew I paralyzed them with terror. I could smell it coming from them. It was heavy in the air, like fog. The sound of the dozens of heartbeats rang in my ears. Yet the only one that mattered was Rachael's. 'Was she okay? Did she get caught in the blast?' These thoughts seemed to compound not only the hunger I was experiencing but also the rage. I was about to explode in anger for hurting my friend, my love.

The frightened lackeys of DNA Labs reloaded for another round of firing. Before they had the chance to act, my body was flung into action. Now, I'm not an expert at fighting. Yet the way I was attacking like a machine. As if I knew what to do. Where to attack their vital points. I was watching an action scene in a movie through my own eyes. The way I moved defied what I thought I could do. The affair was over in under a minute.

I stood there covered in blood, not knowing what to do for a moment. Then I remembered Rachael. My foot took one step before a debilitating pain surged from my neck through my entire body. Another surge came from the center of my back, doubling the agony I was in. I dropped to my knees as I saw Rachel pull herself up the stairs. Her expression was that of total surprise and anger. She wasn't looking at me but past me. I tried to turn my neck to see, but another surge hit my lower back. My eyes rolled, and the last thing I noticed was Rachel screaming with anger as her eyes burned green.