The car stopped twice before it reached the depot: once for a delivery truck blocking a narrow road, and once for Eli to steady himself when his headache sharpened.
Nora sat beside him with the partial assessment record. Dr. Nordin had recorded the visible effects, the fatigue and Eli’s reason for ending the session. The remaining tasks could be rescheduled, but Nordin had not guaranteed that his registration would remain unaffected.
“Are you well enough to enter?” Nora asked.
“I don’t know until I see what the rescue team needs. They have my symptom report.”
“Tell the outside responder too. A spare line isn’t useful if you collapse carrying it.”
Eli called Leah, who gave him Celine’s number. The outside responder answered over the noise of an engine. She was coordinating the service hatch with the site guard; a larger response team was arriving.
“Tessa, Kellan and Beckett reached a junction,” Celine said. “They heard Sera and Nadir through a slab. Kellan was setting a support. No one has reported an exit yet.”
“How long ago?”
