To go outside, we had to put on hazmat suits. They were yellow with black gas masks and the BIORBITAL logo on their backs. Overall, we looked pretty creepy while wearing them. The two adult scientists led us to an airlock. They didn't have hazmat suits.
- Are you going with us? - Amber asked.
- No, we can't. The outside is a higher access level - the woman replied.
- Access level? - Claudius didn't understand, neither did we.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuTFOSMrDyI
- Oh, Lim didn't tell you? By working and completing tasks, you gain access to further areas, where you get more tasks so that you can advance even further... - the woman explained.
- Exponential work - I summarised.
- Exactly. We haven't reached the point at which we could go outside, so you're on your own, unfortunately - the tall man added.
- Okay - Harold sighed. The scientists left us as we entered the airlock.
After yet another decontamination shower, we went outside. There was a set of metal stairs that led us down to the soil. It seemed to be regular soil imported from Earth. However, that's where normal things ended.
Outside the biodome was a barren, gray world. Inside was a flourishing jungle filled with colours. Looking up and seeing the stars made the view even stranger. We passed under a giant blue mushroom. As we did so, I got the impression that the nerve-like tendrills dangling off its cap were ready to grab me given the chance. Luckily, that didn't happen and I was allowed to live.
The soil was lined with tangled roots that had to be avoided, because we could trip on them. Sebastian suddenly jumped away when he stepped on a small rock. Upon looking closer, it wasn't a rock, but a strange living blob that resembled an ordinary stone. A few inches away from it was a cluster of similar blobs huddled together. They really looked like alien organisms from another world, but alas, they were engineered by man.
Passing underneath several mushrooms, we tried to find the arachnid, but it was nowhere to be seen. Claudius came up with an idea: to find footsteps in the soil.
It wasn't long before we noticed a trail of dots on the ground. We followed it, shielded by smaller orange fungi.
- Why does this vegetation come in so many different colours? Isn't green enough? - Sebastian turned to Harold, who didn't know the answer. Strangely enough, I did.
- BIORBITAL is experimenting with various colours to absorb light from different types of stars. A red dwarf emits a different colour of light than our sun, so hypothetical alien plants would evolve a different pigment to absorb it. Maybe they want to grow plants that need less light to live on, since very little reaches the outer solar system, not to mention interstellar distances? - I guessed.
- Wow, from where do you have such knowledge? - Sebastian was surprised.
- I'm a space enthusiast and speculative biology is fun. There was a book about possible organisms evolving in other star systems, but I don't remember the title. A pity... - I added.
We continued following the trail until we encountered a few different ones that were almost indistinguishable from one another. We spent several minutes trying to find out which one is which. Harold couldn't help us, because he got so confused that he ended up temporarily leaving our team before coming back.
- Why is he so bemused? Wasn't he taught tracking? We've been learning that in the Academy of Astronauts - Amber was bewildered. I did recall tracking lessons, during which we followed footsteps on different surfaces, including fake lunar regolith and more importantly for us at the moment, soil.
- He is a desk jockey - Sebastian assumed - After all, he was Captain Nigel's right hand. He never had to go on a serious field mission, so he doesn't have the necessary skills.
- He must have some skills, since he was picked to be our new adult supervisor - I noted.
During the time it took Harold to return, we managed to find the right trail and followed it. Eventually, it led us to the spider, but it wasn't alone. Several others accompanied him. It seems like our escapist informed them about the new food source, as the pack was on its way to the lab. Unfortunately, we were in the way.
- Oh dear... - Amber was afraid of the approaching spiders. Maybe she has arachnophobia?
Either way, the pack was quite scary. Their fangs were sharp enough to pierce our hazmat suits, so we had to keep a distance from the spiders. However, it wasn't long before the group noticed us. We weren't aggressive, but the arachnids still deemed us a threat, as the biggest one, emerging from the back of the pack, started chasing us. Moreover, the other spiders thought that chasing innocent humans was fun and joined the big one.
To make matters even worse, the hazmat suits weren't built with running in mind. Sure, we weren't sluggish, but still slow. The spiders got closer and closer. The big one hissed menacingly as it tried to bite Amber in the leg. Luckily, she was far enough for the arachnid to miss. All of a sudden, I tripped on a root that I didn't notice. The spider that fled the lab was getting dangerously close to me. At the corner of my eye, I saw Harold still running away, not even noticing my dissapearence. Fortunately for me, Sebastian noticed and helped me with getting up. Right as the spider lunged forward, I managed to move out of the way.
After a while, we did outrun the spiders, but there were two unresolved issues: firstly, we had to catch our four-legged escapist and secondly, we were lost in the bioengineered jungle. We ran so far that Laboratory 4-B was invisible by now. We also didn't have any weapons to stun the spider and there was now way for us to just grab it, because it would eventually bite through our gloves and puncture the hazmat suits.
- We need to find someone else who has a weapon, so that we'll stand a chance against those pesky genetically modified spiders - Harold informed us.
With the arachnids far behind us, we didn't have to run anymore. Instead, we slowly walked through the jungle, trying to find another laboratory. As we were about to stop from exhaustion, we happened upon a metal fence with a gate. Sadly, it was locked. I saw Claudius taking off his right glove.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVVx7RmEw1o
- What are you doing? - I asked him.
- Remember my metal arm with tools? It's time to use it - he told us.
As he prepared to open the gate, I realised that nobody cared about Claudius's support arm. Maybe such injuries were normal in the company? I hope not.
Claudius got his wrench and pried the gate open. He got his glove back and we continued forward, hoping to encounter another person.
Promptly, Amber noticed something moving between the colorful leaves. At first, it seemed like we got lucky, because it was a person. In fact, it was a whole group of people. The only problem was that they were heavily armed and immediately opened fire upon noticng our team.
ns216.73.216.33da2
and then Add to home screen.