Horrors of The Basement

Rose skittered nervously over the linoleum flooring, claws clicking rather noisily. The noise left no room for stealth or quiet, however there was no need for it. At least not for now. Ibis moved more quietly, slinking low against the cool ground, wary eyes scanning each dusty surface. When Rose had last been here, it had been dark and… Loud. Loud with the thundering footsteps of acrocanthosaurus and albertosaurus. However now, Rose all around her was looming panels and shelves. They all glowed with the light of a glowing screen, words that she couldn’t understand scrawled it. There was a time when she wondered what it said, but she wasn’t curious enough to properly study it.

Ibis reached her side almost silently, tucking his head against her chin in a silent comfort. His feathers were warm and soft against her body, warm and chasing away the chill which haunted her bones. It truly made her feel much older than she truly was. The labs had left her haunted, more than she had ever realized. Shadows crawled at the corner of her eyes, threatening to consume her-

“Rose.” His voice, soft and quiet, broke her rambling thoughts. Blue eyes were locked into hers, focused solely on her and her alone. It grounded her, brought her back down to reality. 

“I'm here.” She crooned softly, pushing her body up against his for the briefest of moments. “I'm okay.” She assured him, though she wasn't sure of it herself. There were no monsters here, nothing to hurt them. Especially not with-

The cream of footsteps and click of claws drew their attention. From the foreboding darkness of another hallway, golden eyes emerged. A hulking body slowly stepped from the shadows, dim light dancing over her scarred body.

Click

Click

Click

Went her claws over the old linoleum. She loomed like a sheer force of nature, surpassing most other acrocanothosaurus.

F-23, The Guardian.

“It's safe.” Her voice rumbled from deep within her chest, seeming to vibrate within the metal walls themselves. The assurance of F-23 caused a release of tension in Rose’s shoulders, and next to her she heard Ibis do the same. They had both been worried about some lurking threat.

Which was precisely why Rose had sought out F-23, and of course the guardian couldn't resist a request from an old ward.

Ibis and Rose moved in F-23’s shadow as the trio moved deeper, into the belly of the lab. Which felt so much like wandering into the open maw of some beast waiting to snapping it shut-

It was fine. Fine. Fine. Fine.

An exhale shook her body as she pushed it out, allowing Ibis to press his body against herself once more. 

They moved deeper, darkness only illuminated by stray flickering lights above them. It was so different from anything she remembered deep within the Alpha Labs. She remembered the Alpha Labs as deadly but… Beautiful. Though she had always stayed near the relative safety of the greenhouse levels. This wasn't any of that.

By the time they reached the final room Rose had gotten worked up, feathers bristling in agitation and pupils pinned on the area ahead of them. She had prepared herself for all kinds of threat, all kinds of sights-

However, she didn't prepare herself for what had F-23 letting out a quiet gasp. Before them were various shelves illuminated by harsh fluorescent lights, white and bright- blinding- straining Rose’s eyes and causing her to squint. Lined up upon the cold shelves were jars, jars full of sickening glinting liquid.

The liquid wasn’t the worst part.
“What the hell?...” Ibis breathed, something akin to a whine growing in his throat and blue eyes which almost entirely consumed his pinprick pupils. Even F-23 was frozen, powerful muscles locked and amber eyes focused forward. They weren’t just looking at the jars though, it was what was in the jars. Suspended in that… Mystery liquid. There was… Something. There, in the jars were almost gooey, transparent looking bodies with bones that were highlighted in various shades of blue or purple. On just the first row Rose could make out what looked like tiny cryolophosaurus, and things that almost looked like embryos. It made her sick.
“W-What are those?” Rose’s words escaped between whines and hisses of distress, she didn’t really expect an answer. However it seemed that F-23 had just that.

“...Wet specimens. I… I remember one the albertosaurus had mentioned these things when I was warding them away from the basement labs. Initially when they had mentioned the wet specimens I thought there were a tall tale, scary story passed around to keep hatchlings in their zones-” F-23 paused to swallow, amber eyes daring not to look away from the jars. Rose could see her eyes were locked on a particular row.
Acrocanthosaurus specimens.
The trio left quickly after that. Never to speak of it again.
It was too horrible to explain.