“Water’s Path”19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVKH2UKZ8z1
The grate groaned louder this time.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGIRef8emvK
Musa had oiled the hinges the day before, but rust still fought them on principle. Jabari winced at the noise — not because it might give them away, but because it was inefficient. Unclean. Sloppy.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkLSxG4pR96
Otieno ducked in first, his frame slipping through the rectangular opening like he’d done it before.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMTBWjfqdIl
Because he had.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4KTksZhTIw
Jabari followed, torchlight already painting the sloped concrete ahead of them in shaky yellow arcs. Musa took the rear, glancing back once to check that the lock clicked quietly into place.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsmlhV5RZ0W
Below them, the earth sloped downward — the tunnel running like an artery between buried decades.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXccowpihjz
They said nothing. They had said enough upstairs — mapped it, measured it, debated its existence.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwJqoipy1J0
Now they moved. The walls narrowed where old pipes jutted from the ceiling, dripping condensation and rust. Footprints marked the sludge — faint, shallow, but undeniable.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWAJ3VGpfzC
Otieno paused and pointed. Three footprints. One small, barefoot.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEbPsHMihjN
Musa stared. “Girls’ side?”19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvt16TtaoU0
“Maybe,” Otieno muttered.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkHODynfr8l
“Maybe not,” Jabari said. “Shadow Walkers don’t move to be recognized.”19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8cWoCxgAyU
They walked for seven more minutes.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhb9fbstz6K
The tunnel veered slightly to the left, then leveled. At the far end, beneath the old junction where Kisumu Girls’ science wing once connected to the shared pre-independence utility shaft, a faint patch of air carried a new scent: chalk dust and old detergent.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLL8YHnWtFu
Jabari stopped.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqFylzawIYc
The space widened slightly. A second hatch — rusted but intact — blocked the passage forward. Spray-painted once in faded white: “O3” — the old access tag for shared maintenance between both schools.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZQhRdyRGuo
Jabari placed his hand against it.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtXlRGYjkDx
Warm. Not recent use — recent presence.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHTNEg4P6x9
He knelt and examined the lock. Not padlocked. Not welded. Just… placed. Like someone expected it to stay closed out of memory, not resistance.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9pXlPcXKFj
Otieno bent down beside him. “Should we open it?”19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbLwGraL3Al
Jabari looked to Musa. Musa didn’t nod. He just stepped back.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCoAXXKd2Jr
They opened it.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNtFJO1VGWV
The air that spilled out was drier than the tunnel — warmer. Faint traces of soap and boiled cabbage told them what they feared: They were on the other side now.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfhlg3oITsw
They emerged behind a collapsed water pump near the base of what used to be the girls’ science annex — now a disused tool shed beside a cracked concrete trough.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTyQECXkEiJ
It was quiet. But not still.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOeoWFBj51q
Musa crouched immediately and pointed to something beneath the trough:19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSNcigaeaxp
A red ribbon, frayed at the edge, tied to a pipe. Not school-issued. Shadow Walker.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPUxi4aGTwR
Jabari’s breath slowed.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0QgENJ1wRM
Otieno glanced up toward the tree line. “They know.”19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK1QS0BWyl0
“They’ve known,” Musa muttered.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpCeCu6NaaR
Jabari scanned the treetops, the broken greenhouse beyond the annex, the faint shadows leaning in the wind.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQPB6PocvDA
No alarms. No voices. But they were not alone. He felt it in his bones.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5Tq3k2Rt6H
They didn’t linger. The breach had been proven. The path existed. The schools were not two. They were one body, stitched together by ignorance and fear — and now, that thread was unraveling.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfw5L7XzTqZ
As they retreated into the tunnel, Jabari whispered low:19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlowcuePt5G
“No word of this. Not yet. Not until we understand what they’ve left behind.”19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNRom6ZX8Ps
Musa didn’t respond. But Otieno, from behind, whispered the question they were all too afraid to ask:19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS93N0ijDFW
“And what if they’ve never left?”
*****19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ4n6gaecX9
He wasn’t meant to be there.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNTOtOEChEA
He hadn’t been invited.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHQrIhQ6IC4
Hadn’t even been told.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYLnuNuhN1M
But Juma knew how Jabari moved when he was hiding something. The way he tucked his sleeves. The way he avoided eye contact with people who asked too few questions.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm2cc217mzc
So, when Jabari, Musa, and Otieno vanished after prep without explanation, Juma followed — a few paces back, hidden in the shadow of the unfinished perimeter wall.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQxdG83uSKd
At first, he thought they were going to stash records. Maybe revisit the archive gap Otieno had found. But when they pried open the borehole grate, his stomach turned.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡufJHbt0pqL
The tunnel.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhCatVgBwFm
They were testing the tunnel. Without him.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxA2N1erxV1
Juma waited until the last foot disappeared. Then crept forward and lowered himself in.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPHGOZa55gL
He didn’t follow directly. He walked slower, far enough back to let the echoes settle. He didn’t need to hear them. He just needed to watch. He could still smell the rust of the pipe joints. Still hear the old riddle in his mind— “follow water to truth”. It used to sound like legend.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLISQ6H9lyQ
Now it felt like betrayal.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ16AWYTpLP
Crossing into the girls’ side?19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzGkbRevKIW
For what? Information? Or for someone?19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIFv19r8kGV
Kim’s name surfaced like a wound, unspoken but sharp. Did she know? Had she met Jabari? Was this part of their “alliance,” the one Juma never got the full story on?19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeXlXzypUpH
The wall was supposed to divide them. Now Jabari moved through it like it didn’t exist.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ97U6kdGjis
Juma clenched his fists. It wasn’t just about power anymore. It was about truth. And about who got to hold it first.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAmRuY408CY
As Jabari and his crew reached the junction beneath the science annex and paused to survey the exit point, Juma watched from behind a bend, hidden in shadow.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaT9p2Ngrig
He didn’t speak. Didn’t breathe. But in his chest, a slow decision began to form. If Jabari won’t say what he’s doing… Then Juma will find out for himself.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡieNGf6rxiD
Even if it means crossing alone.
*****19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSsecpU50Ft
They never heard them coming.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvhYZGNURhk
Not Otieno, who usually heard everything. Not Musa, whose instincts were tight as fencing wire. Not even Jabari, who trusted shadows too well.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJwz3GYi92x
They were halfway back through the tunnel, the return path slick with dripping lime-water, when the air shifted.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoZDM41WiiF
It wasn’t light. It was heat. Then a hiss.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡufSexxCTSg
Kerosene.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5QwuZnzhm3
The smell punched into the space like a slap—acrid, chemical, recent.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuEZetxvwnL
Jabari stopped dead. He threw a hand out to halt the others.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc3VWib3JX3
From up ahead — near the tunnel mouth — came a glint.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaEEgoyaz6p
Small. Orange.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ90YSTHN3Kr
Then the flare lit.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc9DICeGDnE
A white-hot hiss exploded forward, rolling fire in a half-spiral across the wet stone. Jabari yanked back violently, his games kit catching on a pipe and nearly igniting.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ64BLhJePFk
He hit the wall hard, smothering the sleeve in dirt. Musa cursed.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaF49kGdKz8
Otieno dove back into the bend.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYeWQnqK7iF
And then they heard it— A voice.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVY94ZiCWw4
Calm. Cold. Crooked by the tunnel’s acoustics:19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡssmeP3F17Z
“You were warned.”19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYocYwGE4Ua
The light died as quickly as it came.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFYRTO53jcK
When they stumbled forward five minutes later — torchlight flickering nervously — they found only the reek of scorched cloth, a blackened floor, and a small smear of red chalk on the tunnel wall:19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyq8fVsEDqJ
A glyph: Shadow Walker fire mark.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKkPCgUrQSd
Jabari said nothing for a long time.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuRBFLbvRAZ
Musa stared at the chalk. “They knew we’d be here.”19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyJ7x4IwyLZ
Otieno clenched his jaw. “They let us in… just to mark the border.”19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjwfVbMY0wQ
Jabari’s voice was low when it finally came:19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBy8PXEfkkT
“No. They let us in… to remind us it’s not ours.”19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDFklBcUCgF
From high above in the greenhouse shadows, Kwame uncapped the second flare and blew gently on the tip.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRLKWGLfs6s
Ayo looked down at the smoking tunnel vent.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGbnkhRkhvF
“Was that really necessary?”19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWGamZ19JTU
Kwame didn’t smile. He just whispered:19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSLjCPhShNG
“They drew maps of our bones. Now we burn their paper.”19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1X9wvELJUb
The flare’s glow had barely died when Kwame stepped out of the smoke.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcel7HFfAvu
No hood. No bluff.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1SDiKgQqsN
Just him — tall, furious, silent.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4JTzrR5CmO
Jabari rose quickly, dirt smearing his sleeve, his eyes locked with Kwame’s like old enemies recognizing the war had finally begun.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡroqgymCwxV
Kwame said nothing. He raised a second flare.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5LhRC3awbA
And that’s when Musa moved. He didn’t shout. Didn’t warn.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOTm62qu5Aj
Just tackled Kwame sideways with a thud that cracked against the pipe wall. The flare dropped, bounced once — skidded harmlessly into a puddle. Extinguished.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA6qVzWXVlR
They crashed into the damp stone, grunting, Musa’s elbow driving into Kwame’s chest with years of silent discipline.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhb26acF6y8
Otieno was already helping Jabari to his feet.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkLF7g1VLeZ
But Ayo — Ayo was gone.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9NNVUSJuZy
The boys spun, torchlight slicing through the tunnel like frantic blades.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmxlLPwvANQ
No sound. No echo. A shadow where Ayo had been seconds before.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSIAvB46Hwl
And on the ground where he’d stood — half hidden under an old gear bag — was a folded square of thick paper.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi5utidjAYO
Black. Crisp.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEh9tomdzr4
Stamped with a mark: M.O.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwjtawjwfRN
Jabari picked it up carefully. The wax seal had melted slightly from the heat — enough to distort the shape.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXBrAdd5MRF
But he recognized the symbol beneath the black ink.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9bntRGwDBb
Mercy’s initials.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpjwQsT3RYA
Kwame lay pinned beneath Musa, coughing. He didn’t fight back. Didn’t speak.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZmANnI4qSO
But his eyes were locked on Jabari.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxGVhFY5kSK
Daring him to guess how deep this went.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ78WqV4lC6L
Jabari backed away slowly, holding the black card like it might catch flame.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7czERsq2a1
Otieno whispered, “He was never here for us.”19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVVuwHLoYpA
“No,” Jabari said, his voice low. “He was here for the message.”
**********19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoYXUsTimOe
The chapel had long been closed for renovations — at least that’s what the staff told anyone who asked. But Mercy knew better.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH5EIWejWK2
The boarded doors didn’t stop her.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsdpg82kVLd
She descended through the old sacristy vent — a crawlspace known only to three girls in the school’s long history. She entered barefoot, silent, and carrying only a candle stub, a bottle of ink, and the folded black card Ayo had delivered.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvigPmAygmA
She sat on the edge of the cracked altar bench, unfurled the card under the flickering light, and stared.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgzflhrQAoq
Her initials. But not her handwriting.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYlKebTXrZn
A test. Or a tribute. Either way, she recognized the pattern.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgmmSfzS1K0
It wasn’t just a seal. It was layered.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhNhVCmImIV
The fold lines created seven geometric segments — each containing a barely visible ink dot. It wasn’t aesthetic. It was directional.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPMPOAoRCXz
Mercy rotated the card slowly, letting muscle memory guide her. It felt familiar. Like a map she hadn’t drawn but had once walked.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEFgKQMDXgb
Then it clicked.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMcFEKgLbEi
She opened her ink bottle, dipped a pin in lightly, and connected the dots in the order they appeared from fold to fold. A new shape formed:19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwG9hYgBSTp
A spiral that looped west, then curved north — then stopped.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoQAnl6t7nm
It mirrored the forgotten layout beneath the science annex. The same route she'd once used to vanish during inspections, emerge behind the greenhouse, and drop messages across the wall without ever touching its surface.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRGnCz985yv
It wasn’t just a cipher. It was a return route.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkiIsC2khaP
Ayo hadn’t just escaped the boys’ ambush — he’d reopened the thread Mercy had left behind. And sent it back.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVDxRqOofh8
June didn’t mean to watch her. But she'd grown used to Mercy disappearing at odd hours, always returning with a sharper look in her eyes — like she knew something no one had asked yet.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEMIIXjwGGL
This morning, June followed — only a few steps behind. She never entered the chapel basement. She only peeked once through the warped window slit.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLUkNJJ05Wq
And what she saw?19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTdyeK80vZZ
Mercy — lit by a single flame, her fingers gliding across the black card like a priestess reading scripture.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHSBI81CKFI
She was smiling. Not cruelly. Not proudly.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmUC8hq9MrG
Knowingly.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9LhK135JJJ
And that terrified June more than any punishment Mercy had ever given.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAlrsLYg7mQ
Mercy turned the card over. One last message, revealed only when ink-stained fingers warmed the wax:19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9wtw1TEkB4
“Some truths only reveal themselves in reverse.”19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7rjk1bazVC
She smiled wider. So that was the game. They hadn’t just reopened the tunnel. They had given her the key to walk back through it.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDnUy7th0BH
Mercy stood, tucking the black card into the seam of her skirt. Her steps were slow, silent, almost ceremonial as she exited the chapel’s back door and disappeared toward the annex.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBz0c9gQmVM
By dusk, the greenhouse would hum with new footsteps.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqq1hzNaEHp
And the Shadow Walkers — on the girls’ side — would know that their serpent had returned not to bite, but to lead.
19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡatZPv0GdhU
19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5HM2LRz1JN
