A sudden knock at the heavy iron door startled her. It was the rhythm of the Royal Guard—three sharp raps followed by a heavy thud. Josi sighed, wiping her hands on her leather apron. She knew the Council wouldn't be happy she’d fixed it. They wanted the domes to fail, a convenient excuse to "relocate" the lower districts.
"One more turn," she whispered, her voice rasping from the dry air. josi valentine
"Lost causes," she muttered with a sharp, defiant grin, "are the only ones worth fighting for." Then, she vanished into the fog. A sudden knock at the heavy iron door startled her
With a delicate silver wrench, she tightened a microscopic bolt. The machine shuddered. A rhythmic thump-thump echoed through the room, growing steady and warm. A soft amber glow began to bleed from the gears, illuminating the smudge of grease on her nose. She knew the Council wouldn't be happy she’d fixed it