Orphaned Seed
Copyright© 2026 by Fantasylover11
Chapter 29: The Beacon Break
The first warning was the way the lights in the dorm hallway flickered in sync with Noah’s pulse.
Not all the lights.
Just one.
A tired fluorescent that had never been steady, now blinking like it had learned a new rhythm.
Noah stopped and watched it a moment.
Masking tightened.
His Focus dipped.
FOCUS: 121/130
Sienna came to a stop beside him.
“You feel it,” she said.
Noah nodded.
“It’s due,” he replied.
Sienna’s eyes sharpened. “Another pulse.”
Noah exhaled.
“Yeah,” he said. “Tonight.”
They didn’t say beacon in the dorm hallway.
They didn’t say Gideon.
They moved.
Noah led them out through a side stairwell and across the quad under a sky that looked like it couldn’t decide between snow and rain.
The Gate incident had been contained.
On paper.
In the ground, it was still active.
The Trait sat in him like a dull bruise.
Plausible Deniability.
He hated that he could feel how the world now expected him to lie.
His Stress sat high.
Not a number on the overlay.
A physical thing.
Hands that didn’t stop shaking all the way.
Sleep that didn’t stick.
Headaches that arrived with the taste of copper.
If he leaned on Presence too hard, he’d tip into backlash.
He could feel that edge the way you could feel ice under thin boots.
Imani met them at the service entrance behind the athletics center.
She wore a dark hoodie and a too-bright expression that didn’t fit the cold.
“You’re late,” she said.
“You’re loud,” Sienna replied.
Imani’s smile twitched.
“I’m coping,” she said.
Noah didn’t waste time.
“Route,” he said.
Imani glanced over her shoulder.
“Maintenance corridor,” she whispered. “Badge-locked. But I can get you in.”
Sienna’s eyes narrowed.
“How?” she asked.
Imani’s fingers brushed her necklace.
“Because somebody likes paying me more than they like paying the facilities crew,” she said.
Noah’s stomach tightened.
“You took money,” Noah said.
Imani’s smile faded.
“I took access,” she corrected. “And I’m spending it on not dying.”
Noah held her gaze.
“We can talk about ethics later,” he said.
Imani snorted. “You people and your lines.”
Sienna stepped closer.
“We keep them,” she said.
Imani held Sienna’s gaze a moment.
Then she nodded once.
“Fine,” she said. “Follow me.”
The maintenance corridor smelled like dust and hot metal.
Pipes ran along the ceiling. A vent rattled. The concrete under Noah’s boots was damp enough to make each step feel louder than it should.
Imani swiped a keycard Noah didn’t recognize.
The lock clicked.
“Where did you get that?” Noah asked.
Imani’s mouth curved.
“That’s the problem,” she said. “If I tell you, it becomes leverage.”
Sienna’s gaze cut to Noah.
No secrets that become leverage.
Noah swallowed.
“Then tell me the category,” Noah said.
Imani blinked.
“Staff,” she said. “Not faculty. Not Meridian.”
Cold settled.
“Gideon,” he said.
Imani didn’t answer.
That was answer enough.
They moved deeper.
The pressure in Noah’s ears built.
Not as loud as the Gate.
Sharper.
Like a needle.
Sienna touched his sleeve once.
Check-in.
“I’m here,” Noah murmured.
Sienna nodded.
“If you use Presence,” she said softly.
“I tell you,” Noah replied.
Imani made a quiet gagging noise.
Sienna ignored it.
They reached a junction where a hatch in the wall sat behind a stack of folded chairs.
Imani shoved the chairs aside.
“Down,” she said.
Noah crouched and pulled the hatch open.
Cold air breathed out.
Underquad access.
The world underneath the university waited.
The tunnel on the other side was narrow and wrong.
Not physically.
Perceptually.
Noah’s mind tried to slide off it like it didn’t want to hold the details.
The Veil pressed.
He pushed back with breath.
Connection steadied his chest.
He didn’t extend it.
He didn’t use it on them.
He kept it for himself.
They moved toward the pressure.
Noah’s Focus dropped with every step.
FOCUS: 76/130
His Stress climbed.
He could feel the bruise of Plausible Deniability flare, as if the Trait hated being near the thing it had helped him steal.
“There,” Sienna whispered.
Noah saw it.
A bracket bolted into the wall.
Black residue.
New mount.
Second beacon.
And the pulse.
Under the concrete.
Counting down.
Noah crouched.
“Hands only,” he said.
Sienna nodded.
Imani watched the corridor, face pale.
Noah reached for the bolts.
The pressure in his ears spiked.
The Veil tried to make his fingers clumsy.
The beacon pulsed.
Noah’s vision narrowed.
His hands shook.
He felt the temptation rise.
Presence could make the shaking stop.
Presence could make the room cooperate.
Presence could make Imani stop breathing so loud.
Noah swallowed.
No coercive.
He kept his breath steady.
Then the warm voice arrived.
“Mercer,” Gideon Rusk said.
Noah froze.
Sienna’s hand tightened on his shoulder.
Imani made a small, terrified sound.
Gideon stepped into the tunnel entrance like he owned the concrete.
RU staff lanyard.
Friendly smile.
Eyes that watched exits.
“You’re persistent,” Gideon said.
Noah stood slowly.
“You’re early,” Noah replied.
Gideon chuckled.
“I’m on time,” he corrected.
The beacon pulsed harder.
The air pressure thickened.
His Stress spiked.
Gideon lifted a sigiled token.
Not the same as the Gate.
Smaller.
Sharper.
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