The forest began lighting up.
One white glow appeared between the trees, then another farther down the slope. Within seconds dozens of pale points shone through the rain.
Ethan stepped backward.
"Those weren't there before."
Seth stared into the forest.
"No."
Mara tightened her grip on her jacket.
"What are they?"
Halden pushed past them and looked toward the lights.
"Don't touch them."
Ethan glanced at him.
"That was already the plan."
"I'm serious."
"So am I."
Halden pointed toward the nearest glow.
"Those aren't lights."
The glow shifted.
A thin stem rose from the ground.
Then another.
Then another.
White flowers unfolded beneath the trees.
Mara stared.
"Blood Lily?"
Halden shook his head.
"No."
Seth walked closer.
The flower's petals were pale instead of crimson. A dark line ran through their centers.
He felt the pressure in his chest again.
"These are connected."
Erena looked toward the flowers.
"Everything here is."
Fortea turned on her.
"You knew this was outside?"
"No."
"You knew the mountain was connected."
Erena hesitated.
"I knew there was a possibility."
Fortea stared at her.
"That's not the same thing."
Ethan stepped between them.
"Save the argument. We need somewhere to shelter."
A deep rumble rolled beneath the forest.
The ground shifted.
Mara nearly lost her balance.
Seth grabbed her arm.
"Careful."
She looked at him.
"Thank you."
Another tremor followed.
This one lasted longer.
Branches shook above them.
Far down the mountain a section of earth collapsed.
Ethan watched the slope.
"We're moving."
Halden nodded.
"There should be an old service road."
"Should?"
Halden looked at him.
"Yes."
"You're really committed to that word."
They moved through the trees.
Rain soaked their clothes within minutes. Mud pulled at their boots while branches struck their shoulders and faces. The forest became thicker as they descended.
Seth kept looking back.
Ethan noticed.
"What?"
"Nothing."
"You've looked behind us six times."
Seth stopped.
"I don't think we're being followed."
"Then what?"
"I think we're being watched."
Mara looked around.
"By what?"
Seth shook his head.
"I don't know."
A faint vibration passed through the ground.
Seth closed his eyes.
There.
Something was moving.
Not behind them.
Below them.
He opened his eyes.
"Keep walking."
Ethan studied him.
"How bad?"
"Not sure."
"That's not helpful."
"It's not supposed to be."
They continued downhill.
After several minutes they reached a clearing.
An old concrete building stood among the trees.
Its roof had partially collapsed and vines covered most of the walls.
Ethan looked at Halden.
"That your service station?"
Halden nodded.
"It used to be."
Mara approached the entrance.
The door hung open.
Inside were rusted shelves, broken equipment and several old filing cabinets.
Ethan swept his flashlight across the room.
"No one has been here in years."
Halden entered.
"That's what I thought."
He stopped beside a wall.
There was a faded symbol painted above the doorway.
A circle crossed by three lines.
Fortea stared at it.
"I've seen that."
"Where?" Ethan asked.
"On the old laboratory records."
Halden nodded.
"It was the original research group's mark."
Erena walked toward the symbol.
Her fingers touched the paint.
"Mother used this."
Fortea looked at her.
"You remember?"
"I remember her notebooks."
"You told me you didn't."
"I said I didn't remember everything."
Fortea shook her head.
"There's always something you leave out."
Ethan looked between them.
"We'll deal with that when we're not standing in an abandoned research station."
Seth had moved toward the far wall.
He found a telephone mounted beside an old emergency panel.
He lifted the receiver.
Nothing.
No dial tone.
He tried again.
Still nothing.
Ethan looked at him.
"Dead?"
Seth shook his head.
"No."
He held the receiver away from his ear.
"It's connected."
"To what?"
Seth listened.
A faint crackle came through the speaker.
Then a voice.
"Ethan?"
Everyone froze.
Ethan grabbed the receiver.
"Jeena?"
"Thank God."
Her voice sounded distant.
"Where are you?"
"Outside Point Veert."
Ethan looked at Halden.
"How did you reach this line?"
"I didn't."
Jeena paused.
"I found an old communications relay near the mountain road. It activated when the college went offline."
Ethan leaned against the wall.
"We're alive."
"I figured."
"How?"
"I've been tracking you for hours."
Mara smiled faintly.
"That sounds like Jeena."
Ethan put the receiver on speaker.
Jeena heard her.
"Mara?"
"Hi."
"You sound terrible."
"So do you."
"Fair."
The relief lasted only a moment.
Jeena's voice became serious.
"Listen to me. Something is wrong with Point Veert."
Ethan looked at the others.
"That's not exactly breaking news."
"I'm not joking."
"Neither am I."
"I checked the college records. The entire campus has disappeared from the regional network."
Halden frowned.
"How?"
"That's the problem. It didn't go offline."
Jeena paused.
"It was removed."
Ethan stared at the phone.
"Removed from what?"
"Every public database. Every university registry. Every local government record I could access."
Fortea stepped closer.
"Can they do that?"
Jeena answered immediately.
"Not that quickly."
Seth looked toward the window.
The pale flowers outside had begun glowing brighter.
Jeena continued.
"I also found something else."
"What?"
"There are no records of Point Veert receiving exchange students this semester."
Ethan's expression changed.
"What?"
"I checked the program."
Silence.
Jeena's voice lowered.
"Your exchange placement doesn't exist."
Nobody spoke.
Mara looked at Seth.
"But we were selected."
"I know."
Ethan stared at Halden.
"Who sent our acceptance?"
Halden did not answer.
Fortea's face tightened.
"The college."
Jeena heard her.
"Who is that?"
"Fortea."
Jeena went silent.
Then she said, "Ethan, get away from her."
Everyone turned.
Fortea froze.
"What?"
Jeena's voice sharpened.
"I've been looking at the old records. Fortea and Erena's names appear in Point Veert files going back decades."
Ethan looked at the twins.
"That isn't possible."
"I know."
Jeena breathed slowly.
"That's why I'm calling."
A loud crack sounded through the telephone.
The line distorted.
Seth grabbed the receiver.
"Jeena?"
Nothing.
Then her voice returned.
"Seth, listen carefully."
"I'm listening."
"I found the original exchange program paperwork."
"Where?"
"At the university archives."
"And?"
A long pause.
"The forms were created before either of you enrolled."
Ethan stared at Seth.
Jeena continued.
"Someone selected you two years ago."
The line went silent.
Then the receiver produced a burst of static.
A different voice came through.
Calm.
Female.
Close.
"That isn't the important part."
Seth's expression changed.
"Who is this?"
The voice answered.
"You should ask why the exchange program needed Ethan and Seth specifically."
The call ended.
Everyone stood motionless.
Outside, the pale flowers suddenly folded shut.
Every light in the forest disappeared.
Then Seth looked toward the window.
His face tightened.
"They're coming."
Ethan reached for his weapon.
"Who?"
Seth shook his head.
"I don't know."
A shape moved between the trees.
Then another.
Then dozens.
Mara stepped away from the window.
"They aren't students."
Seth's eyes remained fixed on the darkness.
"No."
A low growl rolled through the forest.
The abandoned station's lights flickered on by themselves.
Every dead monitor in the room displayed the same message:
EXCHANGE PROGRAM /PHASE TWO
And beneath it appeared a countdown.
00:59:59