stant creaks, groans, aallic ks echhout the chamber, adding an eerie feeling to the gang's cautious movements. Piles of broken maery, cogs, gears, and trash littered the entryway, f heaps that climbed higher than the kids. Puddles of stagnant water or chemicals reflected the dull, green light of flickering chemtech lighting.

  Looking up, he saw beams crisscrossing with a, rusted gears, dimly illuminated by the sporadic ground lights. Beyond that was only darkness, where grinding gears or the occasion thud hi the vast unseen maery of the Old Hungry.

  "Wow!" Powder excimed, her eyes dang from the floor to the piles of trash. Vi didn't get the ce to warn her as she dove at the pile, her hands g at gadgets and boxes.

  "Powder! Be careful!" Vi hissed, her voice sharp with urgency. "We don't know who- or what- is lurking around." Her gaze swept the room, her expression tense and focused.

  "This pce is a dump." uttered, beating Mylo to the punch with a disappointed sigh. "What was all the fuss about?"

  Myled, eyes were drifting over the piles of rubbish. "Beats me- maybe its deeper inside?"

  Orion tilted his head, his gaze sweeping the room as he added, "Looks like people have been dumping trash down here for years." His eyes observed some rusted metal dented from a heavy impact, his brow furrowing with .

  Screeeeech

  The gang jumped as the pierg squeal of metal echoed through the room. A cascade of ctterial objects followed, crashing loudly to the floor. Powder stood frozen, guilt written on her face as she clutched what looked like a metallic tor her hands.

  "Nice going, Powder!" Mylo shrowing his arms up. "Now everyone knows we're here!"

  Everyo out a collective sigh of relief, but Orion's attention shifted to Vi. Her wide eyes and shallow breaths betrayed her hough she quickly shook her head and squared her shoulders upon Orion's gaze. Straightening her posture, she forced her too something more anding. "Alright, let's keep moving. Keep quiet this time," she growled.

  Powder shot Orion a sheepish look before slipping the tort. The others silently returo sing the dim room, their movements slower, more cautious now as they ventured deeper into the room.

  A faint flicker of movement caught Orion's eye, snapping his head around as his gaze searched the shadows. He spotted nothing beyond the piles of junk, but unease lingered.

  The group pressed on, making it's way to the end of the chamber. Before them stood a heavy door, its surface coated in rust, and a set of metal stairs bolted to the wall, spiraling upward into the depths of the clocktower.

  Orion go Vi, whose gaze alternated between the door and the stairs. It was her call-

  "Let's climb the tower," Vi decred decisively. Orion sharply cut in with a firm tone. "No."

  "What?" Vi snapped, spinning around to face him. "I'm sorry, are you the lead-"

  Orion interrupted again, his toeady but firm. "Don't you care about their safety? Look around. Look at the stairs!" He gestured sharply toward the rusted, unstable structure of the stairs, ging to the wall. The bolts, corroded and uneven, barely seemed secure.

  "We aren't leaving without something good," Vi hissed, her tone sharp with defiance. Spite crept into her voice as she pced a hand on her hip, the esturing dismissively at him. "You may not care- after all, you've got Vander's ear. You've even got you're own jobs!"

  While the argument simmered, Powder stood closer to Cggor, the two exging uneasy gnces. Mylo, oher hand, arched a brow as he studied the door. Inspicuously moving toward it, his hand slipped into his pouch with practiced ease.

  Orion sighed deeply, catg Mylo's movement out of the er of his eye. He pihe bridge of his nose, exhaustion creeping into his tone. "Vi, we just-"

  "What," Vi snapped, her voice filled with irritation. "Do you think you're better than me?"

  "No, that's not- look, that has nothing to do with-" Orion stopped mid-sentence, his words cut short by the sound that followed.

  C-k.

  The metallic click of a lock disengaging cut through the tension like a bde. All heads turo Mylo, who crouched he door slightly ajar, a smug grin pstered on his face. His dismissive, moone followed.

  "What? You two were taking too long. I want a good haul too."

  Vi gred o time at Orion before turning abruptly. She stormed over and smacked Mylo across the head. "Ow!" he yelped, clutg his head as she tinued. Without a sed thought, she yanked open the door with nard for safety or subtlety and strode inside.

  The others follow suit. Cggor and Powder shook their heads with disappoi as they passed Mylo, who remained crouched, his expression shifting to one of sheer disbelief. He stood and turned sharply to Orion, who exhaled sharply and shrugged, gesturing toward the door with an open hand before trailing after him.

  The room, in stark trast to the chaos outside, was signifitly er- albeit dusty and u. A faint chemlight at the back of the room illumihe surfaces with a typical dull, gree the ter stood a sturdy desk with two worn visiting chairs while bookshelves lihe walls. Behind the desk, several hangers dispyed what looked like old maintenaniforms, faded and untouched.

  Powder was already by the bookshelves, her firailing the spines of books and boxes of filled with unique, seemingly less pluems. Her wide eyes darted between the different gadgets, curiosity once again ing her mind.

  Orion spoke up, cutting through the stillness, and ign the potential ire he might draw from Vi, "This looks like the custodian's room."

  He wasn't wrong. Vi's head twitched at the remark, her irritation evident even if unspoken. Still, she strode toward the back of the room and dropped herself in the custodian's chair without heed for the grime. Smirking, she leaned back, her posture deliberately exaggerated like that of a chem boss.

  Orion rolled his eyes, refusing to take the bait, his attention drifting to Powder and the bookshelves lining the wall.

  A haughty huff broke the quiet, followed by the aggressive ctter of cupboards being wrenched open. Orion chose to ighe noise for now, letting his eyes wahe titles. Brushing away the dust, he uncovered titles etched into the aging spines. How was he was able to read the nguage, he didn't know, but he could, and his fingers halted at ohat said "Meical Introdus: Basics of Clockwork"

  Carefully, Orion pulled it from the shelf and ope, a cascade of dust and brittle dead is spilled from the edges, pattering softly on the floor.

  "Ew!" Powder squeaked from beside him, wrinkling her nose.

  Orion chuckled, holding the book up for Powder to see. "What do you think? After we've ed it."

  "Maybe," Powder's nose was still wrinkled, eyeing the title dismissively. "That looks like something little-man would like."

  "Little-man?" Orion asked, tilting his head with feigned ignorance. "He likes meics too?"

  "Yeah!" Powder's expressihtened as she begins to ramble. "He's about my age, and anything that ticks he 't help but tinker with. Benzo's shop has a clock, he's always fixing it. I think Benzo breaks it on purpose." She giggled, gng up at Orion with a wide grin.

  Orion smiled bad briefly ruffled her hair, earning a small squeak of protest before their lighthearted moment was interrupted.

  A suddeallic cascade echoed from outside the room. The sound froze everyone in pce. Orion, being the closest to the door, so attention and rushed over to peer out, his heart pounding.

  A wet, gurgling sound echoed, the hick with rasps of damaged lungs. From the top of a junk heap, a deformed man tumbled down, nding with a siing thud. His skin was a sickly, pale green, marred with bulbous pustules and tumors that deformed half of his upper body.

  Wide, bloodshot eyes, locked onto their location- onto Orion, who was frozen, peering from the door.

  Orion had only a split moment, catg the same glint of movement from before, to lunge for the door handle. Loud snarls a, fluid-filled barks erupted from the other side, followed by a powerful impact that smmed the door shut. The force sent Orion flying backward, nding hard on his back.

  Thankfully Vi was right there. Without missing a beat, she grabbed the lock above the handle and twisted it into pce, seg the door with a sharp click.

  "What was it?" Vi demanded with a faint tremor of panic.

  Orion quickly stood back up, brushing his clothes off. "A chem-hound and a ghoul," he replied ftly.

  The group froze, despair settling like a heavy fog as they exged uneasy gnces. More snarlied from the other side, followed by violent bangs that threateo take the door off its hinges. Powder's breath hitched, fearful squeaks esg her trembling lips as tears welled up in her wide, terrified eyes.

  Oriohis is where Vi shown. Without hesitation, she silently motions everyoo start searg the room. Then, she walked quickly to Powder, pulling her in for a tight hug and burying her Powder's fato her clothes.

  "Don't worry, Powder." Vi murmurs, her voice steady and reassurie the chaos. "We'll make it out. I promise."

  As she held Powder close, Vi's gaze snaps up to Orion, who stood there staring at the door. Her tone sharpened, "What are you waiting for? Search the ro-"

  Orion cut her off by finally pulling the gun from his jacket. With practiced motion, he checked the chamber with a crisp click, ensuring the round was still firmly in pce. Another click as he s shut.

  Sug in air between his teeth, Orion turned his gaze back to the group. They were staring at him again in stunned silence, frozen in pce.

  Vi's expression wavered, surprise breaking through her hardeerior. Powder peeked out from Vi's arms, her wide eyes locked onto the on. Even Mylo and Cggor, who were sifting through cupboards and drawers, froze in disbelief.

  "Since when did you-" Vi began, her voice tinged with shock.

  "Grab the valuables." Orion interrupted, his voice cold and steady. "Get ready to run."