Glint said stop before the cradle reached the door. ✋
THE BOOK OF TAD
PAGE 137
HIS WORD IN THE WATER ✋
The first lift brought back the low stone throat: the edge against Glint’s flipper, Krail behind them, the desperate instruction to go higher.
This cradle was soft. That did not stop the memory.
Pip stayed where Glint could see him.
They rose another small distance.
“Stop.”
Both poles steadied. Nobody asked whether he was sure.
The sound side of his harness had drawn the support sideways as his weight settled into the weave. Pip eased the fastening. Vael lowered his end until the cradle lay level again.
Glint waited for the sharp pull to fade.
“Try now.”
They lifted. This time his injured side rested evenly.
TurboTAD waited by the doorway. Brink and Vael held the poles; Pip needed space beside the bed. TurboTAD moved the last loose wrap from their path and backed through the opening.
Glint could see him on the other side.
The lantern was secured beside his sound flipper, its single green light turned low. Above the bed, the frame rails sat firmly in the stone.
“Slowly,” Glint said.
Brink shortened his strokes. Vael matched him.
They carried Glint beneath the slab at the pace he asked for. No broken edge touched his left flipper. He kept his gaze on TurboTAD until the broad supply passage opened around the cradle.