The first shape beneath the river could have been debris.
Sera watched from the maintenance landing above the intake, one hand resting against a fixed rail she had checked before leaning near it. Water dragged a dark length sideways below the surface. Then the length bent against the current and opened into jointed limbs.
She stepped back from the edge.
The second shape turned beneath the first. A pale ridge broke the surface, vanished and appeared nearer the intake mouth. The movement was purposeful enough to stop her calling it floating wreckage. It was not enough to tell her what drew the creatures there.
Sera marked the time and position. The lower maintenance landing was empty. She could see the ordinary intake grating, the current striking it and an intermittent distortion along its outer edge. The animals or monsters beneath the water moved toward that distortion, but the direction alone did not establish whether they were feeding the disturbance, following it or being pushed by something farther out.
She called the joint inspection contact before making the next observation.
“Multiple creatures below the intake,” she said. “Not clear enough for a species identification. At least two separate bodies. Keep the lower landing clear.”
