It started as a vibration in the soles of my feet, barely perceptible, like a heavy cart rolling over cobblestone several streets away. Then it grew. The rubble around us began to shift and click, loose stones dancing against each other, small cascades of gravel sliding down the remaining walls.
"What is that?" the wiry woman said, her voice flat with the kind of calm that comes from being too tired to be scared.
Nobody answered her. Because what emerged from the darkness beyond the ruins answered the question far more effectively than words could.
It came through the gap between two crumbling towers, and it had to turn sideways to fit.
