A young Tom and a young Richie,  brakkwani

Tom was originally a lab rat. Pretty much everything was and had been tested on him, making him the shifter we know today.
Richie had heard harsh things about the windowless building just out of town, and his adventurous childlike mind often got him into bad situations. He was spying through a small window on the top of the building.. trying to see what was going on in there. But a sudden loud siren whirred. An alarm, had he been spotted, seen? He backed up in surprise to run, but ended up slipping off the edge of the building, shrieking in fright. However. He stopped in mid fall, feeling something slimy coil around his wrist. He looked up and the sight shocked him. Was it even human? Whatever it was, it was reaching down to help him...