Chapter 87 The Selection Starts Backfiring
The hallway outside the admin wing felt colder than it should’ve.
Not physically.
Just wrong. Like the building had decided it was done letting people move freely.
Lenora noticed it immediately.
Doors that were usually open were now shut.
Teachers that should’ve been moving between classes were standing still in pairs, speaking in low voices.
And the students…
They weren’t running anymore.
They were watching.
Kylen slowed beside her. “They’ve locked down half the wing.”
Lilibeth looked ahead. “That was fast.”
The boy from the hockey team stayed slightly behind them. “It’s not just lockdown.”
Kylen glanced at him. “Then what is it?”
He didn’t answer immediately.
Because they all felt it now.
Something had shifted in how the school was behaving.
Lenora stopped walking.
Not because she wanted to.
Because something ahead made her pause.
At the end of the corridor, two staff members stood near a checkpoint point that hadn’t been there earlier.
A temporary desk. Barriers. A list in hand.
They were checking names.
Students.
One by one.
Lilibeth frowned. “That wasn’t here before.”
Kylen’s jaw tightened. “They’re filtering movement.”
Lenora watched the process.
A student approached.
Name checked.
Let through.
Another student.
Denied.
Redirected.
The boy spoke quietly behind them. “They’re controlling who moves where.”
Kylen turned slightly. “Why?”
Lenora didn’t take her eyes off the checkpoint.
“Because they’re isolating something,” she said.
Lilibeth looked at her. “Or someone.”
That landed differently.
The line at the checkpoint shifted again.
Another student denied.
Told to go back.
No reason given.
Kylen exhaled. “This is getting worse.”
Lenora finally moved forward again.
Not toward the checkpoint.
Along the side corridor instead.
Lilibeth followed immediately. “Where are you going?”
Lenora didn’t slow down. “Away from selection.”
The boy kept pace. “That won’t last long. They’re closing routes.”
Kylen looked back once. “We need another way out of this wing.”
Lenora nodded slightly. “We already had one.”
They turned into a narrower corridor.
Less traffic.
Less visibility.
But not empty.
A staff door ahead was slightly open.
Light spilling through.
Lilibeth slowed. “That’s not standard access.”
Kylen frowned. “Nothing here is standard anymore.”
The boy stepped closer. “That leads to internal offices.”
Lenora didn’t hesitate.
She pushed the door open.
Inside, the space was quieter.
Desks. Files. Staff moving too quickly for it to be normal routine.
Someone looked up immediately.
“What are you doing here?” a woman asked sharply.
Kylen stepped forward slightly. “Trying to get out.”
The woman didn’t move. “This corridor is restricted.”
Lilibeth replied, “So is half the school now apparently.”
That earned them a sharp look.
But no immediate removal.
That meant things were too unstable to enforce properly.
Lenora walked further in.
She wasn’t looking for permission.
She was looking for exits.
A staff member at the far end was speaking on a phone.
Kylen leaned slightly toward Lenora. “That’s what they meant by selection.”
Lenora nodded once.
“Yes.”
The boy frowned. “But why students specifically?”
No one answered immediately.
Because the answer wasn’t clean.
Lilibeth spoke quietly. “They’re separating groups.”
Kylen added, “Based on involvement.”
Lenora stopped walking.
That was it.
“They’re sorting reactions,” she said.
Silence.
Kylen looked at her. “Reactions to what?”
Lenora didn’t answer right away.
Because she already knew the pattern.
Pamela. The lab. The archive. The protest. The admin wing.
Everything that had escalated.
“They’re mapping influence,” she said finally.
Lilibeth frowned. “That doesn’t make sense in a school context.”
Lenora looked at her. “It does if something bigger is being protected.”
That made the room feel tighter.
A staff member walked past them quickly, not paying attention.
Carrying a list.
The same list.
The boy narrowed his eyes. “That’s the same sheet from the checkpoint.”
Kylen’s voice dropped. “They’re coordinating inside and outside the wing.”
Lenora turned slightly.
“So the selection isn’t just outside,” she said.
Lilibeth caught on. “It’s everywhere.”
Silence again.
From deeper inside the office area, a door opened.
Another staff member stepped out.
Looked directly at them.
Not surprised.
Not curious.
Confirmed.
Kylen shifted slightly. “We should go.”
Lenora nodded.
But before they could move—
A voice from behind them.
Calm.
Controlled.
Familiar in the wrong way.
“You’re in the wrong section.”
They turned.
The same admin official from earlier stood at the entrance.
Blocking the corridor.
Not aggressive.
Final.
Lilibeth straightened slightly. “We’re leaving.”
The man didn’t move. “Not through here.”
Kylen stepped forward. “Then give us another route.”
The man shook his head slightly.
“There is no other route for you,” he said.
Silence.
Lenora looked at him.
Not surprised.
Just reading.
“You’re part of the selection,” she said.
That made him pause slightly.
Just enough to confirm it.
Kylen’s expression tightened. “So we’re being filtered too.”
The man didn’t deny it.
Lilibeth exhaled slowly. “On what basis?”
The man finally responded.
“Exposure level.”
Silence hit again.
The boy muttered behind them. “That explains too much.”
Lenora took a small step forward.
“So what am I categorized as?” she asked.
The man looked directly at her.
“High exposure.”
That was it.
Kylen stepped closer to her instinctively.
“Meaning what?” he asked.
The man didn’t answer Kylen.
Still looking at Lenora.
“It means,” he said quietly, “you are now being monitored differently.”
Silence.
Lilibeth’s voice dropped. “That’s not school policy.”
The man finally moved slightly aside.
“Policy changed,” he said.
And that was worse.
Because it wasn’t chaos anymore.
It wasn’t rumor.
It wasn’t even protest.
It was structure.
Adjusting in real time.
Kylen looked at Lenora.
“We’re not just in this anymore,” he said.
Lenora didn’t look away from the man.
“I know,” she replied.