Oof. Had very odd nightmare…I was wandering around a very strange zoo. It was nearly abandoned, and there were the usual not-really-real birds that populate my dreams. I was writing down the name of one–something called a Strangliers Gull, it looked like a giant flying penguin, and the guy running the popcorn cart stopped me.

"You shouldn’t do that," he muttered. "You should get out, now."

"Wha…?" I said.

"I’m taking a break!" he said loudly, to somebody who might be eavesdropping, and dragged me off to a door that was locked, the windows behind it dark. "I’ll show you." We went inside, and there was a whole ‘nother building full of exhibits, only animals that I’d never seen and didn’t exist as far as I know. One room was full of large black moths resting on silver plates. The only creature I saw clearly had four dog-like legs, but the body was a headless oval thing made of blocky ribs, like all those stylized drawings of fish skeletons, a picket fence of bones with feet.

"It’s called a fishthief," said my guide, petting it. A number of other employees had gathered around, looking frightened.

"There’s all these other animals back here?" I said. "In the other buildings, too?" 

He nodded. Then, from the other end of the building, I heard a mocking voice yell "I’m in your building! I’m coming for you!"

"Go! Run!" said my guide, and shoved me back out the door into the main building. The lights started turning off behind me, making that weird slamming mechanical industrial-lights-going-off-in-a-horror-movie noise. I ran, trying to catch up to the rest of the group–there were other people I’d come with, it was very confusing–and I ran into an aquaintence of mine. I don’t know her well, only vaguely socially. For some reason she was naked and extremely pregnant, and we started running, away from the encroaching dark.

I woke up about then. It was a very creepy dream in some regards, but I kinda wish I’d seen more of the hidden zoo animals. It’d be an interesting premise for something…I’ve been behind the scenes in a zoo, and while they generally do have animals off exhibit, (baby Gila monsters, eee!) I’m pretty sure they aren’t hiding a bunch of animals unknown to science in the bowels of the buildings. Still, it’d be neat…