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.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcjMZKx0fJR
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.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX9Tj4lS5vG
She spread the black card across the dissection tray — the one Mercy had retrieved from the chapel and handed over without explanation.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLr6uiMtQVK
“You know how to look,” Mercy had whispered. “So look.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2oKVc8nJpF
So Mary did. At first, nothing.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWKe6lwMkNP
Then the ink shifted — faint glowing threads emerging beneath the card’s surface. The lines curled, widened, and gradually began to form structure.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCODYDAaSux
It wasn’t art. It was architecture.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHCKtGoCTBS
A floor plan. 64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBzsWhdJJj2
June leaned in over her shoulder. “That’s not just the chapel…”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqNBL7sv9Pd
Mary nodded. “That’s the tunnel system.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡItGfDVGq5C
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:64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ39LBuqfeiA
C.9 – Cryptus Sacrum.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrv8YfU6GXd
Mary’s breath caught.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs0w74uul4x
“The chapel has a crypt,” she whispered.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8wbg6LRmgw
June’s eyes narrowed. “No one’s spoken about that since Mercy’s expulsion.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrFC2TIhGa7
“No one dared,” Mary replied.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6wMdeNGGMK
In the bottom left corner of the blueprint, another glow began to rise beneath the UV:64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyHLSkHZKJQ
“Begin from what you buried.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEnzjRtk7Qb
— M.O.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaw4WicWqcs
June stepped back slightly. “She’s not just reactivating the tunnels. She’s trying to pull us back in.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkKpCjEvSvH
Mary nodded slowly. “Or she never left.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAh7z86gIvy
For the first time in weeks, June didn’t know which side she was on.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrB1tgAKShQ
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.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7PlXGJdVad
And June had always preferred sharp things to dull ones.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ50YD6LWs5w
She looked at Mary, who was still tracing the lines of the blueprint with a gloved fingertip.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe8WiQdi4CE
“If that’s real,” June whispered, “then we’ve never actually been above ground.”
*****64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz65d6BKdtu
Kim didn’t look up when June sat down beside her.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk4XgRsNR3O
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.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYtLAKW2gfb
June broke the silence.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaL4ihM2o7K
“You were right about her.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIVdfc0ioOF
Kim turned. “Mercy?”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRgadX7NRuO
June nodded; her voice taut. “She doesn’t want power back. She wants the Order buried.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlz3CvvVtXM
Kim closed her notebook slowly. “What did you find?”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP7Eny6a10q
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.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnXM8SaCYjg
“Three verticals,” June whispered. “Three prefects. Mercy’s way of marking a trap.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqwVg0dzbId
Kim stared. “You’re sure?”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNYcW6dUM6o
“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.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡegAGFjoVt8
Kim traced one of the drawn lines with her finger.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtGyUEuQMTj
“She’s not exposing history,” she said slowly. “She’s rewriting it.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh1AE5m3qH6
June leaned forward.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnuuVS2xcup
“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.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE3utfvbp1m
Kim gave a small, tired laugh. “You sound like Shiko.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbuqPIidDEh
“No. Shiko’s a scout. You’re a witness.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq8vTIHeFDQ
June paused, then added softly:64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmrrTp3cRaO
“I don’t want to be part of burying people. Not even Naomi.”
They sat in silence for a moment, petals collecting like snow.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHYJWKzWxcm
Then Kim asked, “What do you want me to do?”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhvKL2fZDRH
June looked up. Her voice was quieter now. Less prefect. More person.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAy4Y9Y7U0D
“If anything happens in the crypt... if I can’t stop it... you tell the others. Shiko. Seline. Even Jabari, if you have to.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCnL6XpviIx
Kim stared at her. “That could expose you.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyffAeamsLw
June nodded once.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3vERsBGUx6
“Better me than them.”
*****64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ7NmoPf686
The corridor was nearly empty when Seline appeared.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs526zDoLsx
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.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5LBM2fEsNX
“You’ve been busy.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7nYPUnTp62
Kim turned slowly, not startled — just tired.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfCYyqrM7ha
“So have you.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJE4OmsjrtG
Seline’s eyes were cold, but not cruel.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOzr5yEpGbB
“Let’s skip the pretend part.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡChtqK1zO9u
Kim raised an eyebrow. “Which part?”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbOr1D3YmDJ
“The part where you pretend, you’re not helping Mercy. Or June. Or whoever it is this week.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlgGxQ92qmr
Kim closed her locker slowly. “I’m not helping anyone. I’m trying to understand what’s happening.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbnxAuWZcv0
“That’s exactly what makes you useful.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnFPIzjGnUe
Seline stepped closer, her voice low and measured.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUzjbGWQmGC
“Help me expose Mercy before this thing in the chapel happens — and I’ll show you something.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpf2jroZj4Q
Kim didn’t move. “Something about Juma.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9imvSNtnAQ
That stopped her.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ26KpOBI8Iq
“Juma?” she said, sharper than she meant.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQVMMljmEss
Seline nodded. “Something you’ve clearly been dancing around since last term. Don’t look so surprised, Kim. You don’t hide infatuation well.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyRF32uyonK
Kim crossed her arms. “And you just happened to be saving this for a rainy day?”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLqSrtLQo2X
“No. I was saving it for the right pressure point.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjaKILH5EYH
Seline reached into her sweater pocket and tapped a folded sheet. Thick. A printout? A photo?64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXP11PMd1Cr
“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.’”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJzeZefSay2
The corridor felt suddenly colder. Kim stared at the folded paper, then at Seline’s face. Not smug. Not even manipulative. Just… determined.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwlmnPwJJpA
Like a girl who had once been close to Mercy. Like a girl who knew betrayal personally — and intended to weaponize it back.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaxmxSH5FBD
“You don’t even care about Naomi,” Kim said.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj6m6UOhb2W
Seline’s voice softened. “I care about not being erased.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiMU56zjDhy
When Kim returned to her desk in the class, there was another mystery to follow waiting up on her.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6aanH75IWj
There was no envelope.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo0s8ZSnMSR
Just a folded note, slipped between the spine of Kim’s literature textbook and the dusty edge of her locker wall.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgz4HXbe97N
She knew it was Shiko’s. The paper was squared at the corners. Neat. Dry. No handwriting on the outside. Just careful silence.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHOocpho2Iu
Inside, a short message:64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxcpDgocWpd
“Meet at Science Week’s midnight demonstration. No one else. No delay.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU5jv7oPatc
— S64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb4dE4TzL6r
Kim stared at the paper, rereading the curves in the "S" — round and sharp in the way only Shiko's handwriting ever was.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVgI2DLjB8D
She folded it twice and slipped it into her sock.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdGBK8Xnzgi
Outside, thunder rolled low and slow across the lake.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXNVunlnuuc
If Seline was a warning... Shiko was a reminder:64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrNjuBa00u1
She wasn’t alone.
*****64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYbCpTK9YOn
Naomi’s heels echoed unnaturally down the corridor.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXgKSAlNpW9
She didn’t bark orders. She never had to.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcA4mEsI02C
Two junior prefects flanked her, carrying empty crates. She stopped at the lab entrance and waited until the girls looked up from the bench.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI3leMwaOtg
“New directive from the principal,” Naomi said evenly. “All ultraviolet lighting equipment is to be removed from the lab facilities effective immediately.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9amoAyM4kr
Mary blinked. “Why?”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbb9I30NneT
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.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYzQrPj1t32
June stepped forward. “That’s never been a concern before.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe087HyiBjw
Naomi raised an eyebrow. “Well, it is now.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb62XBJSVDA
As the juniors moved through the cupboards, one lifting the dusty UV lamp from the back shelf, Mary and June exchanged a look.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF72mCRwdt8
This wasn’t about safety. This was about control.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3tyhpLwm2i
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.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzputjSirJD
Then she turned to go.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmlaJvwJdL8
“If you need light,” she said over her shoulder, “try daylight.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYTFQrCeGnh
The door clicked shut behind her.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNYHxXG6whA
Mary’s fingers dug into the edge of the desk.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiIIE4Zot3C
“She knows,” she whispered.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEJ9CQvIWfK
June stared at the door. “She doesn’t know everything.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQyfa265DNr
Mary hesitated. “Should we tell Kim?”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxyuK5oTNOI
June exhaled.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡboHDIf2PrN
“No. Not yet. Not until we find the crypt entrance ourselves.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEZOYzuCLzo
She picked up the blueprint sketch, gently smoothed the corner, and whispered under her breath:64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtG2dxgHTWs
“We don't need light. We need memory.”
******64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2ypNsg4dpB
Juma paced just outside the back stage canopy, fists in his jacket pockets. He could feel Jabari before he saw him.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa63Q2jXbhP
“You’re late,” Juma muttered.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkHME9mYasn
“You followed me,” Jabari replied calmly.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmsf4hFxpnA
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.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuq3UDAHj9H
Jabari’s voice was cold. “Neither did you, until you saw the card.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnmYulVJYd0
Juma’s jaw clenched. “This isn’t about who saw what first. It’s about stopping a collapse. Tonight. In the chapel.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQIT3bKdybl
Jabari finally turned, locking eyes.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqxR5hVgoOn
“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.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyYJFzNY5q1
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.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrvx5H9shHU
Kim stared at her. “You sound like you’ve been practicing this.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQhzv9iHT1X
Shiko gave a faint grin. “You’re not the only one who gets notes.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk8UTOHvsep
Kim unfolded hers again: “Midnight. Come quiet.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpB6cZocHpt
There had been no signature — but the direction had been clear. The trap wasn’t just Mercy’s.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT9zDsCZeP0
Someone was planning to stop it.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM8OtKDoAUW
They were just making sure someone else survived it.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpHVygpLBam
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.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA76kv9Qzdl
And somewhere else — Seline, watching from above the science dome, her eyes flickering with a phone she shouldn’t have had.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyuXJ2asXwq
Jabari reached the tunnel grate first.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡezjIOGq2tS
Juma slipped beside him, passing the folded metal rod they’d stashed days ago. Together, for once, they said nothing.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ64PXbNCsRJ
Inside the tunnel — faint blue paint glowed at the seams.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9fzKcq8H7l
The glyph for “complete.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg92PlRcPUf
Mercy had finished the sequence.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy14LBxT2ts
On the girls’ side, Kim reached into the drain gate.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm9OyHNP3Vq
Shiko crouched beside her, prying open a rusted latch.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ98MRTuN98N
Below them, the faint sound of a click echoed.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsfrvPRNYg5
A door opened.
