The sun rose slowly over the campus, brushing the world with soft gold and pale lavender. But for Archie, William, and Amanda, dawn brought no comfort—only a brittle silence thick with unspoken fears.
Archie woke first, eyes fluttering open to the faint hum of the city stirring beyond the dorm window. The morning light spilled across the floor in long, warm slashes. He felt the weight of the night still lingering—a heaviness in his chest that refused to lift.
He shifted, feeling William's steady breath beside him, the warmth of their joined hands beneath the thin blanket. The quiet was sacred, a fragile refuge from the chaos waiting outside.
But as Archie's gaze drifted to William's peaceful face, that silent scream from the night before echoed again—louder now, threading through his mind like a jagged scar.
Across the hall, Anne was already awake. The smell of coffee and freshly toasted bread wafted from the small kitchenette where Amanda was perched, phone and papers spread out like a battlefield. The pale light of early morning caught the tired lines on Amanda's face—an exhaustion deeper than sleep could touch.
Anne poured two steaming cups, carrying one carefully to Amanda. "You didn't sleep either," she said softly.
Amanda shook her head, eyes flickering with grim determination. "No. Not with what I found." She took the cup, fingers trembling slightly. "This... this changes everything."
Anne sat beside her, voice low. "We have to tell them. William and Archie need to know."
Amanda nodded. "I'll meet them after class. We can't wait."
William's thoughts tangled with the fragments of memories clawing to surface, and the chilling knowledge that his parents' control ran deeper than he ever imagined. Every glance, every whispered word from Amanda replayed in his mind, unraveling the careful facade he'd worn for years.
At lunch, he found Archie waiting by the old sycamore—their secret place, still quiet beneath the growing heat of the day. Archie's eyes held a mix of hope and fear, the fragile thread between them taut with the weight of unspoken questions.
Amanda arrived moments later, her presence both a balm and a warning.
She sat beside them, breathing in the scent of fresh earth and leaves. "I have something you need to see."
Archie and William exchanged a glance before Amanda pulled out her phone, the images flickering on the screen.
The files—medical reports with cold, clinical handwriting spelling out betrayal and erasure. The notes on sedation, the warnings, the security logs proving Archie's removal from the hospital records.
William's jaw clenched. "They lied. All of it."
Amanda's voice was steady but fierce. "They didn't just lie. They tried to erase you both. To erase what you mean to each other."
Archie swallowed hard. "Why? Why us?"
Amanda's eyes burned with a mixture of anger and sorrow. "Because you were a threat. To their power. To their secrets."
The weight of those words hung between them, thick and suffocating.
William's hand found Archie's, fingers curling tight. "We have to fight back. We have to take this to the light."
Amanda nodded. "And we will. But first, we need a plan. And we need allies."
Anne stepped forward from the shadows of the tree line, her voice calm but resolute. "You're not alone."
For the first time in a long while, the four of them felt a flicker of something precious—hope.
The day faded into evening, the sky bleeding fiery oranges and purples. The campus lights blinked on, one by one, casting long shadows over the path ahead.
Inside the dorm room, the air was thick with whispered conversations and quiet determination. Papers were spread across the desk, maps and notes overlapping like pieces of a fractured puzzle.
Archie looked up at William, his eyes shining with fierce loyalty. "We've lost a lot. But we still have us."
William smiled, a slow, steady curve that held more promise than words. "Together."
Amanda's phone buzzed—a message from an unknown number. She glanced at it, then back to the group.
"It's from someone at Brookhaven. They want to help."
Anne's eyes widened. "This is just the beginning."
Outside, the night deepened, stars trembling in the dark. And somewhere, in the shadows of power and silence, the first sparks of rebellion were quietly kindling.