In the abyss beyond, in the far down, down where the city meets the ocean, where all the trash washes up and the fish are sick, down under where life’s refuse washes and stagnates, stinking and foul; great stilts reach up into the murky unknown, not quite silently supporting the structures above, the monolithic beams creak and crow as the ancient metal strains to hold the above-town securely and safely, the residents blissfully unaware of the haunting noises below.