Chapter 79 The Gap Opens
School didn’t feel normal anymore, even when nothing obvious was happening.
That was the worst part.
No announcements. No drama in the hallway. No new posters. Just people acting like they were watching everything a little closer than usual.
Lenora noticed it immediately.
Kylen met her outside the main building before first period.
“No lab access today,” he said.
“They’ll lock it tighter after yesterday,” she replied.
He nodded. “That’s why we don’t go through doors.”
Lilibeth arrived a minute later, scrolling on her phone.
“They moved staff around,” she said without looking up.
Kylen frowned. “Already?”
“Morning briefing,” she replied. “My mom’s name came up twice.”
That made Lenora look at her.
“Why?” Lenora asked.
Lilibeth shrugged slightly. “Damage control. Or damage containment.”
They started walking together.
Not together like a group. Just aligned direction.
The new hockey player was already near the rink entrance when they arrived.
Leaning on the railing like he had been waiting.
“You’re all early,” he said.
Kylen didn’t slow down. “We’re not here for practice.”
The boy nodded like he expected that.
“I figured.”
Lenora stopped briefly. “You knew we’d come here?”
“No,” he replied. “But I knew you’d stop ignoring patterns.”
Lilibeth crossed her arms. “We’re not here for riddles.”
He didn’t react. “Good. Because this isn’t one.”
He pushed off the railing.
“Something changed in the access logs,” he said.
Kylen narrowed his eyes. “Which logs?”
“Archive entry logs,” the boy replied. “They don’t match what was said yesterday.”
Lenora stepped closer. “Explain.”
He didn’t hesitate.
“Someone accessed the archive after we left,” he said. “But not through the main door.”
Kylen frowned. “There’s another entry?”
“There’s always another entry,” he replied.
Lilibeth looked between them. “So someone went back in.”
The boy nodded. “And they didn’t trigger the same restrictions we did.”
That changed the tone.
Lenora asked, “How is that possible?”
The boy looked at her directly. “Because they weren’t treated as intruders.”
Silence.
Kylen straightened slightly. “Meaning they had permission.”
The boy didn’t deny it.
Lilibeth exhaled slowly. “So staff-level access.”
Lenora added, “Or higher.”
They all paused.
That possibility wasn’t new.
Just more real now.
Kylen ran a hand through his hair. “So Pamela gets hurt, archive gets accessed, logs change, and we’re still pretending this is separate incidents?”
“No,” Lilibeth said. “It’s not separate.”
Lenora looked at her. “Then what is it?”
Lilibeth hesitated slightly.
“Adjustment,” she said.
Kylen frowned. “Adjustment to what?”
Lilibeth didn’t answer immediately.
The boy spoke instead.
“To what people are allowed to see.”
That line stayed.
Lenora looked toward the rink.
Something about it felt off today.
Not the structure.
The presence.
“There’s more movement here than usual,” she said.
Kylen nodded. “Practice roster changed.”
The boy added, “Not just roster. Entry logs too.”
Lilibeth checked her phone again.
“Security gates were reset overnight,” she said.
Kylen looked at her. “Reset how?”
“Manually,” she replied. “Not system-wide.”
That meant people, not software.
Not accident.
Lenora spoke quietly.
“So someone is actively controlling what we can access.”
No one disagreed.
A whistle blew from inside the rink.
Practice starting.
Normal noise returning.
But none of them moved.
Kylen finally spoke again.
“If they’re adjusting access,” he said, “then we need to find what they’re protecting.”
The boy nodded. “That’s the only way to predict the next move.”
Lilibeth looked at Lenora.
“And the only thing they’ve reacted strongly to so far is your name.”
That was the connection.
Lenora didn’t respond immediately.
Because she already knew that part.
Kylen stepped forward. “Then we use that.”
Lilibeth frowned slightly. “Use what?”
Kylen looked at Lenora. “We trigger another reaction.”
The boy straightened slightly. “You want to bait them.”
Kylen didn’t deny it.
Lenora finally spoke.
“Not blindly.”
All eyes turned to her.
“If they’re controlling access,” she said, “then we find where control is weakest. Not the archive. Not the lab.”
Lilibeth narrowed her eyes slightly. “Then where?”
Lenora looked toward the building behind the rink.
Administration wing.
Kylen understood immediately.
“You think that’s where the adjustments are coming from.”
Lenora nodded once.
Silence.
The boy exhaled slowly. “That’s not a small step.”
Lilibeth looked at Lenora.
“You’re moving from reacting to targeting now.”
Lenora met her gaze.
“Yes.”
Kylen nodded once.
“Then we stop guessing.”
He looked at the administration building too.
“We go there.”
No one argued.
Not because it sounded safe.
Because it sounded like the only direction left.
And somewhere behind all of it…
Someone had already started adjusting the system again.
Just not in a way they could see yet.