The soldiers arrived before the sun did.
They weren't loud about it; no shouting, no crashing boots. It was just the low, heavy hum of black SUVs lining the campus entrance and the sight of uniformed personnel moving with a clipped, mechanical precision.
Mira stood by the dorm window, pulling the curtain back just enough to see the courtyard. "...Oh, good. Armed guards. That's definitely a comfort."
Garrick joined her, his arms crossed tight over his chest. "They're setting up checkpoints. Looks like nobody's getting out without a scan."
Seris sat on the edge of her bed, her eyes glued to her tablet. "It's a mandatory medical reporting order. Anyone experiencing 'physiological anomalies' has to check in immediately."
Lucien let out a sharp, dry scoff. "'Medical.' That's a polite way of saying they're hunting for the glow."
Kaida looked up from her phone, her face pale in the screen's light. "The official news is calling it a 'containment protocol', to ensure public safety."
"They're afraid," Orion said from the shadows of the corner. "And people in fear love to build cages."
Nox didn't move from his spot near the door. He watched the courtyard through the glass. They were already scanning students; checking wrist devices, holding up thermal readers, tapping away at tablets. One guy tried to duck out of the line, heading for the parking lot, but he was intercepted. Not roughly, but with an immovable firmness that made the message clear: You stay where we put you.
Mira turned to Nox, her voice small. "We're not actually going down there, are we? We can just... stay in here. Hide the frost and the light."
Before he could answer, every phone in the room screamed. It was a high-pitched, jarring emergency alert that overrode every setting.
ALL CITIZENS AGES 21–22 ARE REQUIRED TO REPORT TO TEMPORARY EVALUATION FACILITIES WITHIN 24 HOURS. NONCOMPLIANCE WILL RESULT IN ENFORCED TRANSFER.
Lucien read the text once, then again. "...That's us. That's our entire year."
"Yes," Nox said.
Garrick frowned at the screen. "'Enforced transfer'? That's just a fancy word for kidnapping."
Seris exhaled a long, shaky breath. "They're isolating the resonance group. They want anyone who reacted to the seam in one place."
"I really, really do not like the phrasing of that," Mira muttered.
A knock came at the door. It wasn't the frantic pounding of a panicked student; it was three slow, firm thuds. Official. Final.
Lucien stepped toward the door instinctively, but Nox caught his wrist. It wasn't a hard grip, just a reminder to stay grounded. Lucien looked down at Nox's hand, then back at his face.
"You think they're here for us specifically?" Lucien asked.
"Yes."
Lucien didn't pull away. He just straightened his shoulders. "Then we open it together."
Nox nodded, letting go. Lucien pulled the door open.
Two officers stood in the hallway. They were polite, professional, and looked like they hadn't blinked in six hours.
"Lucien Ardent?" one asked, checking a tablet.
Lucien didn't flinch. "That's me."
"Nox Caelis?"
Nox stepped into the light of the hallway. "Yes."
"You are both required to report to Evaluation Center B within twelve hours. Transportation is available at the south gate, or you may self-report."
Mira appeared behind them, her bravado holding on by a thread. "And when you say 'required,' do you mean like... a suggestion? Or a 'required-required'?"
The officer didn't even crack a smile. "Noncompliance will result in immediate retrieval."
Garrick stepped up behind the group, his size filling the doorway. "Are we under arrest?"
"No."
Seris folded her arms. "Then why the armed escort in the hallway? Why the checkpoints?"
The second officer replied calmly, "For your protection. The public is... uneasy."
Lucien let out a quiet, bitter laugh. "Right. For our protection. That's a classic."
The officer held out a tablet. "Sign the acknowledgment of notice."
Lucien didn't touch it. "What actually happens at this 'facility'?"
"Assessment. Stabilization of any physiological symptoms. Documentation."
Kaida tilted her head, her voice soft but sharp. "Documentation for what? For a lab report?"
The officer's eyes flicked upward for a split second; toward the silver seam hidden by the morning mist. "For future integration."
The room went dead quiet. Nox stepped forward, his eyes locked on the officer. "And if stabilization fails?"
The officer held his gaze, his face a mask of iron. "It won't."
Lucien looked sideways at Nox, his jaw tight. "That didn't feel like an answer."
"It wasn't," Nox agreed.
The officers stepped back, their mission accomplished. "Twelve hours. Don't be late."
The door closed, leaving the six of them in a heavy, stifling silence. Mira was the first to break it, exhaling a breath she'd been holding since the knock. "Well, that went great."
Garrick rubbed the back of his neck. "They're terrified. They have no idea what they're doing, so they're doing the only thing they know: making a list."
Seris nodded. "They're prepping containment because they can't control the cause."
Lucien turned to Nox, his eyes searching. "You knew this part was coming, too."
"Yes."
"So, do we go? Or do we make a run for it?"
Nox looked back out the window. More black vehicles were pulling in and more students were being led toward buses. The sirens were a constant, low-frequency hum in the distance. "We can't avoid it," he said quietly. "Not without starting a fight we aren't ready for yet."
Mira groaned, dropping onto the couch. "I do not want to be a government science project. I had plans for my twenties that did not involve being poked by men in hazmat suits."
"It's not about science," Kaida said softly.
"It's about control," Orion finished.
Lucien crossed his arms. "They won't understand what's happening. They'll try to put it in a box, give it a name, and hope it behaves."
"And if it doesn't behave?" Garrick asked.
Nox looked up at the silver scar in the sky. He could almost feel the energy of the world shifting, the rules of reality buckling under the pressure. "It'll break through the box anyway. It doesn't care about their structure."
Lucien stared at him. "When, Nox? When does it break?"
Nox's jaw tightened. "Soon."
"Stop saying that like it's some abstract date on a calendar."
Nox met his eyes, his voice dropping to a low, cold truth. "It's not abstract. It's inevitable."
The room fell quiet again. Mira broke it with a sigh that was half-frustration, half-surrender. "So what's the plan, then? We just walk into the cage?"
Lucien didn't hesitate. "We go."
Seris blinked. "Voluntarily?"
Lucien nodded, looking at the group. "If they're isolating the people who resonate, then that's where we need to be. We stay together. That's the only rule that matters."
Garrick nodded. "Together. I'm in."
Mira sighed dramatically, but she was already grabbing her bag. "I hate how reasonable you're being right now. It's very annoying."
Kaida looked at Nox. "And you? What are you thinking?"
Nox exhaled slowly. In his first life, there hadn't been any facilities. There had been no government response, just instant, bloody chaos. This time, the world was trying to fight back with paperwork and checkpoints. It was a futile gesture, but it gave him something he hadn't had before: time to organize.
"We go," he said.
Lucien watched him, a small, knowing glint in his eye. "And if it turns out the 'facility' is just a fancy name for a prison?"
Nox's eyes didn't waver. "Then we break it."
Mira blinked. "...Oh. Okay then."
Lucien smiled for the first time that morning. "That's the answer I was looking for."
Outside, the helicopters continued their slow, predatory circles over the city. The sirens wailed, the seam in the sky pulsed, and the government thought they were taking control.
They had no idea that they were just putting all the most dangerous people in the world into the same room.