They Learned to Fear the Sound of Their Own Boots | Military Sci-Fi Infantry Story for Sleep

On Brine-Lock Station Seven, a submerged pump gallery is failing under pressure, seawater, and sabotage. Brevet-Lieutenant Kell and a broken composite platoon are sent below to carry a Mark IX Atmospheric Igniter through seven lock chambers and arm it at the primary pump control nexus, where separatist engineers have turned the station’s own infrastructure against them.

The Copper Stilts do not hunt by sight. They track rhythm through metal, breach walls and ceilings, and process soldiers inside sealed pressure carapaces, leaving perfect hollow suits filled with nutrient slurry. Every footstep, weapon burst, breath cycle, and machine pulse can become a signal they follow.

This is "Four Seconds" by Sascha Schmidt