The science lab hadn’t been officially used in months — the windows were cracked, the wiring unstable, and the door only locked from the inside. Which made it perfect.63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHvn4UvR0na
Mary adjusted the lens on the UV lamp, flicking the toggle back and forth until the bulb buzzed to life with a dull purple glow.63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ97EW0JmeG4
She spread the black card across the dissection tray — the one Mercy had retrieved from the chapel and handed over without explanation.63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGpAfacjFlQ
“You know how to look,” Mercy had whispered. “So look.”63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKAtmpjU7iv
So Mary did. At first, nothing.63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMgewW6F0l4
Then the ink shifted — faint glowing threads emerging beneath the card’s surface. The lines curled, widened, and gradually began to form structure.63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHwMthTzYwl
It wasn’t art. It was architecture.63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkhTaSH7aKM
A floor plan. 63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBc3jj4o3oN
June leaned in over her shoulder. “That’s not just the chapel…”63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWIuw2jC27z
Mary nodded. “That’s the tunnel system.”63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYyySa7DpK0
The map showed multiple levels: A narrow tunnel from the borehole curving beneath the dining wing. Level two: The greenhouse access route — confirmed. Level three: A set of interlocking service paths ending in a room marked by a circle and the letters:63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNtwbNkebtE
C.9 – Cryptus Sacrum.63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwifekhqoTV
Mary’s breath caught.63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxCP8ZAeJ3V
“The chapel has a crypt,” she whispered.63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ0reyHpMP4
June’s eyes narrowed. “No one’s spoken about that since Mercy’s expulsion.”63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHNim3Q6q6l
“No one dared,” Mary replied.63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrjlBOEYQL3
In the bottom left corner of the blueprint, another glow began to rise beneath the UV:63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFMuhSj49aM
“Begin from what you buried.”63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡixGHVDcJV3
— M.O.63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4dwMHYKYmj
June stepped back slightly. “She’s not just reactivating the tunnels. She’s trying to pull us back in.”63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡETRVuCHImF
Mary nodded slowly. “Or she never left.”63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYUdj8ImrCj
For the first time in weeks, June didn’t know which side she was on.63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWWMq4ON83H
Naomi had restored her badge. Reinforced their place in the Order. Offered peace. But what Mercy offered now was truth. Not orderly. Not safe. But real.63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡktWjeOmIlU
And June had always preferred sharp things to dull ones.63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOes15WK00M
She looked at Mary, who was still tracing the lines of the blueprint with a gloved fingertip.63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrLRRU87mKe
“If that’s real,” June whispered, “then we’ve never actually been above ground.”
*****63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhgwEq1uSOg
Kim didn’t look up when June sat down beside her.63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPjyEYnVJqJ
The bench under the jacaranda had become her quiet spot — the only place where questions didn’t buzz in her ears. The petals drifted down like soft ink, blanketing her shoulder, the pages of her notebook, even the edges of her thoughts.63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6cZaGs825H
June broke the silence.63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVsTNuKjB7d
“You were right about her.”63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkrGxlPchY8
Kim turned. “Mercy?”63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0lc9Mrh5Eq
June nodded; her voice taut. “She doesn’t want power back. She wants the Order buried.”63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlPTCvimejZ
Kim closed her notebook slowly. “What did you find?”63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSUnDEEzhg8
June didn’t answer at first. She reached into her sweater pocket and pulled out a slip of folded paper — not the blueprint itself, but a tracing she’d made in secret, away from Mary, away from Naomi. On it: the outline of the chapel. And beneath it — the crypt, marked in Mercy’s faint symbol: M.O., crossed by three vertical lines.63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUMz1GQzBtJ
“Three verticals,” June whispered. “Three prefects. Mercy’s way of marking a trap.”63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoZbmBY6wVg
Kim stared. “You’re sure?”63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiGCgrr8GQt
“Dead sure. She means to draw them there. Naomi, the others. And seal it. Not physically — symbolically. Shame them. Expose what they covered up about the tunnels, the Walkers, her expulsion. All of it.”63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1KykuqB2HJ
Kim traced one of the drawn lines with her finger.63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9NgubGeZ09
“She’s not exposing history,” she said slowly. “She’s rewriting it.”63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDWgsUEhOck
June leaned forward.63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYYm22gvf2S
“You’re not in the Order. You’re not on anyone’s side. But you’ve seen more than most — and you don’t scare easy.”63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN0cJrUrp5S
Kim gave a small, tired laugh. “You sound like Shiko.”63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE000SP5uCU
“No. Shiko’s a scout. You’re a witness.”63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa0vp3Ajtxb
June paused, then added softly:63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡch0gbqOKJ4
“I don’t want to be part of burying people. Not even Naomi.”
They sat in silence for a moment, petals collecting like snow.63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAPxeBmwyUH
Then Kim asked, “What do you want me to do?”63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlt2wAwGBTk
June looked up. Her voice was quieter now. Less prefect. More person.63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7B0tEGmiQm
“If anything happens in the crypt... if I can’t stop it... you tell the others. Shiko. Seline. Even Jabari, if you have to.”63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBFsEY8NbwG
Kim stared at her. “That could expose you.”63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqqGkWwdJwY
June nodded once.63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuTUyiroJhO
“Better me than them.”
*****63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9NGrAV5J46
The corridor was nearly empty when Seline appeared.63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPdBX9fGwVD
She didn’t slam her locker or call Kim’s name. She just stood there, leaning against the doorway like someone who had waited long enough for the exact moment to arrive.63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwOEXijmpmD
“You’ve been busy.”63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDBdxFlv47I
Kim turned slowly, not startled — just tired.63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC3KyPT0joZ
“So have you.”63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWCP0d9wG7i
Seline’s eyes were cold, but not cruel.63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6txpxgZN0o
“Let’s skip the pretend part.”63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNMgGRFtMiU
Kim raised an eyebrow. “Which part?”63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1ZZhDBcnRI
“The part where you pretend, you’re not helping Mercy. Or June. Or whoever it is this week.”63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtth7Vw8xal
Kim closed her locker slowly. “I’m not helping anyone. I’m trying to understand what’s happening.”63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjDonI8pDJL
“That’s exactly what makes you useful.”63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUklsEVW3ZY
Seline stepped closer, her voice low and measured.63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaHtIaC4vaw
“Help me expose Mercy before this thing in the chapel happens — and I’ll show you something.”63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXR36Ue8VKy
Kim didn’t move. “Something about Juma.”63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyeZjRj4w2Z
That stopped her.63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2iq80kuQW6
“Juma?” she said, sharper than she meant.63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeLuWTE1owx
Seline nodded. “Something you’ve clearly been dancing around since last term. Don’t look so surprised, Kim. You don’t hide infatuation well.”63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpAokDvvjj6
Kim crossed her arms. “And you just happened to be saving this for a rainy day?”63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPlTfOIYBiV
“No. I was saving it for the right pressure point.”63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0XKIGUoM3w
Seline reached into her sweater pocket and tapped a folded sheet. Thick. A printout? A photo?63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTKiVxsK0wd
“You help me shut this down — expose Mercy, burn the tunnels, force Naomi to act — and you’ll get the truth about what Juma’s really doing when he says he’s ‘off-grid.’”63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRSUdgc0hrC
The corridor felt suddenly colder. Kim stared at the folded paper, then at Seline’s face. Not smug. Not even manipulative. Just… determined.63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkniIzsEF56
Like a girl who had once been close to Mercy. Like a girl who knew betrayal personally — and intended to weaponize it back.63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg1mG7BBQiE
“You don’t even care about Naomi,” Kim said.63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoExoTyXoVh
Seline’s voice softened. “I care about not being erased.”63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZKUBojNTRg
When Kim returned to her desk in the class, there was another mystery to follow waiting up on her.63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXE3FfF4Dqa
There was no envelope.63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyNV5LGEyTo
Just a folded note, slipped between the spine of Kim’s literature textbook and the dusty edge of her locker wall.63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzwxupGUxCV
She knew it was Shiko’s. The paper was squared at the corners. Neat. Dry. No handwriting on the outside. Just careful silence.63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu4jsEfU3qY
Inside, a short message:63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgTUOQYeF6x
“Meet at Science Week’s midnight demonstration. No one else. No delay.”63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiD2enwOYr4
— S63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7XxcC7Lpaf
Kim stared at the paper, rereading the curves in the "S" — round and sharp in the way only Shiko's handwriting ever was.63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdKkU1xTpGK
She folded it twice and slipped it into her sock.63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIQ6Mogests
Outside, thunder rolled low and slow across the lake.63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdFXFShf2wl
If Seline was a warning... Shiko was a reminder:63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe0M8C0S3yb
She wasn’t alone.
*****63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ34bj5G7gri
Naomi’s heels echoed unnaturally down the corridor.63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGRUz3OzkRB
She didn’t bark orders. She never had to.63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmvpodPeZFY
Two junior prefects flanked her, carrying empty crates. She stopped at the lab entrance and waited until the girls looked up from the bench.63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtu6S6ZMcAR
“New directive from the principal,” Naomi said evenly. “All ultraviolet lighting equipment is to be removed from the lab facilities effective immediately.”63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzUafKF3tcX
Mary blinked. “Why?”63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbr3lWdlr8q
Naomi held up the clipboard. “Cited: potential risk of chemical interactions. Some of these lamps are over a decade old. Filaments cracking. Possible mercury leaks.”63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKPwehCAaW6
June stepped forward. “That’s never been a concern before.”63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlmKXNX4tgR
Naomi raised an eyebrow. “Well, it is now.”63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDUHDmTR7wI
As the juniors moved through the cupboards, one lifting the dusty UV lamp from the back shelf, Mary and June exchanged a look.63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiTi3EUu3r7
This wasn’t about safety. This was about control.63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqBI24mczpv
Naomi didn’t glance at the blueprint folder tucked beneath Mary’s stack of textbooks — but her silence was surgical. Her eyes landed on it. Briefly. Knowing.63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ0DeL3cuin
Then she turned to go.63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKsBarsb4xf
“If you need light,” she said over her shoulder, “try daylight.”63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmIeHhvTsyQ
The door clicked shut behind her.63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2PmpiiQMIY
Mary’s fingers dug into the edge of the desk.63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLH7IRVrnir
“She knows,” she whispered.63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXtrTh71oQL
June stared at the door. “She doesn’t know everything.”63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTv4SlROhFu
Mary hesitated. “Should we tell Kim?”63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4FXSwKIsMw
June exhaled.63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡex9aOl2ikW
“No. Not yet. Not until we find the crypt entrance ourselves.”63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHxIJcQFzbv
She picked up the blueprint sketch, gently smoothed the corner, and whispered under her breath:63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6O6LHWLnTt
“We don't need light. We need memory.”
******63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWbIdzPRnlB
Juma paced just outside the back stage canopy, fists in his jacket pockets. He could feel Jabari before he saw him.63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv4vjc4gthj
“You’re late,” Juma muttered.63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhd7xcf2LkA
“You followed me,” Jabari replied calmly.63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ27xoiQXnoT
Juma stepped forward. “You’re walking into a trap. Mercy isn’t just planting symbols — she’s turning them into a net. And Naomi doesn’t see it.”63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaemZWp7XMg
Jabari’s voice was cold. “Neither did you, until you saw the card.”63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwalexuMpWj
Juma’s jaw clenched. “This isn’t about who saw what first. It’s about stopping a collapse. Tonight. In the chapel.”63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuAs6ow0S5H
Jabari finally turned, locking eyes.63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaNqbZIYn4v
“Then let’s collapse it before she does.”
Beneath the science wing on the girls’ side, Kim and Shiko crouched behind the old reagent shed.63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPmcpknSfbx
Shiko passed her the flashlight. “If the crypt’s real, it has to open from somewhere near the annex sub-basement. The original plans placed the drain gate there.”63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKY2UkGl2KP
Kim stared at her. “You sound like you’ve been practicing this.”63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4uj79Ir4SK
Shiko gave a faint grin. “You’re not the only one who gets notes.”63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmyOFcxAiLq
Kim unfolded hers again: “Midnight. Come quiet.”63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxuwWCrxCRK
There had been no signature — but the direction had been clear. The trap wasn’t just Mercy’s.63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGEFqjJqfSV
Someone was planning to stop it.63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdj1BvHIPLD
They were just making sure someone else survived it.63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0siag8LhKT
At 12:06 a.m., while students at the science demo lit hydrogen bubbles and experimented with heat coils, four shadows moved in four separate arcs: Jabari and Juma, slipping behind the stage, through the external water tank corridor. Kim and Shiko, looping behind the incinerator shed toward the chapel annex. Mercy, already beneath the chapel, lighting her candle, placing the final lock in the metal gate.63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4kY7jSMVEc
And somewhere else — Seline, watching from above the science dome, her eyes flickering with a phone she shouldn’t have had.63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGY5BdQWsS5
Jabari reached the tunnel grate first.63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaPOADCcqGY
Juma slipped beside him, passing the folded metal rod they’d stashed days ago. Together, for once, they said nothing.63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMQnva2Xlc1
Inside the tunnel — faint blue paint glowed at the seams.63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA7MTdE90MO
The glyph for “complete.”63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS7p8FYleac
Mercy had finished the sequence.63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVVZ2gHTmAV
On the girls’ side, Kim reached into the drain gate.63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ03NZKA2fQj
Shiko crouched beside her, prying open a rusted latch.63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUCnDwH9juh
Below them, the faint sound of a click echoed.63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4mWzteWPPJ
A door opened.
