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.