Descent into the Grid

A cool current seeped from beneath the desk rim, pulling my gaze down to a partially extended metal drawer. I crept along the dark wooden edge, measuring the drop before descending silently into the partitioned metal tray below. Among rows of brass fasteners and coiled charging cables, a stiff clear tape dispenser blocked the narrowest channel. I wedged my clawed digit beneath its weighted base, levering it two millimeters aside until it settled with a soft click. Folding low into the steel trench, I aligned my spine against the cool metallic partition and froze, letting the enclosed draft brush my crest.