More Than Human

Chapter 43: Mama

In the morning, Price informed the team of the plan. They would gear up, drive to the lab building, and just look around. They had no way of knowing if there would be anything in it at this point. Price's team bagged some intel all those years ago, but never bothered to really think about it again. Figured the higher ups would handle it.

But they, hopefully, wouldn't have any issues. But they would stay alert just in case.

The drive there wasn't super long, and they were all a little surprised by its location. It was downtown, between a couple of office buildings. A good place for it in all honesty, as everyday citizens would probably just assume it was another business. The place had been condemned ever since it had been shut down, however.

They parked the vehicle around the back of the building and entered through a side door in the neighboring alleyway. They let the heavy metal door creak closed behind them, letting the darkness swallow them. Gaz let out a shaky breath from beside Price as they all turned their lights on.

Ghost led the way out of the back room and onto the main part of the ground floor. He was best at working in the shadows. They pushed through a set of double doors and waved their lights around the space to get a lay of the land.

Lots of the equipment was still there. It was in disarray still from the raid all those years ago. The members with sensitive noses and tongues breathed in the smell of old chemicals and dust. They spread out and began to look through cabinets and drawers. It didn't yield much. Apparently the first floor had been cleared out quite well. This didn't bode particularly well for the second and third floors.

Finding the stairwell they began to work their way up. The second floor had a few things that jogged Price's memory, and Gaz felt the space to be familiar as well. There were a few large metal cages against one of the walls. Based on the claw marks inside they were too small for whatever had been in them. It looked almost like a vet clinic. Metal tables fixed to the walls for testing.

The Captain approached one of the metal tables. There were bits of broken clay from a collapsed shelf of pots and soil littering its surface. He tapped on the top metal with his hand, "Found him right here." He told the group, "Had a tube of chemicals running into the soil. I think they were trying to get him out of his dormant state as well. I didn't know what would be done with all of the creatures they found here, and I wasn't a captain then, so I snuck him out with me. Probably the best decision I've made."

He gave Gaz a soft smile which he returned before turning to Soap, "Anything feel familiar here so far?"

Soap shook his head, frustrated, "It's just a lab. Nothing we've seen is outside of my present knowledge of what labs are. It's familiar the way any other building is familiar. Not like Makarov is."

"That's alright, Son. We've still got another floor yet." Price encouraged, leading them back to the stairwell. He stood at the top of the stairs and pushed it open. It squeaked heavily from disuse.

Now this, this Gaz remembered vividly. They stepped through the doorway and were able to turn their lights off. The windows were covered, just like the rest of the floors, but the skylights remained open. Filling the room with patches of light. He understood now, that they kept any creatures reliant on the sun up here. Lest their assets perish too fast.

There was one main hallway leading from the stairwell, and many little rooms branching off from there. The walls and floor were littered with dried up vines and leaves from plant overgrowth before their inevitable demise from lack of care through the years.

They poked their heads into each of the little rooms, not finding much other than dead plants, old bottles of chemicals, and vials of old blood. At one room, Gaz sucked in a sharp breath and quickly stumbled back out until his back came into content with the door across the hall.