The railyard had always been Kai's refuge. Rusting train cars lined up like tired soldiers, weeds breaking through gravel, silence broken only by the cry of gulls. He had hidden here before, sometimes with friends, more often alone. It was where the city forgot to look.
Now it was where he brought Ash.
They moved fast, keeping low across the roofs until the warehouse lights faded behind them. Kai dropped first, landing in a crouch on the wet gravel. Ash followed without a sound, landing beside him as if he had done it a thousand times. Kai blinked at that. Ash's movements were sharp, measured, not clumsy like someone who had never been aboveground for years should be.
"This way," Kai whispered, leading him toward a line of freight cars. He ducked into the shadow between two cars and pressed his back against the cold steel. Ash mirrored him, eyes scanning the yard like he was reading the lines of a map only he could see.
"Are we safe?" Ash asked.
"Safe enough," Kai said, though his gut twisted. The horns from earlier still echoed in his ears. He wanted to believe they were just background noise, but the city did not send out convoys in the middle of the night unless something had stirred the nest.
They slipped deeper into the yard. Kai led Ash to a derelict car with a missing door and climbed inside. The air smelled of oil and mildew. Broken crates lay in piles, and graffiti scratched into the metal walls told stories of kids who had hidden here long before them.
Kai lit the lantern again, keeping the flame low. Ash crouched by the doorway, eyes reflecting the light. He looked out of place, a shadow shaped like a boy, but too still, too sharp.
"You move like you were trained," Kai said.
Ash glanced at him. "I was made to survive. Even in places that do not want me."
Kai shivered. The words sounded calm, but they pressed heavy in the air.
Before he could respond, a noise drifted through the yard.
Engines.
Kai snapped the lantern shut and waved Ash down. They dropped flat on the cold floor as beams of light swept across the yard. A line of black vehicles rolled through the gate, tires crunching on gravel. The engines idled low, heavy, like predators circling.
Kai's breath caught. "They followed us."
Ash did not move, but his eyes narrowed. "They are looking for me. You should not have come."
"Too late for that," Kai whispered.
Doors slammed. Boots hit the ground. Shadows moved between the cars, flashlights slicing the dark. Voices carried, low and clipped. Orders, not conversation.
Kai's pulse hammered in his ears. He had hidden from guards before, from patrols that shook down kids in the alleys for scraps, but this was different. These men were not searching for petty thieves. They were here with purpose.
He pointed at the far end of the car. "We have to move."
Ash nodded once. They crawled through the broken crates and slipped out the far side. The night swallowed them. Kai kept low, moving fast across the gravel, Ash following silent as a shadow.
A beam of light swept close. They froze against the side of a car as two enforcers walked past, radios crackling at their belts.
"Signal came from down here," one muttered. "Door thirty-nine opened at zero-three-hundred."
"Then someone's awake," the other replied. "Orders are clear. Retrieve the subject. Eliminate witnesses."
Kai's stomach dropped. He looked at Ash, who did not flinch. His face was unreadable, but his fists had tightened.
When the enforcers passed, Kai tugged Ash's sleeve and pulled him toward the back fence. It was tall, topped with wire, but beyond it was the old canal that led straight into the lower alleys. If they reached it, they might have a chance.
They moved faster now, ducking between cars, gravel crunching underfoot. The engines growled closer. Lights swept the yard in wider arcs. Shouts rose behind them.
"They saw us," Kai hissed.
Ash grabbed his arm. "Run."
They bolted. Boots slammed on gravel. Voices shouted. A shot cracked through the night and sparks leapt off the side of a freight car.
Kai's heart lurched. He sprinted harder, lungs burning, the case bouncing against his chest. The fence loomed ahead.
Ash reached it first. He grabbed the mesh and climbed like a machine, hauling himself up in seconds. He swung a leg over and dropped to the other side.
Kai jumped onto the fence, hands stinging as the wire bit into his palms. Shouts grew louder. Another shot rang out. The bullet hit the fence inches from his head, metal ringing. He gritted his teeth and pulled himself over. Ash caught his arm as he dropped, steadying him.
They stumbled down the slope toward the canal. The air smelled of brine and rot. Water gleamed faintly in the dark, slick with oil.
"This way," Kai gasped, leading Ash along the bank.
Behind them, boots hit the fence. More shouts. Flashlights flared.
Ash grabbed Kai's hand and pulled him into the water. It was cold, biting, but it muffled their footsteps. They splashed down the canal, keeping low, the high walls hiding them from sight.
Kai's chest heaved. "Where does this go?"
"To the drains," Ash said. "Then the alleys."
They waded deeper until the water reached their waists. The shouts faded behind them, replaced by the steady rush of water echoing off stone.
Kai looked at Ash in the faint light. His face was calm, but his eyes burned. For the first time since finding the map, Kai realized what it meant to stand beside someone who had been built, not born.
The labyrinth was not just stone and tunnels. It was alive, and it had given him Ash.
And the city above would not stop hunting them.