A timetable.
And soon—
A choice he won’t survive making.
53
Jonah
Location: Subterranean Staging Node — Unknown Rail Sector
Time:Unknown
The air changes again.
It’s subtle—so subtle I almost miss it—a faint difference in pressure. A whisper of colder oxygen pushed through vents that weren’t active before.
That’s when I know.
This isn’t just a stop.
This is a place peoplepass through.
My restraints haven’t changed. Wrists still chained forward, ankles locked tight enough that my joints burn if I shift wrong. The floor beneath me vibrates intermittently now—short pulses instead of steady movement.
We’re no longer traveling.
We’re waiting.
Boots echo somewhere beyond the door. Not close. Not urgent. Men who believe the hard part is already over.
That’s the mistake they always make.
The lights flicker once, then settle into a dim amber glow. Not interrogation lighting. Not punishment.
Staging.
I breathe shallow, keeping my head bowed, listening.
Metal slides. A door opens down the corridor. Voices murmur—too low to make out words, but the tone is unmistakable.
Transactional.
I count footsteps.
One… two… three…
More than before.
Transfer detail.
A hand grips my shoulder roughly. “On your feet.”
I move slowly. Deliberately. Let them think the tremor in my legs is weakness instead of calculation.
Pain lances up my spine as I straighten, but I don’t cry out. I won’t give them that.
They guide—no,steer—me down the corridor. The walls are closer here, newer—less grime. Temporary construction reinforced with portable steel plating.
