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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtQWyIUWIB1
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyT6jbjFsDy
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTElixsr1Zb
“You know how to look,” Mercy had whispered. “So look.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHDHHfCxzR2
So Mary did. At first, nothing.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCv5tTZzDdP
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxGnYhRTtWh
It wasn’t art. It was architecture.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEv4PwuBQqH
A floor plan. 64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ33Rzqp4RR0
June leaned in over her shoulder. “That’s not just the chapel…”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1OTRIthRPE
Mary nodded. “That’s the tunnel system.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEPlsytwjs1
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9EdOk5aZiJ
C.9 – Cryptus Sacrum.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8dB2wqAoYG
Mary’s breath caught.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv7N4YAQbrN
“The chapel has a crypt,” she whispered.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCxistQoMbR
June’s eyes narrowed. “No one’s spoken about that since Mercy’s expulsion.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡopgCUjoGex
“No one dared,” Mary replied.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9GU0h9pmMj
In the bottom left corner of the blueprint, another glow began to rise beneath the UV:64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS9Luw7B9Ve
“Begin from what you buried.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEIXpfYp1yq
— M.O.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB9tIVr0L5S
June stepped back slightly. “She’s not just reactivating the tunnels. She’s trying to pull us back in.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMjD62psPYZ
Mary nodded slowly. “Or she never left.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTVkC4Cld8p
For the first time in weeks, June didn’t know which side she was on.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ21yPrFcv56
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0pwQ0CoHrL
And June had always preferred sharp things to dull ones.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3Qh9zpyxeu
She looked at Mary, who was still tracing the lines of the blueprint with a gloved fingertip.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeYKzezq7Vo
“If that’s real,” June whispered, “then we’ve never actually been above ground.”
*****64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKTXXBmvHxn
Kim didn’t look up when June sat down beside her.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt2xRer1fbn
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMD3M8vEMqG
June broke the silence.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4QWhMg1Thw
“You were right about her.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEM5WV5qmIx
Kim turned. “Mercy?”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDQp9pGgQf3
June nodded; her voice taut. “She doesn’t want power back. She wants the Order buried.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYrT9d9PgbS
Kim closed her notebook slowly. “What did you find?”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnkGluF7gtF
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0719uRV6rV
“Three verticals,” June whispered. “Three prefects. Mercy’s way of marking a trap.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3xVm7LRHAT
Kim stared. “You’re sure?”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcp20YNTbWu
“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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9iTb8dqjYB
Kim traced one of the drawn lines with her finger.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT7k8DWtUHw
“She’s not exposing history,” she said slowly. “She’s rewriting it.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡecF9X4QMOW
June leaned forward.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc1adA8vcCo
“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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA0uk5usC7y
Kim gave a small, tired laugh. “You sound like Shiko.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDL97uvvASd
“No. Shiko’s a scout. You’re a witness.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvtRkrKzFxt
June paused, then added softly:64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKUvDSW1NQP
“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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6Hm5IfrwYo
Then Kim asked, “What do you want me to do?”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvSeNzTs7Ps
June looked up. Her voice was quieter now. Less prefect. More person.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCMwk8iyWEQ
“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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvh6ZBo2n6A
Kim stared at her. “That could expose you.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvRwEIMDxFt
June nodded once.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV9wpiRQ7k4
“Better me than them.”
*****64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5uhlCabrSx
The corridor was nearly empty when Seline appeared.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE2BHgldPYc
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1UP4EuxSBc
“You’ve been busy.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYszc0hvDBY
Kim turned slowly, not startled — just tired.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjQQMVDtb5f
“So have you.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJmgOZZhSmz
Seline’s eyes were cold, but not cruel.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpRoqJcvSdl
“Let’s skip the pretend part.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAv2xa3W5A2
Kim raised an eyebrow. “Which part?”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0aneDcUmnu
“The part where you pretend, you’re not helping Mercy. Or June. Or whoever it is this week.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ19qRGUCBO1
Kim closed her locker slowly. “I’m not helping anyone. I’m trying to understand what’s happening.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL4c2V75bC1
“That’s exactly what makes you useful.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7FTxqrCLR6
Seline stepped closer, her voice low and measured.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsDkUKQAD5P
“Help me expose Mercy before this thing in the chapel happens — and I’ll show you something.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgvmzoIhvpw
Kim didn’t move. “Something about Juma.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡim36kv3vrK
That stopped her.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd4R2RAYVIF
“Juma?” she said, sharper than she meant.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4debYlePQL
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8KbiwyEJAb
Kim crossed her arms. “And you just happened to be saving this for a rainy day?”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2le7NfmY3H
“No. I was saving it for the right pressure point.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuFYQs0UEHj
Seline reached into her sweater pocket and tapped a folded sheet. Thick. A printout? A photo?64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOV56HjJdz1
“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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡND9FNYcLFF
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡATAJyxfwnO
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHp7jge7DHQ
“You don’t even care about Naomi,” Kim said.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnkVaSNiYIF
Seline’s voice softened. “I care about not being erased.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj9xrcCJyY9
When Kim returned to her desk in the class, there was another mystery to follow waiting up on her.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfqCGMS9NWH
There was no envelope.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAeFkUIX2T9
Just a folded note, slipped between the spine of Kim’s literature textbook and the dusty edge of her locker wall.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF08r5GzggR
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjrUIZoi2nA
Inside, a short message:64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJfiRTmgLZY
“Meet at Science Week’s midnight demonstration. No one else. No delay.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDyOe078cQb
— S64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX9JBfVNn1c
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZvuYBLMDJa
She folded it twice and slipped it into her sock.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd1VAqwoGCa
Outside, thunder rolled low and slow across the lake.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ6W7FyTw4O
If Seline was a warning... Shiko was a reminder:64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH8fDXKJknM
She wasn’t alone.
*****64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaC4aq0NC6u
Naomi’s heels echoed unnaturally down the corridor.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtEZ0jDX4sL
She didn’t bark orders. She never had to.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkAuemArVi1
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ1iNzr8Mue
“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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfsc1CE8hRk
Mary blinked. “Why?”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK5m85kdNlj
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjzCf4OB5Mv
June stepped forward. “That’s never been a concern before.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVY1pFrspCa
Naomi raised an eyebrow. “Well, it is now.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7z0sCJtqsB
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlZt4SswQjV
This wasn’t about safety. This was about control.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUprNHO5jW4
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8Cg5aYHPMH
Then she turned to go.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeAARXKzieM
“If you need light,” she said over her shoulder, “try daylight.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj7uiv1VJas
The door clicked shut behind her.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUITTCWwZNS
Mary’s fingers dug into the edge of the desk.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8x5CVttQVL
“She knows,” she whispered.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6veB5O2qSp
June stared at the door. “She doesn’t know everything.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡon1NYxTOS7
Mary hesitated. “Should we tell Kim?”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnjSvYsRVDD
June exhaled.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ317roGtWsO
“No. Not yet. Not until we find the crypt entrance ourselves.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd2AuemZpga
She picked up the blueprint sketch, gently smoothed the corner, and whispered under her breath:64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqIeMuXnTCT
“We don't need light. We need memory.”
******64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsFmNoUwG9I
Juma paced just outside the back stage canopy, fists in his jacket pockets. He could feel Jabari before he saw him.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsmlCneoYwg
“You’re late,” Juma muttered.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoo7ZSatnBD
“You followed me,” Jabari replied calmly.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUh88w1M2Kt
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJe5i2Qa3eJ
Jabari’s voice was cold. “Neither did you, until you saw the card.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdFftHP4R2s
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWe17mWmpoV
Jabari finally turned, locking eyes.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuQYj70eL62
“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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi1nzZ2o2dF
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMqEmRDIOMw
Kim stared at her. “You sound like you’ve been practicing this.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnHONkAlXTp
Shiko gave a faint grin. “You’re not the only one who gets notes.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeyTa8UdByD
Kim unfolded hers again: “Midnight. Come quiet.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrkJUtzRhRQ
There had been no signature — but the direction had been clear. The trap wasn’t just Mercy’s.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOnANBx2r9f
Someone was planning to stop it.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo9h5Bif15U
They were just making sure someone else survived it.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4iWtNIUbJf
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ69yrZ2M3Ab
And somewhere else — Seline, watching from above the science dome, her eyes flickering with a phone she shouldn’t have had.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9VuJxYEp0A
Jabari reached the tunnel grate first.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS0fOOmGSNa
Juma slipped beside him, passing the folded metal rod they’d stashed days ago. Together, for once, they said nothing.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNuYBTw5FAv
Inside the tunnel — faint blue paint glowed at the seams.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLHahlV6ynV
The glyph for “complete.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeEW2VSGfIu
Mercy had finished the sequence.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvwh7rbcsMu
On the girls’ side, Kim reached into the drain gate.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOktpWy10ql
Shiko crouched beside her, prying open a rusted latch.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh2LYt8E24W
Below them, the faint sound of a click echoed.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡls1XiWY1Ir
A door opened.
