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It all ended with a flash.

The Dalmatian opens his eyes. His damp paws stick to the floor and make a squishing sound as he tries to sit up. Only a towel covers his thin, naked body. The overhead lights strain at his eyes and he has to blink.

Where am I? How did I get here?

He slowly rises to his feet. His head spins. He rubs behind his ears, only to have something heavy knock into his floppy ear. A metal wrist band. It has a tiny screen and a barcode across the wrist. The screen has one thing on it: the number one in a bright green light. Across the back of it is an inscription in cursive.

Jesper Henning.

The Dalmatian shivers. Whoever put him down here somehow knows his name. Up towards the ceiling it a metal hose that leans out several inches. This place must be the shower. If so, there must be an exit, Jesper thinks.

He immediately starts skimming the walls for a way out. He runs his paw all around the walls and eventually finds a slight give. Freedom seems to be right within his grasp. But right as he starts pounding on the wall, pushing and tugging on the groove, nothing happens.

"Hello?!" he yells. Even his voice sounds awful, like he hasn't had anything to drink in forever. "Will someone tell me what's going on?! Anybody?!?!" He gives up after it's clear he won't get a response. Don't panic, he tells himself. There's no way anyone would forget that he's in here.

He hears a click and a whirr and flinches around in time to see an orange vixen in a lab coat walk into the room. "My apologies," she says. "We didn't anticipate that the anesthetics would wear off this early. Probably because of your much skinnier size compared to the others."

"Who the hell are you?" Jesper whimpers. Questions come tumbling out of his mouth before he can stop himself. "Why am I here? What is this thing?" He holds up his right wrist which holds the metal band. The number one glowing across the wall. The vixen just stares at him a moment. Anger bubbles up in his veins. "Answer me!"

"My name is Dr. Ava Darling and I will answer any question that you have. But first, we need to get you dressed and put into the system."

"What system?"

Ava smiles. "Welcome, Jesper, to The Under."

***

"Wake up!" Dallas hits John in the face with his pillow again. This is the third day in a row in which the racoon slept in past the alarm that sounds every morning for breakfast. For Dallas, living in The Under was not a very glamourous life; you have to wake up, get your medicine, and eat your food on a routine schedule. Dallas is still more used to living life on his own terms. Though, in a way, that's probably how he ended up with the disease in the first place.

"Wake! Up!" Dallas hits John harder. This time, the force of the feathery object is enough for the racoon to stir into a seated position against his headboard.

He rubs his eyes and yawns. "Isn't it a little early to go around and hit people with that thing?"

"Early? It's 9:30 in the morning. Breakfast started a while ago and you owe me a second meal today." The other day, John made a bet that Dallas couldn't eat fifteen slices of French toast within five minutes. Dallas, being the overconfident bear that he is, did it in only four. He's not one to be rude to many other people living in The Under, but when it comes to his food, it's not a smart idea to get in his way.

The racoon slips on a pair of jeans. "All right, all right, I'll get your damned food. But you have to leave me alone for the rest of the day. I've got a hot date tonight."

"Let me guess, your right hand is busy so you're trying your left?"

"Fuck off." John throws the pillow back in Dallas' chest. "For your information, his name is Miller and he's a very cute tiger that lives on F-Level."

"I thought people who live on F-Level were nothing but assholes who only care about their penny-pinching selves." John makes an obscene gesture at him and pushes past him out of the room.

Dallas gets dressed for the day; a pair of blue jeans with black suspenders that blend into his brown fur, a plain white t-shirt that hugs his chubby body but makes it work, and a plaid vest that he never buttons up. What's the point? He knows it'll just burst open eventually. Luckily he has the day off from working in the Arcade so he can just sit on his butt all day and eat food.

John tosses him his ID card. "You coming or not, fatty?"

Dallas grumbles and head out to the Main Deck.

***

"The Under is an entire series of networks built underground. Originally, it was planned to be a fallout shelter in case nuclear war struck. But the government quickly pushed for this space to be used for this experiment."

"Is that what all of this is? An experiment?" Jesper asks.

Ava nods. "Yes."

Jesper's new khakis are a little tight around his hips. And his new tank top looks almost see through. Anyone can see the spots on his tummy if they look hard enough. His feet are cold against the concrete floor. Every ten feet, he feels a small brush of air slip past him and he shivers. Metal pipes wraps all around the ceiling, giving the chilling feeling of being underground.

"One hundred years ago, an epidemic of HIV and AIDS frightened the world. At first, it was minimal; people got their treatments and it was easily contained. But then... the virus mutated into something unstoppable. Millions were dying every single year and there was nothing we could do to stop it. Until, ten years ago, the Senate proposed a solution: to collect everybody who carried the new HIV/AIDS virus and put them all underground, separate from those who are clean, to hopefully find a cure."

"And I'm one of those people?" Jesper knows it's a dumb question. He was diagnosed HIV positive when he was sixteen years old. He suspected it was after he had sex with a tiger friend of his. At least, he thought he was a friend.

Ava nods. "Yes. That is why it is very important that you stay down here." She opens a door at the end of the hall. Suddenly, the sound of other voices hits Jesper's ears that he has to cover them for a second. "Yeah, it can get a little noisy down here but trust me when I say you'll get used to it."

She leads him down a few more twists and turns. Doors with numbers on them pass by. D-36. D-35. D-34. They stop in front of D-33. "This is where you've been assigned. Your roommates are probably downstairs getting a late breakfast. Here's your ID badge." The vixen gives him a red laminated card with his picture on it with a barcode on it. This is the picture Jesper took his Freshman year of high school. How the hell did these people get ahold of that? "Anything else you'd like to ask?"

"I've got like a million questions. What am I supposed to do now?"

Ava rests a reassuring paw on his shoulder. "You'll learn in time. For now, just head in and get accommodated. This is your new home." She smiles and leaves him. By the time another question comes to his lips, Jesper sees that the doctor is already gone.

The front door to his new home is metallic; a bit rusty. There's no knob, just a flat circle one meter off the ground. Jesper holds his new ID card up to it and he hears a click. The door swings open.

Inside is a large square room with a red-carpet floor, and L-shaped blue velvet couch wedged up in the back corner, a flat screen mounted on the wall right in front of it, and two doors that lead off the room. The biggest thing that hits Jesper immediately is the smell; sweat and burnt bacon. Dirty clothes are strewn across the floor and the couch.

Jesper heads into another room. A small, kitchen area sits behind the bigger room. Two convectional ovens sit underneath a large vent in the ceiling. Jesper wonders how people in The Under get their oxygen. That must lead _somewhere_towards the surface, he thinks. Another door splits off next to the ovens but judging by the smell, Jesper is willing to bet that it's the bathroom.

He walks back out into the main room, wondering what's behind the other door. One look inside and he can tell it's the main bedroom. Two king sized beds sit parallel to each other. One is neatly done, blankets sucked under the mattress and everything, like it's never been used. The other is sloppy: sheets wrinkled, pillows thrown about, and blankets carelessly tossed off the bed.

Jesper wonders who else he's living with. He would think there's only one other that lives here but looking at the clothes on this floor compared to the ones in the other room, there must be two people.

"Who the hell left the door open?"

"Don't look at me, you're the one who always messes things up."

Two different distinct voices come from the other side of the door. Jesper snaps to attention and jumps onto his feet, heart racing. He didn't think for a second that there would be other people that lived here and they _didn't_want other company. Jesper looks around the room for a place to hide. But the beds are too low to the ground and the dressers are pushed against the wall.

The door creaks open.

Jesper stands there vulnerable as a bear and a raccoon come into the room, freezing in their tracks once they lock eyes.

***

John has seen a lot of surprising stuff since he began his new life in The Under. The technology down here is much more advanced than on the surface. There's hardly any fighting down here, too. And it's funny because that doctor (the sexy vixen with the big chest) said to him once that seventy-five percent of the population down here are males so you would think that a fist fight would break out, but no. The only fight down here is the fight against HIV.

The last thing that John expected was to see a kid.

"Well," the raccoon says. "I didn't think that they would stick us with a third roommate, but they finally did." Everyone down here lives in groups of three in one flat. John and Dallas were the last ones without a third person.

The kid, a Dalmatian, backs up a step, bumping into John's bed. "I-I'm sorry," the kid stammers, "I was just told I would be assigned in this room and-"

"Don't sweat it." John waves a paw and jumps into his bed. Dallas, on the other hand, doesn't look too happy to see their new roommate. He just grunts and waddles out to the living room. Whatever, John thinks. The pup still standing looks shaken, nervous. "Don't mind him," John says. The other boy turns back to him, albeit with uncertainty. "What's your name, kid?"

"Jesper Henning."

The raccoon nods and holds out a paw. "Nice to meet ya. I'm John." Jesper grasps his paw weakly, but John gives a firm shake. "That grumpy bear you just met is Dallas. He's harmless, trust me. Go ahead and sit down. Dallas doesn't sleep in that bed."

Jesper hesitates before sitting down on the bed next to John's. He notices that the pup's paws are fiddling in his lap. Just go easy on the kid. "So, what did you do to end up down here?" he asks. This is the first question that comes to mind when anyone new shows up in The Under. Jesper just looks at his oily black paws. John can almost see the hint of a tear in his eye. "You want me to share my story first?" Jesper nods.

John crosses his legs. "Well, this is kind of a stupid story but, just stay with me on this." Jesper's floppy ears shift in his direction and he looks up. "So, I was using a dating app last year because I was ready to go out and have some fun; perks of turning 18. I met a few girls and guys, got drunk had some hot sex, that sort of stuff.

"There was this one guy, about the age I am right now, that was a fox. I've never tried anything with foxes before since, you know, they can be kind of sneaky. Anyways, he took me out to eat, went to a bar, got super drunk. He takes me to the bathroom and we fuck each other." John can't help but laugh a little at that part. "By the time morning came, he was gone and my ass was so sore for the next few days." Even Jesper cracks the smallest hint of a smile.

"A couple weeks later, after taking a break from sex, I went to the doctor to get tested and he told me the bad news." John leans back on his headboard, arms behind his head. "And that is how I ended up down here."

"What happened to that fox?" Jesper asks.

"He committed suicide. Then, two weeks later, I'm living underground living the good life."

"But is this a good life, though?"

John shrugs. "I guess that's a matter of opinion, but yeah. You get fed free meals, your medicine is payed for. The only obligation down here is that you have to get a part-time job. Nothing big, just 20 hours a week. If you want, I can show you around the place. But I've got a date later tonight."

Jesper tilts his head. "Date? Do people still do that down here?"

"Yeah. We try to live as much of a normal life as we can. Dates being one of them. Everybody down here has HIV so it doesn't really matter anymore."

"Then what are these for?" He holds up his wrist and the metal wristband glows the number one on it.

John heaves a sigh and holds up his own. He also has the number one. "They're to let the staff know if you've gone Five." Jesper raises an eyebrow. Now it's time to reveal the dark side of living in The Under. "The doctors have broken the stages of HIV into five basic stages. Right now, we're on Stage One: minimal risk. Probably because we've only had it for a short time. Once you reach the fifth stage..." The words hang in the air. Jesper gapes and John knows that he understands it.

When someone goes Five, they officially have AIDS.

And after that... there is no hope.

***

Jesper hardly got any sleep the first night. He kept dreaming that people were going to drag him underground and torture him until he dies.

Oh wait...

John walks Jesper down the hall of D-deck. At the end is a large stairwell that leads up and down. It looks wide enough to fit three people side by side. Jesper keeps his head down as John shows him around.

It's amazing how an entire city can be under the earth. There's an Arcade_on F-deck and a _Cafeteria on E-deck. "That's where we eat breakfast and get our medication every morning," John explains. The raccoon waves his paws around exaggeratedly as he talks. But an unwelcome thought continues to tug on Jesper's mind: I'm going to die down here. I'm going to die down here. "Lunch and dinner, everyone is on their own."

Today, E-deck was full of people of all species and sizes; bears (like Dallas), foxes, wolves. Jesper notices that most of the people down here are canines. Why is that? "I don't know, probably because foxes and wolves have strong sexual needs," John says. It takes a moment to realize Jesper accidentally asked the question out loud. He looks down at his feet. Even his shoes are brand new, though blue sneakers would not be his first choice of shoes.

John grasps him by his shoulders. "Look, kid, I know this all scares you know, but trust me when I say that you will eventually get used to being down here." Jesper rubs his elbows and looks at everybody else getting their breakfast. They seem satisfied. Maybe they forgot the fact that they're trapped down here and they can't get out. Jesper refuses to become like them. He _will_escape The Under.

But for now, he'll have to act like one of them. Just until he can think of a way out.

The Dalmatian puts on his best smile and says, "Okay."

***

"It's all really coming along, isn't it?"

"Yes. Even the newest one, Jesper, isn't freaking out as much as I thought he would." Ava Darling sets down her notes and turns to her co-worker, Dr. Page. Both of them were analyzing some blood from recent subjects who have reached Stage Two of the virus. For three hours, she has been looking at the same three samples of blood, trying to find a difference between them. Like usual, she can't seem to get anything.

Biology and Anatomy were Ava's strongest subjects in high school and college. To her classmates, she was that vixen who stood up the first day and said, "I want to help cure HIV." Of course, since the virus has mutated, everyone laughed at her. She wishes she can see the looks on their faces if she told them she would eventually be a part of Project Under.

However, being on the Project isn't as exciting as she thought it would be. Basically, she has to look at blood samples, introduce the new subjects to life down here and give someone a small prescription every time someone gets a cold.

Nothing new ever really happens down here.

***

Dallas leans his elbow against the glass display case. He hates his job at the arcade. But, he needs to be doing something other than sit around on his couch all day. Plus, this is a quick way to earn extra cash. More money equals more food he can get to stuff his fat face later. Simple formula.

One thing he hopes his new roommate - Jesper, was it? - is not is one of those people who whine about bigger guys like him who eat a lot. Dallas cannot stand fat shamers. This is why God invented the middle finger, Dallas always tells himself. To use in case people start being assholes.

There's only two other people in the Arcade anyways: two 18-year-old foxes who always play the basketball game in the corner. And they never spend the tickets they earn either; they keep them saved up, presumably because they want to win the big flat screen TV on the top shelf worth a quarter of a million tickets.

"And this is the Arcade, where we get to see our favorite bear slouch on the job and grouch at the gamers." A familiar voice comes from the entrance and Dallas remembers; John went to take Jesper out to show him the entire city. Of course that sneaky raccoon was going to bring him here, he thinks. Taunting Dallas has always been one of John's favorite activities.

Dallas gives them the middle finger as John hops up on the counter. "Fuck you," he says. "And didn't I tell you to not sit on there?"

"Probably," John answers. He takes one of the mints in the small bowl next to him and pops it in his mouth. "Anyways, I was just here showing Jess, here, around The Under."

The Dalmatian blushes a little, but Dallas scowls at him. It's bad enough that he has to live with John of all people, but now live with two people? That's unacceptable. And it's only the kid's second day down here.

John hits him on the shoulder. "Is that any way to treat a new friend?" he teases.

Dallas heaves a large breath out of his nose. "He is not my friend."

Jesper looks up from the ground, a neutral look on his face. He crosses his arms tightly around his chest. This guy is so skinny I can beat him up easily. He needs some meat on his bones. "Then what would make us friends?" Dallas raises an eyebrow. Those were not the words that he was expecting. "I mean, we are going to be living together so we need to get along. What will it take?"

What will it take? Dallas thinks for a minute. He wants to see the kid squirm, have some fun with him, you know? The bear thinks of something near impossible but at the same time, will give _him_a benefit of having Jesper as a roomie. "Okay," Dallas says. "You want to prove yourself? How about you sneak into the Hospital Wing and steal my medical file?"

Jesper's face drops like Dallas hoped it would. "B-But," he stammers, "that would be impossible." That's the point. "And why would you want to see that?"

Dallas leans closer to the kid. "Because the people down here never let _anyone_see theirs. And ... for all we know, they could be hiding something about us." In reality, Dallas wants to see if Jesper _can._Why is peer pressure so fun?

The Dalmatian kid tosses the idea around his head for a second. Dallas knows that the kid is either going to say no or wait for John to step in and say that it's wrong. That raccoon opens his mouth - his breath smells too minty - but before he can say anything, Jesper says, "Fine. I'll do it."

"Jess, don't do it," John says, shaking his head. "You can get into a lot of trouble for doing something that stupid and you know what happens to troublemakers? They get downgraded to A-deck and that's a worse fate than you can imagine." Dallas doesn't know much about the lower decks. Just the rumors that they're basically the slums of the The Under; people who don't work jobs or criminals.

Jesper looks between the raccoon and the bear, seeming conflicted. But Dallas doesn't miss the flicker of determination in the pup's eyes.

Dallas smiles.

This ought to be fun.

***

Jesper tries to ignore the searing pain that laces up his arm as he walks down to the Hospital Wing on E-deck. Blood drips down his arm and pools into his paw, coating his fur a dark red. Jesper wasn't really thinking too far ahead. All he knew is that if Dallas wanted to see that file, the first step would be to get in the Hospital. But it would seem odd if he went in without having a serious reason. So he cut his own arm open. Not the smartest idea but it got him in.

As soon as the vixen working the front desk sees his arm, she immediately shoots up from her seat and hurries over to him. "Oh my goodness! Are you okay?"

"Yeah... but... I could use some help please." He has to choke the words out. Sweat drips down from his forehead. A fiery feeling licks up his arm, up to his shoulder.

The nurse grabs a towel and presses it into the cut on his arm, trying to stop the bleeding. "Come with me, young man," she says, leading him down a few corridors. Unlike the rest of the halls of The Under, the Hospital has all white walls, white ceiling, and white tiled floors. It almost seems like they're not underground.

The vixen - Camille by the look of her nametag - scans open a door and sits him down on a table. "Okay, you stay right here, keep this pressed to your arm and I'll get you a doctor right away."

"Thanks." Jesper smiles as Camille walks out of the room. The second the door shuts, he presses his ear against it and waits until the hallway is silent. As soon as he thinks the coast is clear, he slips out into the hallway. Jesper feels grateful for the sneakers since they don't squeak on the tile floor.

He sticks close to the walls. He jogs down a few halls, keeping track of the way in his mind. Left. Left. Right. Right. Right. Eventually, he finds a room with the label "Records Room". Unfortunately, like the other doors, there's a scanner, and as soon as Jesper tries his own ID card, it doesn't open. Of course they wouldn't allow just anyone_into the Records. They must only allow certain people. So how does he get a specific pass for _this door?

Voices come from the end of the hall. Jesper darts down to the other end and turns the corner. Pain shoots up his arm as he runs. His breath comes in gasps. He's tired. But the adrenaline swarming around his legs keep him pushing another step forward. He eventually comes upon the front desk again. Camille isn't there and the waiting room is surprisingly empty. But the voices from earlier were creeping closer to him. Instinctively, he ducks under the desk. As long as whoever they are don't look too hard in his direction, they shouldn't be able to see him.

"Couldn't find anything related between the samples. Maybe we're looking for the wrong thing."

"What are you saying, Ava?"

"I'm saying that I don't think the solution lies in their blood. We should start looking for another way to find the cure tomorrow. As for right now, I'm beat." Ava yawns.

The other voice, a male one, says, "Get some rest, Doc. We could all use it after a long day."

"Thanks."

They eventually leave the room, giving Jesper the courage to look up from under the desk. No one in sight. Right as he gets up, his elbow bumps into the desk drawer next to him. Inside is a few pens and an envelope. Curious - and making sure to look up every few seconds to make sure Camille doesn't come back - Jesper opens it up.

Inside are a bunch of blank ID cards. Laminated and everything. Only all of these cards are gold as opposed to Jesper's red one. On the bottom-right corner of each one is the letters UNVRSL. It doesn't take a genius to know that it means "Universal". As in it opens every lock in The Under?

Without thinking, Jesper stuffs the envelope in his back pocket and heads back to the room Camille brought him into. Thankfully, he doesn't see any sign of the nurse and thankfully he didn't leave a trail of blood all throughout the Hospital Wing. He takes the ID cards and stuffs them into his pocket before wedging the empty envelope at the bottom of the trash can. His heart pounds. Out of the two days he's been down here, this has been the most exciting thing that's happened.

Right as he gets back onto the table, as if he never left at all, Camille comes back into the room with a sewing kit and a few more towels and washrags. "You ready?" she asks.

Jesper nods.

***

"You're a terrible person, you know that?" John asks. Dallas smirks as he digs into his dinner: a plate of slightly burnt chicken. For some reason, that bear prefers it that way. Jesper has been gone for a couple of hours. "I mean, what could you possibly want to see your medical file for?"

"I don't know. I just really wanted to see him get into trouble."

"Why?"

"Because it means they'll move him to the lower decks. And that way, we get our place back to ourselves."

John shakes his head in disapproval. He sighs and goes back into his room. If they really did move him to the lower decks, would they let him and Dallas know about it? The raccoon flops onto his bed. He wishes that Miller was here next to him, making him forget about the craziness of the past 48 hours. The two agreed to another date tomorrow night. Last night they went to see a screening of some science fiction movie on C-deck. Miller talked of wanting to go grab a quick bite to eat on F-deck since he finally saved up enough money to go. That was the hierarchy of The Under: the higher decks, D and E and F had more money while the lower ones, A and B and C were the lower class.

Thankfully, because Dallas had a job at the Arcade and John was good at trading stuff for cash around here, they made enough money to live on D-deck.

A beep and a whirr fills his ears. John darts out of his bedroom. Dallas stops eating when he looks up to see Jesper coming into the room, looking bright as ever. "I'm back," the Dalmatian says.

Dallas looks dumbstruck. "Did you find the file?" Jesper shakes his head. "I knew it."

"No. But I did find something better." Jesper walks over to the table and digs something out of his pocket. John looks as Jess slaps three gold ID cards on the table. "You guys know what Universal Passes are, right?"

"Woah!" John swipes one up before Jess can take it back. "Do they seriously open every lock down here?" Jesper nods his head. The card feels light in his paws. John looks it over; everything seems the same about a regular ID card, save for the UNVRSL letters on the bottom, except that it's blank. "Hold on, we need to activate these first."

Dallas examines another Universal Pass. "So how do we do that?"

"We'll need to get ahold of computer access. Even then, we'd need to use fake names and ID numbers so they can't trace it back to us."

"Wait," Jesper steps in. His ears fold back some. "Are you guys _really_considering activating these? We could get in big trouble!"

"You were the one that stole them and brought them here," Dallas points out. Jesper opens his maw to say something then thinks better of it and says nothing. The bear puts his now-empty plate down and sits up. "So, Johnny, do you know of anyone who can get these things working?"

John tucks his new card into his shirt pocket. "Actually, I do. There's a fox on E-deck that's very good with computers that I know of. Maybe we can get his assistance."

"Who?" This time it's Jess that asks the question.

***

Computers beep and flash behind the fox's head. He spins around to look at the three gentlemen who have entered his flat. Jesper widens his eyes when he gets a good look at him. He's got snow white fur with blue tipped ears. He wears a dinosaur shirt and jeans. And when he speaks his higher voice brings pain to Jesper's ears. "You've come for my assistance?"

Jesper's suspicions are conformed: He's only a kid!

Jess (he's starting to get used to the raccoon's nickname for him) pulls John aside. "Are you serious?" he asks in a harsh whisper. "He's only nine!"

"I turned ten last month," the fox - cub - says. "And as for your question of what I'm doing underground with HIV running through my blood, you can blame my parents."

"His mom and dad were diagnosed with the disease when they found out they were going to have a child. So, the kid was born with it," John explains. Then in a lower tone, says, "It's fine, he wasn't molested as a kid."

"Okay, that makes sense but still, he's too young!" Jesper says, not bothering to be quiet. "I mean, has he even seen the sun? And where are his parents at?"

"My folks went Five two years ago," the kid says. "And my name is Jay. Is there something that you boys want? Because I was kind of in the middle of coding another game."

Jesper doesn't bother to ask. He just steps aside and allows John to do the talking. "Yeah. We need you to help activate these passes." The raccoon shows him the golden cards.

"What's in it for me?" Jay takes one and scrutinizes it. "I mean, you guys are asking me to do something that's not only illegal, but will take several hours." He tosses it down on the table between the boys.

John picks up the card. "Okay. What do you want? Money? Power? A new computer or something?" Jay shakes his head and eyeballs the card. It takes a few minutes for Jesper to catch on and when he does, John has already widened his eyes. "You want one of the cards, don't you?"

Jay nods.

"Absolutely not." John stands up in anger. For a second, Jesper feels relieved because they won't have to risk any unnecessary trouble while down here.

"If you don't agree to it, I'll let the authorities deal with you." Jay gives John an evil smirk. For once, Jesper sees John ball up his fists and shakes one of them at the kid, looking ready to swing. Finally, he taps the card back down on the table. "I knew you would go with the better deal, Johnny."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." The raccoon waves his paw. "But I better get them by tomorrow night."

"Deal."

***

Day three of being underground. Jesper starts getting used to his new surroundings. He is familiar with Dallas' loud yet distant snoring from the other room, the way John tosses and mumbles a little in his sleep, and the low hum of the overhead lights in the hallway. John and Dallas accompany Jesper to the cafeteria at eight o'clock that morning. This morning, they are serving French toast with milk. Jesper is amazed at how some people are able to make enough breakfast for one thousand people overnight. Then again, he noticed that the majority of the workers are raccoons, whom are mostly nocturnal.

When Jesper asks John how come he doesn't sleep during the day, he replies, "Because most of the good stuff happens during the day. Trust me, it wasn't easy changing my sleep schedule."

The three men sit down near a large window with a holographic view of what appears to be New York. Jesper isn't sure if that's because they're under New York or because the employees down here want its residents to think that they're above ground. Either way, it takes John five minutes to snap Jesper out of looking outside. "Nice view, ain't it?" John asks. "Reminds us that there's still a whole world out there."

"I suppose so," Jesper says. "But I still want to go back up there and see it."

"Nonsense. Trust me, you'll get used to being down here." Jesper couldn't argue that there were some perks of living in The Under. For example, their food is amazing. One bite of the French toast and the warm, cinnamon taste fills his muzzle; and for a second, forgets the outside world. Also, the people down here don't seem to be too awful, with the exception of Dallas. But he's positive he can bring the old bear around.

"Has the kid come around with the Passes yet?" Jesper asks, trying to keep his mind from going off somewhere else.

John shakes his head. "Nope. That little shit better not swindle me out of those. Er... us I mean. Jess here really worked up the nerve to steal from the people that work here. It would be a shame for those to go to waste."

"What I want to know is why would they leave those lying around?" Dallas asks. It's the first thing he said all day. "Don't they know that people like us would take them if we got our paws on them?"

"They probably didn't expect us to be able to activate them," Jesper guesses. Dallas doesn't argue. "But once we do, we shouldn't be using them excessively."

John leans forward, ears cupped in his direction. "Care to explain why? I mean, those cards pretty much give us power over the others down here."

Jesper finishes his breakfast. Then discovers a small packet in the corner of his tray. Once ripped open, he sees that they're two ordinary pills. John mentioned that they have medicine you take every day to keep the HIV virus in check. Jess pops the pills into his muzzle and downs them with water. "Because," he says, "how do you know the workers down here don't keep track of the cards?"

"So we'll just go over to see Jay and ask him what he can do about it," John says. The raccoon sips on what seems to be coffee but Jesper is starting to think it's hot chocolate. "The kid's a computer genius, he can figure it out."

Jesper wants to point out that it would be nice to block the tracking history, but that would be like someone born without footprints; it just isn't done. There would be a possibility that the cards will eventually be traced back to him. But, for now, he stays quiet. The last thing he wants to get on John's bad side, especially when he might be able to help him get out of here.

***

"Do you know why you're here today?" Ava Darling asks. She instantly went to action the second she saw that someone on A-deck hit the fifth stage of the virus. Today's victim was a rat named Lance. He did not look very good; bloodshot eyes, upset stomach, can't stand for more than a few minutes.

Lance shakes some as he looks up at the doctor. "I'm g-going to die, aren't I?" he asks.

"Maybe not," Ava says. She smiles up at him. "Today may be your lucky day. Me and Dr. Page think that we may have found-"

"A cure?" Lance perks up as if he didn't have cramps earlier or forgot that the number on his wristband says Five.

Ava shakes her head then thinks twice about it. "Not exactly. But we think this may help reverse the process of the virus and bring you back to stage four. Or at least start it." The door to the room opens and Page, a brown wolf with square-rimmed glasses comes in with a syringe full of royal blue liquid.

He takes a seat next to Lance on the table. "Good to see you again, Lance. I wish it was under better conditions though. But don't worry, we're here to help you burst free of this disease."

Lance hacks up a large cough, some blood spilling over his lip. "You guys won't find anything!" the rat cries. "I've been down here four years! I just want to see my sister!"

"And you probably will," Ava says. "If you'll just test this solution for us, we'll bring your sister down here to see you." It hurt really bad when someone brings up family. Everyone down here has family or friends on the surface whom they'd like to see. If this whole Project can just continue for a while longer...

Page carefully takes Lance's arm. "Make a fist for me." The rat complies and Page sticks the needle into Lance's vein, pressing down on the plunger. Lance doesn't even blink as it goes in.

At first, nothing happens. Lance's eyes become droopy and for a second, Ava thinks that he needs to lie down to get a quick sleep. Of course, she anticipated that the cure would also come with side effects. Drowsiness is a common one for most medication. Lance lies down on the table, bringing his knees up to his chest as he closes his eyes.

Page wags and smiles. "Darling, I think we finally have a breakthrough!" He jots a few notes down. "If this really does work out, we can finally let everyone get cured and they can return to the surface."

Ava's heart flips. Finally, the world now has some hope to destroy one of most deadly viruses out there. HIV may have mutated, but not quick enough.

She walks over to simply do a few quick checks on the rat; see if his heartrate and body temperature aren't dropping or rising too much. When she presses the other end of the stethoscope to his chest, she cannot find anything.

Her smile falters. No.

Ava tries again on the rat's back. Again, only silence fills her ears. Lance has no pulse. Not even a single beat uttered.

Page sees the look of panic on her face. "Ava, what's wrong?"

The vixen shakes her head. "I can't find any signs of life in him. No heartbeat..." She presses her ear to his chest. "... he's not breathing either."

Page nudges her to the side, checking the rat himself. Ava turns around, her chest a hundred times heavier than it was when she woke up. She isn't sure, but she's positive she hears Page try to revive the rat with CPR. Finally, after minutes of trying, the wolf heaves a large breath. "He's gone."

"I don't understand!" Ava slams her fist on the countertop. "I thought we had everything right! We spent all day looking at blood samples, testing different elements and medication that attacks different parts of the virus. What went wrong?"

"Something must have happened with the final result," Page says. "Ava... this isn't good. You realize that if we can't find a cure soon-"

"I know what happens," she interrupts him. She may be somewhat naïve but she isn't stupid. Project Under is losing money, the government is giving up hope that there will be a cure and with a re-election right around the corner, there will come a day where the Project will be considered a failure.

And nobody will survive Project E-HAP.

***

Once they return to their flat, John goes to his room and tells the others not to come in. Ten minutes later, the raccoon comes out wearing a polo t-shirt and khaki pants. "I've got another date today," he explains to his roommates.

"And who's the sorry loser this time?" Dallas asks. He flips through the channels on his television. John gives him the middle finger. "I'm telling you, I feel sorry for that other person."

"Dallas go fuck yourself."

"I would, but I'm too lazy for that. Plus, you know I don't like taking it up my fat ass."

Jesper just stays quiet in the middle of this argument. Although seeing John get dressed up for a date reminds him that it really can be easy to adapt to life down here. No, he tells himself. Don't forget the plan to get aboveground. With the Passes that Jay is currently activating, that could be his hope of leaving.

He looks over at the bear. "So... looks like it's going to be just you and me for a while."

"Yeah, perfect." Dallas doesn't even look in his general direction. Jesper takes the hint. Even after risking getting caught, the bear still doesn't like him being around. What will it take for that to happen? What does the Dalmatian have to do?

Someone knocks on the front door. "My date's here!" John comes rushing out of the bathroom, smelling of mint and deodorant. He scans the door open. "Boys, I'd like you to meet my special man, Miller."

At first, the name doesn't process in Jesper's mind. But as he sees the snow white tiger enter the room, looking just as dressed up as John, Jesper cannot deny seeing those blue eyes before. They were the same eyes that he trusted months ago when he first had sex with him. Was it really that long ago that those little noodle arms of his held him close as they made love? It must have, considering he was all Jesper could think about ever since that faithful day.

The day that ruined his life.

Before he can stop himself, Jesper leaps up off the ground, crosses the room in two long strides and knocks Miller to the ground. He lands two hard punches to the muzzle and one on the nose before John grips the back of his shirt, pulling him off. "Stop it! Stop!!" John may think this tiger is so innocent but Jesper knows better.

Dallas doesn't come over to help until the sound of Miller's nose crunching under Jesper's paw fills the room. The bear grabs Jesper and yanks him off Miller. Dallas is a lot stronger than he appears. But Jesper continues to kick and swipe his claws in Miller's direction.

"Are you okay?" John asks. Miller nods. Blood runs down from his nose. The raccoon turns to Jesper with a death glare. "What is the matter with you?! What gives you the right to attack my date?!"

"Why?!" Jesper spits at his roommate. Fuck the last few days, he refuses to be friends with someone associated with that monster. "I'll fucking tell you why!" He looks down at Miller, who gives him a pleading look. If Jesper had first met him, he would offer sympathy. He was far from that point now.

"Because he's the reason I'm down here."