June wasn’t a morning person.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGqYwOVfJgW
But patrols weren’t optional—not for someone recently readmitted into Naomi’s restructured Order. The cold air bit through her sweater as she rounded the far edge of the compound, Mary close behind her, yawning silently.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡetZpZFIoZD
The borehole wasn’t on their official route. But June always checked it. Something about the way it sat—unwatched, forgotten, fenced in by banana trees—made her wary.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtLnv57bYQK
That’s when they saw it.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSoLKFF31zE
On the concrete lip of the borehole grate, curving like a forgotten crescent, was a thick arc of blue ink. Fresh. Still glistening. Perfectly symmetrical.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1o9WnH97rc
Mary stopped. “Is that… paint?”27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ78p6tLuGzW
June knelt beside it, heart thudding. “No. It’s ink.”27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfIEr4u0sLr
They exchanged a look.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLI5epd8Myr
Not just blue. Mercy’s blue. The same shade that once bled into Order memos, laced warnings, signed forged rosters — and marked betrayals that had cost people dearly.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLr2qJQ6YWJ
“She’s back,” Mary whispered.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAzCeFRpJGt
“She never left,” June replied.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6ZLnlkPUq3
June didn’t touch it, but she knew. The curve wasn’t random. It was a symbol—half of one, maybe. A cipher. A signal. She glanced around. No footprints. No scent. No wind. Mercy had always been a step ahead. Even when she wasn't present, she was somehow already watching.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhbqFPKuofX
Mary’s voice dropped. “You think she’s starting something again?”27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSQ3LnhK4rF
June stood, jaw tightening. “No. She’s continuing something.”27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1Z5yBW6Ear
The ink hadn’t been meant for teachers. It hadn’t even been meant for the Order.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp0d4l98rrM
It had been meant for someone who would recognize it without explanation.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLZlK30bbSj
That was the Mercy they remembered.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkHzbrxnWyH
Unknown to them, a few meters away, Seline crouched behind the east-facing banana trees, watching.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMdjvExDFMK
She hadn’t followed them intentionally. But she’d noticed June’s pattern — always checking things that no one cared to. Today, curiosity had won.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI6XQMq3B46
Her eyes narrowed as she saw the girls staring at the inked arc.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg28VdlkfZa
She couldn’t hear what they were saying. But she saw the shift in their stances.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnoCApcKfwr
Saw the fear. The recognition.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs4NNNLBf74
And she saw the way June instinctively placed herself between the mark and the morning sun—as if shielding it from exposure.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1lXMSMoKcg
That was all Seline needed. She moved with quiet steps and a patient breath.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzwf4miVocQ
She hadn’t planned to follow June. But it was hard not to notice how she and Mary had vanished right after fifth bell, slipping off in the direction of the borehole like ghosts on assignment. Old habits die slowly—and jealousy dies slower.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXVSEAdi6AM
She waited until the path was empty again. The ink mark was still there. Drier now, darker around the edges. She crouched beside it, tilting her head.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ17Ux1WQysH
Of course it was blue. Mercy’s old color. Mercy’s old tricks. Mercy’s old arrogance.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcd9hHXfNuH
Seline reached for her journalism club sanctioned phone, snapped a photo, and opened a blank message window.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbzaObbjmLk
She didn’t write much.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqGy95J9Sl3
"The serpent returns."27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQSuXvthBvc
She didn’t sign it. She didn’t need to. She hit send.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKAUVMI3tk3
The recipient was someone who’d once told her: "Mercy doesn't leave trails. She leaves traps that look like invitations."27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwE9oxr5AqQ
Maybe it was time they set one of their own.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHWjlqpOGb3
Cutaway: Unknown Recipient (unseen, unnamed)27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8sCnASsi2U
A buzz.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpU3vdKd3i2
A photo.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX9lRX0MF0j
A phrase:27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1wMUzFAeqn
“The serpent returns.”27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn288W8v4me
A pair of fingers opened the image, zoomed in on the blue arc, the shadow of the borehole behind it.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8nYVdca8uI
A slow breath.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdjZYo1SN9k
No reply.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡntoO5DMFtS
Just movement.
***27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuMuwSljwsh
Later that day, Kim sat beneath the loquat tree in the back field, sketching the mark from memory.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFVibYARCBf
Shiko had redrawn the same on her book. “June found it first. Mary confirmed it was Mercy’s shade.”27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO9gt0OXNEC
Kim nodded slowly.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVWAGv0l6qN
“I’ve seen that curve,” she murmured. “On a stone. The night the boys crossed.”27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc8FdnOZsL5
Shiko tilted her head. “You think it’s connected?”27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhZEOcqrPlQ
Kim didn’t answer. But her mind whispered the name she hadn’t said aloud in weeks: Juma.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡncec9UHFwV
Whatever had passed between them—coded notes, fleeting messages, near-meetings—was now moving again. And it wasn’t just because of the Order.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGYthj7Rrmj
That evening, Naomi stood at the front of the assembly hall, her face pale but composed. She held up a photo printout of the inked mark, shaking it once for emphasis.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu2ziAdCH4K
“This,” she said, “is not art. And anyone found tampering with shared spaces will face full investigation.”27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXowztimd0s
Her voice dropped lower.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyk4Ag2efgK
“This school is no longer for games.”27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUyXrqOcopR
But June, watching from the fourth row, wasn’t convinced. Because Mercy never played games. Mercy built puzzles.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9Mmoh3u6yv
And this was her first piece.
*****27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLZYNlmeweY
June stared at the photo of the blue ink arc again, this time under the glow of a cracked desk lamp in the old arts room. The photo was blurry around the edges, but something in the shape felt… off. Not incomplete. Segmented.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrJyLZToXbh
“Look,” she murmured, pointing to where the arc wasn’t a perfect curve. It dipped and rose in odd places, like a pulse frozen in motion.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQYHKcLYYTd
Mary leaned in. “You think it’s a pattern?”27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgxvIPmyhPQ
“I think it’s a cipher.”27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTQxefKufoT
June opened her leather notebook and flipped to the final pages, where she’d kept sketches from Mercy’s last term in power — drawings that didn’t fit into normal Order documentation. Half-symbols. Curves. Broken sigils.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2ceTAxaGM5
One matched the ink from the borehole exactly.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfReDNnPpMP
But only if rotated ninety degrees.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkLIwSxxiPt
As she turned the photo on its side, the image changed — suddenly the arc wasn’t a shape. It was writing. Cursive. Twisted. Stylized like Mercy’s notes used to be.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhi3gvod046
June slowly copied it onto the desk’s surface with a whiteboard marker.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvPS3NIoQnb
F O L L O W W A T E R T O T R U T H27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs9OxRhjgaB
Mary exhaled. “It’s a phrase.”27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlANEEqYPkm
“No, it’s a directive,” June said. “And Mercy never gave those lightly.”27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTeENgR1v3T
“Water…” Mary looked up. “The borehole?”27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkKQl8TEbj0
June nodded. “And the old well. The pipes. The drains. All the places no one checks anymore.”27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZYFwKpgTQu
Mary frowned. “You think she left something there?”27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRYZBgikzpq
“I think she left everything there.”27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI6awckAVap
They both went quiet, the weight of it settling in like dusk.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwGzcbqXe5l
“We have to go in,” June said, voice quiet but firm.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhZnC8v7JD7
Mary hesitated. “You mean… the tunnels?”27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2KcNkBteDQ
June turned fully toward her. “We both joined the Order thinking it meant loyalty. But Mercy’s truths were never above ground. She wrote in the dust, not in the books.”27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLe8YP28SI7
Mary nodded slowly. “Then we follow the water.”
*****27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡczwai0lzrj
Kim almost missed it.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKbEGOOoDDs
The wind had picked up again, brushing banana leaves against the cement like fingers against drum skin. Her roommates were out, still at group studies or filling water before curfew. She sat cross-legged on her bed, flipping through old pages of a forgotten literature book.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE5lSnWLZIe
Then she heard the whisper.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡANU4UK7yGw
A soft scratch beneath her window. Not loud. Not urgent. But intentional.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ76ESmdj5rQ
She rose slowly and crossed the room, brushing aside the curtain.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ4Oke9oXWW
Nothing. But when she looked down, a folded strip of paper lay just inside the frame — flattened from the crawl beneath the shutters. No name. No seal. No color.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtAjissEkWq
Only three words in small, neat, familiar print.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZWW27h4yLM
“Jabari knows the underground route.”27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6YQz63M1jy
Kim’s breath caught. Jabari.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgpGU12H4sJ
The name pressed itself against her chest like a match waiting for flame. She unfolded the paper again, hands trembling slightly.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfSt37ttKAs
That handwriting — not quite formal, but precise. The kind of print someone uses when they expect to be read by a rival.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7eyOwOcaux
There was nothing else. No signature. No mark. No date. Just that line.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr5k4kKtBm9
Her Mind Raced. Why her?27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhRXkB7fGoo
If it was true—if Jabari really did know about the tunnel, about the underground paths—why would he let that slip? Unless he hadn’t. Unless someone else wanted her to know.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhlaEQOMCRK
But still, she couldn’t help wondering: Was it a warning? Or an invitation?27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX1WiON8BT0
And how did they even know she was connected to him?27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJz5mVCxkCO
She thought about the night she saw the boys run across the wall. The half-glimpsed shadows. The torn tie. The hooded girl who didn’t stop her.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaFuFQpeJJ4
She thought about Mercy’s return, the blue ink curling around the borehole like a secret being rehydrated after years in hiding.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7NzhsaoYZy
And now this.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrHgSBQkmAT
Kim sat down on the bed; the note clenched in her hand. It wasn’t just about her and Jabari anymore. It wasn’t just curiosity or codes or a shared suspicion that the wall wasn’t as solid as it pretended to be.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcOyjNGWJCK
It was structure. Not chance. Not coincidence. Someone—or something—was maintaining communication across both schools. Not openly. Not loudly. But quietly. Elegantly.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKWrF4zie8Z
Like a system of secrets. Like a network. Like the Order… or something deeper.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzCH3NOlPA2
She looked at the note again, rereading it until her pulse steadied.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtGpHWmwJ1E
“Jabari knows the underground route.”27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxi2napTODa
Which meant: Someone knew she was close enough to matter.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGPEW4ZbRYL
“If he knows the way beneath the wall… maybe I can finally ask what’s on the other side.”
*****27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWV2osnpWM2
Shiko watched from the far pew, her breath shallow.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnXJj4COdiS
Seline had stormed out in one of her usual flourishes after Naomi’s address — her camera slung over her shoulder, muttering about respect and surveillance. She left it briefly unattended near the altar, in the row where she always kept her things during meetings.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkxkozPp6Ie
Two minutes. That’s all Shiko needed.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuBO6pgcf1V
She moved like she was going to tie her shoe — bent near the camera bag, fingers slipping past the zipper with a smoothness that surprised even herself.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc513rVIHeV
Inside: A small DSLR camera, just as expected. A micro-SD card, exposed in the side pouch. And next to it — Seline’s school phone. 27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTAQPWiZ7Oy
Shiko’s pulse quickened. Seline never left that phone alone.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIfR1SOLJtg
Not unless she was hiding something with it.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPB6sjeY6aV
Shiko pulled the memory card carefully and slid a blank duplicate in its place — identical in color and make. She didn’t check what was on it. Not yet. Not here.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtYOk1CxGkK
Next: the phone. She slipped it gently from the bag and into the sleeve of her sweater.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwlwPJqe9uF
No one noticed.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxM3CNXuL6t
She rose slowly and walked down the side aisle of the chapel, silent shoes on stone tiles. The old wooden pews creaked just slightly beneath her as she crouched near the third from the front — the one with the broken hymn book shelf.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHh1RPspqLD
She slid the phone underneath the shelf and wedged it between two cracked Bibles. Gone.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeeDI8d68vR
Just in time, the chapel doors opened.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSJmLEMzPuR
Seline’s voice echoed in before her footsteps did.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO8dRzDkEJY
“…it’s not about power, it’s about truth. And if they’re hiding anything—”27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcGP8eXM2or
Shiko was already walking out the opposite side, face composed.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQU1yayNQqL
She didn’t look back.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvcDEIv05OE
That night, Shiko inserted the stolen SD card into her hidden reader. The screen lit up. Hundreds of images. Blue ink. Borehole arc. Snapshots of June’s notebook. A blurred image of Kim and Shiko whispering near the map. Even a shadowed photo of what looked like… Mercy?27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgE0pJVWK02
Her stomach turned. Seline hadn’t just been collecting for paranoia. She had a timeline. A target list. A strategy.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0HqTSyD52I
Shiko leaned back and whispered to herself:27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmMi6fxw4RH
“You’re not just bitter, Seline. You’re playing something bigger.”
*****27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnPA5MaSnBG
Jabari didn’t bring anyone this time.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgIuaaD7S41
He told Musa he was doing a pre-inspection for the upcoming Board visit. He told Ayo he needed quiet. In truth, he wanted no shadows behind him.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ80AabJqrGB
Just space. And answers.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbt44KbZhQb
The grate behind the dormitories hadn’t been used in years. It squealed as he forced it open, the hinges moaning like an old confession. The tunnel beneath was narrow — concrete ribs curved above his head, lined with mildew and spiderwebs that tugged at his shoulders.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvVOHBlAu3P
He clicked on his torch and descended into the hollow.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeOi7KG0ROC
The tunnel sloped slightly downward, toward the foundation of the old water system — long disconnected, now only half-remembered by the school’s plumbers. But Jabari had seen the diagrams. The colonial maps. The blue line that started here and ran... beyond.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVpGHdGgk9A
He moved slowly, the torchlight sweeping across old pipe valves and chalk markings etched along the walls. Most were faded. One still glowed faintly under his beam:27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNxH50kKqbY
A curved wing, almost erased. He paused. Not his symbol. Not the Order’s. But somehow… familiar.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKc4cGpC6H6
In the overgrown greenhouse behind the girls' science wing, June steadied her hand, holding her official Order-issued phone — the one Naomi had reluctantly reinstated when they returned to duty.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXXPwGugazs
Mary leaned close. “Can you zoom anymore?”27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoi5okLVVGj
The camera flickered slightly, just catching the dim flicker of light beyond the boys’ compound wall. A torch. Moving inside the drain channel.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzt3VDY1Ver
A figure.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNmuMyRnquB
Alone.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ37UUB0w1bp
June tapped record.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡErTwLWMiux
“That’s Jabari,” she whispered.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhwpLO8T3qe
“He’s testing the tunnel.”27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUaqqhhCB3C
Jabari reached a junction where the tunnel split in two — left toward the collapsed pump station, right toward the rumored passage.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOsTybI6IXs
He turned right.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeH0jfLyjvJ
He didn’t know the wall had hairline fissures above ground. He didn’t know someone was filming.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYnslyKfvOR
High above in the broken arch of the greenhouse, three girls stood now — not just Mary and June.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXS0pGYu69j
One wore a hood. One held a small vial of ink. One, silent, recorded the time.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgMZfKKP9m2
None of them spoke.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhFn9w7elij
The light on Jabari’s torch flickered as he passed under a cross-beam marked:27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1TBZZc1BdC
"Follow Water to Truth."27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9ZC1vFthsj
He did.
