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.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5STYuTpdMF
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.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0wuufjXyA5
She spread the black card across the dissection tray — the one Mercy had retrieved from the chapel and handed over without explanation.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxdW8q3MtVG
“You know how to look,” Mercy had whispered. “So look.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDOvxKJjy1r
So Mary did. At first, nothing.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdzeuADlnso
Then the ink shifted — faint glowing threads emerging beneath the card’s surface. The lines curled, widened, and gradually began to form structure.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTW4QOrFa7x
It wasn’t art. It was architecture.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3jH1uLNzKY
A floor plan. 64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3mxV2Jnl61
June leaned in over her shoulder. “That’s not just the chapel…”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV36yHkhnSO
Mary nodded. “That’s the tunnel system.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQdsvFpYB8D
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:64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYkNWpo1qrT
C.9 – Cryptus Sacrum.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfFZcOu5Phm
Mary’s breath caught.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt11NcfEaU3
“The chapel has a crypt,” she whispered.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfBoPs9DwwS
June’s eyes narrowed. “No one’s spoken about that since Mercy’s expulsion.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdMsKuZdm7L
“No one dared,” Mary replied.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNwX2e47Wbq
In the bottom left corner of the blueprint, another glow began to rise beneath the UV:64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzRJXW8nhLu
“Begin from what you buried.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡERBjnx8bg9
— M.O.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI6kfUwwt6J
June stepped back slightly. “She’s not just reactivating the tunnels. She’s trying to pull us back in.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGLYlY52byY
Mary nodded slowly. “Or she never left.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2X8AEVjWyV
For the first time in weeks, June didn’t know which side she was on.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEhTLVKE3UB
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.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQhSq7W5Dqo
And June had always preferred sharp things to dull ones.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL1u1rZdUVE
She looked at Mary, who was still tracing the lines of the blueprint with a gloved fingertip.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY6C5UWNaS0
“If that’s real,” June whispered, “then we’ve never actually been above ground.”
*****64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡElhQaQ8878
Kim didn’t look up when June sat down beside her.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEAcCrjJqzj
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.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjzdkobX6Ab
June broke the silence.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLnobRZ1kh1
“You were right about her.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCJQJ1Cppei
Kim turned. “Mercy?”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8dt4Ci0N0m
June nodded; her voice taut. “She doesn’t want power back. She wants the Order buried.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvCV5drGVxV
Kim closed her notebook slowly. “What did you find?”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuB5jnD6nwf
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.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡERMmFSpSvx
“Three verticals,” June whispered. “Three prefects. Mercy’s way of marking a trap.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlxGZ8eJ3x3
Kim stared. “You’re sure?”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbnGc5PlSAW
“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.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMGKDVSXUuI
Kim traced one of the drawn lines with her finger.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR9bSjJfegF
“She’s not exposing history,” she said slowly. “She’s rewriting it.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmOK4W4JA2v
June leaned forward.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2KyYsiEgTu
“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.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1uRASu4gmd
Kim gave a small, tired laugh. “You sound like Shiko.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjRjmeNDKDN
“No. Shiko’s a scout. You’re a witness.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCwpeEZLi9M
June paused, then added softly:64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡggIS2katqL
“I don’t want to be part of burying people. Not even Naomi.”
They sat in silence for a moment, petals collecting like snow.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoARoCgPsr5
Then Kim asked, “What do you want me to do?”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw6K1Wf16Of
June looked up. Her voice was quieter now. Less prefect. More person.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgdUP4Zctgl
“If anything happens in the crypt... if I can’t stop it... you tell the others. Shiko. Seline. Even Jabari, if you have to.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqlFR2kCS5y
Kim stared at her. “That could expose you.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw3xl3AAA6h
June nodded once.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡES6FhLN8o6
“Better me than them.”
*****64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ03zYUG0Q1N
The corridor was nearly empty when Seline appeared.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCI34zJELQ9
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.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHR14WhohVG
“You’ve been busy.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbGreGKzNib
Kim turned slowly, not startled — just tired.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7Pwp7MRhPN
“So have you.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7gxuaOZi9Q
Seline’s eyes were cold, but not cruel.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS0NgGyPFgg
“Let’s skip the pretend part.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMVqdkLrY03
Kim raised an eyebrow. “Which part?”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO4WBWG8Foa
“The part where you pretend, you’re not helping Mercy. Or June. Or whoever it is this week.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeqU8CTSLYH
Kim closed her locker slowly. “I’m not helping anyone. I’m trying to understand what’s happening.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhOjqAwU3mp
“That’s exactly what makes you useful.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpeiSHLxtIl
Seline stepped closer, her voice low and measured.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjByxghw2Js
“Help me expose Mercy before this thing in the chapel happens — and I’ll show you something.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo6nqjsNaww
Kim didn’t move. “Something about Juma.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVP7hcQq1GF
That stopped her.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5QblbJU6P0
“Juma?” she said, sharper than she meant.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNiyqe7pSb8
Seline nodded. “Something you’ve clearly been dancing around since last term. Don’t look so surprised, Kim. You don’t hide infatuation well.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAyKG5uueN0
Kim crossed her arms. “And you just happened to be saving this for a rainy day?”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyfPPfjhKhw
“No. I was saving it for the right pressure point.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAiU5UCMf0I
Seline reached into her sweater pocket and tapped a folded sheet. Thick. A printout? A photo?64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRR3LewTieq
“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.’”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtNs5lUrrgJ
The corridor felt suddenly colder. Kim stared at the folded paper, then at Seline’s face. Not smug. Not even manipulative. Just… determined.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiHgQbOA2F3
Like a girl who had once been close to Mercy. Like a girl who knew betrayal personally — and intended to weaponize it back.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN6oXUt7dej
“You don’t even care about Naomi,” Kim said.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyxLxJKxHci
Seline’s voice softened. “I care about not being erased.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRYoPsNY46k
When Kim returned to her desk in the class, there was another mystery to follow waiting up on her.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNNKgOVlHDC
There was no envelope.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrK8ZAqTCDN
Just a folded note, slipped between the spine of Kim’s literature textbook and the dusty edge of her locker wall.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLhNzImkHD5
She knew it was Shiko’s. The paper was squared at the corners. Neat. Dry. No handwriting on the outside. Just careful silence.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL8LJyJrGNF
Inside, a short message:64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy63n2eFLDd
“Meet at Science Week’s midnight demonstration. No one else. No delay.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYhZgd0ScKP
— S64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFJaSPiGZBo
Kim stared at the paper, rereading the curves in the "S" — round and sharp in the way only Shiko's handwriting ever was.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyXIAHiE7rR
She folded it twice and slipped it into her sock.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZIinHXXPyI
Outside, thunder rolled low and slow across the lake.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOofz5yTM0b
If Seline was a warning... Shiko was a reminder:64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR3FJqN5rl1
She wasn’t alone.
*****64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW87OvCXHBK
Naomi’s heels echoed unnaturally down the corridor.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUsQXsBhZ6B
She didn’t bark orders. She never had to.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡddyXKBggNZ
Two junior prefects flanked her, carrying empty crates. She stopped at the lab entrance and waited until the girls looked up from the bench.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuGBbvMxQAF
“New directive from the principal,” Naomi said evenly. “All ultraviolet lighting equipment is to be removed from the lab facilities effective immediately.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaekHASAlc4
Mary blinked. “Why?”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1o3Fh1YbVT
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.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcL87rR2mDK
June stepped forward. “That’s never been a concern before.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6xx7PP9Riv
Naomi raised an eyebrow. “Well, it is now.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk7cKkjU8Og
As the juniors moved through the cupboards, one lifting the dusty UV lamp from the back shelf, Mary and June exchanged a look.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMiZ0wnGuFS
This wasn’t about safety. This was about control.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9UV1UBPmqP
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.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ1n0EsQVxU
Then she turned to go.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9LfsiJjMao
“If you need light,” she said over her shoulder, “try daylight.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQJ5jXOUsvo
The door clicked shut behind her.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7MD8k7p6P2
Mary’s fingers dug into the edge of the desk.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO8aGwFvv90
“She knows,” she whispered.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUiA7gstz1i
June stared at the door. “She doesn’t know everything.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO9nuwewcOf
Mary hesitated. “Should we tell Kim?”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡszcPdOcQmm
June exhaled.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTWp9dtMd37
“No. Not yet. Not until we find the crypt entrance ourselves.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEeDz1xB9Y0
She picked up the blueprint sketch, gently smoothed the corner, and whispered under her breath:64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnvktyNeMuI
“We don't need light. We need memory.”
******64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpPMnO4al65
Juma paced just outside the back stage canopy, fists in his jacket pockets. He could feel Jabari before he saw him.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSNyByZyELm
“You’re late,” Juma muttered.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpuLVVXUzWD
“You followed me,” Jabari replied calmly.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVYpyzNNgyo
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.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpu8e2oN3Cf
Jabari’s voice was cold. “Neither did you, until you saw the card.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRAOIoZwPkZ
Juma’s jaw clenched. “This isn’t about who saw what first. It’s about stopping a collapse. Tonight. In the chapel.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWfAyr7pWYk
Jabari finally turned, locking eyes.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRGP5LTvZYg
“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.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYROqDccsYP
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.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQYv5tvFJx3
Kim stared at her. “You sound like you’ve been practicing this.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb1LH6wAfMC
Shiko gave a faint grin. “You’re not the only one who gets notes.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWd02gmUe8k
Kim unfolded hers again: “Midnight. Come quiet.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmRWRru0Eup
There had been no signature — but the direction had been clear. The trap wasn’t just Mercy’s.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWqtO0azOp2
Someone was planning to stop it.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL5K2cJJCMJ
They were just making sure someone else survived it.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKGitAuBEUe
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.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFkh555VZfD
And somewhere else — Seline, watching from above the science dome, her eyes flickering with a phone she shouldn’t have had.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdRHyBbxDGX
Jabari reached the tunnel grate first.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRmND0y55Vz
Juma slipped beside him, passing the folded metal rod they’d stashed days ago. Together, for once, they said nothing.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1YEviW0zY5
Inside the tunnel — faint blue paint glowed at the seams.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdj07YBjnCW
The glyph for “complete.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgh1GlgnOA6
Mercy had finished the sequence.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOpRR7UsAgl
On the girls’ side, Kim reached into the drain gate.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEJVdZtSAyJ
Shiko crouched beside her, prying open a rusted latch.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV8poqZmJoT
Below them, the faint sound of a click echoed.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrX6tv8SrXM
A door opened.
