Beyond the trees, where the light fractured into uneven patches and the wind barely stirred the leaves, something watched.
Still. Patient.
Its gaze followed Alden's every movement with unnerving precision. Each time he exited the dilapidated structure that concealed the resistance's hidden entrance, that attention sharpened.
A faint, almost inaudible whirring hummed through the air—the soft sound of mechanical eyes adjusting, focusing.
Tracking.
Like a hawk circling above, unseen, unblinking.
Waiting.
-----
"What about our bot bird?" one of the scientists asked, breaking the low hum of machines. "Did it finally managed to reach human territory?"
A pause followed.
Another voice scoffed. "Didn't we abandon that one already? Q69 is useless to us now."
