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.63Please respect copyright.PENANANc4c9lilUn
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.63Please respect copyright.PENANABOvSJIAq3s
No one sat near the center.63Please respect copyright.PENANAySfo2Ov5YF
Jabari stood at the front of the room, back straight, the cracked ledger box in one hand.63Please respect copyright.PENANAZVcV3a1IT5
He didn’t shout.63Please respect copyright.PENANARGBesKs9Hx
“You all saw what Mercy did.”63Please respect copyright.PENANAInVC8aoorn
Silence.63Please respect copyright.PENANAAHaRzsevfj
“She used our stories. Our fractures. She drowned us in our own past.”63Please respect copyright.PENANASBI3xfiBmk
He placed the box down — loudly.63Please respect copyright.PENANAsviG6ne4uo
“So, this time… we drown her in it.”63Please respect copyright.PENANAoF7Y7BrYPS
He scanned both sides of the room.63Please respect copyright.PENANAu8FQLsy5KC
“We have word Naomi’s side is moving — quietly. They’ve offered a containment pact.”63Please respect copyright.PENANAMYqf5rBBJX
A few gasps. One laugh — quickly hushed.63Please respect copyright.PENANAlgOSO8LQCg
Jabari continued.63Please respect copyright.PENANAgxtdwF2NLZ
“This isn’t an alliance for peace. This is a trap.”63Please respect copyright.PENANAGwjaMpZ2OW
He walked to the chalkboard and drew a quick diagram: the chapel crypt, the drainage lines, the tunnel forks.63Please respect copyright.PENANANt4HrXSNcs
“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.”63Please respect copyright.PENANAOoQPrvlgiQ
Kwame wasn’t present.63Please respect copyright.PENANA4qopdjZJTx
But Otieno was — arms folded, expression blank.63Please respect copyright.PENANAJQv86SWvOP
Ayo muttered under his breath, “He won’t like this.”63Please respect copyright.PENANACvJv70KEMq
Juma asked sharply, “So we do Naomi’s cleanup?”63Please respect copyright.PENANAlEVOUBxMD7
Jabari looked him straight in the eyes.63Please respect copyright.PENANAXCUB9u2O98
“We clean up our own ghosts. Naomi’s just part of the smoke.”63Please respect copyright.PENANAtyobLhNoRh
Musa stepped forward and unrolled the scroll — Naomi’s signed terms, retrieved from the wall.63Please respect copyright.PENANA1OiAMKJBGX
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.63Please respect copyright.PENANAXOIAcwsBgG
The final line:63Please respect copyright.PENANAYyA12m4o3S
“No war until the wound is stitched.”63Please respect copyright.PENANAxj48DppJ2s
A single nod from Jabari. “Vote?”63Please respect copyright.PENANAy514BV76wj
This time, only one hand stayed down.63Please respect copyright.PENANAmhH0mI0H5o
Otieno.63Please respect copyright.PENANAXrrkgT0vp7
He met Jabari’s gaze, then whispered: “You catch her… Just don’t become her.”63Please respect copyright.PENANARzmawcITnv
The moment Musa finished rolling up the scroll, Juma stood — arms crossed, eyes cold.63Please respect copyright.PENANAoBnItHFuzo
“We’re trusting Naomi now? The same girl who tried to silence everything Mercy uncovered?”63Please respect copyright.PENANA1DmSE7ruRa
The room went quiet again. Even the Shadow Walkers leaned in, sensing heat beneath the words.63Please respect copyright.PENANAsuwTRvt1CB
Jabari didn’t answer immediately.63Please respect copyright.PENANA6LlBpdGH5k
Juma continued, his voice quieter but heavier:63Please respect copyright.PENANAZigWMOzdBy
“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.”63Please respect copyright.PENANAl2YoGxGnIi
Otieno glanced at Musa. Ayo looked away.63Please respect copyright.PENANAtYFkIZb0Io
They knew what Jabari suspected but never asked.63Please respect copyright.PENANAeoS5XwHAnC
Juma’s voice cracked ever so slightly: “I swore I’d protect Kim. Not just physically. From all this. From becoming one of us.”63Please respect copyright.PENANAiQwATsW9Mm
He looked straight at Jabari. “You think Naomi won’t use her if it means killing Mercy’s story?”63Please respect copyright.PENANAZpngDpvjUb
A slow clap echoed from the hallway.63Please respect copyright.PENANAzDYTUxzRsQ
Kwame.63Please respect copyright.PENANABom35via1c
He leaned against the doorframe, shadowed, smirking.63Please respect copyright.PENANALiZLzftIVW
“Now that’s what I’ve been waiting for.”63Please respect copyright.PENANAgHCJAfhBqm
Jabari’s jaw tightened. “You weren’t invited.”63Please respect copyright.PENANAt7GWdPHDQw
Kwame stepped in. “I don’t need an invitation to watch a castle collapse. Especially when the stones fight each other.”63Please respect copyright.PENANAdoUd28v4C3
He glanced at Juma. “Finally, someone with a spine.63Please respect copyright.PENANAQ6mvm68xno
Jabari stepped forward. “This isn’t about Kim.”63Please respect copyright.PENANAW9o59cDp8J
Juma didn’t move. “No. It’s about all the people who can’t speak anymore. Mercy included.”63Please respect copyright.PENANAVevt68vUd3
Kwame tilted his head, amused. “You know, I think Mercy would like him.”63Please respect copyright.PENANAYOBtEBEK6V
Musa finally spoke. “We don’t have time for this.”63Please respect copyright.PENANATnX44mFaOK
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.”63Please respect copyright.PENANAKN9734Esgw
Juma’s fists clenched.63Please respect copyright.PENANAyu1G4hazQj
But he didn’t sit back down.63Please respect copyright.PENANAMehe8oxyNN
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.63Please respect copyright.PENANA0XFdzvqMRL
Kwame leaned against the concrete.63Please respect copyright.PENANAhVwK93w6IJ
“So. You’re really going with Jabari?”63Please respect copyright.PENANAvwckrpl6t9
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.63Please respect copyright.PENANAs3s9YBOBxB
“Does it matter?”63Please respect copyright.PENANAZ60nzLtrBG
Kwame smirked. “It does to me. I had you pegged as a watcher. Not a follower.”63Please respect copyright.PENANAwVGkB7nITn
Otieno stood slowly. “You’re right.”63Please respect copyright.PENANAwF39vbSQtj
He turned to face Kwame — taller than him in the dim light. 63Please respect copyright.PENANAcdriuYynV3
“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.”63Please respect copyright.PENANACPbvbkT9QV
Kwame’s smile faded slightly.63Please respect copyright.PENANABlMEWiDeS2
“She’s rewriting history,” Otieno said. “And you think you’re the editor. But she’ll erase you the second you stop being useful.”63Please respect copyright.PENANAXImLWyUPqs
Kwame raised an eyebrow. “And you think Jabari won’t?”63Please respect copyright.PENANAuvrE1kbel6
Otieno stepped closer.63Please respect copyright.PENANAaiReVpAr9Q
“If we help Jabari now, we keep Mercy’s revenge from destroying us all. Not for Naomi. Not for orders. Not for walls.”63Please respect copyright.PENANAr2QgbUHafY
He paused. “For survival.”63Please respect copyright.PENANAloYPSG6ddD
Kwame scoffed lightly. “You sound like you’re preparing for a funeral.”63Please respect copyright.PENANAuudh0nc60Y
Otieno turned away, sliding the copper ring into place.63Please respect copyright.PENANADJ9tjRRJop
“I am. The old war never ended. This time, I just want to know which side I buried my friends on.”
**********63Please respect copyright.PENANACYBubeKD6G
The ledger crate was lighter than expected.63Please respect copyright.PENANA3xAw0qnCbu
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.63Please respect copyright.PENANArecwzF9MLb
Jabari stood beside him in the hallway shadows. “You’re sure?”63Please respect copyright.PENANAfbvBgH3ayZ
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?”63Please respect copyright.PENANAGbTVMgL7i5
Juma, standing nearby, muttered, “It’s not the box I don’t trust. It’s the gate it’s going through.”63Please respect copyright.PENANA37lbtiNo2k
Musa turned to Jabari.63Please respect copyright.PENANA4MXfd0DbFh
“Let me take it. If we send a signal through anyone else, they’ll second-guess it.”63Please respect copyright.PENANARuYUfvmWZE
He gripped the crate.63Please respect copyright.PENANA00IHvZ5ZbH
“I’m neutral enough to walk through fire.”63Please respect copyright.PENANA4VQaqGXNFO
From behind him, Ayo appeared silently, holding a folded black card — flat, thin, almost forgettable.63Please respect copyright.PENANADrx48Dqm1I
“For insurance,” Ayo said, sliding it beneath the top canvas.63Please respect copyright.PENANATuTITQTQsH
Musa frowned. “We’re not sending threats.”63Please respect copyright.PENANABKag92q6lW
Ayo’s voice was smooth. “It’s not a threat. Just… a reminder. She needs to know she’s still being watched.”63Please respect copyright.PENANAhccMDBmJAT
“No names. Just the old cipher. Mercy’s mark.”63Please respect copyright.PENANAaAeJQ30p82
Musa hesitated, then said nothing. There wasn’t time. Jabari was still briefing the wall runners. No one else saw.63Please respect copyright.PENANAhir45UZAJv
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.63Please respect copyright.PENANAxSHICvOUJk
He stood still, adjusted his sleeves. Waited.63Please respect copyright.PENANAAmcH0ng9Ak
The grate shifted open. Two gloved hands — Mary’s, if he had to guess — pulled the crate silently inside.63Please respect copyright.PENANAj9LdhjbGYx
No words. Only a single origami triangle left behind, folded from printed timetable paper.63Please respect copyright.PENANARC5tDMlAPW
He picked it up, unfolded it.63Please respect copyright.PENANAuTdYbUG4R3
“Drop scheduled. Second chime. No shadows.”63Please respect copyright.PENANAr0XbqYCge6
The plan was live.63Please respect copyright.PENANAfPNC7uqOLi
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.63Please respect copyright.PENANAjIj5GMcpbY
Below it: one line in tight handwriting.63Please respect copyright.PENANAZa8ZqVIsul
“She buried you once. Don’t let her bury you again.”63Please respect copyright.PENANAHlu0ztH4v1
Mary looked up at Naomi.63Please respect copyright.PENANAzWT4XQzzpd
“Did you put this in?”63Please respect copyright.PENANAWWL50CqTSS
Naomi said nothing.63Please respect copyright.PENANAxEEeoFBLLX
Her fingers tightened.
*****63Please respect copyright.PENANAkgLUg1qPqm
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.63Please respect copyright.PENANATSEyvXL4JC
The room smelled like old pine and chalk dust.63Please respect copyright.PENANAiEEMcTNfE1
June, Mary, and Naomi stood around the crate. No one had spoken since the door shut.63Please respect copyright.PENANABRwk8C3YEn
The origami triangle Musa left sat neatly beside the latch. Naomi’s hands hovered above it.63Please respect copyright.PENANACEhsG5YPYI
“We open it now,” she said.63Please respect copyright.PENANAx4B3rjdxcQ
“We can’t afford another surprise at the Tribunal.”63Please respect copyright.PENANAN0yOXGTTUQ
She glanced at Mary. “Gloves.”63Please respect copyright.PENANAEavIjuV1zd
Mary handed them over — clean surgical pairs swiped from the chem lab.63Please respect copyright.PENANAr2Zrcfywb8
Inside, the ledgers were exactly as expected — wrapped, unmarked, blank. But under the first canvas fold, June’s hand paused.63Please respect copyright.PENANARETgaZYuaR
“Something’s here.”63Please respect copyright.PENANAvXnnfenqgB
She pulled out the black card.63Please respect copyright.PENANAhvk2KaBebD
The serpent. Silver ink. Old cipher.63Please respect copyright.PENANAw18O1VeSXI
Naomi took it. Kim read the line aloud:63Please respect copyright.PENANA2G4q1Qr11k
“She buried you once. Don’t let her bury you again.”63Please respect copyright.PENANAbHcSjypZUJ
A beat of silence.63Please respect copyright.PENANAme5V45vjLd
Naomi’s face stayed blank, but her pulse visibly jumped.63Please respect copyright.PENANAcBTyKh7wZq
“It’s not hers,” she said flatly. “She never wrote in third person.”63Please respect copyright.PENANAguoPfJysbY
June stepped in. “Then it’s meant to make it look like it is.”63Please respect copyright.PENANAKKaevp4Mmq
Mary whispered, “Could it be a warning? From the boys?”63Please respect copyright.PENANATECxqaDxhd
Naomi shook her head. 63Please respect copyright.PENANAZZaOvu25oo
“Too calculated. This isn’t warning. It’s planting doubt. Whoever slipped it in wanted us to panic in front of the school.”63Please respect copyright.PENANA9Y2jBfFOlg
June laid the card flat on the table.63Please respect copyright.PENANAUBhCUNfnHN
“We pull it now. Quietly. And we never say a word.”63Please respect copyright.PENANACw1lAq1isR
Naomi finally nodded. “Burn it.”63Please respect copyright.PENANAZgoHOIPN3z
Mary hesitated. “That’s a Mercy move.”63Please respect copyright.PENANAcNpmrpxrc2
Naomi replied coldly: 63Please respect copyright.PENANASItR8FAlXl
“Then maybe she taught us well.”63Please respect copyright.PENANAgoB7n8GCgu
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.63Please respect copyright.PENANABlY6pb7sei
June turned to Naomi. 63Please respect copyright.PENANAppIfnlAOPc
“When you open that crate tomorrow, make sure your voice doesn’t shake.”63Please respect copyright.PENANAqX2MtfA8gA
Naomi said nothing.63Please respect copyright.PENANAWZIoOZk2Qp
But her jaw was set.