“It was late—third shift. I was working through a backlog from the Kristen Springs Corporation. A dozen samples, nothing unusual. But one—Sample D3-A2—came back with levels that didn’t make sense. Nitrates off the charts. Traces of lead, cadmium, even volatile organic compounds.

I thought, maybe the vial was mislabeled. Maybe it was contaminated during collection. I ran it twice. Same result.

And I didn’t want to cause a scene. So I just flagged it as “inconclusive” in the final report and sent it through. I thought they’d follow up. That someone upstream would retest. But the next thing I know, there’s a glossy pamphlet in the mail: “Kirsten Springs: Purity You Can Feel.”

I don’t know if I messed up the test or if the test messed up me. I keep thinking about what Dr. Mona said—“We know what happens when people are quiet. Kids get hurt.”

I thought I was just a guy in a lab. But silence is a choice, isn’t it? And I made mine.”