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.