Kael's boots pounded the slick metal of the underdistrict's "veins", a labyrinth of steam pipes and rusted cables snaking beneath the Rust Slums. The air choked with heat and oil, each breath burning his lungs. Vren, the cloaked stranger, led the way, their scarred face half-lit by flickering emergency lamps. Above, the screech of enforcer drones grew louder, their red scanners slicing through the haze.
"Move, slum boy!" Vren barked, vaulting a hissing valve. They've got your scent".
Kael's heart hammered, the shard in his pocket pulsing like a second pulse. It had done something back at the piles-stopped time, bent reality. Now it burned against his thigh, urging him to act. " what do they want with me?" he gasped, dodging a jet of scalding steam.
"The shard", Vren said, not breaking stride. "And what you did with it. Glitchweaving's a death sentence.
Kael stumbled, the word hitting like a gut punch. Glitchweavering-rogue power, forbidden by the weavers. Before he could press, a drone bursted through a pipe above, its claw snapping inches from his face. Its eye glowed red, locking on. "Target acquired", it droned
Vren cursed, yanking Kael behind a rusted beam. " stay low!"
The drone's laser carved the pipe, molten metal dripping. Kael's hand closed around the shard, its heat searing his palm. The world slowed, threads shimmering-through the drone, the pipes, Vren's cloak. His instincts screamed. He grabbed a thread tied to the drone's claw and yanked.
The claw froze mid-swing, sparking. The drone whirred, then crashed into a pipe, steam exploding in a white cloud. Kael's hand throbbed, the shard's glow fading. He'd done it again. But the pain was worse, like fire in his veins.
Vren's eyes widened. "You're raw, but strong. Too strong". They grabbed his arm. Pulling him deeper into the veins. "That stunt lit you up like a beacon".
Another drone rounded a corner, joined by a second, their lasers slicing closer. Kael's legs burned, his mind racing. The veins narrowed, pipes groaning under pressure. A low rumble shook the tunnel-something big was coming.
"Dead end!" Kael shouted, spotting a collapsed grate ahead.
Vren skidded to a stop, hands weaving threads Kael could barely see. The grate shuddered, bending just enough to slip through. "Go!" Vren hissed shoving him.
Kael dove, scraping his knees. Vren followed, but a drone's claw grazed their cloak, tearing it. The tunnel quacked, and a massive pipe above cracked, steam roaring out. Kael froze, trapped as the pipe buckled, threatening to crush them.
The shared flared. Threads snapped into focus-through the pipe, the steam, the drones. Kael reached, desperate, and twisted a thread. The pipe groaned, redirecting just enough to miss them, but the effort dropped him to his knees, blood trickling from his nose.
Vren hauled him up. "You're burning out.
Stop weaving!
They stumbled to a hidden door, its surface etched with faded loom runes. Vren pressed a hand to it, threads shimmering, and it creaked open-Kael glanced back. A drone hovered at the tunnel's and, its scanner locking on. Target data transmitted", it blared, red eye flashing.
Vren showed Kael through the door, slamming it shut. "They know your face now", they panted. "The weavers are coming".
Kael's chest heaved, the shard's heat fading to a dull ache. Who was Vren, really? And what had he just unleashed?
To be continued…