From what I have heard from people who like it, you never want to drink it plain. It needs milk or a creamer to balance out the taste. So if you enjoy your coffee with put any additions or with very little sugar or creamer, you will not find a way to enjoy chicory coffee. I have heard dandelion coffee is closer to the taste of coffee without having any actual coffee in it. The problem is that it is hard to find in most places and you would have to grow them yourself since so many people use chemicals on their lawns. I've thought about growing them in a pot since I rent, but my cats are rude and eat any plant I try to grow, so I have given up until I have more space.

I'm so sorry! I am not new to reddit but I am new to posting on my profile, it turns out I have to "approve" the post after making it. I think that might have fixed it? Please try again.

I'm so glad you like it. This is the first time in a long time I have written anything but this writing prompt just hit my brain in just the right way to make me want to finally write something. I was having issues replying to my original comment so I posted it and part 2 on my profile if you want to read more.

I'm so happy you like it! A part of me wants to answer your questions but I don't want to spoil the story. I promise these questions, and more, will be answered as the story continues. I was having issues replying to my original comment so I posted it and part 2 on my profile if you want to read more.

I got a lot of shit from my friends for working at this research facility, but I have almost ten years of student debt to pay so I can't be picky. There are tons of rumors about what the company does with our research at the higher levels, but I just research this one mold likes to eat. It seems to love most plants but seems to almost get a boost when it comes into contact with bits of meat. This made a tear in my glove terrifying when I noticed it, but after doing all the proper procedures to decontaminate it seems I was either lucky or this mold doesn't have a taste for alive flesh. Out of worry, the company had some higher researchers run tests on me for a few days, but they said nothing turned up. They still insist on a blood sample once a week and a visual check-up once a month but I don't mind since they pay for it. Plus, they found out I had a cavity in my molar that one time and paid for it to be fixed so this is kind of a sweet deal.

After the first week after the glove incident, I was allowed to go back to my research. It is a bit mind-numbing since there are normally no new findings. At lunch today Carl was complaining about how he had still not received the mandatory gun training. He was shocked to hear I had been here for years and still only watched the video. It is odd they want us trained with guns, but they give you a pay bump if you get through the entire training so it is kind of nice. I personally think it is a bit silly to have the researchers training on how to weld a gun. We have state-of-the-art security tech, so many checkpoints it is annoying, and tons of security guards. I don't think even Fort Knox is so well-guarded.

The batch I'm preparing now is supposed to see if the mold likes Garter snake eggs or Pygmy snake eggs better. Apparently, another researcher found that it liked the Garter snake eggs over bits of Garter snake, so now we are seeing if it prefers certain snake eggs over others. There is talk that it might just be eggs in general, but there is a lot of time and research before we can figure that out. As I said, a bit mind-numbing. I had just finished putting all of the containers back in the air-sealed tank when the alarm went off. I'm glad I didn't have anything important in my hands, as the alarm startled me so badly that I dropped my notepad to the floor.

Looking over at the door, where the lights for the alarms were, it was red. It meant... something bad? I ran over to my desk to find my work manual, my hands were shaking so hard I could barely hold the book. Red meant danger of death and to evacuate to a designated safe room. The sound of the alarm suddenly turned off but the light was still flashing, my ears felt relief even if my heart didn't feel it. I grabbed my issued pistol, was it always this light? I swear when they gave it to me it felt so heavy. Standing at the door, I tried to listen through it but then felt like an idiot when I remembered they were soundproofed. I didn't want to open the door, I just wanted to go back to my normal boring research where I didn't have to worry that if I walked out this door I could die. I could also die here though, the only safety was to get to this section's safe room. That was the thought that finally got me to open the door.

The hallway was quiet like always, only the flashing red lights told you that there was something wrong. It just needed to go to the closest intersection and hang a right to get to the safe room. I could do this. I can do this. My heart was pounding loudly in my chest as I slowly moved down the hallway towards the intersection. As I got closer, I strained to try to hear any footsteps but heard nothing. Where was Carl? His lab was further than mine to the safe room, did I really take that long to get the courage to leave my lab?

Steeling myself, I leaned forward a bit to see to the left, nothing. I leaned a bit more to the right and almost screamed. In the doorway of the safe room was Carl, laying in a growing pool of blood. Over him was a… thing. It swayed like a leaf in a gentle, nonexistent wind. It was an off white, humanoid but only barely. As its’ skin shifted in the light, it hit me it looked like the mold but in human form??? I heard a drawn out moan behind me and turned to see another one shuffling its way towards me from the left side of the intersection. A wet slapping sound made me look back at Carl to see the mold creature take a chunk of Carl’s flesh and eat it. Where in the hell was security?

Another moan reminded me I had one behind me and I jerked back when I noticed how close it had gotten to me in such a short time. It lunged for me but I was able to kick it back, it felt like kicking a pillow with how much its body gave into the kick. In a panic, I lifted my pistol and fired rapidly, hoping just something would hit. In my amazement, all three bullets hit the center of its forehead, causing it to dissolve into ashes. Okay, maybe I could do this. Something slamming into me and into the floor proved me wrong almost immediately. I couldn’t stop screaming, the mold creature biting through my left hand didn’t help matters. In a daze of pain, I fired point blank into its head while it was gnawing on my finger bones. My previously connected fingers landed on my chest as it too, faded into ashes.

I felt like I could barely breathe from the pain in my hand. I tried to stuff my hand into my shirt so I could slow the bleeding but just gave myself more pain instead. The sudden rush of new pain caused me to quickly lean over and vomit my barely digested lunch. Was it really only less than an hour ago I was eating lunch with Carl? My eyes focused on my slightly gnawed fingers on the floor, they must have slid off my chest when I got sick. Is this shock? I swear it looked like those fingers were becoming less gnawed-looking as I stared at them. I poked them and felt a burning in my hurt hand, looking over I started screaming. How are my fingers growing back? What the fuck is going on with me? What the fuck is going on with this facility? Mold doesn’t just randomly grow into people-like things that want to eat flesh. What in the hell were the higher researchers working on?

I need to get out of here. I got up carefully, being mindful to not step in my vomit or blood. Hoping for the best, I went towards the safe room, maybe there would be someone there hiding while this happened. As I neared the door, I tried to not look at Carl’s body while stepping around the thickening pool of blood, I didn’t need to get sick again. I paused before entering and shouted, “Is anyone hiding in the safe room? I took care of those… things, out here.” Silence closed in around me. “Um, Carl is… not okay… but it turns out those things are easy to kill so maybe we can get out of here?” Nothing. I heard nothing in reply. I leaned into the doorway, my heart dropping as I saw more blood. It was Sarah and a guard this time. It looked like Sarah was trying to use the computer in the safe room but got her neck ripped into from behind. I couldn’t tell where the guard was injured until I stepped around him to see his whole arm just gone.

No one else was in the room. I could hear my breathing become more rapid and the panic setting in. Was I alone? Was I the only alive non mold thing in this entire facility? I slammed the safe room door shut and locked it. There were no more people on our floor so no one to wait for. I need to calm down. I will get myself killed if I can’t calm down. Think. Come on Henry, think! There are tons of people who work here, I remember Sarah saying it was insane how many security guards they had here, over a dozen apparently. Carl complained said they had enough guards to match up to each non-security staff member, so there had to be at least twenty-four people here including myself. There is no way that all of them are dead, just the ones on my floor. I just need to contact security with the computer like Sarah was trying and they will know I need help.

Having a plan helped to calm me. I didn’t realize until I stopped panicking that I had backed myself into a corner with my pistol raised. I gently moved the chair that Sarah’s body was in so I could access the computer. It took me a minute, but I found the emergency contact button for security. I clicked it and started typing out what had happened and that I needed help. All I got back was an automated message, “The facility is in maximum lockdown, stay in safe rooms until a guard comes to your safe room. Please be sure to use the computer in the room to check who is at the door before opening it. This is an automated message, no one will reply to you. Please stay safe.” My heart felt like it fell into my feet. An automated message? Where were the guards in the security office? They are supposed to stay there to help us. Are they also dead? How long should I wait?

-more to come soon.

Edit: I was having issues replying to my original comment so I posted it and part 2 on my profile if you want to read more.