Dystopia Chapter 3 - Page 2:
The story picks up in the underground sewers - what appears to be a creature’s burrow has torn straight through the brick walls and carved out an organic, twisting passage in the earth. The walls of the tunnel are scared by rough, ribbed claw marks, forming a long, tapering corridor of churned soil. Tanya and Ventrik stand at its edge studying the fresh gouges and the slime residue clinging to the tunnel walls.

In the first panel, Tanya and Ventrik inspect the large circular opening where the creature has dug through. Tanya holds her tablet while Ventrik leans closer to analyze. A caption notes that the claw marks are fresh and that wherever “she” travels, she leaves behind a slime trail.

In the second panel, Tanya walks ahead toward the carved-out tunnel while Ventrik follows, and she glances back, openly questioning why they’re the ones sent down here. The third panel shows Tanya more directly, asking whether there wasn’t someone at Metascience “more… useful” who could have taken this assignment instead. Ventrik adjusts his glasses while she studies her tablet again; Ventrik's caption clarifies her meaning—by “useful,” she really meant “expendable” and “less concerned about stepping in sewage.”

The next panel focuses on Ventrik as he calmly explains that everyone who’s truly useful is either already deployed elsewhere or lacks the expertise needed for this specific initiative. He glances at an arm-mounted display with shifting images and flashing data. In the final panel, Ventrik’s calm and expressionless face fills the frame in a close-up. He remarks that Metascience has already stretched its security personnel thin and that sometimes, there’s nothing like taking matters into your own hands.