Round 158

Hera moved to Silra's side, her amber eyes tracking the elf's frantic work with growing concern. The forty-minute estimate had been a lifeline, but now it hung over them like a guillotine blade, seconds ticking away with agonizing slowness. "How much longer?" she asked, voice tight. Silra didn't look up from the circuit board, her slender fingers dancing across components with terrifying speed. "Five minutes," she replied through clenched teeth. "Maybe six if I'm lucky." Hera's stomach twisted. Six minutes until the building demanded more than structural reinforcement—until it wanted their pleasure, their release, to fuel its decaying bones.

Across the room, Abby pressed herself against the wall, eyes wide and fixed on the doorway where Jeane had disappeared with Halie. The younger woman's chest rose and fell in short, panicked breaths, her timid nature warring with the adrenaline flooding her system. Every second that passed felt like an eternity, the building's psychic pressure growing heavier, more insistent.

The air in the penthouse seemed to thicken, charged with unspoken tension and the promise of impending violence. Silra continued working, sweat beading on her forehead as she rerouted power through failing systems. Hera watched her friend's concentration with growing admiration—no matter how desperate the situation grew, Silra remained focused, her technical skill a bulwark against the encroaching madness.

But six minutes was an eternity when the alternative was unthinkable. The building's hunger pulsed through the walls, a tangible thing now, demanding satisfaction in ways that made Hera's skin crawl. She glanced at Abby, seeing her own terror reflected in those wide brown eyes. They were running out of time—and options.

Silra finished soldering the last connection with a sharp exhale, stepping back to survey her work. The junction box hummed steadily now, power flowing through reinforced circuits. But the building's demands hadn't lessened—they'd grown sharper, more insistent. "We did it," Silra said, voice barely audible over the ambient groan of stressed metal. "But I don't think it's enough." Hera closed her eyes briefly, knowing exactly what came next.