Thirteen-year-old Saul's bedroom is a graveyard of "unfinished endeavors", a battlefield of textbooks and science projects long past their due dates . But in the silence of his room, something is stirring in the "dusty abyss" beneath his bed. A creature with chrome eyes and a "metallic scent" has begun to manifest, thriving on every deadline Saul ignores and every task he defers. Saul soon realizes a terrifying truth: he hasn't just failed to finish his work, he has "built a monster" out of his own neglect.