Noah was pleasantly surprised as he heard they actually put some thought into it instead of trying with blind faith. "We still have a lot of samples and data of the super zombie though, its weakness, how to disrupt its process, and what the crystal did to its body. These crystals that appeared are essential to our research. We have to find out why they even came to this world. And then we might find out why the human population is transforming into the living dead." Noah nodded it seemed all plausible, but he still had a question that was bugging him, "How could you have planned so far ahead? Not just the research, the super zombie experiment, but I mean this whole underground base. How could this five-floor underground base have been built? With such a great mindset as to put a laboratory in here. Which fifty-year-old something grandpa needs a five-floor basement?" Professor Maclaren nodded and only said, "Come with me." Then she walked out of the cell room and into the white halls. From there, she took a few turns until they stood in front of a door with a foggy glass window. She fumbled with her keys but eventually found the right one. Waiting until Noah was inside, she locked the door again. Professor Maclaren then walked around her office table, gesturing for Noah to sit down on the chair opposite her table.
Noah sat down and fidgeted with his fingers a bit, 'Rabbit Noah needs rabbit anxiety.' Professor Maclaren got some paperwork out. It seemed about three to four pages. "So the first one of these is the absolute requirement of confidentiality. Nothing we speak of may be personal information about other people you work with, the experiments we do, or what you want to know right now. This is the first you'll sign. This is to protect us as well as to protect yourself," she said very seriously. Noah nodded and oversaw the page she had just given him again. There really was nothing else except what she just told him, with a few other pieces of information, as to what can not leave the fifth floor. He signed, "Understood."
"Very well," she took the paper and went to the next one. "This is a paper that will tell you how much authority you have now and how you may raise it. We have about five levels of authority in our team. The dirt, which you are on because you are a little sprout that has to grow. You may know about the base situation and have a few little experiments, meaning the research of the crystals. Next is the grass level. At that level, you can research beginning infections, the kind where they are still a bit human. We also call it the prenatal stage. The stage before it really starts, you will also get access to earlier research concerning this stage. Is it clear so far?"
Noah nodded, "Yes, but isn't the prenatal stage crucial to developing a cure? I am not well versed in the current situation, but usually, if there is a zombie virus, the most crucial time to cure them is before they turn into one." Professor Maclaren looked in thought but answered Noah's question, "Yes, as we know from books or movies, it seems to be like that. But you will see that once you actually research the different stages, there is no change in the blood. Sure, there is one organism, and it is the same, but right now, we have no way to even slow it down. Its ability to eat the surrounding cells, beginning with the brain cells, is as fast as eating the flesh of a zombie. That brings us to another thing the crystals, they are just minerals under the microscope, nothing more than glass. It has stumped us as to how both humans and zombies get stronger, even though we have not found anything different in their blood before consuming the crystal and after. It is like, in the end, the crystal never even existed like their skin cells and blood cells recovered themselves. Anyway, we are getting too of topic..." Noah was so intrigued that he didn't even realize that she spoke about information he wasn't even supposed to know.
"Anyhow, after grass level is the stump level. At the stump level, you can even dissect low - to mid-level zombies, doing research on them and with their body fluids. And of course, how certain body parts of a dead zombie react with crystals. We even observed how a crystal formed on a dead brain once. After the stump level comes the twig level, with that level, you can have access to any information about early experiments and their documentation. The highest level is the leaf. There, you have the authority to order any other researcher lover than leaf around to do chores for you, and you can do zombie tests on animals. Although we are trying to get rid of animal experimentation, if those little buggers fought that well only to be killed by researchers, it is just too sad. The way you can advance is by making new discoveries. How do you advance by new discoveries when you don't know what we found out? Figure it out yourself. We are in an apocalypse. We don't just hand it to you. Every single one of these researchers is determined to be the one to cure the zombie virus." Professor Maclaren said proudly and brought the third sheet of paper, "Here you sign as an acknowledgment that you understood what I have just told you."
Noah looked over it, finding nothing wrong he signed. "Wonderfull the most out of the way. This last sheet is just a little briefing about how to treat the technical machines, and that if you see that a machine is broken, you will tell a person on a higher level. I don't want to say more. Just read it yourself." Noah chuckled, and read through it just contained a few don'ts and do's. So he signed that he understood how to work with the machines. "Very well then," she took the documents that were signed and locked them away in her desk drawer. Then she stood up and got something out of the locker behind her. It was a key card, an ID card, and a folder. Noah stood up as she walked in front of him, "This is a key card. As your rank goes higher, the key card opens more places down here. This folder is how to operate the machines properly, the ID-card..." She showed the key card and the folder in his arms and walked around the table, hovering the ID card over a white-looking machine. Then she went back to Noah, "This ID card contains every piece of information about you. You will need it as it now shows that you're a part of the researchers and dirt level."
"About why this base seems so well put together, let's just say Mr. Murray has some good contacts with old military comrades. They told him about this apocalypse half a year in advance and about the question you are dying to know. Mr. Murray didn't say anything about it. He kept silent when I asked him why he didn't tell the public." She looked sad and nostalgic, as well as angry and resentful. 'To keep it from the public as well as the people in here, something is definitely going haywire,' Noah thought to himself.
Professor Maclaren got out of her memories, walked to the door, unlocked it, and showed Noah outside with her arm. He perceived that it was time for his own research, so he said his thanks to Professor Maclaren and walked to his research station, which was shown and explained in the folder. The professor smiled lightly as she saw the teenage boy walk away. She turned around and walked in the opposite direction. Noah walked along the path that was shown when he came to a brown-colored door. He swiped his key card and was in. Walking inside, he didn't notice anything strange. All the other people were diligently working on analyzing the crystals. He then walked to the table with the number thirteen on it. Beside the table, chair, and computer was a whole machine. 'My own research station sucks though that I have absolutely no clue how to analyze shit,' he thought to himself. 'Like what are they thinking? Oh, that teenage guy knows how to make an acid. Let us get him to a research station in the hope that he knows what he is doing?'
He was helpless, so hopelessly helpless. He stood before that machine for about five minutes before deciding to get some crystals. The next question is, 'Where is my backpack at? I remember I had to play flustered, Francis took the bottles out... Did I get my backpack back? I don't think so. Maybe someone else brought it with them for me? God, I hope! I had so much stuff in there.' Feeling like he couldn't continue anyway, he walked out of his research area and into the elevator at the end of the hall. Pressing the number one, he hoped to either find his backpack in the room where they searched them or find a person to ask them where he left his backpack.
On the floor number one he walked out and saw Francis, surprised he walked closer. Standing now right behind him, he tapped him on the shoulder. A bit surprised Francis turned around and looked at Noah with what first seemed like frightened and alert, but then changed to a relieved and happy expression. "What are you doing up here? Shouldn't you be downstairs collecting data to rise higher on the authority chain?" He asked and looked a bit confused. Noah gave a slight smile his face showing some anxiousness, "It's just after giving you those bottles yesterday, I might have forgotten to take my bag with me. So I kinda... You know got up here to see if it was still here." Francis nodded showed Noah his right hand like a stop motion and said, "Wait for a moment I will look for it." Noah nodded slightly and whispered, "Thank you."
Waiting by the elevator, Noah looked at Francis who was looking under every table, and then left through the door. Alone in the room he just leaned at the wall and waited. A ding went off and the elevator opened. Out walked Maison and Jay, one was smiling and the other just had a stoic face like always. Jay smiled even brighter as he saw Noah and walked in front of him. Maison was just following him, looking around the room, but also sneaking glances at Noah and Jay. "What are you doing here? Were you perhaps looking... for me?" He asked and pointed to himself, smiling endearingly at Noah. The latter just acted flustered, making his face blush a bit, and then he mumbled, "Don't be silly. I am only looking for my backpack, I was hoping to examine a few crystals." Jay looked a bit disappointed, but a sudden glint got into his eyes. He then swung his left arm around Noah and whispered in his ear, "You know I have my own room, maybe you like to come by sometime and do some exercises? If you know what I mean..."
Inside his head, Noah was flabbergasted, but on the outside, he turned more red. Maison looked sad, but only for a second before returning to his stoic appearance. Noah answered by shaking his head profusely, "I don't know you that well, please stop saying such embarrassing things." But that appearance fulled Jay even more so that when he leaned more to Noah's side, Noah could feel a boner. 'Okay... That IS IT.' Noah thought, looked around to see if Francis was back yet. When he saw that only the twins were in this room with him, his face turned cold in an instant. He looked at Jay, slapped his arm off his shoulders, and kneed him in his crotch area. Jay toppled over as he held his family jewels. "Let that be a lesson to you not to touch me like that again," Noah said as he then kicked the kneeling Jay with his foot again. Jay fell and was lying on his side the floor, with his hands on his crotch.
Noah looked at Maison who was smirking a little. Maison was flooded with the feeling of relief, amusement, and a hint of joy. He did not understand those feelings, it was again the feeling like it was deep within. Noah's cold gaze swept over Maison, "What is so funny?" Seeing the appearance of Noah's soft features and his attitude not match in the slightest, he found it funny. The aura was there, but the appearance was not so much. The soft black hair was disobedient as it hung everywhere, those emerald green eyes on the other hand. Maison could only describe them as that of a snake, only seconds before it bites. That was the only thing that was scary at that moment, the snake-like eyes looking at himself like he was prey. It was so different from the bunny appearance he had seen before, where Noah's eyes twinkled.
Maison felt like he had been looked at like that before, but he could not remember where or when...