[Diary Prompt] - Time
Time was an odd thing in the facility where she'd been created, while she was aware of it passing and had been since the masters had gone, the feel of hunger after a set of time, thirst sleep… all of these had been her markers for time passing. Now though, Zeta was aware of it in a different way, the small creature that had hatched had grown, not much… but enough that she knew time had passed. Jera.. That had been what she'd named the creature, the word a lingering memory of past things, though vocalising it had taken considerately more time.. And somehow, with the creatures help, she'd managed to access the computers that had lain dormant … and she'd been 'trained' to see how she coped, though much of the information she couldn't understand… but she'd learned that Jera was an elemental dragon, requiring a 'rider' to exist.. She couldn't access them for long. Jera was simply too young.
"I'm just glad you didn't hatch before." Zeta whispered to the small dragon who cooed back at her, her pace taking her towards the test area…for they both needed food and water and it was the only place where she could. Her voice was scratchy, unused except for when she spoke to her kin in their cells and now with her dragon. Halting at the open door, she clutched Jera to her, aware of the long object that stuck out of her and yet never seemed to bother the dragon. Had Jera hatched before, she knew the masters would of hurt her.. Like they had numerous creatures as well as Zeta.
Jera rubbed her head against the little ones arm… though she was a hatchling now….. She remembered the before… before the atrocity that had come that had tore at her… but her now rider didn't need to know of that.. Not yet… not for a long time. One of the few things that did confuse her about this place… was the lack of ghosts, none at all lingered, neither her riders kin in their cells, or the 'masters' as Zeta knew them. And these 'masters' were even more odd. She'd spotted a corpse in the hallway after she'd hatched… but when they went back that way some time later, it was gone…. Except for a scrap of fabric and a pass….. At the time shed made a sound, bringing it to her now riders attention. Zeta had glanced at where the body had been, but otherwise ignored the anomaly. Odd… especially given that the area remained sealed off from the outside, so what had happened to those 'masters'… and now their corpses and why wouldn't Zeta acknowledge it. She let that thought trail off and wriggled down. While Zeta did not like this place, Jera had no issues… and the sooner they ran out of provisions, the sooner she could coax the young Chimera to test the locked door…
Zeta leaned over to allow Jera down, her tail counterbalancing as the hatchling darted straight over to the water in the corner…. A worry formed as she followed, running her hands over her arms as she looked at the water that had accumulated since her last visit… there was less… and it wasn't because there was two of them.. Less seemed to filtering in, a grimace on her face as she took a mouthful.. Not only was it metallic.. It tasted….. Off. Taking another mouthful, the off taste vanished, leaving the usual metallic taste she'd grown accustomed to.
A sound behind them had Zeta and Jera turning…. And then glancing at one another… it had come from the sealed room….. For there was only 3 places they'd not accessed, the massive doors at either end… and Room 26 - Incubation Room….
