uniform white, but the couches were a tasteful shade of blue. They were situated around a low coffee table. There weren't any magazines or coffee mugs lying around. In fact, if it weren't for the couches, Mercury would have thought the building to be long since abandoned. They had made more than enough noise opening the trapdoor, and stepping onto the hard metal of a marginally stable ladder wasn't exactly quiet. Someone should have come to investigate the noise.
"They've abandoned the facility," Dane murmured, echoing Mercury's own thoughts. "They've already got what they wanted."
"What about the dragons?" Mercury replied, fear tightening his voice. The enemy had wanted the dragons to create their magic serum. Now that their goal was complete, they didn't need the dragons they had been experimenting on.
Dane grimaced, no doubt his own thoughts echoing the morbid direction Mercury's had been taking. "There's only one way to find out."
The sitting room had two more doors along two separate walls across from where they were standing. Dane chose one at random and pulled it open. It led into a steel and glass lab that looked modern to Mercury's admittedly ignorant eyes, just like the labs in the last three facilities had looked. There were machines everywhere, although none of them were beeping or lit up like they'd been in the previous active labs. Dane tossed his ball of light towards the ceiling to light up the room. It was empty of people and dragons and there weren't any other doorways. Dane moved the light around to ensure they could see every corner. In the center of the room was an incubator with one white egg nestled into the lining. Mercury gasped and hurried forward, but skidded to a stop the second he came close enough to see what had been done to the poor egg.
Some idiot had drilled a hole through the shell. They were probably either planning to inject or remove something for one of their horrible experiments. What they didn't know was breaking the shell so heavily destroyed the magic that allowed the kits to grow properly. A small needle's pinhole wasn't large enough, but the one Mercury saw in this egg was the size of a silver dollar. The poor kit had died almost instantaneously, at least, and hadn't had to suffer any longer. Mercury turned away with a growl of disgust and stalked from the lab.
The other door in the sitting room was shut as well. Mercury flung it open angrily, but had to wait for Dane to catch up with the light before he could see what was behind the door. The light revealed another hallway, although this one was much shorter than the one where the ladder had been. There were five heavy metal doors on the right and blank wall on the left. Four of the doors had been left open, but the fifth at the very end was closed tightly.
They looked like cell doors, something Mercury confirmed when he glanced inside the nearest one and saw a small cot on one side of the five-by-five space and an even smaller toilet on the other side. He couldn't help glancing into each open door as he passed, just so he didn't miss anything, but they were all empty. Only the closed door at the end was different.
A heavy bar held the door closed. Dane helped Mercury lift it and toss it aside, but he let Mercury pull the door open on his own. Light shined into the small room, illuminating the same small cot and toilet. It also revealed a small figure wrapped in a threadbare blanket on the bed.
The figure slowly sat up and let the blanket pool around her waist. She had the white hair and gray eyes of an air dragon and the tight look caused by fear and torture that Mercury remembered from Nickel and Copper's faces when he'd first rescued them. The older the kit, the more scars they had accumulated in the facilities. The girl looked like she was also seven or eight years old, the same age as Mercury's older kits.
"They said you might come," she rasped. Her voice was beyond hoarse, as if she had been screaming for hours and
"They've abandoned the facility," Dane murmured, echoing Mercury's own thoughts. "They've already got what they wanted."
"What about the dragons?" Mercury replied, fear tightening his voice. The enemy had wanted the dragons to create their magic serum. Now that their goal was complete, they didn't need the dragons they had been experimenting on.
Dane grimaced, no doubt his own thoughts echoing the morbid direction Mercury's had been taking. "There's only one way to find out."
The sitting room had two more doors along two separate walls across from where they were standing. Dane chose one at random and pulled it open. It led into a steel and glass lab that looked modern to Mercury's admittedly ignorant eyes, just like the labs in the last three facilities had looked. There were machines everywhere, although none of them were beeping or lit up like they'd been in the previous active labs. Dane tossed his ball of light towards the ceiling to light up the room. It was empty of people and dragons and there weren't any other doorways. Dane moved the light around to ensure they could see every corner. In the center of the room was an incubator with one white egg nestled into the lining. Mercury gasped and hurried forward, but skidded to a stop the second he came close enough to see what had been done to the poor egg.
Some idiot had drilled a hole through the shell. They were probably either planning to inject or remove something for one of their horrible experiments. What they didn't know was breaking the shell so heavily destroyed the magic that allowed the kits to grow properly. A small needle's pinhole wasn't large enough, but the one Mercury saw in this egg was the size of a silver dollar. The poor kit had died almost instantaneously, at least, and hadn't had to suffer any longer. Mercury turned away with a growl of disgust and stalked from the lab.
The other door in the sitting room was shut as well. Mercury flung it open angrily, but had to wait for Dane to catch up with the light before he could see what was behind the door. The light revealed another hallway, although this one was much shorter than the one where the ladder had been. There were five heavy metal doors on the right and blank wall on the left. Four of the doors had been left open, but the fifth at the very end was closed tightly.
They looked like cell doors, something Mercury confirmed when he glanced inside the nearest one and saw a small cot on one side of the five-by-five space and an even smaller toilet on the other side. He couldn't help glancing into each open door as he passed, just so he didn't miss anything, but they were all empty. Only the closed door at the end was different.
A heavy bar held the door closed. Dane helped Mercury lift it and toss it aside, but he let Mercury pull the door open on his own. Light shined into the small room, illuminating the same small cot and toilet. It also revealed a small figure wrapped in a threadbare blanket on the bed.
The figure slowly sat up and let the blanket pool around her waist. She had the white hair and gray eyes of an air dragon and the tight look caused by fear and torture that Mercury remembered from Nickel and Copper's faces when he'd first rescued them. The older the kit, the more scars they had accumulated in the facilities. The girl looked like she was also seven or eight years old, the same age as Mercury's older kits.
"They said you might come," she rasped. Her voice was beyond hoarse, as if she had been screaming for hours and
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