At this point in my journey I had been walking for several miles by now and should have been feeling pain. Yet I did not seem to feel anything of the sorts. My feet did not ache. Fatigue was not wearing me down. Why was that? Just what am I really? If I am like these lifeless corpses that bleed... Should I not be hurting anywhere? The drive to figure out who I was and what this place is must have kept me going. Ahead of me I could see a wall with a gate that resembled that of a mechanical spinal cord. The haze dissipated as I drew closer. While the gateway led to what appeared to be a different district and was open wide, there was something in the way.

Crimson red tendrils large in size had ruptured the grounds below and blocked the pathway forward. The tendrils ranged from small and narrow wrapping themselves around the gateway to large and thick, constricting the abandoned trolley left to rust away nearby. It's as if the sinewy strands within the concrete had grown in gargantuan size and encapsulated this entire gateway. I got closer to touch one of the bigger tendrils. It felt slimy and wet. I then took my Key and shoved it into the tendril. Blood spurted out. Removing it, a trickle of the red fluid spilled out before sealing up the hole left by my instrument. How... Peculiar. My own flesh had functioned in a similar way. And yet, these corpses I've came across did not react the same way. When I had removed that head clean off of it's shoulders earlier, the remnants did not close up. I saw these tendrils back in the wastelands outside this city. The streets and grounds are laced with red sinew and now here I stand before masses of tendrils so large that it would take serious machinery to cut through them. I tried to peek through any openings on the other side. I caught glimpses of the neighboring district but could only see more dense city blocks. Nothing of note. It seems that my journey to the area where the tallest of structures was halted. I would need to take a detour. A map of this place would be nice...

Wander. All I could do was wander. Since I had been traveling I've been unsure of what directions I've been. Besides the area with the large towering structures, much of this place looks the same. All these warehouses and factories have distinct designs but all have muddled color palettes and very little outside their overall shapes that separate them from one another. That structure down the block has three smokestacks erected out from the very center of it's roof. This structure to my right has no windows but instead rows of tubes of varying sizes running all sorts of directions as if forming some unknown symbol to me.

Just when I thought I had lost any hope of figuring out my way around... The building that lie ahead of me took on a distinct look that could serve as a landmark of sorts. A fenced-in boneyard of trolleys sat behind it in the back lot. Towering over the property was a crane. A steel cage attached to it's side with a ladder leading up into it's floor. At its base was a metallic box with a single open panel showcasing buttons and unlit lights. The front door to the building was already left open too. Looks like the Key wouldn't be needed here. I entered this building with caution as always. Double-sided benches with ornate patterns grated into them sat in the middle of the room. The second story staircase was blocked off by metal bars that seemed to have no nearby panel or device to operate them. Shame. But what I did find was this board. Inscribed on it was a map of some kind with lines that seemed to represent the various railways throughout the district. My eyes followed them until I saw one that led to somewhere off of the map. Labeled: 'To Cor.' While another was labeled: 'To Pedites.'

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These were... Other districts? 'Manus' was inscribed on top of the board above the map. If I had to guess based on how I had entered this place... Then the area where the tallest structures lie would be Cor. But it was blocked off by the tendrils. The other district labeled would be my only option then. Pedites. With this knowledge inscribed into my memory bank, I took off.

Before leaving I looked up at the crane. From an observational standpoint, it was safe to assume this crane would carry trolleys. And glancing back into the yard, it appeared that there was at least one functional looking trolley while the rest were rotting away or in shambles. Looking to the box at the base, the sole light was on. This had to mean power. The ladder was tall. Regardless I began to climb it. The metal was cold on the palms of my hands and feet. I didn't look down. I didn't look around me. I only stared up to see the top slowly encroaching. It wasn't long before I found myself inside the steel cage. This was the highest I had been since arriving here. A series of levers and a button conjoined to a console with four holes attached to a veiny appendage awaited me. I slotted my fingers into the holes and yanked down. The crane activated with the sound of gears grinding within the crane sent a jolt of dopamine through my system. I grabbed a hold of the levers. The left one moved the crane. The right one lowered or raised the crane's arm. I figured it out. I brought the claw down over the trolley. Pressing the button with my thumb made the claw clamp down onto the trolley. Using the levers, I brought the arm up. Then I rotated the crane around until the trolley was perched above the street. Carefully, I lowered the trolley down until its bottom touched the rail line. Release and lift up. That was it. I removed my fingers from the appendage.

I climbed down from the cage greeting the cold steel ladder once more. My feet touched the ground. I went over to the trolley. I was unsure how these even worked.Come to think of it I never examined the front of one of these trolleys. Once I moved to the front my pace was halted. Attached to the front of the trolley... A lanky husk of steel infused with flesh in random areas. Four tubes sticking out of its torso were connected to the trolleys frame. Its head comprised of a single eye with a hollow black pupil. It had a single appendage with three fingers on its stomach. Sticking out from the husks groin was a lever. No sound came from it as it lacked a mouth. Instead there was a metal plate. I raised my hand to it. Its head tilted towards me. All it did was point to its side. Was it telling me to sit down? I pointed in the direction of Pedites then nodded and climbed onto the nearest trolley seat. The bar came down automatically to secure me. The husk grabbed its lever and pulled up. Next thing I know, the trolley was moving. But where was I headed? Did it know where I wanted to go? I couldn't speak nor could the husk. All I did was point in the general direction of that other district I saw on the map. I'm hoping the husk understood. At least I would get to rest my feet for now.