The quad glittered in moonlight and kerosene halos. Stalls shimmered under makeshift LEDs. Tinny speakers blared distorted jazz as projectors looped grainy experiments on white bedsheets.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtO0wdubyZO
Juma hated this kind of show — too bright, too scripted. But it made for the perfect cover.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcJnj8X9oxp
“Everyone’s looking up,” he whispered.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj9xkJVXSgg
“No one sees what we’re pinning to their legs.”62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtYWJ1CqzcR
Jabari didn’t smile.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXDnukt8gfW
He reached into his backpack and pulled out a rolled poster, smooth and stiff. Thick matte ink on thick gray stock.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5fTnUzv76i
ORDER OVER INSURRECTION62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw1cIUX9itN
A white wing over a fractured flame.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSSs9wSwcGi
They walked slowly, calmly — like any two team leads reviewing tech projects. But every ten steps, they pinned a new poster to the underside of a demo tent. To a light pole. To the back of a wooden bench.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy7QitOinrQ
Four in total. No more. Enough to seed rumor, not provoke response.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1pYeh9g3sz
They weren’t messages for students.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHJnCornS8T
They were warnings for the Shadow Walkers. The fractured flame was Mercy’s old signal — twisted now. The white wing was the Order’s ghost — not yet dead.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqhPbECwleB
Juma stuck the last one behind the water distillation tent, where he knew Ayo used to scout during Fire Theory projects. Jabari paused beside the herb garden exhibit and looked around at the swirling bodies of boys and girls in scattered uniforms.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnk0OVJKjaM
He whispered:62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfl2MAizBVO
“She wanted an audience. Let’s give her one.”62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡryosHBYt0G
Behind the hydroponics dome, a girl in Kisumu Girls' tracksuit lowered her phone quietly. Her name wasn’t known to either of them.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJkDJ0cD5ZY
But the notification she sent was clear:62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0cDzwFSBh4
“The birds are flying banners again. Mercy will see.”
*****62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdeovPzPjDJ
The crypt door had always been heavy — metal, groaning, older than the last three headteachers combined. But now it swung easily on oiled hinges — prepped, ready, hungry.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXYweXoktQv
Inside, Jabari and Juma moved fast, pushing through ankle-deep water that had begun pooling around the eastern wall.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjz71mdVNqw
“This isn't just a chamber,” Juma snapped. “It’s a channel.”62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdpL0Ta3wM5
Jabari knelt, ran his fingers across the grooves in the floor. “It connects to the borehole line. It was always part of the filtration system — just repurposed.”62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj55vNGkgey
Repurposed by whom?62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmuJ58b1nas
By Mercy.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGN0Dyyz3pz
Atop the hidden stairway, two girls in Kisumu Girls’ jackets stood in silence.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2UtTJcBdxz
One wore Mercy’s old prefect sash — though no one had given it to her.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ4KpkaQw60
The other held the key.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoHNQlO3LZE
She waited exactly until her watch ticked to 12:17 a.m.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKZN34TSrzV
Then she slid the bolt home and turned it once.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzFLFupFVgS
Click.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVLRVO9KLmD
The girls didn’t laugh. Didn’t speak.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6VlIWRG8U3
They simply walked away.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcF16LVC2nY
Jabari’s light flickered.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0DCMYnW4Dh
He and Juma reached the far side — a rusted metal ladder leading up toward the chapel’s north vestibule — welded shut from above.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIRWWxWj9Yc
“She locked us in,” Jabari said.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDD0C5KSKjc
Juma stared at the water now reaching his shins. “That’s not the problem.”62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwea5pGt9A7
The sound came next — not fast, not crashing.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfYK4VLMEbj
A slow gurgle. A hiss.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU7dYq0hvA0
Then the unmistakable suction of redirected flow.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ52UOui7BTC
Juma turned to Jabari.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSmEiX1AQvN
“She's opened the borehole line.”62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW60OdIHg7u
And sure enough, behind the sealed hatch, where the borehole channel fed under the school… the grate now trembled.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwFoaNznbaN
Then the water began to rise.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwd36Yw9s3G
From the high choir loft, Mercy stood silent, eyes calm, watching the stained glass as shadows shifted across it.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLfvjCTYy4n
Behind her, a girl whispered, “They’re in.”62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpAIuHzGFeE
Mercy didn’t reply at first. Then:62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZWG1i7v0YR
“They came looking for a lie. Let them leave soaked in truth.”62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrGoHaKCJnr
She turned away and walked down the spiral staircase, vanishing into the dark.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlkmC9FVO33
The water rose like a slow betrayal.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeWfmlDT7LU
Jabari tried to brace the base of the ladder, but the surface slicked too fast. Juma had begun stacking the crates beneath the wall vents, but none led out.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEh96j2j4Mu
Then — a sound.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA9lYg8eJnR
Bang. Bang. Clank.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzmbrvVtnuk
A screech of iron echoed from behind the north wall.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKrBtHsTHeB
Juma froze. “Did you hear that?”62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn4fBwyAxNB
Clank. Slam.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6s8DFeEVgy
Then a voice, muffled by metal and rage:62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQU4dsaohJ0
“Get back!”62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡms5PThc9Kn
Suddenly, the side grate at floor level buckled inward — then burst open with a thundercrack of rust and rock. Water whooshed sideways, funneling out violently, pulling ankle-deep current toward the now-gaping vent.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6G5ScGsK7S
And through the water— Musa crawled through.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaIdgmhIhME
Soaked. Grit-covered. Grinning like a man who had wrestled a pipe system and won.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIsH081EQr6
“I told you I was the better swimmer,” he coughed.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuxMwAxpOSO
As the water drained and light returned, Juma leaned against the far wall, breathing hard.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0dYSSQbc42
“We were seconds from blacking out.”62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRyx3ns7F4q
Jabari, still quiet, turned his torch toward the south chamber — a small alcove half-submerged behind a collapsed marble panel.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUX91854WAI
Musa followed his gaze. “What’s that?”62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCGEnUlaTqm
They stepped forward slowly. Beneath the now-drained floor, the shape of something metallic gleamed behind a decorative grate. Jabari crouched, pulled at the frame — it came loose with a groan.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz8HGOjq0Yv
Behind it, half-sunken and chained inside a rusted cage:62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbPTr8Oy0mf
Three black ledger boxes, stamped with faded silver initials: “M.O.”62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJDcFQF9T3c
Juma slowly unlocked one latch. Inside: letters, class registers, intercepted prefect reports, old Order rosters — all annotated in Mercy’s handwriting.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡah91RSCPMR
Jabari picking one up and reading aloud:62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlwkwucVtqA
“She was never exiled. She was buried.”62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxy7GzVogKi
Musa whispered “She didn’t build a trap. She built an archive.”62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0cCnudIVlh
Ayo appeared at the crypt entrance as Jabari flipped through the first ledger. No fanfare. No announcement. Just his shadow crossing the old candlelight, face unreadable.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPsvZZR0HoM
Jabari looked up sharply.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPkl5ujBRJx
“You followed us.”62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLRutHCBgkp
Ayo didn’t nod. Didn’t deny it. Instead, he stepped forward, knelt beside the third box — and picked it up carefully, like it might bite.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXsqs74NCCj
“You need this one,” he said. “It’s the only one with dates after Mercy’s expulsion.”62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGHUSC2jLaG
Juma narrowed his eyes. “Why help us?”62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLObzqbb2h3
Ayo hesitated, then looked directly at Jabari.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrDtDwkWzYs
“Because I’ve seen what Kwame would do with it.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHI1FZ4GYFk
The silence cracked with the sound of metal boots on water-slick stone.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnQH0w1Tlni
Otieno, lean and quiet, stepped through the broken wall entrance where Musa had forced the grate. He didn’t look surprised to find them. He didn’t speak. He simply walked forward, reached into the cage, and took the second box.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtP8Q0AC8jF
The one marked “Staff Correspondences: 2007–2014.”62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwypjEmxbv6
Jabari stood. “What are you doing?”62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKVFWp1sxpg
Otieno held his gaze. “You know I follow the truth.”62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVJy6mO5H0l
Then turned and walked out — no rush, no guilt.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI8TacItL7d
One box in Jabari’s hands. One box in Ayo’s grip. One box now leaving with Otieno.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡajGONR6n53
Musa broke the silence.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgkhQjqovlb
“That’s it, then. The lines are drawn.”62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlQmXfkrtfM
Juma added, “And Mercy didn’t even have to choose sides. She just lit the match.”62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH9hEbRmAD1
Jabari watched Otieno disappear into the crypt tunnel, Ayo still standing beside him, conflicted but present.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3AIwOhJAeM
Musa whispered, “This isn't just about the wall anymore. This is a war over what gets remembered.”
******62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIbCPVXN9fc
The video was less than ninety seconds long.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXBYdetl5Dx
It had no watermark. No source. But it found its way into every inbox in the Kisumu Central Education Circuit — sent from a dead address once used for prefect newsletters.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrbQUXMXpHZ
The screen opened on dim light, stone, water glinting along the floor like liquid glass.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXHQXKA5Pnd
The voice was unmistakable.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlLe6Wc2GNo
“This is what they called leadership. This is what they built walls to protect. Jabari’s Order — drowning in Mercy’s revenge.”62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx0oUN3dCtA
The footage cut quickly — glimpses of the crypt, soaked boys in Kisumu boys uniform, flooded ankles, two figures dragging themselves out, torchlight flickering like panic.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlqiMEdqrLD
Then:62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7lOn7gXwAM
Freeze frame.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgWJjFvIRTV
Jabari, back turned, lifting a rusted ledger box.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrbKDC63bhy
The words flashed over the image in blood-red type:62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY3VqBnJ5y1
"The Order is underwater."62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVT945y3FYj
Then black.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaybevOMWgp
By 7:00 a.m., the dorm corridors buzzed like electric wires.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGfIdHRMjh9
“Who recorded it? There are no phones allowed—how did it get out? Was it staged? Is Mercy back? Was the flooding real?”62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPQJAFiSv1l
In the Kisumu Girls library, Shiko watched Kim watching the terminal.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFNiQk4vSOR
“That’s the tunnel. That’s the crypt,” Kim whispered. And that—is a declaration.”62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhEck4cnYUX
Behind the AV club at Maseno school, two junior Shadow Walkers shut down their old relay laptop — wired into the school’s forgotten printer line, a hidden broadcast node Mercy herself once rigged in her second year.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwCIdFUFAnN
Kwame stood outside, eyes on the sky, arms folded.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF9BaIjUCCB
He didn’t need a phone.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIHBd37DwDU
He just needed a network Mercy built…and a reason to set it on fire.
**********62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1PubAmHVQn
June pushed the heavy doors open just as Mary arrived from the science wing.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQjJi9JhE3c
“The boys have seen it?”62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8qU0MLRFPu
“Everyone has.”62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB2xmpZbuGG
Kim entered last, silent.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfrWlW7rvEz
Shiko hovered in the corridor, uninvited but listening.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9L1uD3RdDm
On the old Order wall board, Naomi stood still.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqBP8JSc0kw
Below her — pinned with blue tacks — were printed stills from the Kwame video. One showed the crypt grate. Another, Jabari holding the ledger.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLTDy77rozh
“This wasn’t Mercy’s trap anymore,” Naomi said quietly.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDFwWnW5quI
“It was her signal.”62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlJpPSeJMLR
Naomi turned to them — prefects.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7Gc8S9LUB3
“There’s at least one ledger still moving. Probably being moved to St. Theresa’s. Possibly Maseno.”62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmp5DouBKqj
Mary stepped forward. “So, what do we do?”62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzKNvOyk3EL
Naomi tapped the board.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDgZGJiSbuF
“We don’t chase her legacy. We protect ours. Lock down the Hall. Triple-lock the Prefects’ Archive. And find the girl carrying the ledger.”62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiPgY2EDbup
June’s voice was cold.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc7yLwVllMT
“You think Mercy would use one of us?”62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUaBubCtP1N
Naomi didn’t blink.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq0tj1DGAXI
“Mercy doesn’t use people. She recruits them.”62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBsBvRaCiNC
The girls split into teams. June and Mary to the Greenhouse Tunnel, checking Mercy’s known exits. Seline, assigned to patrol around the west dorms, but already planning her own detour. Shiko, pretending to go to class, slips Kim a folded message:62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlI7LFhFNaD
“Don’t trust who enters first. Trust who stays behind.”62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD1j6izLtIJ
The Order Hall is locked though Naomi stays inside, assembling the remaining cipher logs and pulling names off Mercy’s old class rosters.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJbFRqy3OEs
Outside the campus fence line, under a tree heavy with wet blossoms, a junior form walks fast — a duffel bag over her shoulder. Her name is not known. But inside the bag is a ledger box, sealed with black tape.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ64c3ni4x9
She has only one instruction:62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWhQP4doDnF
“Deliver it by dusk. If you’re stopped — deny you ever knew.”
62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkTeaD5b5eM
62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJj2xVTgc3h
