KAEL'S POV
A ripple passed through the dark of the side shaft — subtle, but wrong. Not the drip of water or shift of air, but something alive pulling back deeper into shadow.
The machine didn't follow us upward anymore. It held position below, every limb braced like a bridge. Not advancing, not retreating. Waiting.
"That thing's guarding the exit," I murmured.
Ayla's eyes flicked between the shaft and the machine. "Guarding something," she said. "But not from us."
Before I could answer, the shape in the side shaft moved again — a low, slow drag like scales on stone. Then a faint click, like claws tapping metal.
My fingers tightened on the rung. "Back down?"
She didn't move. "If we go down, it shreds us. If we go forward…" She let the thought hang in the damp air.
The thing inside the shaft exhaled. I heard it breathe. It wasn't the dry rasp of the machine — it was wet, heavy, and too close.
