The storm arrived without warning.

Gluk was already fighting the wind when the first wall of rain struck him.

He lowered his body and planted two of his four feet against the ground. His other two arms reached forward, gripping the terrain for balance.

The wind screamed across the open landscape.

Rain struck his body hard enough to sting.

Xylos disappeared into the grey curtain ahead of him.

Gluk: “Xylos.”

There was no answer.

Another gust hit.

Gluk leaned into it, waiting for the force to weaken.

A flash of lightning tore across the sky.

For a fraction of a second, the entire landscape became visible.

Inverted mountains rose through the storm, their dark surfaces reflecting the lightning. Sheets of rain moved across the valley like walls.

Then darkness returned.

Xylos emerged from the rain, moving low against the wind.

Xylos: “I have never experienced a storm like this.”

Gluk: “Neither have I.”

Thunder followed almost immediately.

The ground shook beneath them.

Both stopped.

Another flash illuminated the landscape.

Something stood ahead.

A structure.

Partially buried beneath rock and debris.

Xylos turned toward it.

Xylos: “Did you see that?”

Gluk: “Yes.”

The storm continued around them.

Another gust struck.

Gluk pointed toward the structure.

Gluk: “We move there.”

Xylos: “Agreed.”

They pushed forward.

The distance was not far, but the storm made every step difficult. Visibility dropped to almost nothing, and their communication systems struggled to maintain a stable connection through the static-filled air.

The structure slowly emerged from the rain.

It was larger than it had first appeared.

Most of its exterior was buried.

A section of reinforced metal protruded from the ground, covered in layers of dirt and mineral deposits.

Gluk brushed some of the debris away.

Beneath it was an old structural marking.

Gluk: “Human construction.”

Xylos moved closer.

Xylos: “Old.”

Gluk: “Very old.”

They searched the exposed section.

A narrow opening led downward.

Cold air flowed from it.

Xylos leaned toward the opening.

Xylos: “It goes underground.”

Gluk activated his equipment.

Gluk: “Then we find out what is underneath.”

They entered.

The storm disappeared behind them.

For several seconds, neither spoke.

The temperature had dropped sharply.

Cold moisture covered the walls.

Water dripped somewhere in the darkness.

Drip.

Drip.

Drip.

The sound echoed through the tunnel.

Neither could see where it came from.

Xylos moved one limb forward and stopped.

Dense fog filled the passage.

It was so thick that the tunnel disappeared barely two feet ahead of them.

Gluk: “Visibility?”

Xylos: “Less than two feet.”

Gluk looked into the white darkness.

Gluk: “Can your agent clear it?”

Xylos released one of his hovering agents.

It moved forward and began generating controlled bursts of air.

The fog shifted.

A small pocket of visibility appeared around them.

The agent moved farther ahead.

The fog parted again.

For a few seconds they could see the tunnel.

Wet walls.

Old metal supports.

Water running slowly across the floor.

Then the fog closed behind the agent.

Xylos: “It is reforming.”

Gluk: “Keep it ahead of us.”

Xylos: “Understood.”

They continued.

The only sounds were their movements, the low hum of the hovering agent, and water dripping somewhere beyond sight.

The deeper they went, the more signs of the original operation appeared.

Rails emerged beneath the wet floor.

Heavy machinery stood beside the walls.

Storage containers remained stacked in designated areas.

The agent moved ahead and pushed another section of fog aside.

Something appeared in the brief clearing.

A shape.

Tall.

Motionless.

Gluk stopped.

Gluk: “What is that?”

The agent shifted position.

The fog moved.

The shape disappeared.

Xylos moved closer.

Xylos: “Wait.”

The agent pushed harder against the fog.

The shape emerged again.

A mining robot.

It stood beside the rail system, covered in moisture and dust.

Gluk approached cautiously.

Gluk: “Inactive.”

Xylos examined its frame.

Xylos: “Power depleted.”

The agent moved closer.

Its airflow cleared the fog around the machine.

More robots appeared.

One.

Then another.

Then several more.

Some stood upright beside the tunnels.

Others had fallen where they had stopped working.

Several were damaged beyond recovery.

None moved.

The fog drifted between them.

For a moment, they looked less like machines and more like figures standing silently in the darkness.

Xylos released another hovering agent.

It moved toward the nearest intact unit and connected to its external interface.

The agent remained attached for several seconds.

Xylos watched the information being transferred.

Xylos: “There is something here to recover.”

Gluk: “What?”

Xylos: “Operational records.”

The agent disconnected.

Xylos examined the recovered information.

Xylos: “These machines were assigned permanent mining positions.”

Gluk looked at the inactive robots around them.

Gluk: “Permanent?”

Xylos: “Until instructed otherwise.”

Gluk: “They were never instructed to leave?”

Xylos checked the records again.

Xylos: “No such instruction exists.”

Gluk looked down the tunnel.

Gluk: “So they stayed.”

Xylos: “Yes.”

Gluk: “For twenty-five years?”

Xylos: “Not continuously.”

Gluk turned toward him.

Xylos: “Their power eventually depleted.”

Gluk examined one of the machines lying against the wall.

Xylos: “Several also experienced mechanical failures. There are records indicating maintenance requirements that were never completed.”

Gluk: “No one came back.”

Xylos: “Correct.”

Gluk looked at the machines again.

Gluk: “They were abandoned with the colony.”

Xylos: “That is the most probable explanation.”

Xylos connected his agent to another robot.

Then another.

Most contained too little surviving information.

One provided additional records.

Xylos examined them carefully.

Xylos: “They were still receiving operational instructions when the colony went silent.”

Gluk: “From whom?”

Xylos paused.

Xylos: “The source is not preserved.”

Gluk: “Can you identify the last instruction?”

Xylos: “No.”

The water continued dripping somewhere in the darkness.

Drip.

Drip.

Drip.

Gluk: “Keep looking.”

Xylos: “Agreed.”

A deep rumble passed through the mine.

Neither moved.

The sound came again.

Closer.

Gluk raised all four arms.

Gluk: “Move.”

The ceiling cracked.

Rock broke loose.

A sudden rush of water poured through a fracture above them.

The fog shifted violently.

Xylos looked upward.

Xylos: “Gluk—”

The tunnel collapsed.

Gluk was thrown sideways.

The ground beneath him disappeared.

He fell.

One of his arms caught the edge of the broken floor.

The rest of his body hung over the darkness below.

Gluk: “Xylos!”

Another section of the ceiling gave way.

Xylos moved.

Two of his limbs anchored against the wall.

The others reached for Gluk.

Xylos caught him.

More rock fell around them.

Xylos tightened his grip and pulled.

Gluk's weight shifted upward.

A piece of rock struck the ground beside them.

Then another.

Xylos pulled again.

Gluk reached solid ground.

For several seconds, neither spoke.

Only the sound of falling water remained.

Gluk stood slowly.

Gluk: “Thank you.”

Xylos tapped Gluk's shoulder in acknowledgement.

Xylos looked toward the collapsed passage.

Xylos: “The original route is blocked.”

Gluk examined the surrounding tunnels.

Gluk: “There should be another way out.”

Xylos: “There always is.”

He pointed toward a narrow passage partly hidden behind the machinery.

They moved.

The new tunnel was smaller.

The fog was thicker.

Xylos's agent pushed it aside as they advanced, revealing only a few feet of tunnel at a time.

Their path climbed gradually.

The floor was uneven, and water ran beneath their feet.

Behind them, the mine slowly disappeared into the fog.

After several minutes, faint natural light appeared ahead.

They emerged onto the surface.

The storm had weakened.

Partial clouds drifted across the sky, revealing the orange sun between them. Its fading light spread across the wet landscape, turning the remaining clouds amber and casting long reflections across the rain-soaked ground.

Gluk looked back at the mine entrance.

Something caught his attention near the edge of the passage.

A small data bead lay partially buried beneath the debris.

Gluk: “Xylos.”

Xylos turned.

He moved toward it and picked it up.

Xylos: “A manifest bead.”

He handed it to his hovering agent.

The agent scanned the damaged device.

For several seconds, nothing happened.

Then fragments of data began appearing.

Xylos examined the recovered information.

Xylos: “The data is recoverable.”

Gluk moved closer.

Gluk: “What does it contain?”

The hovering agent projected the recovered manifest.

A list of names appeared.

Some were incomplete.

Several lines flickered and disappeared.

The agent reconstructed another section.

More names appeared.

Xylos examined the data carefully.

Xylos: “Personnel records.”

Gluk: “How many?”

Xylos continued scanning.

The list stopped.

A second section appeared beneath it.

Then a final line stabilized.

Mining Operation Personnel: 32

Gluk stared at the number.

Gluk: “Thirty-two workers.”

Xylos: “Confirmed.”

Gluk looked back toward the mine entrance.

The storm continued moving across the distant mountains.

Gluk: “Where are they?”

Xylos looked at the manifest.

Xylos: “Unknown.”

Neither spoke.

They stood beside the mine entrance, looking across the unfamiliar landscape.

Thirty-two people had worked beneath that ground.

Now there was no one left.