Clear Water, Hidden Danger

Chapter 27 – Resonance Awakened

They rolled through the north gate in just under 7 min. Heat shimmered off the gravel. Engines rumbled into silence. Nobody cheered. Nobody relaxed. It felt like the air had been holding its breath for too long.

Neal climbed down first, posture rigid. She looked like someone who’d seen a pattern she didn’t want to believe.

“Report,” I said.

“Inside,” she answered. “Not out here.”

That told me everything.

Cruz helped Burns off the flatbed, his arm newly wrapped. Hawk swept angles. Wolf shut the gate with a hard metal snap.

Inside the admin hall, Neal finally spoke.

“We were hit,” she said. “But this wasn’t random Zerker movement.”

Hawk nodded tightly. “They weren’t wandering. They were moving on purpose. Like they were following something.”

A chill traced my spine.

Then Neal reached into her vest and pulled out a small dented drive.

“From the commanding officer at NLC,” she said. “He said you’d understand once you watched it.”

The metal felt colder than it should when I took it.

I locked myself in the control room.

The drive clicked into the terminal.

A directory bloomed across the screens:

ECHO ARCHIVE – SECURITY RED

PHASE DELTA – NEURAL CLEANSE PROGRAM

FILE GROUPS:
• Pentagon Retention Trials – 2001–2008
• Kandahar Frequency Integration – 2008–2011
• Coos Bay Black Site – 2011–2013
• StratCOM / Stafford AFB – 2013–2018
• Civilian Monitoring Assignment – 2018–Present

My stomach tightened.

They weren’t random files.

They were my timeline.

Every place I had ever worked.

Every chapter of my life.

Every gap I’d ever wondered about.

The system knew before I did.

I opened the first file.

Pentagon – 2003

A white room. Stainless steel. Bolted chairs.
Contractors strapped in, eyes vacant.

The hum — the same hum I’d felt under Clear Water’s concrete — leaked through the speakers.

A flatline beep held too long.

Then a woman’s voice:

“Subject 114 cleared.”
“Subject 203 reclassified.”
“Subject 219 retention stable.”
“Proceed with civilian reintegration.”

My chest tightened.

Subject 219?

I moved on.

Pentagon – 2005

The same room.
The same tone.
More people.
More tests.

Notes flagged:

Memory dampening successful
Harmonic responsiveness above threshold
219 shows persistent retention

My pulse quickened.

They said “retention” like it was a feature, not a warning.

Kandahar – 2009

The screen flared into desert heat:

Sand whipping through rotor wash.
A Black Hawk lifting off.
Gunfire disciplined, controlled.
A satellite van pointed at the horizon.

And that hum — perfected now.
Sharper.
Directed.

A man stood before the chaos, mirrored shades reflecting a burning truck behind him.

“Frequency test complete,” he said.
“Run it again.”

“This wasn’t surveillance footage.
This was from a helmet cam — mine.”

“…no, no… please… not again…”

I felt my stomach knot.
My fingers curled against the desk.

This wasn’t training.

It was conditioning.

Coos Bay Black Site – 2012

A concrete room, darker than the Pentagon footage.

Metal chair.
Wrist restraints.
Pulse frequencies logged in decimals.
Someone’s handwriting in the margins:

“219 maintains recall even after deep sweep.”
“Consider additional wipe protocols.”

My breath shook.

Recall?
Retention?
Deep sweep?

Why had I ever needed any of that?

StratCOM / Stafford AFB – 2013–2018

Memos, cold and technical.

Neural Cleanse – Full Scope
Behavioral Stabilization
Final Memory Gate Lock
Civilian Assignment Alpha: Douglas County Corrections, Omaha, NE
Civilian Assignment Omega: Clear Water Plant, Bellevue, NE
Status: Integration smooth
Surveillance: Low risk

“Integration.”
“Surveillance.”

I scrolled to the last file — the only one left.

I opened it.

Static cleared into a single room.

One chair.

One subject strapped in.

Me.

Younger.
Empty-eyed.
Silent.
My contractor badge hanging just like I remembered wearing it.

“The hum vibrated in my skull — the same frequency from the tapes — and my nervous system reacted before I even understood why.”

The room tilted.

Heat shot behind my eyes.

My jaw locked.

The seizure hit like a hammer.

I hit the floor.

My limbs jerked in rapid stuttered bursts.

The lights flickered.

“Something old had recognized me.”

Chuchis’ claws scratched the door, frantic, her high-pitched cries cutting through the hum.

And then—

The room dissolved.

The tone, a crescendo—

And the world snapped.

I was on the floor.

Cold tile under my cheek.
Vision doubled.
Chest heaving.

The door didn’t just open — it exploded inward.

Wolf slammed through it, rifle half-raised, eyes scanning until they found me.

Alex dropped to her knees beside me instantly.

“Pa! Baby—look at me. Look at me.”

Carmen pinned my shoulder so I didn’t roll.
Cruz had her med kit open, hands steady.

“He’s conscious,” she said. “Keep him on his side. His breathing is returning to normal.”

Chuchis whined through a shattered plank, tail trembling.

Wolf’s eyes locked on the monitor still playing the footage of me strapped into the chair.

He didn’t say a word.

He didn’t have to.

Everyone in that doorway understood what none of us wanted to say:

Whatever was waking up under Well House 27 wasn’t new.
It was part of me.
It had always been part of me.
And it had just reactivated.

========================================
ANONYMOUS FIELD LOG — ENTRY ALPHA
CLASSIFIED — PROJECT ECHO CLEARANCE REQUIRED:
Subject Zero experienced a severe resonance event inside the CWP control room after exposure to unknown digital media delivered by returning field unit. Spike registered across the compound as a brief sensory distortion detectable to non-SCD personnel. Audible hum localized to admin wing; no Phase III signatures at perimeter. Rourke responded first from nearby corridor, demonstrating heightened protectiveness rather than dissidence. Medical team stabilized Subject Zero without knowledge of underlying cause. Compound cohesion remained intact despite temporary panic. Continued covert proximity required as Anchor pathways appear partially reactivated.
========================================
ANONYMOUS FIELD LOG — ENTRY BRAVO
CLASSIFIED — PROJECT ECHO CLEARANCE REQUIRED:
NLC recorded a simultaneous resonance disturbance matching CWP’s spike window. Medical staff reported agitation among late-stage reactive patients; two attempted to breach restraints. Leadership attributed the anomaly to subterranean conduit interference. Command staff unaware of Anchor involvement. Jackson’s inner circle intensified data review on carrier-frequency drift surrounding the southern grid, suspecting a system-level shift but lacking confirmation. Infiltration remains secure; all information channeled without compromise.