"Not good." Sadie shook her head, leaning against the table in the common house. Everyone sat around it, on the table a little tourist pamphlet with a map of the area, including the parking lots, the visitor centre and the monument itself. "Not good."

"I've seen their mobile lab." Autumn said and marked a spot on the map, next to the admin building around the back of the staff parking lot. "Converted trailer for a semi."

"We can't sit here. We have to go." Riley said. "They were here, Sadie. They saw the treehouses. They know we're here. It's just a matter of time."

"We're not leaving. This is our home." Sadie replied, unwaveringly, gaze fixed on the map on the table. "I'm not letting them kick me off my home land a second time."

"There's other places, Sadie. Even here, even in South Dakota. Forests, mountains, somewhere truly off the grid. We could start over. Somewhere where they'd never find us." Autumn said. "If we work together, we can-"

"Start over? Start over?" Sadie rolled her eyes. "You think it's that easy? Just pack up and vanish? Maybe in flat pack cardboard boxes?"

"Back me up here, Jacob?" Riley asked, and Jacob looked up from his notepad. He'd been scribbling, drawing intricate circular patterns.

"Hm? Oh, oh. Right." He flipped a few pages, then a few more, until he found a blank one. He'd been drawing the patterns over and over again, with subtle variations. "Statistically speaking, Autumn has a point. If we stay here another forty-eight hours, that increases our risk of exposure by 56%. And then, we get into the possible paths for what happens when they do find us, and those odds don't look good either."

"Math doesn't decide this." Sadie shook her head. "We're staying."

The room fell quiet, the weight of her words sinking in. Louise, sitting next to Abby, signed something rapidly, her pale hands a blur. Abby's brow furrowed in concentration, and after a moment, she spoke hesitantly. "Louise says... the echoes here are heavy. Old. Whatever's in that sphere, it's been awake before, and it's waking up again. She thinks it's why the scientists are back."

"See?" Riley gestured at Louise, her heart pounding. "That's exactly why we can't stay. Whatever's in there - it's not just some rock. It's dangerous, Sadie. It drove my dad away, it's messing with Abby's teleports, and now it's pulling the USGS right to our doorstep."

Sadie's fists clenched on the table, her knuckles whitening. "And you think running will stop it? You think whatever's in that mountain won't follow us? Or worse, call them to wherever we go next? At least here, we know the terrain. We've got the tunnels, the hall, places to fall back to. We can defend ourselves."

"I'm not going back in there." Jacob said, looking up. The calculations on his scrap paper had already been covered by another circular pattern. "Creeps me out."

"And how exactly are you going to defend yourself? And against what, exactly? You can beat up my dad, sure, but what about the thing in the mountain? We don't even know what's going on in there, and you want to defend yourself?"

"We have literal superpowers. We will handle it."

"Powers don't mean invincible," Autumn cut in, her voice low but firm. She was floating an inch off the floor now, her control slipping just enough to betray her nerves. "Riley's right. We don't know what that sphere is, but it's not just sitting there. It's doing something. Messing with Abby's teleports, maybe even Louise's echoes. What if it's calling them here?"

Louise signed rapidly again, her pale hands catching the sunlight streaming through the window. Abby squinted slightly, struggling, then said slowly, "Louise says it's not just the sphere. The whole mountain feels... alive. Like it's watching. Waiting." Abby paused, eyes flicking uncertainly toward Louise before continuing, "She's scared. She says the echoes here are... loud?" She shook her head. "I don't- where the heck is JP?"

Marigold sniffled, wiping her nose with a tissue already fraying at the edges. "Alive? Like... what, the presidents are gonna climb down and chase us?" Her laugh was shaky, more nervous than amused, and it died quickly when no one joined in.

Jacob tapped his pencil against his notepad, the rhythm erratic. "Not impossible," he muttered, almost to himself. "Geometrically speaking, the sphere's dimensions don't align with any natural formation. It's too perfect. And those gravitational anomalies..." His eyes glowed faintly cyan as he fell into a mumble, lost in calculations only he could see. "If it's exerting influence, it could be affecting more than just Abby's powers. Could be affecting us."

"Like what, drawing circles over and over?" Marigold quipped. Jacob just crumpled the note and threw it perfectly into the bin next to the door.

"I'm just... thinking about something." He mumbled and started a new drawing.

Sadie crossed her arms, her gaze sweeping the room like she was daring anyone to challenge her again. Louise's hands moved again, faster this time, her pale fingers slicing through the sunlight with urgent precision. Her eyes were wide, her lips pressed into a thin line, and Abby leaned forward, squinting at the unfamiliar signs.

"Wait, wait, slow down," Abby said, her own hands fumbling as she tried to keep up. "I - I don't get it. Something about… danger? Or time?" She shook her head, frustration creeping into her voice. "Ugh, I'm sorry, Louise. I'm totally botching this."

Louise's shoulders slumped, and she signed again, slower but still intricate, her expression pleading for understanding. Abby threw her hands up. "I don't know! It's like she's saying something's coming, but it's not - ugh, where's JP? He'd get this in two seconds."

The room stilled as her words sank in. Marigold's tissue froze halfway to her nose. Jacob's pencil stopped mid-circle, his eyes narrowing. Riley's head snapped up from where she'd been staring at the map, her fingers tightening on the edge of the table.

"Wait, where is he?" Riley asked, her voice sharp. "He was here, right? Just this morning?"

"Yeah. He was with us when we found the echo," Abby answered. "The bathroom, maybe?"

"During a camp meeting? That's not like him," Autumn said, drifting an inch higher off the floor, her dark eyes scanning the room like she could will him to appear. "He's usually poking into everyone's business by now. Reading our minds and being annoying about it."

Louise signed something short and sharp, her pale face taut with worry. Abby caught only fragments - friend and hurt - before shaking her head again. "Okay, that's it. We need to find him. Now."

Sadie nodded, already moving toward the door. "We split up, cover the camp. He's probably just sleeping or something, but we don't take chances. Not with everything going on."

"Pairs again, at least," Riley added, standing and slinging her backpack over her shoulder. "No one goes alone, not after the rangers were here."

"Agreed," Sadie said. "Autumn, you're with me. We'll check the clearing and the cabin. Abby, Louise, take the upper platforms- SF house, Autumn's place. Jacob, Marigold, Riley, sweep the lower ones - JP's treehouse, the greenhouse, the shed, the... tunnel. Meet back here in twenty if you don't find him."

The group spilled out of the common house, the rope ladders creaking under their weight as they descended into the frosty morning. The camp felt eerily quiet, the usual hum of their makeshift home drowned out by the crunch of snow and the distant groan of wind through the pines. Abby's breath puffed in the cold air as she climbed toward SF house with Louise, her glasses fogging slightly. She kept stealing glances at the younger girl, whose white-grey hair seemed to glow against the stark branches, her hands tucked into her coat pockets like she was bracing for something.

"You feel it too, don't you?" Abby muttered, pausing on the swaying bridge to Autumn's treehouse. "Like… something's watching."

Louise's pale eyes met hers, and she nodded once, sharply, before signing something Abby couldn't catch. Abby sighed, frustration bubbling up again. "I swear, I'm gonna learn LSQ if it kills me. Come on, let's keep moving."

They checked SF house - empty, Riley's bunk still a mess of blankets and her dad's notebook - and then Autumn's, where the crystals glinted coldly in the morning light. No JP. The platforms creaked under their steps, but the camp held its secrets close, offering nothing but shadows and silence.

Down below, Riley trudged alongside Marigold toward JP's treehouse, Jacob a few steps ahead, his eyes glowing faintly as he scanned the ground for tracks. The snow was undisturbed, no fresh prints since the rangers' visit, but Riley's stomach churned with a nagging unease. Marigold sniffled, clutching a fresh tissue, not in the mood for jokes anymore.

"He's fine, right?" Marigold said, her voice small. "I mean, JP's tough. He's probably just… reading one of his weird French books or something."

"Yeah," Riley lied, her boots sinking into the snow. "Probably."

Jacob stopped short at the base of JP's treehouse, his head tilting as he studied the ladder. "No disturbances in the snow, no wear on the rope. He hasn't left."

Riley's pulse quickened. She exchanged a glance with Marigold, who nodded, her tissue crumpling in her fist. "Let's go up," Riley said, grabbing the ladder and hauling herself toward the small, angular platform.

The door to JP's treehouse was slightly ajar, a sliver of darkness peeking through. Riley pushed it open, the hinges groaning, and stepped inside, Marigold and Jacob crowding in behind her. The air was stale, heavy with the metallic tang of mylar and the faint hum of something… wrong. The walls, lined with reflective tarps and sound-dampening foam, seemed to close in around them, swallowing the light from Jacob's flashlight.

"JP?" Riley called softly, her voice muffled by the strange acoustics.

A faint rustle came from the corner. Riley's beam swept over the small bed, where a pile of silver space blankets shifted slightly. JP was curled beneath them, his face pale and slick with sweat, his dark hair plastered to his forehead. His eyes were half-open, unfocused, darting like he was seeing something no one else could. A low groan escaped his lips, barely audible, and his hands clutched at the blankets.

"Shit," Marigold whispered, rushing to his side. She knelt, her hands hovering over him, glowing faintly green as she instinctively reached for her healing power. "JP, can you hear me?"

"He's burning up," Riley said, crouching beside her. She touched his forehead, quickly pulling her hand back at the heat radiating from his skin. "This isn't just a fever."

Jacob stayed by the door, his flashlight beam steady but his voice tight. "Migraine, maybe? He was complaining about his head yesterday."

"It's worse than that," Riley muttered, her eyes scanning JP's face. His lips moved silently, forming words she couldn't make out, and his fingers twitched like he was trying to push something away. "JP, come on, talk to us."

He just shivered, mumbling incomprehensibly, barely registering that they were there. Jacob had already left to get Sadie.

Riley's breath caught as she leaned closer to JP, trying to make sense of his feverish muttering. The words were soft, slurred, tumbling out in a rhythm that felt both foreign and hauntingly familiar. She pressed her ear nearer, straining to catch them, but they slipped through her grasp like smoke.

"Marigold, can you-?" Riley started, but Marigold was already moving, her hands glowing a soft green as she pressed them gently to JP's temples. His shivering eased slightly, but his eyes remained distant.

"He's not responding," Marigold said, her voice tight with worry. She sniffled, though for once it wasn't her allergies. "I'm helping with the fever, but… something's really wrong." She glanced at Riley, her eyes wide. "What's he saying? Can you hear it?"

Riley shook her head, frustration clawing at her. "It's not English. It's…" She paused, listening again as JP's lips moved, the syllables weaving into a strange, lilting cadence. "I don't know. It sounds… old."

The door creaked, and Sadie burst in, Jacob close behind, his flashlight beam cutting through the dimness. Sadie's face was a mask of controlled panic as she knelt beside JP, her hands hovering over him like she could will him back to health with sheer determination. "What happened?" she demanded, her voice sharp but trembling at the edges.

"We found him like this," Riley said, scooting back to give Sadie room. "He's burning up, muttering something. Not making any sense."

Sadie leaned in, her brow furrowing as she listened to JP's whispers. Her expression shifted - recognition, but not understanding. "That's Lakota," she said quietly, almost to herself. "He's speaking Lakota."

Riley blinked, caught off guard. "Lakota? How do you-"

"I grew up around it," Sadie cut in, her tone clipped. "Not fluent, but I know enough to recognise it. He's not making sentences, though. It's… fragments. Like he's repeating something." She shook her head, her fingers curling into fists. "He doesn't even know Lakota. Why the hell is he speaking it now?"

"He said he was hearing voices the other day." Riley said, quietly. "We thought it was Louise, but obviously... it was the mountain, or whatever."

"Can you make him comfortable?" Sadie asked Marigold. She nodded.

"As best as I can, yeah. But you all need to get out of here. No more thoughts than necessary. Got some herbs in the greenhouse, I'll need those. But Sadie..." She hesitated. "This isn't a cold. No telling if I can help at all."

"Do what you can," she replied, her voice softening enough to show that she trusted Marigold. "We're not losing him."

"We can't move him. This is the only isolated space, and if he leaves through that door, he'll pick up at least a thousand stray minds from the visitor centre, and lord knows what happens then."

"Then we're staying." Riley wanted to argue, but didn't. Deep down, Riley knew she was right. They couldn't abandon JP, not when he was like this. She nodded tightly, shoving her hands into her pockets to hide their trembling.

Jacob cleared his throat, still lingering by the door. "I'll… keep watch outside. In case anyone else shows up." His voice was steady, but his eyes darted nervously to JP before he slipped out, the door creaking shut behind him.

Sadie sank back on her heels, her shoulders slumping as the fight drained out of her. "He's gonna be okay," she muttered, more to herself than to Riley. "He has to be."

---

By evening, the camp had settled into an uneasy rhythm. Marigold had returned with a pouch of crushed herbs, brewing a bitter tea that she coaxed down JP's throat with Abby's help. Marigold stayed by his side in his treehouse, her hands glowing faintly as she worked to keep him stable, while Sadie coordinated with the others to secure the camp - checking ladders, locking doors, anything to feel in control.

Riley sat in SF house, her dad's notebook open but unread in her lap. The weight of the day pressed down on her, and the quiet was suffocating. Abby had gone to the common house with Louise, probably still poring over that LSQ book, leaving Riley alone with her thoughts. She glanced at the empty bunk across from her, then out the window, where the pines swayed under a darkening sky. Somewhere out there, Autumn was in her treehouse, probably floating in that strange stillness she always retreated to when things got heavy.

She hadn't said much during the meeting, Riley realised. Autumn had hovered at the edges, her usual sharp confidence dulled, her dark eyes distant. Riley had been too caught up in JP's collapse to notice, but now it nagged at her - Autumn wasn't okay. She'd seen it in the way Autumn's hands had twitched, like she was fighting to keep her gravity fields steady. Riley considered climbing up to check on her, but the thought of navigating that high platform in the dark, with everything else falling apart, stopped her. Autumn would come down when she was ready. Or so Riley told herself.

Up in her treehouse, Autumn was alone, just as Riley suspected. The crystals on her windowsill glinted faintly in the moonlight, but their calm beauty did nothing to soothe her. She sat cross-legged on the floor, her back against the wall, her knees pulled tight to her chest. The air around her hummed with a faint distortion, her power leaking out in ways she couldn't control. Objects trembled - her pendant, a pen, a small stone she'd kept from the cliff face - caught in the edges of her faltering gravity field. Her breathing was shallow, her fingers tracing the crescent moon necklace over and over.

JP's collapse had shaken her more than she'd let on. The mountain, the sphere, the rangers - it was all too much, pressing in from every side. She'd always prided herself on control, on keeping the chaos of her power contained, but now the world itself was slipping through her fingers. The camp was her home, the only place she'd ever felt safe, and now it was unraveling. She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to push the fear down, but it clawed its way back up.

Outside, the wind howled, rattling the treehouse walls. Autumn's hands shook, and the air rippled harder, the pen on her desk lifting an inch before clattering back down. She didn't notice. Her mind was elsewhere. She was alone, and for the first time in years, that solitude felt like drowning.