Chapter 2
Deena lay on her dorm bed, heart still thrumming from the day's discoveries. Mary's diary lay open on her desk, the candle's glow flickering over its spidery handwriting. How was she supposed to sleep now, when every creak and whisper from the walls seemed pregnant with danger? Outside, the wind moaned through the old windows.
At exactly 12:36 am, her phone buzzed—a silent alert from an anonymous account: "Check the west wing archives, file BENICIO."
Who sent it? Mary? Theo? Or someone else watching?
Deena slipped out in silence. The corridors were empty, shadows clinging like ghosts. She passed rows of locked doors—classrooms, labs, student lounges—each one familiar but now laden with hidden threats. The west wing sat at the edge of campus, past the moonlit cloisters, where cobblestones shone gray-white under a spectral sky.
She paused before a narrow wooden door marked "Records & Archives – Restricted." A soft crackle signaled that it was unlocked.
Inside, rows of metal cabinets loomed, endless and oppressive. She found Benicio's file—soft leather, stamped with gold lettering. Her breath thickened. She pulled it out.
Within the folder lay Mary's transcripts, including her exam scores—phenomenal, beyond genius. Beneath them, an anonymous evaluation warned: "Abnormal aptitude—possible threat." More disturbingly, security logs noted repeated "late-night activity." A photograph of Mary, never published, showed fresh bruises across her jaw—captured under infrared, they said.
Frozen in horror, Deena traced the photograph, mind racing—they monitored her sister. They hurt her.
Suddenly, the door slammed shut behind her. Metal thundered, and in an instant, she was in darkness. Her heartbeat roared in her ears. She tried the door that was locked, from the outside.
Then, faint footsteps echoed closer.
She grabbed whatever she could—a file, a loose folder—and remained as still as the gloom allowed.
A shadowy figure moved past the keyhole, a backlit guard scanned the room. The guard paused, hissed into a radio.
"Section three... intruder. Have file #196 analyze asset. Lock it down."
"Understood."
Deena's pulse slammed.
She slid into a corner between cabinets and pooled dark. The guard's footfalls approached. Minutes stretched, her breath caught in her throat. The guard leaned across her spot, then stepped away, whistling. After several heartbeats, the clank of boots echoed away.
Click.
She sprinted for the door—but too late. It remained locked. Panic gripped her chest.
Lights snapped on. Deena squinted—Theo shone a phone lantern at the lock pins.
"Come on..." he murmured, fiddling with picks he'd hidden in his coat. The lock clicked. She fled into his waiting arms, and they bolted, file in hand.
They raced down the corridor until a foghorn-like alarm sounded. Red lights pulsed down the hall. Shouts echoed, "Security breach! Intruder in archives!"
They ducked into an alcove, hearts echoing.
Theo cut his jacket to wedge against a vent grate. Deena yanked out the file.
"Who are you?" she breathed. He pressed his hand over her mouth—and she froze.
His hand was warm, but also... bruised.
"Where did you go last night?" she hissed as they fled.
He scowled. "Away from your secrets. Where did you go?"
"Archives." Deena nearly choked. "They have Mary's files—and security logs... and a picture of her bruised." She pushed the file into his hands.
He stared, pale.
"She wasn't hallucinating," he whispered. "They tortured her."
They ducked through a door and up the fire stairs. Distant shouting and running boots below.
Deena swallowed. "Theo... you've been investigating for months?"
He didn't look at her. "Since Ray's disappearance. Mary gave me clues before she vanished—and I've been tracking them, hoping to find proof."
"Ray." She whispered. "Your friend."
He paused on the stairwell. "Three students were marked as missing after failing a test. Ray was brilliant." He slumped against the railing. "She didn't fail. They expelled her the day before she vanished. No documentation, no ceremony. Nothing."
Deena shivered. "They're killing top students."
He nodded.
The fire stairs spat them onto the roof, draped in moonlight. Below, the campus was still, silent as a graveyard—but for sirens wailing distance.
They crouched behind vents.
She opened the folder further—more answers. Papers from security detailing secret projects using students' brain scans. Psychoactive tests. Electrochemical experiments coded as 'Phase T.'
Deena's chest contracted.
"What's Phase T?" she whispered.
Theo's jaw clenched. "I've seen it in logs. They test it on top IQs. If results scare them... no test subject ever leaves."
Mary's photo file showed her writing codes—'T' scratched everywhere, over labs, hallways, dorms... an internal breadcrumb trail.
Deena swallowed. "She knew. She was planning something."
Theo set a hand on her shoulder. "We're the only ones who know."
They climbed down a drainpipe to the east lawn. Fog lapped at their ankles. Below, a group of guards spread across the grounds, searchlights carving ruby paths across the mist.
"Head for the woods," Theo urged.
Deena froze. "That's near the cliff."
He grabbed her. "Stay behind me."
They sprinted. The cry of the academy sirens chased them from above. Branches whipped their faces. The ground trembled with distant boots.
Finally they reached a clearing—breathing hard, hearts pounding.
Deena collapsed. "What do I do now?"
Theo shook his head. "Keep digging. But you can't trust anyone."
They made their way back into their dorm hallway, timid in the fading alarm lights. Theo pressed Deena into his room—occupied, scattered with books and stray files.
He locked the door, hands shaking as he placed the Benicio file on his desk.
"You've been kidnapped?" she asked, pointing at his temple bruise.
He flinched. "They tried. I escaped. Barely."
"They beat you."
He turned away. "They did. If Mary found out—"
Deena put down his hand. "You gave me hope." She paused.
Theo closed his eyes. "Don't give me reasons to doubt you." They reached for each other. After months of searching, this moment vanished the silent distance between them—but left a chasm of fear.
Their moment was broken by a quiet knock.
"In!" Theo hissed.
Orlando, polished and composed, slipped in. Deena stiffened.
"What are you doing here?"
He ignored her.
"I want to help." He said, looking at Theo.
Theo stiffened. "Why?"
He didn't answer. Instead, he slid an envelope across the desk, "Secret meet. East tower. Midnight tonight. Files inside. Everyone knows Mary tops grades—some still want answers."
Deena held onto Orlando's gaze. He looked sincere... or calculating.
Orlando's smirk said it all. "We're either solving this—or we're next."
By day's end, Deena and Theo sat silently as students filtered past them. They passed notes—mostly warnings: "Don't trust him." "Meet at East Tower – midnight." "They know you took something."
With the Benicio file between them like a lifeline, they waited.
At midnight, they slipped out again, chalked with fear but armed with purpose.
Inside East Tower, a spiral stair stretched upward into darkness. They ascended cautiously, each step a shudder beneath their feet.
At the top, a lone figure watched—shoulder-length hair, perched like a raven.
Before Deena could speak, the figure turned... revealing a half-mask and burnt edges where a firewall had been dropped.
Theo froze. His face went cold.
"Don't," he warned, voice low as acid.
The figure stepped forward, lit by dim lantern light.
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