The first child stepped onto the platform and began to run.
Bram caught him by the back of his coat before he reached the open side. The child struck at Bram’s hand, furious with terror. Bram let go as soon as the guide took him. He moved his own body between the child and the damaged edge, saying nothing that would require an answer.
Behind him an engineer shouted for the receiving crew to keep the near corner empty. The newly seated brace held under the outer crosspiece. Its pale cut surface shone against blackened stone. Eli had helped carry it into position, then used a brief interval of Anchor at the checked joint while the engineers drove the final wedge. He had released as soon as the mechanical support took. The local examiner had checked him afterward, within the independent clinician’s existing limits. No new symptom. The brace was doing the holding now.
He had wanted to remain close enough to be useful again. The examiner had made him step clear of the work and finish the check before returning. Waiting those breaths had felt like abandoning Tessa. It had also kept him from making his fear into another unchecked load the crew would have to bear.
