Leah Gagnon — Point of View
Leah spread the BR‑12 permit diagram across the table, smoothing the creases with her palms. Six horizontal levels. Each level has a label S‑1 through S‑6. A simple structure on paper. But nothing about this was simple.
She pulled up Aiyana’s recorded statements; the ones Samantha had carefully transcribed:
- South Room
- South Four
- Red light under the door
- Clicking near the floor
- Don’t look at me
Leah exhaled slowly. “Okay,” she murmured. “Let’s build this.”
Eliza, Evan, Hayes, and Elijah gathered around her. The room felt smaller than usual — not physically, but because the stakes were pressing in from all sides.
###
Eliza Morningstar — Point of View
Eliza leaned over the diagram. “BR‑12 has six sublevels,” she said. “But Aiyana only mentioned the South Rooms. Not East, West, or North.”
Hayes frowned. “So, the South Rooms are a subset.”
Evan nodded. “A wing. Or a block.”
Elijah’s voice was quiet. “Or a purpose.”
Eliza looked at him. Elijah didn’t elaborate. He didn’t need to.
###
Leah Gagnon — Point of View
Leah tapped the diagram. “These labels — S‑1 through S‑6 — they’re too clean. Too generic. But Aiyana said South Four. That’s not a level. That’s a room.”
Hayes leaned in. “So, S‑4 is the level. South Four is a room on that level.”
Leah nodded. “Exactly.”
She drew a quick sketch:
S‑4 (Level)
├── South 1
├── South 2
├── South 3
└── South 4
Evan frowned. “Four rooms per level?”
“Maybe,” Leah said. “Or more. But Aiyana only mentioned South Four.”
Elijah spoke softly. “She said the older girl was in South Four.”
Leah nodded. “So the room is active.”
###
Carter Hayes — Point of View
Hayes studied the permit diagram again. “These corridors,” he said, pointing to the narrow lines branching off each level, “they’re too small for storage. Too narrow for equipment.”
Eliza nodded. “But perfect for cells.”
Hayes swallowed. “Or holding rooms.”
Leah added, “Or isolation rooms.”
Elijah’s jaw tightened. “Or places to hide children.”
The room fell silent.
###
Leah Gagnon — Point of View
Leah forced herself to keep going. “Aiyana said the clicking came from the wall. Low. Near the floor.” She circled the lower corner of the S‑4 diagram. “That’s where the locking mechanisms would be.”
Hayes nodded. “Magnetic locks. Floor‑level sensors. Motion strips.”
Eliza added, “And the red light under the door? That’s a hallway alert system.”
Leah swallowed. “Meaning when the red light came on… someone was walking the corridor.”
Elijah’s voice was low. “The quiet man.”
###
Evan Blackhorse — Point of View
Evan stepped closer to the table. “Look at the spacing,” he said. “They arranged these rooms in a line. Not a cluster.”
Leah nodded. “A hallway. One direction. One exit.”
Eliza frowned. “Why only one exit?”
Evan answered without hesitation. “To control movement.”
Hayes added, “To prevent escape.”
Elijah’s voice was barely above a whisper. “To keep them quiet.”
###
Leah Gagnon — Point of View
Leah pulled up the surveillance footage again — the quiet man limping along the access road, checking the ditch and scanning the tree line. “Not security,” she said. “Maintenance. Someone who knows the systems, the locks, and the sensors.”
Eliza nodded. “And he knows the South Rooms.”
Leah tapped the diagram again. “If we can figure out which level Aiyana was on, we can narrow down where the older girl is.”
Hayes frowned. “Did she ever mention a number?”
Leah shook her head. “No. But she mentioned something else.”
She pulled up the transcript. Aiyana’s voice, small and trembling, “The light was red. But sometimes… it was blue.”
Elijah stiffened. “Blue?”
Leah nodded. “I think the blue light marks a different level.”
###
Eliza Morningstar — Point of View
Eliza leaned over the diagram again. “Red for S‑4,” she murmured. “Blue for… S‑3? Or S‑5?”
Hayes frowned. “Why color‑code levels?”
Evan answered quietly. “Moving kids without speaking.”
Elijah closed his eyes. Aiyana’s voice echoed in his mind: “When the red light comes… don’t move.”
Eliza exhaled. “They trained them to respond to colors.”
Leah nodded. “And if we can figure out which color belongs to which level… we can map the entire South Wing.”
###
Leah Gagnon — Point of View
Leah circled the diagram. “We know this much:
- South Four is active
- Red light marks that level
- Blue light marks a different level
- The quiet man walks the corridor
- The clicking is the lock system
- The rooms are in a line
- There is one exit
- The older girl is in South Four
Now we need to figure out where Aiyana was.”
Elijah spoke softly. “She said she heard the older girl through the wall.”
Leah nodded. “So, Aiyana was in South Three or South Five.”
Hayes exhaled. “Two possibilities.”
Eliza shook her head. “No. One.”
Everyone looked at her. Eliza pointed to the diagram. “If the older girl was protecting Aiyana, they would have placed her above, not below Aiyana.”
Leah blinked. “Why?”
Eliza’s voice was steady. “Because the people running this place, don’t care if the older kids hear the younger ones cry.”
A long silence followed. Then Leah circled the level above S‑4. S‑3 — South Rooms. Blue light. Aiyana’s level.
###
Elijah Greyhawk — Point of View
Elijah stared at the diagram. Aiyana in South Three. The older girl in South Four. The quiet man walking the corridor between them. He felt something cold settle in his chest. “We know where she was,” he whispered. “We know where the older girl is.”
He looked at the others. “And now we know where he walks.”
Eliza nodded. “Which means we know where to find him.”