Morning came with silence that didn't feel like peace.The campus at Point Veert looked normal again — birds calling, sprinklers humming — but the air had that faint, artificial sweetness clinging to it still. Like the scent of a memory that refused to wash off.
Ethan hadn't slept. He and Seth sat in the back of the cafeteria, staring at untouched food. The TV in the corner played campus news — "Greenhouse ventilation failure last night — students treated for minor exposure, no casualties."A lie, neatly packaged for comfort.
Seth's eyes drifted toward the window. "No casualties," he muttered. "They didn't even mention Fargrave."
"He's alive," Ethan said quietly. "Administration moved him to medical supervision."He tapped the table absently, mind running through last night in loops. "The flower wasn't contained. It was absorbing the water. Regenerating."
Seth's gaze flicked to him, pupils faintly tinted gold again. "It's connected to the whole ventilation system, isn't it?"
Ethan nodded. "And to something deeper. The roots must run below the old wing — under the geology lab. It's the only section sealed off since last winter."
A shadow crossed the doorway — two figures stepping in, both in dark gray research coats. The taller one was a woman with pale green eyes and sharp composure; the other, a quiet man with a data pad strapped to his wrist.They moved with purpose, like people rehearsing authority.
"Ethan Callahan?" the woman asked.
Ethan stood. "Yeah."
"I'm Dr. Fortea. Environmental Biosystems Division. This is my associate, Erena."Her tone was pleasant, but her smile didn't reach her eyes. "We heard you were present during last night's incident."
Seth straightened, cautious. "Incident?"
Erena gave a practiced smile. "Routine containment breach. Nothing unusual."He clicked his tablet. "Still, we'd like to record a brief statement — for data alignment."
Ethan crossed his arms. "You're not faculty."
Fortea tilted her head, amused. "No. We're external consultants from Helix Restoration."The name landed heavy — the same company that had funded Fargrave's earlier "biological recovery" grant.
Seth frowned. "Helix? You're the people who work with—"
"Mutation-based immunity development," Fortea finished smoothly. "Yes."She set a small vial on the table, red fluid swirling inside. "This was found in the greenhouse ruins. Recognize it?"
Ethan's chest tightened. It was Jeena's compound — the same neutralizer he'd used to break the trance."No," he lied, voice steady. "Never seen it."
Fortea smiled again — slow, knowing. "Interesting."She picked the vial up, eyes lingering on him just a heartbeat too long before turning away. "You'll be informed if your assistance is needed."
They left as quietly as they'd arrived.
Seth exhaled, low. "That didn't feel like an interview. It felt like surveillance."
Ethan nodded. "Helix Restoration isn't investigating. They're protecting whatever's growing here."
Later that day, they made their way to the old geology wing — locked, sealed, and officially "under reconstruction." The corridor lights flickered every few seconds, throwing patches of shadow over the cracked floor.
Seth crouched near the vent grille, pulling it loose. "Smell that?"
Ethan did — faint iron mixed with the same sweet pollen note. He shone his flashlight inside. The tunnel walls pulsed faintly, a reddish network like living veins running along the ducts.
"This isn't metal corrosion," Ethan whispered. "It's biological."
Seth ran a gloved hand over the surface. The texture twitched under touch — warm, damp, almost like skin. "The plant's using the ventilation as a circulatory path."
They followed it deeper into the sealed section, the hum of machinery fading behind them.
At the end of the hall stood a reinforced door marked 'Bio-Mineral Fusion Chamber.' Half the letters had worn off. A biometric panel blinked red beside it.
Seth raised an eyebrow. "You got a plan for that?"
Ethan pulled a small sensor patch from his pocket — scavenged tech from the lab. He pressed it against the panel. The light flickered, then turned green with a sharp click.
Inside, the chamber was dark. Rows of old tanks lined the walls, most shattered or dry. But the center tank still glowed — filled with viscous red fluid, and suspended in it… a stem thicker than a human spine. Tiny buds along its surface twitched with faint pulses, each emitting microscopic motes of light.
Ethan stepped closer, eyes wide. "It's generating bioelectric signals."
Seth's voice was barely a whisper. "Like a brain."
Before Ethan could respond, the intercom crackled to life."Unauthorized access detected."
Fortea's voice — calm, clinical."Mr. Callahan, Mr. Donovan… I'd advise leaving. You've seen more than enough."
Seth froze. "How does she—"
The tank's lights flared crimson. The fluid inside churned violently. Then — a sound, like something exhaling underwater. A small rupture formed in the glass, and a single drop of red liquid slid out, landing on the floor.
It hissed. The tiles beneath it warped, sprouting hairline tendrils that crawled toward their boots.
Ethan grabbed Seth's arm. "Run."
They sprinted down the corridor as alarms screamed through the wing. Behind them, the floor bulged, bursting with thin vines that slithered like veins seeking warmth.
As they reached the main hall, the emergency shutters began to fall. Seth dived through; Ethan barely made it, rolling to the floor as metal slammed shut behind them.
The two of them lay there for a moment, breathing hard. The hallway lights flickered once, twice, then steadied.
Seth coughed. "It's not contained anymore."
Ethan stared at the shutter, his reflection warped in the steel. "No," he said softly."It's awake."
Hours later, Jeena's phone buzzed in her office — an encrypted message with no sender ID.She opened it and froze.
A single line pulsed on her screen:"Bio-Mineral Network: Stage II — Cognitive Bloom Initiated."
She glanced at the wall map of Point Veert — her red markers clustered around the old wing.Her hand tightened on the pen.
"Ethan," she whispered. "You've just walked into its root system."