She was back in the stairwell, and she looked in on the storage floor, trying to see if there was a way for her to sneak out that way.
There were people loading more pipes, and she watched them get back on the massive lift and rise up to theamphitheater. The sunlight cut off as the lift reached the level above, and then the gloom was broken again as a lift further down was lowered.
She might be able to get up in the frame of the build without being seen, she guessed, but climbing the stairs to the desert above unseen would be almost impossible.
She didn’t like to give up. She had to reframe this in her head not as giving up, but as a strategic retreat.
Dying of dehydration or a frien bite in the desert was the definition of losing.
Surviving, and finding another way out, was the only smart option.
She closed the door and climbed the stairs to the upper level, and was surprised there was no one running around shouting and looking for her when she got to the main floor.
She moved along the passage cautiously, turning when she heard a sound.
Bunny was on her shoulder, and she followed the direction of his gaze, and found the grahudi looking down at her from the ceiling.
It ran past her overhead, keeping to where the ceiling met the wall, and disappeared around the corner in the direction of the entrance foyer.
She suddenly remembered the cups lying on the ground in front of the water dispenser and smiled.
Clever killing machine.
And speaking of killing machines . . .
“Maybe hide under my sleeve. We’ll run into someone eventually.” She extended her arm to Bunny, but he ducked under her jacket and settled in the small of her back instead.
She kept going, rounding the final corner to her room.
The door was still open, and Bart and his friend were still in there, still passed out.
She tried to work out how long she’d been gone. Maybe half an hour?
So not very long, but not five minutes, either.
The fact that no one had come to check what was going on was extraordinary. Maybe they were all hands on deck to get the frame ready for its lift into nearspace? Bart had told her the Garmman had a very short window of time when Kyber’s Arm was at its furthest distance.
They might not have the staff to spare.
What to do?
Play dumb, she decided. Play the concerned, frightened, squeamish orange.
“Bart.” She shook his shoulder. “Wake up!”
He started and blinked up at her. “What?”
“It ran out the room, but I can’t lift you, and you’re on the floor.” She backed away, giving him room, and hopped back up on her bench.
Bart staggered to his feet, saw his buddy, and grabbed him by the shoulders, shaking him hard.
“Pallo, get up. Get up now.” Bart’s gaze was darting around the room, panicked.
Pallo snorted, opened his eyes wide, and then groaned in pain, rubbing the side of his head. “What happened?”
Bart looked at Fee.
She shrugged. “I don’t know what it was. It was quick, it was on you for a moment,” she nodded to Pallo, “then it disappeared. I waited for a bit until I was sure it was gone and then tried to wake you both up.”
