In the Kisumu Boys' Assembly Room, a closed session in the late afternoon is underway. The rain drums faintly on the roof. Both Order loyalists and Shadow Walker affiliates have been summoned — the first meeting of its kind.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQReDCRuA7A
The room buzzed with restrained confusion. On one side: prefects, old Order loyalists, data-keepers. On the other: Shadow Walkers — code-runners, graffiti scouts, watchers from rooftops.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGcCtjjMZ2u
No one sat near the center.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkVN7u3zDrY
Jabari stood at the front of the room, back straight, the cracked ledger box in one hand.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT6PQ00EudE
He didn’t shout.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ02XlkmIJak
“You all saw what Mercy did.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOFhc4U7Pc9
Silence.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGqnDtSMNoS
“She used our stories. Our fractures. She drowned us in our own past.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4rIhLbes4I
He placed the box down — loudly.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB9Wa4AESPJ
“So, this time… we drown her in it.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTlqGqFPIPl
He scanned both sides of the room.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZS44z3SPGi
“We have word Naomi’s side is moving — quietly. They’ve offered a containment pact.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwZ99BuLHnw
A few gasps. One laugh — quickly hushed.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwTB2OuuWvK
Jabari continued.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuS9yWH8RJ1
“This isn’t an alliance for peace. This is a trap.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ62R2oB6bxr
He walked to the chalkboard and drew a quick diagram: the chapel crypt, the drainage lines, the tunnel forks.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMd2oWGvSrh
“Mercy’s using the third memory drop — a ledger no one catalogued. We lure her into finishing the cycle. And we lock her there. Not with chains. With evidence. With noise. With memory.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEzbZ6POPHH
Kwame wasn’t present.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡod8G5nxTID
But Otieno was — arms folded, expression blank.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWG8aTVZx35
Ayo muttered under his breath, “He won’t like this.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfKNxWnNeLw
Juma asked sharply, “So we do Naomi’s cleanup?”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHi7haTP1Ei
Jabari looked him straight in the eyes.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgYxWh606wZ
“We clean up our own ghosts. Naomi’s just part of the smoke.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ58OxyOSpIP
Musa stepped forward and unrolled the scroll — Naomi’s signed terms, retrieved from the wall.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKVeoROo0uP
He read them aloud: Neutral crypt space during the trap execution. Shared counter-signal system (one chime = cancel, two = proceed). No betrayal until both crates are verified and neutralized.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTNeSBiBi3U
The final line:64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOSLOkvh5Dc
“No war until the wound is stitched.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFbhyVOSMJj
A single nod from Jabari. “Vote?”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOh08uAA3rx
This time, only one hand stayed down.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMeSJt67n6K
Otieno.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSOW36pgxec
He met Jabari’s gaze, then whispered: “You catch her… Just don’t become her.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2nNXIHM0YO
The moment Musa finished rolling up the scroll, Juma stood — arms crossed, eyes cold.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBmHZMeSmzE
“We’re trusting Naomi now? The same girl who tried to silence everything Mercy uncovered?”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm8t7WiCYkl
The room went quiet again. Even the Shadow Walkers leaned in, sensing heat beneath the words.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4Fa9jFhV4T
Jabari didn’t answer immediately.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIHDcvUKLzJ
Juma continued, his voice quieter but heavier:64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡniqb0esfkp
“She isn’t here to contain anything. She’s here to bury it again. And if we help her… we’re part of it. We’ve already done one cover-up, Jabari. I won’t do a second.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUdMRPBWmc2
Otieno glanced at Musa. Ayo looked away.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrar4xyxg9f
They knew what Jabari suspected but never asked.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGElTUnS0wz
Juma’s voice cracked ever so slightly: “I swore I’d protect Kim. Not just physically. From all this. From becoming one of us.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbFErkCme9W
He looked straight at Jabari. “You think Naomi won’t use her if it means killing Mercy’s story?”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuFtpWk4FZh
A slow clap echoed from the hallway.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7QMwcH8Vyc
Kwame.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdbgJSyU3Iz
He leaned against the doorframe, shadowed, smirking.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW3N6pAv1IY
“Now that’s what I’ve been waiting for.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡongymJOEH5
Jabari’s jaw tightened. “You weren’t invited.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxWgpXmExUe
Kwame stepped in. “I don’t need an invitation to watch a castle collapse. Especially when the stones fight each other.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSuPFgK3K3S
He glanced at Juma. “Finally, someone with a spine.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyZmp9cGL89
Jabari stepped forward. “This isn’t about Kim.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfvqE7RbEIi
Juma didn’t move. “No. It’s about all the people who can’t speak anymore. Mercy included.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡppGVJKXWXt
Kwame tilted his head, amused. “You know, I think Mercy would like him.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMrnAVRmbVe
Musa finally spoke. “We don’t have time for this.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡunTsihFhw9
Jabari looked at Juma. “You can’t protect her from all of it. You can only decide whether you help shape the truth or let it crush her.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkUAymWMsDZ
Juma’s fists clenched.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3Hn65EKRcg
But he didn’t sit back down.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB2GqtNvqit
Later that night, after the hall had emptied and the plan was posted on the encrypted wall scroll, Kwame found Otieno near the water tanks, where the fog rolled low and the pipes hissed with steam.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbXF7MXzaHU
Kwame leaned against the concrete.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8LB1liDXyK
“So. You’re really going with Jabari?”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡruYLvBGwBq
Otieno didn’t look up. He was fitting a copper ring into the vent grate — a piece of an old filtration system he’d been rigging for months.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1pNSSeWsdd
“Does it matter?”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhXZlkns2Yl
Kwame smirked. “It does to me. I had you pegged as a watcher. Not a follower.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjThnvpZkay
Otieno stood slowly. “You’re right.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNM76UtHGuU
He turned to face Kwame — taller than him in the dim light. 64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUemqBhqsp6
“I do watch. I watched what happened when the last war between Orders wasn’t stopped. I watched Jabari get blamed for things he never did. I watched you use Mercy’s name like a weapon — without carrying any of her burden.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyzfafJD627
Kwame’s smile faded slightly.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpRkUoc9vLW
“She’s rewriting history,” Otieno said. “And you think you’re the editor. But she’ll erase you the second you stop being useful.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQWQvwzjMrw
Kwame raised an eyebrow. “And you think Jabari won’t?”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMsz9JePtsp
Otieno stepped closer.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2MTcTOr99X
“If we help Jabari now, we keep Mercy’s revenge from destroying us all. Not for Naomi. Not for orders. Not for walls.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr8iBQGy5Px
He paused. “For survival.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr7MQ4r3IXK
Kwame scoffed lightly. “You sound like you’re preparing for a funeral.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe4tPfYXhrh
Otieno turned away, sliding the copper ring into place.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjRD2Z9Wrv5
“I am. The old war never ended. This time, I just want to know which side I buried my friends on.”
**********64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwTXp5wI4Pn
The ledger crate was lighter than expected.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9x2cRSLADc
Musa tested its weight once more as he crouched beneath the courtyard arch. The M.O.3 chalk mark had been carefully redrawn. The false ledgers inside were wrapped in canvas, just enough heft to feel real.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡemBwDEGDLN
Jabari stood beside him in the hallway shadows. “You’re sure?”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3NbSj7KAMM
Musa gave a half-smile. “You trust me with a busted borehole and a map that doesn’t exist, but not a box full of air?”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPUEAjlySrk
Juma, standing nearby, muttered, “It’s not the box I don’t trust. It’s the gate it’s going through.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPEdfYxGY3Y
Musa turned to Jabari.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzntiEQOdD9
“Let me take it. If we send a signal through anyone else, they’ll second-guess it.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfk9m90mpzB
He gripped the crate.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUVoQOr3QzA
“I’m neutral enough to walk through fire.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4Wc2ymoHbY
From behind him, Ayo appeared silently, holding a folded black card — flat, thin, almost forgettable.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAhVBFzUvci
“For insurance,” Ayo said, sliding it beneath the top canvas.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPuDxUimTP3
Musa frowned. “We’re not sending threats.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡut1IlMH23C
Ayo’s voice was smooth. “It’s not a threat. Just… a reminder. She needs to know she’s still being watched.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtGvg2r9Amv
“No names. Just the old cipher. Mercy’s mark.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXagyG3Nbrh
Musa hesitated, then said nothing. There wasn’t time. Jabari was still briefing the wall runners. No one else saw.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡekor8n5V5t
At 5:48 p.m., beneath the buzz of Science Week cleanup, Musa rolled the AV cart up to the old drain-slot gate in the concrete wall.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6NTtKxsNx9
He stood still, adjusted his sleeves. Waited.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNlR6sRh5O1
The grate shifted open. Two gloved hands — Mary’s, if he had to guess — pulled the crate silently inside.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡReme2W5RHG
No words. Only a single origami triangle left behind, folded from printed timetable paper.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKmCTAWu3dk
He picked it up, unfolded it.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡElLCQHf234
“Drop scheduled. Second chime. No shadows.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZcwYMoz3L2
The plan was live.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCSJILkxyUD
Inside the crate, beneath the false ledgers and canvas, Naomi’s hand paused when she reached the black card. It bore Mercy’s old cipher — a twisting serpent swallowing its tail — stamped in silver ink.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPlapxDqshj
Below it: one line in tight handwriting.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEatLwHwSvf
“She buried you once. Don’t let her bury you again.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkZjqQMnvBz
Mary looked up at Naomi.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNz83wuXvrP
“Did you put this in?”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4orX0qZBP3
Naomi said nothing.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡho94K0Gzq3
Her fingers tightened.
*****64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOjLe1mEt03
On the girls’ side. After dark. Naomi’s inner circle meets in the underground storage room behind the old library annex. The crate sits unopened on a long metal table.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWXyiBKdTDT
The room smelled like old pine and chalk dust.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvzGFqCrkI4
June, Mary, and Naomi stood around the crate. No one had spoken since the door shut.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1A04NlAIzx
The origami triangle Musa left sat neatly beside the latch. Naomi’s hands hovered above it.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXUrnpbFu5Y
“We open it now,” she said.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbbEuVkucuw
“We can’t afford another surprise at the Tribunal.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtYax0PWy3q
She glanced at Mary. “Gloves.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8nQByggG4D
Mary handed them over — clean surgical pairs swiped from the chem lab.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwKMvl0HG1e
Inside, the ledgers were exactly as expected — wrapped, unmarked, blank. But under the first canvas fold, June’s hand paused.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHbfh0AcfjG
“Something’s here.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVZm2ZfUwRm
She pulled out the black card.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvz8KkdqRFY
The serpent. Silver ink. Old cipher.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡciWIYWRpMG
Naomi took it. Kim read the line aloud:64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0ccNbF10tp
“She buried you once. Don’t let her bury you again.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡizkw6S754Q
A beat of silence.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbw9dG5Z5pF
Naomi’s face stayed blank, but her pulse visibly jumped.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTonrH1IeUt
“It’s not hers,” she said flatly. “She never wrote in third person.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡacpKO2378Y
June stepped in. “Then it’s meant to make it look like it is.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8eytx2L9Z8
Mary whispered, “Could it be a warning? From the boys?”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3dM02Ec5Xj
Naomi shook her head. 64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSd0aceXR40
“Too calculated. This isn’t warning. It’s planting doubt. Whoever slipped it in wanted us to panic in front of the school.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzuMpCqGNQE
June laid the card flat on the table.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU7mGXQM8qY
“We pull it now. Quietly. And we never say a word.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnOFFuDYPUA
Naomi finally nodded. “Burn it.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZuJJdA46B0
Mary hesitated. “That’s a Mercy move.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr1Q9SiioA5
Naomi replied coldly: 64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1HWqsGlSzp
“Then maybe she taught us well.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSgSXolecHh
The card was burning in a lab beaker, the serpent curling into ash by the time they were done, Naomi staring into the flame longer than the others.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX6HbZqgCv9
June turned to Naomi. 64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjbXXtbyKQz
“When you open that crate tomorrow, make sure your voice doesn’t shake.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrH3SxpNP4W
Naomi said nothing.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAaJfqjVVfL
But her jaw was set.
