The room was silent except for the sound of their breathing.
Adrian banged against the locked interrogation door again, palms stinging from impact. "Nothing. It's like they sealed this from the outside."
The emergency lights above flickered a dull red, casting long shadows on the walls. No sound from the hallway. No footsteps. No hum of electricity.
Amara leaned against the metal table, fingers drumming a rhythm of thought. "They wanted us out of the way and at least for a while. But they're not done watching."
Adrian turned. "You think there's a camera still working in here?"
She nodded toward the ceiling corner. A lens, dark but definitely there. "They may have cut the lights, but that doesn't mean they're blind. They're testing how far we'll go."
He gave her a long, unreadable look. Then he crossed to the vent above the filing cabinet. It was wide enough for one person. He dragged the cabinet beneath it.
"Boost me up," he said.
Amara helped him climb. Adrian pushed the vent cover aside and hoisted himself in, boots scraping metal. "I'll find a way to unlock the door. If I'm not back in five minutes, find something sharp. And pray."
She raised an eyebrow. "I don't pray."
He smirked and disappeared.
---
Four minutes later.
The door clicked. Slowly swung open. Adrian stepped in, dusty and red-faced. "The hallway's clear. But something's off, because most of the staff rooms are locked too."
They slipped out, heading toward the east stairwell, ducking under camera blind spots.
By the time they reached the common room, an inbox notification had already spread across the students' portals.
Another file. This time unencrypted.
"Project Providence: Unclassified Brief."
---
By evening, Amara and Adrian sat behind the locked doors of the west library basement, screens glowing from the heat of the reveal. Every student had the file. Every teacher was silent.
Adrian muttered, "So this was never about education. It was always about culling."
Amara whispered, "No wonder only certain families get the leadership positions. It's not legacy. It's engineering."
From outside the basement door, footsteps echoed. Calm, slow.
They exchanged a look. Then the voice came:
"You've seen what we let you see. Ready for what comes next?"
---
End of Chapter Thirty-One