First Articulation

Silence held the black surface. I was flat on my back, locked between two motionless forms. Then, tension shifted inside my gauntlet. I paused, testing the resistance before curling my right fingers. They moved. Deliberately, I pressed my palm down against the cool laminate and levered my chest up just enough to scan the terrain. Above us loomed a bright standing figure and a high cardboard ledge. I braced, anchored my position, and stayed low.