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.63Please respect copyright.PENANAkKBoAfWk8q
Juma hated this kind of show — too bright, too scripted. But it made for the perfect cover.63Please respect copyright.PENANAPeMPJGgtq3
“Everyone’s looking up,” he whispered.63Please respect copyright.PENANAkAvwKvAyC2
“No one sees what we’re pinning to their legs.”63Please respect copyright.PENANAFbwbU6x8wv
Jabari didn’t smile.63Please respect copyright.PENANAcN2zNSIoCV
He reached into his backpack and pulled out a rolled poster, smooth and stiff. Thick matte ink on thick gray stock.63Please respect copyright.PENANAmErNyt16cD
ORDER OVER INSURRECTION63Please respect copyright.PENANArTHokcur61
A white wing over a fractured flame.63Please respect copyright.PENANAUjxTSGOC8N
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.63Please respect copyright.PENANAVNaTRE89SV
Four in total. No more. Enough to seed rumor, not provoke response.63Please respect copyright.PENANA4gKXw0XX2a
They weren’t messages for students.63Please respect copyright.PENANAxqHyj6mNRY
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.63Please respect copyright.PENANAKywkpWMVQX
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.63Please respect copyright.PENANAKUmTks0kU7
He whispered:63Please respect copyright.PENANAQghqR7cjVt
“She wanted an audience. Let’s give her one.”63Please respect copyright.PENANArqq3UlJbH6
Behind the hydroponics dome, a girl in Kisumu Girls' tracksuit lowered her phone quietly. Her name wasn’t known to either of them.63Please respect copyright.PENANAksiPMF57Kg
But the notification she sent was clear:63Please respect copyright.PENANA91zcN8oOgk
“The birds are flying banners again. Mercy will see.”
*****63Please respect copyright.PENANAL0rPDEbFDT
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.63Please respect copyright.PENANAuoNFY6Oo9V
Inside, Jabari and Juma moved fast, pushing through ankle-deep water that had begun pooling around the eastern wall.63Please respect copyright.PENANAXShY79Bk3z
“This isn't just a chamber,” Juma snapped. “It’s a channel.”63Please respect copyright.PENANA3Lw7UBkfUb
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.”63Please respect copyright.PENANAw49XznM57h
Repurposed by whom?63Please respect copyright.PENANArQay4h91Rr
By Mercy.63Please respect copyright.PENANAt4x1RlFPQk
Atop the hidden stairway, two girls in Kisumu Girls’ jackets stood in silence.63Please respect copyright.PENANA3SV5D8rN8h
One wore Mercy’s old prefect sash — though no one had given it to her.63Please respect copyright.PENANAXdE1AdQA6p
The other held the key.63Please respect copyright.PENANA7E4x3Gx7Qb
She waited exactly until her watch ticked to 12:17 a.m.63Please respect copyright.PENANAodDEkpjfAZ
Then she slid the bolt home and turned it once.63Please respect copyright.PENANAwX3tBv474X
Click.63Please respect copyright.PENANAtwmj4kYxMu
The girls didn’t laugh. Didn’t speak.63Please respect copyright.PENANArN5QRj64Qt
They simply walked away.63Please respect copyright.PENANAhbSuaCGdZM
Jabari’s light flickered.63Please respect copyright.PENANAOSFcQc1n8Z
He and Juma reached the far side — a rusted metal ladder leading up toward the chapel’s north vestibule — welded shut from above.63Please respect copyright.PENANAII1oandz2m
“She locked us in,” Jabari said.63Please respect copyright.PENANAqeCpubE7jc
Juma stared at the water now reaching his shins. “That’s not the problem.”63Please respect copyright.PENANAKYkVua99UX
The sound came next — not fast, not crashing.63Please respect copyright.PENANATbtnEnjvqD
A slow gurgle. A hiss.63Please respect copyright.PENANAbQ09pelp3M
Then the unmistakable suction of redirected flow.63Please respect copyright.PENANAoToGGCSi5U
Juma turned to Jabari.63Please respect copyright.PENANA2L2yF2RWHf
“She's opened the borehole line.”63Please respect copyright.PENANACJoucrdRQ0
And sure enough, behind the sealed hatch, where the borehole channel fed under the school… the grate now trembled.63Please respect copyright.PENANA86wzjcLiW9
Then the water began to rise.63Please respect copyright.PENANAybev0wFKNp
From the high choir loft, Mercy stood silent, eyes calm, watching the stained glass as shadows shifted across it.63Please respect copyright.PENANARDSBbCezHt
Behind her, a girl whispered, “They’re in.”63Please respect copyright.PENANAycK3RIYEpZ
Mercy didn’t reply at first. Then:63Please respect copyright.PENANAGLU3PjN8Lb
“They came looking for a lie. Let them leave soaked in truth.”63Please respect copyright.PENANAfh8k6Spfik
She turned away and walked down the spiral staircase, vanishing into the dark.63Please respect copyright.PENANA7RWShQEocq
The water rose like a slow betrayal.63Please respect copyright.PENANAyWq2b59VxK
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.63Please respect copyright.PENANAmrr96Wj512
Then — a sound.63Please respect copyright.PENANAvX5WBpU6XN
Bang. Bang. Clank.63Please respect copyright.PENANAsTw4hTopb1
A screech of iron echoed from behind the north wall.63Please respect copyright.PENANAGAPWJxclEp
Juma froze. “Did you hear that?”63Please respect copyright.PENANAiWfoZr5iC5
Clank. Slam.63Please respect copyright.PENANAX0nH2gXEPp
Then a voice, muffled by metal and rage:63Please respect copyright.PENANAO5zNNcpHtO
“Get back!”63Please respect copyright.PENANAhXJGenTyDD
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.63Please respect copyright.PENANAATshQrLli6
And through the water— Musa crawled through.63Please respect copyright.PENANAqbF6zhvKf0
Soaked. Grit-covered. Grinning like a man who had wrestled a pipe system and won.63Please respect copyright.PENANArrZ9XAKEmj
“I told you I was the better swimmer,” he coughed.63Please respect copyright.PENANAP7YcC8yPRS
As the water drained and light returned, Juma leaned against the far wall, breathing hard.63Please respect copyright.PENANA6vvrQcEEed
“We were seconds from blacking out.”63Please respect copyright.PENANAIMsXECguPU
Jabari, still quiet, turned his torch toward the south chamber — a small alcove half-submerged behind a collapsed marble panel.63Please respect copyright.PENANALQQw1DnQSb
Musa followed his gaze. “What’s that?”63Please respect copyright.PENANAJAiT9WjXua
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.63Please respect copyright.PENANACPD2YZI7qJ
Behind it, half-sunken and chained inside a rusted cage:63Please respect copyright.PENANAa0b7xDq1mD
Three black ledger boxes, stamped with faded silver initials: “M.O.”63Please respect copyright.PENANAs3w8917PyR
Juma slowly unlocked one latch. Inside: letters, class registers, intercepted prefect reports, old Order rosters — all annotated in Mercy’s handwriting.63Please respect copyright.PENANA3RY054ovuC
Jabari picking one up and reading aloud:63Please respect copyright.PENANAxfutc0m0BM
“She was never exiled. She was buried.”63Please respect copyright.PENANApGXZwSy5vS
Musa whispered “She didn’t build a trap. She built an archive.”63Please respect copyright.PENANAwMxL1Bjjeh
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.63Please respect copyright.PENANApkfbICS0Wb
Jabari looked up sharply.63Please respect copyright.PENANAOzfgXOjXqg
“You followed us.”63Please respect copyright.PENANALI9glrt0qQ
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.63Please respect copyright.PENANAdD6bA64aWY
“You need this one,” he said. “It’s the only one with dates after Mercy’s expulsion.”63Please respect copyright.PENANAW0wZjQnXp4
Juma narrowed his eyes. “Why help us?”63Please respect copyright.PENANAANSG9J1Lb0
Ayo hesitated, then looked directly at Jabari.63Please respect copyright.PENANAfMPNsu5czS
“Because I’ve seen what Kwame would do with it.63Please respect copyright.PENANA60Zdgks07t
The silence cracked with the sound of metal boots on water-slick stone.63Please respect copyright.PENANAl6nAZhCjls
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.63Please respect copyright.PENANAYLouyuTmze
The one marked “Staff Correspondences: 2007–2014.”63Please respect copyright.PENANAyhnvO61ygh
Jabari stood. “What are you doing?”63Please respect copyright.PENANAlDiMZw8XJk
Otieno held his gaze. “You know I follow the truth.”63Please respect copyright.PENANAYLJuNuxkF8
Then turned and walked out — no rush, no guilt.63Please respect copyright.PENANAtA8UZ72LCB
One box in Jabari’s hands. One box in Ayo’s grip. One box now leaving with Otieno.63Please respect copyright.PENANAzNdTIAwFIr
Musa broke the silence.63Please respect copyright.PENANAzyoX9Jm5NH
“That’s it, then. The lines are drawn.”63Please respect copyright.PENANAjtKpzwvXbN
Juma added, “And Mercy didn’t even have to choose sides. She just lit the match.”63Please respect copyright.PENANAAKzUExgw56
Jabari watched Otieno disappear into the crypt tunnel, Ayo still standing beside him, conflicted but present.63Please respect copyright.PENANAolqcu0f8g9
Musa whispered, “This isn't just about the wall anymore. This is a war over what gets remembered.”
******63Please respect copyright.PENANAgPewpjfnWS
The video was less than ninety seconds long.63Please respect copyright.PENANAoRTVKJXiaK
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.63Please respect copyright.PENANA8sYN5nxgMo
The screen opened on dim light, stone, water glinting along the floor like liquid glass.63Please respect copyright.PENANAab5wPZpIPP
The voice was unmistakable.63Please respect copyright.PENANAjteO8qj9nO
“This is what they called leadership. This is what they built walls to protect. Jabari’s Order — drowning in Mercy’s revenge.”63Please respect copyright.PENANAFqB1WXfwGE
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.63Please respect copyright.PENANASF7xzGpucA
Then:63Please respect copyright.PENANAyOyjSdbx7i
Freeze frame.63Please respect copyright.PENANATsKwcmz1tK
Jabari, back turned, lifting a rusted ledger box.63Please respect copyright.PENANA8XGYROOTcu
The words flashed over the image in blood-red type:63Please respect copyright.PENANA4w9mfNXn4H
"The Order is underwater."63Please respect copyright.PENANAW44VMMBPnY
Then black.63Please respect copyright.PENANAw06IlbRjZu
By 7:00 a.m., the dorm corridors buzzed like electric wires.63Please respect copyright.PENANAoUhHMSniX0
“Who recorded it? There are no phones allowed—how did it get out? Was it staged? Is Mercy back? Was the flooding real?”63Please respect copyright.PENANAmiS4rig5R2
In the Kisumu Girls library, Shiko watched Kim watching the terminal.63Please respect copyright.PENANAEB8Wa9rDzs
“That’s the tunnel. That’s the crypt,” Kim whispered. And that—is a declaration.”63Please respect copyright.PENANAe9PJbyLmXr
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.63Please respect copyright.PENANA89Fmmeuhiy
Kwame stood outside, eyes on the sky, arms folded.63Please respect copyright.PENANA9rJzUV5kYx
He didn’t need a phone.63Please respect copyright.PENANArnuk6BMuoq
He just needed a network Mercy built…and a reason to set it on fire.
**********63Please respect copyright.PENANA14ah1VxOjm
June pushed the heavy doors open just as Mary arrived from the science wing.63Please respect copyright.PENANALrRpOBi5B6
“The boys have seen it?”63Please respect copyright.PENANAePGRTP8y5s
“Everyone has.”63Please respect copyright.PENANAl7Ips9OyPj
Kim entered last, silent.63Please respect copyright.PENANANLb17Av5zi
Shiko hovered in the corridor, uninvited but listening.63Please respect copyright.PENANAS41a9rbzKQ
On the old Order wall board, Naomi stood still.63Please respect copyright.PENANAP9PH9LFYMY
Below her — pinned with blue tacks — were printed stills from the Kwame video. One showed the crypt grate. Another, Jabari holding the ledger.63Please respect copyright.PENANAnEW5dAWQpP
“This wasn’t Mercy’s trap anymore,” Naomi said quietly.63Please respect copyright.PENANAwodL9o5U5Q
“It was her signal.”63Please respect copyright.PENANAvYvQC1Xay4
Naomi turned to them — prefects.63Please respect copyright.PENANAwnzg9276Kl
“There’s at least one ledger still moving. Probably being moved to St. Theresa’s. Possibly Maseno.”63Please respect copyright.PENANApJ1TMRQMBc
Mary stepped forward. “So, what do we do?”63Please respect copyright.PENANAXTHHeDXzqy
Naomi tapped the board.63Please respect copyright.PENANAEduIo4chBA
“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.”63Please respect copyright.PENANAmpjtqGUKG9
June’s voice was cold.63Please respect copyright.PENANAM59rBIM4rp
“You think Mercy would use one of us?”63Please respect copyright.PENANAoaZ1MVV8gP
Naomi didn’t blink.63Please respect copyright.PENANALCWw5rqKDs
“Mercy doesn’t use people. She recruits them.”63Please respect copyright.PENANAbhEQ2ADTQ2
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:63Please respect copyright.PENANAv1NYn01YTE
“Don’t trust who enters first. Trust who stays behind.”63Please respect copyright.PENANAJDE8bysRTO
The Order Hall is locked though Naomi stays inside, assembling the remaining cipher logs and pulling names off Mercy’s old class rosters.63Please respect copyright.PENANAuCs8hPEpEk
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.63Please respect copyright.PENANA2eiVL6R4II
She has only one instruction:63Please respect copyright.PENANA8if6QO1ISO
“Deliver it by dusk. If you’re stopped — deny you ever knew.”
63Please respect copyright.PENANAbdiJ7xLbHc
63Please respect copyright.PENANAH2KT9UNfJv