Disturbance

Before Dren could press Fragment further, the Creche jerked upright, its panels flaring in a sudden, chaotic dance of colors. The swirling lights reflected off their surroundings, casting distorted shadows that rippled like water.

“Oh, but I must bid you adieu!” Fragment exclaimed, its voice shifting to a high-pitched trill. “A pressing matter calls me away. A disturbance among your kind, I think. Such drama! Such delicious chaos! How fun!”

Its mismatched limbs folded and sank into its core as its body began to disassemble. Piece by piece, the Creche melted into the smooth, glasslike surface of the ground. The light faded with it, leaving only a faint shimmer, like heat rising off a summer road.

Anora frowned, watching the last traces of Fragment disappear. “What kind of disturbance?”

Dren shrugged, his hand reflexively brushing his dusty jacket, as though the Creche’s sudden departure had left a mark. “I don’t know,” he said, glancing at Anora with a grin that was a little too confident. “Guess we’ll find out. If it’s people, I’ve got a way with them.”

His attempt at bravado didn’t quite land; Anora raised an eyebrow, unimpressed. Dren, oblivious, adjusted the straps of his pack and squinted into the horizon as if trying to spot whatever disturbance Fragment had mentioned.

Anora shook her head, already stepping away from the fading shimmer. “We’ll find out, all right. And it won’t be fun.”

Dren hesitated, glancing back at the spot where Fragment had vanished. “You think it was lying?”

“Not about the orb.” Anora adjusted the strap of her bag, her voice tight. “But the rest? I don’t know. Creche love riddles, and they love misdirection even more.”

A low rumble interrupted them—distant, but distinct. Both turned toward the horizon, where dark plumes of dust curled against the pale sky.

Dren’s bravado faltered. “That’s not just people.”

“No,” Anora said. “It’s worse.”

Without another word, they broke into a run, leaving Fragment’s riddle and its strange, flickering presence behind as the Waste swallowed their footprints.