A soft electric buzz occupied the space barely audible as if the structure itself exhaled. You remained motionless, weight evenly distributed, one hand poised close to the grip at your waist. The atmosphere carried scents of metal and bleach, the room looked foreign and unfamiliar— as it would to any intruder.
Click.
A streak of light flickered above. Then another followed. Soon a dozen more appeared, flooding the room with a clinical radiance that sliced stark shadows onto the walls. You didn’t startle. Your heartbeat skipped sharply once like a thrown dagger.
They knew you were here.
“Oh- what’s that? Has our little friend finally arrived?”
That damn half-human half-machine’s voice carried through the room, sinister and amused.
“So rude of you to skulk around my place in the dark. Why don’t you step out where I can see you? Introduce yourself?”