The rumble came again, closer this time. Heavy. Rhythmic. Like something walking on all fours, but too calculated to be a wild animal.
Lux pressed himself deeper into the corner. His breath fogged the air, but his chest glowed faintly with warmth, small pulses, soft, like the heartbeat of a furnace learning its rhythm.
Gavin whispered, "Lux. Calm your breathing. Slow. Steady."
"I-I'm trying."
Varik leaned forward, peering through a gap in the tarp. His eyes narrowed.
Something moved between the support beams. Big. Pale. Wrong.
A low scraping sound followed, claws dragging across metal.
Lux shivered violently, and Gavin's grip tightened around his shoulder.
The creature stepped partially into view.
It had the shape of a wolf, but nothing living should look like that, its body was longer than it had any right to be, thin but packed with sinew and frost-covered bone. Ice clung to its spine like natural armor, and its eyes burned with a dim, colorless light. Every step it took the cold intensified.
A Dyrheim.
Lux whispered in disbelief , "How the did a Dyrheim make it this far in?!"
Gavin grimaced, "I don't know but this isn't good, I heard those things require a heavily trained military soldier to take down."
Lux swallowed, and the warmth inside him flared.
The Dyrheim's head snapped toward their hiding place, nostrils flaring as steam escaped its jaws in slow, white tendrils.
The beast crept closer, feet silent despite its size. Every step left frost marks on the metal, spreading like veins.
The tarp trembled.
The Dyrheim stared at the edge.
It was as if the beast was questioning itself .
Lux squeezed his eyes shut, warmth flickering dangerously. He could feel it rising, like pressure behind his ribs.
No. Not now. Not now. Please—
Gavin's hand cupped the back of Lux's head, grounding him.
Not rough.
Not gentle.
Firm enough to anchor him.
The warmth stabilized.
The beast hesitated…
…snorted…
…and finally moved on, its long shape sliding back into the maze of scaffolding.
They waited several minutes before breathing again.
Varik slumped down, exhaling shakily. "What the hell is a Dyrheim doing this close in? They don't come near the inner sectors." "What the hell are those government bastards doing, aren't they supposed to prevent stuff like this?"
"The security around here is way more lax than in the upper settlement, It was only a matter of time before one of them slipped through." Gavin speculated.
Lux hugged himself. "Maybe— maybe it could sense me."
"It's also likely", Gavin responded.
Lux didn't respond. He only stared at the frost left behind, realizing something terrifying:
Something out there wanted him for reasons he didn't completely understand.