Chapter 5 - The Red Glow
“Stay still. Don't make a sound,” Miller whispered, his hand clamping heavily onto Evan’s shoulder in the pitch blackness.
Mrs. Gable fumbled in her handbag, the rustling of papers loud in the heavy silence. A second later, the weak beam of a small keychain flashlight cut through the dark, illuminating her panicked face and the trembling fingers holding the light.
“What are those files, Miller? Whose records are those?” she demanded in a harsh whisper.
“Classified district research,” Miller replied tightly, sliding the manila folder inside his brown winter jacket. He kept his other hand firmly on the walkie-talkie. “And it looks like this school isn't just a place of learning. It’s a testing ground for behavioral modification algorithms.”
Evan stared down into the open trench. The hydraulic tracks had stopped moving, but a low-frequency hum continued to vibrate through the concrete foundation. He remembered all the times students had been pulled out of class for ‘mandatory aptitude testing’ in the basement annex—tests that nobody ever talked about afterward, tests where they were asked to stare at flashing lights and solve complex puzzles while wearing skullcaps covered in sensors.
“They aren't tracking our grades,” Evan whispered, the realization hitting him with cold clarity. “They're tracking how well we obey instructions that don't make sense.”
“What are you talking about, Evan?” Mrs. Gable asked, shining her light toward his face.
“The desks moving, the random drills, the weird questions on the state exams,” Evan explained rapidly, his breath hitching. “My dad said they were building a network to predict civil unrest before people even knew they were mad. He tried to blow the whistle, and then he... he had to leave town.”
Miller’s expression hardened further. He tapped the walkie-talkie twice against his palm, trying to force a connection through the signal jammer that had clearly been activated in the halls.
“Your father wasn't just an IT tech, was he, kid?” Miller asked quietly.
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Before Evan could answer, the biometric lock on the classroom door clicked loudly. The crimson light on the scanner flickered green, and the heavy door slowly swung inward on its own, revealing an empty hallway bathed in an unnatural, violet fog.
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