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.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwk5a0X6EgZ
Juma hated this kind of show — too bright, too scripted. But it made for the perfect cover.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQD0q2wcvJk
“Everyone’s looking up,” he whispered.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDxJGQI96CB
“No one sees what we’re pinning to their legs.”29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡblvcpGpcVU
Jabari didn’t smile.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOErKq2bOgH
He reached into his backpack and pulled out a rolled poster, smooth and stiff. Thick matte ink on thick gray stock.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA7p8oAZvRJ
ORDER OVER INSURRECTION29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEWOFBlSGQT
A white wing over a fractured flame.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSRXugnnHlD
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.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ40Z1sKgq7x
Four in total. No more. Enough to seed rumor, not provoke response.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw3h5YdDAMS
They weren’t messages for students.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡudFUBMPpGi
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.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMr7TIWgdgM
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.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMpHt8o2WT3
He whispered:29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM9mM3JqBae
“She wanted an audience. Let’s give her one.”29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6Vao7xbTxx
Behind the hydroponics dome, a girl in Kisumu Girls' tracksuit lowered her phone quietly. Her name wasn’t known to either of them.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2or40nk4Qh
But the notification she sent was clear:29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhxCUgNZWZ2
“The birds are flying banners again. Mercy will see.”
*****29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPhKXf6EY4g
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.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD9goLq0S3x
Inside, Jabari and Juma moved fast, pushing through ankle-deep water that had begun pooling around the eastern wall.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuIX5952GNV
“This isn't just a chamber,” Juma snapped. “It’s a channel.”29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE5pIp3WeAd
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.”29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRRbKm42Nhz
Repurposed by whom?29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ49zCxygCgF
By Mercy.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ44Z16DaiDa
Atop the hidden stairway, two girls in Kisumu Girls’ jackets stood in silence.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbSdtPGWT54
One wore Mercy’s old prefect sash — though no one had given it to her.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPKmRn0BTdJ
The other held the key.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtcs4dc6H9k
She waited exactly until her watch ticked to 12:17 a.m.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡylYuyrklFg
Then she slid the bolt home and turned it once.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4MqFlzyTQF
Click.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQLXxdR9TVD
The girls didn’t laugh. Didn’t speak.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfS9FmHrxN2
They simply walked away.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzK4Mpl7AOY
Jabari’s light flickered.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqNBvpmD2xm
He and Juma reached the far side — a rusted metal ladder leading up toward the chapel’s north vestibule — welded shut from above.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡygQOPOjjsA
“She locked us in,” Jabari said.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL3Mz2wY8CT
Juma stared at the water now reaching his shins. “That’s not the problem.”29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGBgSOJkvd1
The sound came next — not fast, not crashing.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy0LFYP2GVd
A slow gurgle. A hiss.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpcZPFTVSsP
Then the unmistakable suction of redirected flow.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp4LanCHEMd
Juma turned to Jabari.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSVlZflPIrT
“She's opened the borehole line.”29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5nB5CKKY3B
And sure enough, behind the sealed hatch, where the borehole channel fed under the school… the grate now trembled.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrx9WKpfUv5
Then the water began to rise.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzZLFGzbrdR
From the high choir loft, Mercy stood silent, eyes calm, watching the stained glass as shadows shifted across it.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmrjIGirIyR
Behind her, a girl whispered, “They’re in.”29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpx1MsKqqJ8
Mercy didn’t reply at first. Then:29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0EDbR1FKjZ
“They came looking for a lie. Let them leave soaked in truth.”29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtFxK773W6y
She turned away and walked down the spiral staircase, vanishing into the dark.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpT52ZCrnFg
The water rose like a slow betrayal.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp54rbLrIPT
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.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSBl8IS1JFQ
Then — a sound.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUNzoVVdZJw
Bang. Bang. Clank.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6wEs52cc2d
A screech of iron echoed from behind the north wall.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1mtisZgjOE
Juma froze. “Did you hear that?”29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4KoEeAcT3O
Clank. Slam.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjnKdZ1zI2z
Then a voice, muffled by metal and rage:29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUULGDf3jHx
“Get back!”29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ28wJMuV1xm
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.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7vCOa9rZ8L
And through the water— Musa crawled through.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAh35GM9TPv
Soaked. Grit-covered. Grinning like a man who had wrestled a pipe system and won.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJaOP3Hn7bX
“I told you I was the better swimmer,” he coughed.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKET3gVAyoY
As the water drained and light returned, Juma leaned against the far wall, breathing hard.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9PPlbd7vAO
“We were seconds from blacking out.”29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN2LydpgLur
Jabari, still quiet, turned his torch toward the south chamber — a small alcove half-submerged behind a collapsed marble panel.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg6znxtMOyo
Musa followed his gaze. “What’s that?”29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5GbDvWlI3l
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.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTucC75S3oB
Behind it, half-sunken and chained inside a rusted cage:29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU0IpDc9OS9
Three black ledger boxes, stamped with faded silver initials: “M.O.”29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl4tJoQd9HA
Juma slowly unlocked one latch. Inside: letters, class registers, intercepted prefect reports, old Order rosters — all annotated in Mercy’s handwriting.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAxkjCMfHIM
Jabari picking one up and reading aloud:29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv8y6Ihz66H
“She was never exiled. She was buried.”29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjBP7cbjbGQ
Musa whispered “She didn’t build a trap. She built an archive.”29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3yVNDELoMM
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.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXo8H2ResfY
Jabari looked up sharply.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpV2Or2niXA
“You followed us.”29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD7ej5qlkMF
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.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEEY2u8QG6g
“You need this one,” he said. “It’s the only one with dates after Mercy’s expulsion.”29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYE3mDkCT88
Juma narrowed his eyes. “Why help us?”29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpdcnwloUg0
Ayo hesitated, then looked directly at Jabari.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSndx1iRYqM
“Because I’ve seen what Kwame would do with it.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvf8HSn8I99
The silence cracked with the sound of metal boots on water-slick stone.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzCvGUrG3pi
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.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa40uRLgyj9
The one marked “Staff Correspondences: 2007–2014.”29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡprHwmNXFiV
Jabari stood. “What are you doing?”29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD7YRWvbgqa
Otieno held his gaze. “You know I follow the truth.”29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQOAAtwgLsi
Then turned and walked out — no rush, no guilt.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2sZnNmYP3n
One box in Jabari’s hands. One box in Ayo’s grip. One box now leaving with Otieno.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNuaOp8XC3M
Musa broke the silence.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnByTVpJ6hy
“That’s it, then. The lines are drawn.”29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP6Qo5t1Ast
Juma added, “And Mercy didn’t even have to choose sides. She just lit the match.”29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeaKmUTojph
Jabari watched Otieno disappear into the crypt tunnel, Ayo still standing beside him, conflicted but present.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQMiDIPF8wo
Musa whispered, “This isn't just about the wall anymore. This is a war over what gets remembered.”
******29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡylLGzcAfZM
The video was less than ninety seconds long.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW6HQlO8AAG
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.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡczdagoHQfu
The screen opened on dim light, stone, water glinting along the floor like liquid glass.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrbdcq4xrmR
The voice was unmistakable.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2VRqAYMRig
“This is what they called leadership. This is what they built walls to protect. Jabari’s Order — drowning in Mercy’s revenge.”29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGOBKCIxezY
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.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5dsMwoOiNO
Then:29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsKbsemMLQR
Freeze frame.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv0vLlJDL6P
Jabari, back turned, lifting a rusted ledger box.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8Ex3a74hbc
The words flashed over the image in blood-red type:29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbuZWXoaRKR
"The Order is underwater."29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0dPWOqN2Jv
Then black.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHd7wCQuYqx
By 7:00 a.m., the dorm corridors buzzed like electric wires.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3kl5VOKy2A
“Who recorded it? There are no phones allowed—how did it get out? Was it staged? Is Mercy back? Was the flooding real?”29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuw7qmnjxQm
In the Kisumu Girls library, Shiko watched Kim watching the terminal.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtjRR1GWIC6
“That’s the tunnel. That’s the crypt,” Kim whispered. And that—is a declaration.”29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4TQ4PGx5eT
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.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm4OurQ0WqG
Kwame stood outside, eyes on the sky, arms folded.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡniAOzrADio
He didn’t need a phone.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoEKC9CTGOl
He just needed a network Mercy built…and a reason to set it on fire.
**********29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqtt6SpwX7G
June pushed the heavy doors open just as Mary arrived from the science wing.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwVosecQuLp
“The boys have seen it?”29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYYMXYFPyOo
“Everyone has.”29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjUQh687xyX
Kim entered last, silent.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKxbAmDU76Y
Shiko hovered in the corridor, uninvited but listening.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsV1l5mZ5mr
On the old Order wall board, Naomi stood still.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA5QPG3Runm
Below her — pinned with blue tacks — were printed stills from the Kwame video. One showed the crypt grate. Another, Jabari holding the ledger.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIGEk39j7NQ
“This wasn’t Mercy’s trap anymore,” Naomi said quietly.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR36Stjk13P
“It was her signal.”29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1fWcKfkIJF
Naomi turned to them — prefects.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKR04nYH9qt
“There’s at least one ledger still moving. Probably being moved to St. Theresa’s. Possibly Maseno.”29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0W9ASXQh7Y
Mary stepped forward. “So, what do we do?”29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5TOMRo8QNv
Naomi tapped the board.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQzepUl6oTX
“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.”29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0G8zGN5cc4
June’s voice was cold.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7IUfSpzveq
“You think Mercy would use one of us?”29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtNqEU2xbtT
Naomi didn’t blink.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt52LVMlTgf
“Mercy doesn’t use people. She recruits them.”29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc1IOQtza8m
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:29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsf5KTU1gsl
“Don’t trust who enters first. Trust who stays behind.”29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI99VrEKDPg
The Order Hall is locked though Naomi stays inside, assembling the remaining cipher logs and pulling names off Mercy’s old class rosters.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYdW5br1cCQ
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.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMaSiZeMCyQ
She has only one instruction:29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwky9M16Pka
“Deliver it by dusk. If you’re stopped — deny you ever knew.”
29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5z5ygCbedN
29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3kxrvMyskM
