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.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO8EOUQkoXG
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.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡirFLdoHuVT
She spread the black card across the dissection tray — the one Mercy had retrieved from the chapel and handed over without explanation.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk8eoC2FjlK
“You know how to look,” Mercy had whispered. “So look.”26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9mXzIjqzDS
So Mary did. At first, nothing.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjUwbjYgvTc
Then the ink shifted — faint glowing threads emerging beneath the card’s surface. The lines curled, widened, and gradually began to form structure.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLruTQqLPsD
It wasn’t art. It was architecture.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfaLGMGQ9zm
A floor plan. 26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1bmt9ggSiN
June leaned in over her shoulder. “That’s not just the chapel…”26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5JjlMa1vOx
Mary nodded. “That’s the tunnel system.”26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI8uMipGt1b
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:26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9UmoVGEzb4
C.9 – Cryptus Sacrum.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡznUe5nBnWZ
Mary’s breath caught.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbWUPmQ3LIa
“The chapel has a crypt,” she whispered.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ53TaxHRin
June’s eyes narrowed. “No one’s spoken about that since Mercy’s expulsion.”26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6Oj1VcQO7G
“No one dared,” Mary replied.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnUmM4Ho9y4
In the bottom left corner of the blueprint, another glow began to rise beneath the UV:26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvVHaf8pjdO
“Begin from what you buried.”26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZJxGfT903E
— M.O.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUn9b4usaBc
June stepped back slightly. “She’s not just reactivating the tunnels. She’s trying to pull us back in.”26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6x7qRUPkdU
Mary nodded slowly. “Or she never left.”26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3B5XyEZvik
For the first time in weeks, June didn’t know which side she was on.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNN3S6sx2IR
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.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb5GUHU8UDO
And June had always preferred sharp things to dull ones.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIuWuceqwgX
She looked at Mary, who was still tracing the lines of the blueprint with a gloved fingertip.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh1eSHPuXEg
“If that’s real,” June whispered, “then we’ve never actually been above ground.”
*****26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXmseQq0kCi
Kim didn’t look up when June sat down beside her.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJjpOUfv2ex
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.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhni6zYkauI
June broke the silence.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzAtxZeU2zT
“You were right about her.”26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwPdAhP9Cny
Kim turned. “Mercy?”26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcK1lAtXhmO
June nodded; her voice taut. “She doesn’t want power back. She wants the Order buried.”26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9xLYirp37Z
Kim closed her notebook slowly. “What did you find?”26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzcFTOrNbxH
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.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡINtulMN5Ul
“Three verticals,” June whispered. “Three prefects. Mercy’s way of marking a trap.”26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFpGkWIe7rt
Kim stared. “You’re sure?”26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2YaQObe8Z4
“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.”26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwAxIJPTlKV
Kim traced one of the drawn lines with her finger.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCyqS1B8Glb
“She’s not exposing history,” she said slowly. “She’s rewriting it.”26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAWxj2Wzpe9
June leaned forward.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdedVAhF01b
“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.”26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSFeWGFEGYG
Kim gave a small, tired laugh. “You sound like Shiko.”26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPCOMgWg1WK
“No. Shiko’s a scout. You’re a witness.”26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3AEvhwjIbW
June paused, then added softly:26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzAK8TJFlYC
“I don’t want to be part of burying people. Not even Naomi.”
They sat in silence for a moment, petals collecting like snow.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ99ngaVU2QV
Then Kim asked, “What do you want me to do?”26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUkq2O5sDRO
June looked up. Her voice was quieter now. Less prefect. More person.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEV8kpRXGVR
“If anything happens in the crypt... if I can’t stop it... you tell the others. Shiko. Seline. Even Jabari, if you have to.”26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyeXxopaOmT
Kim stared at her. “That could expose you.”26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ02vhqPbLg
June nodded once.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYSs299yQKK
“Better me than them.”
*****26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaxmImhUjAN
The corridor was nearly empty when Seline appeared.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEERWdeeH3I
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.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBPZwH4XxcZ
“You’ve been busy.”26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMb136zTRva
Kim turned slowly, not startled — just tired.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJv7FEnz4Ax
“So have you.”26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe8EADzzHuC
Seline’s eyes were cold, but not cruel.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡde0wBO7PeF
“Let’s skip the pretend part.”26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡic2rDfrOqb
Kim raised an eyebrow. “Which part?”26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrQvwTS9lAD
“The part where you pretend, you’re not helping Mercy. Or June. Or whoever it is this week.”26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ99aJdXPJgG
Kim closed her locker slowly. “I’m not helping anyone. I’m trying to understand what’s happening.”26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhnwIMvGfZa
“That’s exactly what makes you useful.”26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKxIW60gWPA
Seline stepped closer, her voice low and measured.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX22FiHtTmT
“Help me expose Mercy before this thing in the chapel happens — and I’ll show you something.”26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhF8QaDF5nP
Kim didn’t move. “Something about Juma.”26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9CH3i8UItX
That stopped her.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdpvxCLsoVh
“Juma?” she said, sharper than she meant.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxtqw3f6LWJ
Seline nodded. “Something you’ve clearly been dancing around since last term. Don’t look so surprised, Kim. You don’t hide infatuation well.”26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRN72PcdIsn
Kim crossed her arms. “And you just happened to be saving this for a rainy day?”26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxfdgIarZU2
“No. I was saving it for the right pressure point.”26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyvqiBK2Po5
Seline reached into her sweater pocket and tapped a folded sheet. Thick. A printout? A photo?26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiYpql6deEo
“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.’”26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3gDJ10PHO5
The corridor felt suddenly colder. Kim stared at the folded paper, then at Seline’s face. Not smug. Not even manipulative. Just… determined.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYMV9yeXj3N
Like a girl who had once been close to Mercy. Like a girl who knew betrayal personally — and intended to weaponize it back.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYSH7RhJcJO
“You don’t even care about Naomi,” Kim said.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUuRN0EvNoi
Seline’s voice softened. “I care about not being erased.”26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ15hglzKiQ3
When Kim returned to her desk in the class, there was another mystery to follow waiting up on her.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgEzy71qVtK
There was no envelope.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡilAvqXQFxU
Just a folded note, slipped between the spine of Kim’s literature textbook and the dusty edge of her locker wall.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhkmDU1TtTT
She knew it was Shiko’s. The paper was squared at the corners. Neat. Dry. No handwriting on the outside. Just careful silence.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNCpO95cl5Q
Inside, a short message:26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡimjNRRfxV8
“Meet at Science Week’s midnight demonstration. No one else. No delay.”26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuqW0SMhEOr
— S26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuwcwSXgdq7
Kim stared at the paper, rereading the curves in the "S" — round and sharp in the way only Shiko's handwriting ever was.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfEOZcjAdjn
She folded it twice and slipped it into her sock.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjPupnfuuMQ
Outside, thunder rolled low and slow across the lake.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYyNKgezv5t
If Seline was a warning... Shiko was a reminder:26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfLgWIYOjFn
She wasn’t alone.
*****26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIPaMPf8g1q
Naomi’s heels echoed unnaturally down the corridor.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcsNoi7aD0s
She didn’t bark orders. She never had to.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1kV7C2sQ7w
Two junior prefects flanked her, carrying empty crates. She stopped at the lab entrance and waited until the girls looked up from the bench.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIAgoRRJtm8
“New directive from the principal,” Naomi said evenly. “All ultraviolet lighting equipment is to be removed from the lab facilities effective immediately.”26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGyplg0KJCD
Mary blinked. “Why?”26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAUVRRMJDGO
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.”26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSoCByHCZcX
June stepped forward. “That’s never been a concern before.”26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ887DzCAG6
Naomi raised an eyebrow. “Well, it is now.”26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy87e6WJhlK
As the juniors moved through the cupboards, one lifting the dusty UV lamp from the back shelf, Mary and June exchanged a look.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTVRKNQlOLr
This wasn’t about safety. This was about control.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRDfgIl7vLr
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.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTryeDMKRMj
Then she turned to go.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzHlMLipWuC
“If you need light,” she said over her shoulder, “try daylight.”26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPbMkgKlQSh
The door clicked shut behind her.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHa0JhaJpoV
Mary’s fingers dug into the edge of the desk.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvX2KX19bZL
“She knows,” she whispered.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM7qWPO8CFg
June stared at the door. “She doesn’t know everything.”26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw47yVqfwvw
Mary hesitated. “Should we tell Kim?”26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgThwlhqRMe
June exhaled.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPM5eFMGfec
“No. Not yet. Not until we find the crypt entrance ourselves.”26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGWXSTvayFr
She picked up the blueprint sketch, gently smoothed the corner, and whispered under her breath:26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTGOB3O0nux
“We don't need light. We need memory.”
******26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEm3ScikNxz
Juma paced just outside the back stage canopy, fists in his jacket pockets. He could feel Jabari before he saw him.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8TUsNb1PrD
“You’re late,” Juma muttered.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaViyIOb9Gh
“You followed me,” Jabari replied calmly.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzkTd66qWEQ
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.”26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZKgNhGmKTZ
Jabari’s voice was cold. “Neither did you, until you saw the card.”26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2dVgC1raCa
Juma’s jaw clenched. “This isn’t about who saw what first. It’s about stopping a collapse. Tonight. In the chapel.”26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiYCKejTwqP
Jabari finally turned, locking eyes.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT5vTzYmXA3
“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.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRWUnzFJ3EE
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.”26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvxWOwIBPGz
Kim stared at her. “You sound like you’ve been practicing this.”26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPjZi7eUaZk
Shiko gave a faint grin. “You’re not the only one who gets notes.”26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO1oVCQJQYP
Kim unfolded hers again: “Midnight. Come quiet.”26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYoiAZ2OZfk
There had been no signature — but the direction had been clear. The trap wasn’t just Mercy’s.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQR4RJ7dPm9
Someone was planning to stop it.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYS5qEz28YR
They were just making sure someone else survived it.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5aOfEI6fLk
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.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZckbkKDXUT
And somewhere else — Seline, watching from above the science dome, her eyes flickering with a phone she shouldn’t have had.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt8rxiXVjGG
Jabari reached the tunnel grate first.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSUXA5yOc1V
Juma slipped beside him, passing the folded metal rod they’d stashed days ago. Together, for once, they said nothing.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUM5IDYMqky
Inside the tunnel — faint blue paint glowed at the seams.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiVOsh16g2u
The glyph for “complete.”26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0H5aCBazbr
Mercy had finished the sequence.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2A1Ee7YwLg
On the girls’ side, Kim reached into the drain gate.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyJtwkW1I7G
Shiko crouched beside her, prying open a rusted latch.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4IWPiCkf2g
Below them, the faint sound of a click echoed.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3o4gcxsjUo
A door opened.
