Clear Water, Hidden Danger

Chapter 29 – The Room Splits

The control room looked the same. Same hum. Same glow of monitors. Same rainwater dripping off the boots lined by the door. Nothing had changed.

But everyone had.

Word traveled fast across the plant. By the time Alex guided me out of the control room and down the main corridor, people were already gathering. Engineers. Medics. Security. Civilians who had barely stepped outside their bunk areas in days. Faces tight with fear. Others bright with something that almost looked like faith.

They all stared at me like I had become a new variable they had to solve before the day ended.

Hawk leaned against the vending machine with his arms folded and eyes calm. “He’s still RJ,” he said to no one in particular. “A little more complicated than yesterday, but same man.”

Jenn Felner shook her head. “You did not see what we saw. His eyes rolled back like something grabbed him from inside.”

“That does not make him dangerous,” Alex snapped before I could. She moved closer to me like she was expecting someone to take a swing.

Jacob Epperson shuffled forward with a low voice. “If whatever is under Well House 27 is tied to him, we need to understand it. Not fear it.”

Sarah Epperson nodded beside him, clutching her medical notebook. “He kept this place standing. We owe him trust.”

A few feet away, others were not so convinced.

Trey Felner whispered to Wolf, thinking he was subtle. “If he blacks out again, and it triggers something in the tunnels, what then. What if it puts all of us at risk.”

Wolf did not answer. His silence was worse.

Cruz stepped right into the middle of the hallway and raised both hands. “Everyone stop. Just stop.” She pointed at me. “He did not choose this. And none of us know enough to jump to fear or praise. We need data. We need calm heads. Not panic.”

Her voice had weight. People quieted.

Carmen moved through the crowd with Mateo Sr. right behind her. There was no fear on her face. Not even hesitation. Just a hard, steady resolve shaped by grief and rebuilt by purpose.

She stopped in front of me. “I do not care what they did to you. You kept my family alive. Whatever is waking up in you does not change that.”

Mateo Sr. nodded once. “We face it together. Same as everything else.”

Behind them, a soft voice broke.

Marie had slipped her hand into Alex’s. “Is he sick,” she asked quietly. “Like the others were.”

Alex knelt beside her. “No, he is not sick.” She kept her voice soft and steady. “He is remembering, baby.”

Whispers spread again.
Remembering what.
Remembering who.
Remembering why.

Lin appeared with his tablet and was breathing hard. Any time someone came running with that look, it meant trouble.

“The readings spiked again,” he said. “The hum is louder. South conduit. Same as before. And the waveform changed frequency when RJ woke up.”

A ripple went through the crowd.

Wolf finally spoke. “That is not a coincidence.”

“For once, we agree,” Cruz said, staring at her tablet. “RJ’s episode synced with a shift in the hum. Something under WH27 responded to him.”

That was all it took.

The line in the room became visible.
Two groups.
No shouting.
Just a quiet split.

On my left: Wolf, Trey, Jenn, a few civilians clutching their bags like they were ready to evacuate.

On my right: Alex, Cruz, Carmen, Mateo Sr., Hawk, the Eppersons, Lin, Santiago, Helms.

The people who had seen me bleed.
The people who had watched me carry bodies.
The people who had trusted me long before today.

Dave arrived last, pushing through both sides with that tired step he always had when the entire plant was on the brink of losing its mind.

He planted himself in front of everyone.

“No one here is voting on RJ,” he said. “This is not a jury. This is survival. You do not survive by splitting your own people over fear. You survive by figuring out the damn problem.”

He jerked his chin at me. “So tell us. What do you feel right now.”

I opened my mouth.

Stopped.

Tried again.

“It feels like someone knocking,” I said. “Not loud. Not soft. Just steady. Like a heartbeat that isn’t mine.”

More whispers.
More looks.

Alex took my hand.

Cruz exhaled. “Then we start there.”

Wolf’s jaw flexed. “Or we make sure that knocking does not open something we cannot close.”

Dave cut him off. “No decisions until we know more. RJ stays with the people who know him best. The rest of you need to breathe and back off.”

Slowly, the hallway thinned. The tension stayed.

Alex stepped closer to me. “Whatever is happening, you are not facing it alone.”

I nodded.

But as the last of the group dispersed, the hum in the pipes changed pitch.
A soft vibration under the soles of my boots.
A thrum that slid up my spine like recognition.

Whatever was under WH27 was not afraid.
Not curious.
Not dormant.

It was waiting.

For me.

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ANONYMOUS FIELD LOG — ENTRY ALPHA
CLASSIFIED — PROJECT ECHO CLEARANCE REQUIRED:
CWP population exhibited visible polarization following Anchor’s resonance-linked neural episode. Support faction centered around established interpersonal bonds; dissent faction led by previously noted instability vector projecting threat-oriented narratives. Anchor’s physiological state stabilized, but sublevel hum beneath WH27 demonstrated direct frequency shift in response to Anchor reawakening, confirming bidirectional recognition. Situation remains volatile but structurally intact; continued shadow-proximity monitoring recommended.
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ANONYMOUS FIELD LOG — ENTRY BRAVO
CLASSIFIED — PROJECT ECHO CLEARANCE REQUIRED:
NLC leadership detected synchronized oscillation echo matching CWP spike, prompting immediate closed-session review by Major Jackson and command staff. Discussion highlighted increasing likelihood of Anchor-centered regional node formation with CWP as emergent epicenter. Internal facility tensions escalating; two security personnel reassigned following confrontation over lockdown authority. Embedded asset maintains full cover and operational access.