Jack, Mike, and the two guards descended the one hundred step staircase to the basement of the facility. In the basement there were many scientists performing tests with different plant killers and fertilizers, frantically trying to find a solution to their overwhelming problem. They came to a door marked "105" and went inside. In the room there was a table, two metal chairs and a steel box with a window that looked to be heavily reinforced. "This was our 105th test subject, the one we were most successful with in our experiments. It is fully alive and contained, so it is harmless. Go ahead and" "Shhhh." Mike interrupted. An awkward silence filled the room, and Jack and the guards all looked at eachother in confusion. The silence continued for a few more minutes, and finally Mike looked away from the box and over at Jack. "I know what to do now," Mike said with the utmost certainty. "It might not work, but it is the only chance we have. Gather everyone you have available, we are going outside. Oh, and tell them to bring some water."
Jack and the guards looked more confused than ever now, and seemed almost a bit angry with Mike. "What do you mean? What did it say to you? Going outside is suicide! Especially if we are carrying water. Mike, you will get us all killed, I won't send my employees out to die." "Your choice then," replied Mike with a raised brow. "I'll be needing a bucket of water, because I'm going out there. You can all wait here and die when the plants come and take your water, or you can offer some water to the plants and hope for friendship. The only way for humans to survive this catastrophe is to live in true harmony with the plants, if they'll have us." Mike's bracelet beeped again, and he immediately smashed it against the wall, and upon seeing it broken to bits, he wished he would have thought of that earlier.
Everything was so clear in Mike's mind now, thanks to his conversation with the experiment plant, and he wanted to help the plant get out of that box. "Jack," Mike said. "Let me take experiment 105 out with me as well, so I can show the other plants that we mean no harm." "If there is a chance it will help, then go for it," said Jack. So they gathered up the plant and some water, and followed Mike to the door. "Good luck," said Jack and the two guards in unison. "Thanks, I'll need it," replied Mike. Mike carried the water in his left hand while the small plant rode on his shoulder, gripping Mike with his roots. Just as they crested the hill near the facility, there was a change in the wind. The air got a bit warmer, and moister too. And directly below Mike's feet there was a slight rumble beginning in the earth. "They're coming," Mike and the plant said to each other.
