You decide to go after the signal. The portal seems too sketchy, maybe the signal is coming from another who got stuck here? You start tracking it.. Where could it be coming from? The loud roaring noise gets louder and louder the closer you get to the signal. It seems to be echoing off the walls, you cannot tell which direction it is coming from. Fear races through your mind. Zombies... Crackheads... Aliens? What kind of horrible creature could be making that noise?! You try your best to ignore it, but are prepared for the worst. You've been walking for 10 minutes at this point. You realize you haven't heard the roaring in a while. You cannot tell if that makes you more nervous or not. This place is confusing, every hallway looks the same. You pass by a window, haven't you seen this window before? Have you been walking in circles? There's no way, you've been walking towards the signal the entire time, right? Is the signal moving? What is this place...

You lean against the cold wall, and slide down it to the floor, giving up. Are you ever going to get out of this place? Maybe you should've taken the portal... Your eyes start burning as hot tears bubble up and roll down off your cheek, and onto your signal seeker. It brings your attention back to it, and then you see something utterly shocking. Now that you're still, you can see the signal is moving... towards you. Then suddenly, you hear the roaring again. Oh no. Have you been tracking the same monster you've been running from this entire time? Maybe it's for the better. If that portal didn't kill you, it probably would've just brought you to another hell-hole for you to escape. You take a deep breath, and close your eyes. You've accepted your fate...

The roaring is getting closer, and you can feel yourself shaking uncontrollably. You feel goosebumps rise on your forearms, are they from the cold, or fear? The roaring is getting closer. You notice the closer it's getting, the less it sounds like roaring. The echo off the bare walls combined with your paranoia of the unknown definitely made it sound scarier than it is in reality. You feel something soft brush against your balled up body. You jump up, and scream. Your shriek bounces off the walls, exaggerating it ten-fold. You look down, hesitantly. Wondering why the monster hasn't eaten you already? Maybe it's vegan. You can make out a small figure through your tear-blurred eyes. It rubs up against your leg. It isn't a monster? You crouch down. It's just a cat. You laugh uncontrollably, coming to terms with the present situation. You pet the cat, it's warm orange body contrasting your cold hands. "How did you get here..." You look for a name on the black collar around his neck, "you don't have a name do you buddy?". While examining the collar, you see a small black box attached to it with a red light blinking on it. That must've been the signal. Damnit. That's not going to help you.

"Do you know how to get out of here buddy?" The cat's big green eyes look up at you, and it tilts its head. This place really has driven you crazy. You almost thought he understood you. He meows, well more of screeches. It bounces off the walls, making it louder and.. well.. Scarier. Almost sounds like a zombie. "Guess I'll call you 'Zombie' then", you say out loud. Zombie quickly turns around and starts speed-walking away. Guess he didn't like that name. You follow him, and he speeds up. You're both running now. Where could this cat be going? You follow him for around 2 minutes. Does this cat not get tired? He starts to slow down, and disappears around a corner. You stop, and hesitantly turn the corner after him. You see a familiar sight. A portal. One you haven't seen before, this one doesn't look off. You can see Zombie clearly now in the gleaming light coming from it. He really does seem like just a cat. He's sitting in front of the portal grooming himself. How did he know to bring you here? Who's cat is this? You walk over and pick him up, stepping through the portal with him. You gasp, this is your research station! You are ecstatic to be home, but groan as you realize you still haven't gotten the crystal. Your team runs up to you, embracing you in a hug. They all simultaneously notice Zombie, and snatch him out of your hands. "HEY!" you yell. They take the collar off of him and let him drop to the floor, where he lands on all 4 feet easily, and sits on your foot. They break open the collar, and pull out the red blinking light. Your jaw drops, it's the crystal. WHO IS THIS CAT? You know what your next mission is, finding out whose cat this was. But for now, your job is over.

THE END...or is it?

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