Pauliehd -

Halfway across the third tier, he stopped. A faint, rhythmic tink-tink-tink echoed from the darkness below. It wasn't the sound of settling metal or dripping water; it was deliberate.

At first, there was only the groan of rusted metal. Then, a low hum began to vibrate through the floorboards. Slowly, the giant gears began to churn, a symphony of heavy, rhythmic thuds that felt like the building’s heartbeat returning. PaulieHD

He slipped through a jagged tear in the perimeter fence, his flashlight cutting a lonely path through the dust-heavy air. Most explorers came for the graffiti or the dramatic decay of the main floor, but Leo always headed for the "stacks"—the narrow metal catwalks suspended forty feet above the silent machinery. Halfway across the third tier, he stopped