**Oakridge Academy — Restricted Wing**
The door shut with a hydraulic hiss.
Aarvin didn't flinch.
But the sound settled in his chest like a verdict.
The room was clean. White walls. A single bed. A desk bolted to the floor. A camera in the corner. No windows.
Administrative isolation.
Not a prison.
Something worse.
A place designed to make you feel forgotten.
A speaker crackled overhead.
"Temporary containment pending review," a mechanical voice announced.
"Any damage to property will extend suspension."
Silence returned.
Aarvin sat on the bed.
Not angry.
Not afraid.
Thinking.
Lucien wanted him removed from the board.
Disconnected from the Pack.
Disconnected from influence.
Classic containment.
Aarvin smiled faintly.
They had underestimated one thing.
He had never needed noise to start a storm.
**Elsewhere — Riyan**
Riyan was placed in a similar room two corridors away.
He tested the door once.
Steel. Reinforced. Locked externally.
He laughed under his breath.
"So this is Protocol Seven. Fancy cages."
He sat back, hands behind his head.
Adrien had plans.
Aarvin always had plans.
Riyan's role was simple.
Survive long enough to execute them.
**Elsewhere — Adrien**
Adrien was not placed in isolation.
Lucien had made a different calculation.
Adrien walked freely across campus — but under observation. Two staff members trailed at a polite distance.
Not guards.
Watchers.
Adrien didn't acknowledge them.
He walked straight to the library terminal.
Logged in.
Typed one word:
**OVERRIDE**
A password box appeared.
He entered a sequence.
The screen blinked.
**ACCESS DENIED**
Adrien smiled.
"Good," he murmured.
"So you did your homework too."
This would take time.
But time was something storms knew how to use.
**Elsewhere — John**
John sat alone in his dorm room.
His roommate had been quietly relocated.
No explanation given.
No goodbye.
He stared at the wall.
His phone vibrated.
**Unknown Number: Basement cameras wiped. External backup still exists. Meet at 02:00. Maintenance corridor C.**
John didn't ask how.
He only typed back:
**I'll be there.**
Betrayal had given him scars.
Now loyalty gave him purpose.
**Elsewhere — Lucien**
Lucien stood in his office, hands behind his back, watching live camera feeds.
Aarvin sitting calmly.
Riyan reclining.
Adrien walking.
John isolated.
His assistant spoke nervously.
"Sir… was this wise? They are… unusually coordinated."
Lucien didn't look away from the screen.
"Storms are impressive," he said.
"But storms exhaust themselves."
He turned.
"When they realize they are alone… they will fold."
He said it with certainty.
But as he spoke, the camera on Aarvin's cell glitched for half a second.
Just enough to show something new.
Aarvin was smiling.
**To be continued…