Renn's heart began to pound in frantic bursts, a wild drum inside the muffled silence of his own body. Sounds of battle. The clash of steel, human cries, sharp orders. Real sounds, charged with intention and urgency, things that no longer had a place here. They came from the other side of the village, near the main gate.
A surge of hope so violent it nearly shattered his mask's control. His fingers clenched around the plank he carried. He had to stop, pretend to readjust his grip, mimicking the hesitant pause of a puppet whose program had momentarily faltered. Around him, the other monsters and enslaved humans kept moving back and forth, almost indifferent. Only a few beastly jaws turned toward the commotion, letting out low growls, but without true alarm. As if this intrusion were a scheduled incident, a mere storm passing through their routine.
He couldn't stay here.
