Caleb could not shrink until the two manual cranes reached him.
Their crews parked on opposite sides of the storage road. Each crane lifted a different support band under his ribs. Neither line crossed his missing side. Caleb reduced his mass in four stages while the crews changed hook positions after every stage.
The six-armed body watched from behind the broken loading bay. It did not attack the cranes. It collected two broken teeth, pressed them into its damaged elbow, and moved north through the industrial yards. Warehouse keepers dropped their gates after it passed. The body tore one roof line from its anchor and left the building standing.
Caleb reached human scale on a wheeled foundry platform. His right shoulder carried a deep bruise. The rail clamp had opened the skin at his hip. He had no standing equipment, so two Foundry Twelve workers pushed him clear while Pela inspected the wound through a local camera.
"No brace until the clamp wound closes," she said.
