𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮 𝘨𝘪𝘳𝘭 ✧.*ೃ༄ 𝘭. 𝘷𝘢𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘻

𝘴𝘪𝘹𝘵𝘦𝘦𝘯

❝ a wolf in sheep's clothing
is more than a warning! ❞

──────⊹⊱✫⊰⊹──────

leo slowed to a stop and tried to control his breathing. the voice of the earthen woman still rang in his ears, reminding him of his mother's death. the last thing he wanted to do was plunge himself and callisto into another dark warehouse. suddenly he felt eight years old again, alone and helpless as someone he cared about was trapped and in trouble.

"stop it," he told himself. "that's how she wants you to feel. you have callisto now— you have to be strong for her."

but that didn't make him any less scared. he took a deep breath, squeezing the blonde's hand, and peered inside. nothing looked different. dull morning light filtered into the concrete building through the hole in the roof. a few lightbulbs struggled to stay lit, but most of the factory floor was still lost in the shadows. he could make out the catwalk above, the dim shapes of heavy machinery along the assembly line, but no movement. no sign of their friends.

he almost called out, but callisto's hand clamped over his mouth. they looked concerned— her pretty brown eyes darted around the factory while she bit her lip in thought. "don't make any noise, leo. something's wrong. like really wrong."

and she was right. something smelled wrong, like burning motor oil and sour breath. leo nodded silently, hugging the girl next to him closer to his side. something not human was inside the factory. leo was certain. his body shifted into high gear, all his nerves were tingling.

somewhere on the factory floor, piper's voice cried out, "leo! callisto! help!"

but, heeding callie's warning, he didn't respond. even if it was her, how could she have gotten off the catwalk with her broken ankle?

callisto pulled leo inside, leading him to duck behind a cargo container. after leo had made sure he had easy access to his hammer, they slowly worked their way toward the center of the room, hiding behind boxes and hollow truck chassis. finally, they reached the assembly line. leo held callisto close as they crouched behind the nearest piece of machinery— a crane with a robotic arm.

piper's voice called out again:  "leo? callisto?" it was less certain this time, but very close.

leo peaked around the machinery. hanging directly above the assembly line, suspended by a chain from a crane on the opposite side, was a massive truck engine— just dangling thirty feet up, as if it had been left there when the factory was abandoned. below it on the conveyer belt sat a truck chassis, and clustered around it were three dark shapes the size of forklifts. nearby, dangling from the chains on two other robots arms, were two smaller shapes— maybe more engines, but one of them was twisting around as if it were alive.