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"Well this sucks," Thomas, a young talented reporter whined as he and his team mates trudged through the building. "Four years of journalism school only to chase headlines in a god-damned zoo."

He swiped the strands of his neon blue dyed hair from his face. The humid air in the building did not help at all as he was now sweating buckets. He cursed his choice of wardrobe for the day. While his usual leather ensemble was considered stylish and sassy, he was feeling the backlash with the insane temperature.

"Technically, it's a rehabilitation home for animals." One of his team mates, Melissa, corrected him.

"Nobody cares what it is. It's a shit hole is what it is!" Thomas snapped. "And because we're the rookies, we get slapped with this kind of dog shit."

She was a timid little thing, easily startled which is why she was immediately upset by his response.

"So what if it is? Suck it up like the rest of us and do your fair share of it!" Snapped another one of his team mates. Kade.

He was a really buff guy. Anyone would think the guy was a body builder, or a professional wrestler, maybe even a biker. Certainly not a news reporter. His goatee was well trimmed whilst his dark hair was held back and hidden beneath the blue bandana he always wore. He wore a golden limited edition Metallica ring on the middle finger on his right hand.

"Yeah, whatever." Thomas snorted as he strutted on, leading them into the somewhat abandoned building.

"Where is everybody?" Melissa asked curiously.

Her green eyes squinting in the semi darkness, she tried to identify any signs of life.

"They obviously ran off." Thomas replied. "Did you see those monkey bodies they pulled from the place in the morning? Anyone with any sense would leave this place. Question is, how the heck did they get a rabies outbreak and not see it coming?"

"We'll have to ask the people who run the place when they come back. Gunner sent me some emails and phone numbers. Let me try to contact one of them." Kade said in a gruff voice as he took out his phone and broke off from the group. "You two keep searching."

"Huh? Hold up " Thomas began as he followed him towards the corner he was heading to.

He found his team mate already dialing his phone.

"Splitting up in a place like this is dumb, even for you big guy." He said. "Let's all stick together in case one of the feral beasts jumps out of nowhere."

"What's the matter, Tom? You're usually more of a daredevil. This scaredy cat face is new to me." Kade taunted with a devilish grin.

"Piss off, okay. I don't need your bullshit." Thomas snapped, crossing his hands together in an act of defiance.

"And I don't need your bitchy attitude right now." Kade replied, cursing when he got no response from his calls.

"If I recall, you quite like this bitchy attitude of mine." Thomas retorted, flicking his hair back in a flirtatious manner.

He strolled casually towards him in a feline manner, never once breaking eye contact.

Both their eyes were dilated as they regarded each other in a lustful manner. Kade reached out to touch his face but stopped when they suddenly heard Melissa call out.

"Boys! I think I hear a phone ringing somewhere!" She called out.

They pulled away from each other awkwardly just as the brunette made her way towards them.

"It sounds like it's coming from downstairs." Melissa went on. "Although it's gone quiet."

"Quiet? Wait, Kade? You don't think..." Thomas began.

"Nah, don't be ridiculous." The buff giant grunted as he once again took out his phone to make the phone call.

"Tch, hypocrite." Thomas remarked with a smirk.

They all held their breath as they tried to listen until they heard the distant ringing of a cellphone.

"I'll be damned." The big guy exclaimed. "The idiots are actually here."

They all walked towards the elevator seeing as it was the only way they could make out to get to the underground.

"I guess we're going down to them." Kade declared as they watched the doors ping shut after they entered the elevator. "You got the interview questions, Tom?"

"Yes sweetheart, I'm all locked and loaded." Thomas replied, making a dramatic super model pose. "Let's go grill those sons of bitches."

The elevator came to a sudden stop as the doors slid open for them to exit.

As they stepped outside the elevator, they all found themselves gagging on the putrid smell.

"What the freaking Frisbees?!" Thomas exclaimed as he pinched his nose.

Scrunching his face in disgust, he took a step back towards the elevator.

"Gunner can go to hell with his story!" Thomas declared. "I'm getting out of this stinking place!"

"But Tom," Melissa began timidly.

"No, Melissa. I'm not doing a shoot in this dumb." Thomas snapped. "Kade can set up an interview with these people in a more hygienic setting."

"Don't be ridiculous, Tom. We're already here." Kade reasoned with him. "Come on, I know you're not going to let a little smelly basement deter you from proving to the world that you're one kickass reporter."

"Well," Thomas replied, turning away so that the man wouldn't see his blush. "I suppose not. Ugh, fine. But you better make it up to me big guy."

Kade smiled victoriously as he motioned for Melissa to ready the camera. He got the microphone and the rest of the tech ready for their live coverage.

"We'll start shooting so that we catch everything. I'm sure it'll add weight to the story." He explained handing the mic over to Thomas. "Then when we get back to the office we'll see which bit will make the cut."

On cue, Melissa began shooting the video as the rest of them kept their eyes open for any signs of life.

"Hello? We know you're down here!" Thomas called out.

He cringed at a disgusting smudge on the floor.

"Is that blood?" He asked. "I think I'm going to be sick."

"Makes sense, they did drag out the carcasses of dead animals." Kade replied, trying to keep a straight face.

They all had to keep themselves from gagging at the lack of hygiene. There were strange reddish brownish smudges all over the floor and wall.

The little brunette moved the camera around in all angles to get a clear view of the place. Flashing the camera a little to the left, she caught a bit of movement.

"Hey, I think there's someone over there." She said to the boys as she began moving in the direction.

She moved a little towards the cages, trying to find any sign of life. There was a crunching sound underneath her. Looking down, she saw that she had walked onto a pile of bones. The bones must have been fresh for she could still smell the rot off of them.

"Uhm, they don't keep any lions or predatory animals in here, do they?" She asked out loud.

"Not that I know of." Kade replied out loud as he and Thomas went on ahead, leaving her behind.

Setting the camera down next to her, Melissa took out the pair of latex gloves she always kept on her and put them on. After that she crouched down and began to examine the bones until one of them caught her attention.

It was a skull. A human skull.

She remained in that position, frozen in shock as her brain tried to process what she was looking at. She didn't see the shadow that was suddenly looming over her.

Meanwhile, Thomas and Kade continued to investigate the area, oblivious to the fact that their teammate had fallen behind.

"Kade, will you try to call that number again?" Thomas asked.

Nodding, Kade took out his phone and dialled the number. They immediately heard the phone ring loudly from right in front of them. Neither told the other to move, it was a silent agreement. They made their way to the small area.

They found the ringing phone abandoned on the floor. Picking it up, Thomas noted that the phone was all smashed up.

"Who ever it belongs to, looks like they left in a hurry." Thomas noted.

He was about to suggest they take it back with them when they suddenly heard an ear piercing scream.

They turned and rushed towards the area they had left Melissa. Both men were expecting to find their frightened comrade running away from a rat or a monkey on the loose.

Neither of them expected to find a giant ape on top of her, tearing into her flesh. The girl herself was unmoving, her dead eyes forever locked in a look of terror.

"What the fuck?" Thomas exclaimed in a low voice, trembling at the terrible sight in front of them.

Kade moved forward, taking out the gun he always kept on him and, aiming at the beast, took the shot.

The ape looked up at them angrily when the shot connected, its eyes glowing a sinister golden color for a moment before it's eyes faded to a pitch black color. It let out a deafening roar as it prepared to attack.

Thomas turned and ran at the same moment the ape attacked. He never looked back, he felt bad for leaving his lover behind but his survival instinct pushed him to go especially when he heard the bone chilling scream that came from him.

As he reached the elevator,he collapsed onto the floor as he pushed the close button. His heart nearly stopped as he watched the crazy ape rush towards him. It felt as if the elevator doors were closing at a super slow rate as the beast reached out to grab him.

Lucky for him, the elevator doors pinged shut just as the ape reached out to grab him, crushing and severing the hand.

Thomas squealed out loud as the severed hand landed with a thump on the elevator floor. His adrenaline was still high as the elevator ascended, his brain still telling to make a run for it.

His knees were shaking but he forced himself to rise to his feet. He was almost at the top.

He exclaimed in surprise when the elevator jerked suddenly and as the elevator doors opened, he screamed when a large hand broke through the floor and grabbed onto his right ankle.

Kicking at the hand violently, Thomas fought to free himself of the hand that was digging painfully into his flesh. He managed to break free, but the effort resulted in the tearing of his tendons.

Staggering, he fell to floor, crawling to get away. He watched in despair as the ape pushed its way up the elevator.

The sun was almost setting but it still burned bright as the reception area was still brightly illuminated by the sunlight. As the ape reached out to him, it suddenly screeched in pain when it came into the sunlight. Its skin began to crumble into ash, prompting it to retreat into the dark.