Maya pressed her palm against the wall again.
It was warm.
Not sun-warm.
Body-warm.
The surface pulsed slowly, like something asleep pretending to be concrete.
Rohan swallowed.
"Either this place has central heating… or digestive problems."
Aditi didn't smile. She hugged herself, staring at the ceiling. It sagged slightly, stretching like skin pulled over ribs.
Maya whispered,
"This isn't a station."
The door behind them sealed with a soft, wet sound.
Thkk.
Like lips closing.
The smell hit them next—iron, rot, and damp soil mixed with breath.
From somewhere inside the walls came a sound like swallowing.
Gllk.
Gllk.
Aditi whimpered.
"It's eating something."
The floor shifted under their feet. Not moving—adjusting. Making room.
Rohan backed away and bumped into a pillar.
The pillar flexed.
He screamed and yanked his hand back.
It left fingerprints in the surface.
Not dusty prints—
Indented ones.
The shape slowly filled itself again, healing around the marks.
Maya's mind raced.
"It learned buildings," she whispered. "After learning people."
Suddenly the ceiling split open.
A black limb dropped halfway down, jointed wrong, searching blindly.
Aditi shrieked.
The limb twitched at the sound and slammed down between them.
The station groaned like a living throat.
Maya grabbed Rohan.
"MOVE!"
They ran as the walls folded inward, trying to hug them permanently.