Ash's gaze lingered on the machine's controls, the hum of the machinery reverberating in his chest. The system was fragile, temperamental, but it had to work. They didn't have time for mistakes.
Out of the corner of his eye, he caught the woman again. She hadn't moved, still absorbed in the book, her fingers turning the pages with a sense of ritual, as if lost in a world far removed from the one they were trying to survive in.
Eir noticed Ash's glance and followed his line of sight.
"Don't mind her, she's Just a researcher. No use in a place like this."
Ash didn't respond. He didn't need to. The woman's presence hung in the room like an unanswered question.
She didn't even flinch as Ash moved past her, her fingers never pausing in their slow, deliberate flip of the page. The weight of the room seemed to bend around her, the noise of the preparations and the tension in the air seemingly irrelevant to her. She was lost in a world Ash couldn't understand, and he didn't care to.
