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.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqrmoOYpcm5
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.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDQWMejbPtF
She spread the black card across the dissection tray — the one Mercy had retrieved from the chapel and handed over without explanation.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwlL7U6DFYz
“You know how to look,” Mercy had whispered. “So look.”27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7B5wnXRgLI
So Mary did. At first, nothing.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg3AubHlwp6
Then the ink shifted — faint glowing threads emerging beneath the card’s surface. The lines curled, widened, and gradually began to form structure.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPGnDQfCuNI
It wasn’t art. It was architecture.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGSCj7RHQTt
A floor plan. 27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsLhF81vHwF
June leaned in over her shoulder. “That’s not just the chapel…”27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqn5jacHLNi
Mary nodded. “That’s the tunnel system.”27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMFAvvoYuq7
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:27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd6RWMw7nsx
C.9 – Cryptus Sacrum.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyRND1jga2U
Mary’s breath caught.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ77JUv1USxm
“The chapel has a crypt,” she whispered.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOxAJa98sBC
June’s eyes narrowed. “No one’s spoken about that since Mercy’s expulsion.”27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡziZ8LKQEeB
“No one dared,” Mary replied.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1PKprtmQW3
In the bottom left corner of the blueprint, another glow began to rise beneath the UV:27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLdvf7hmaI8
“Begin from what you buried.”27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpA3fIOVMwA
— M.O.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZze5s3adlT
June stepped back slightly. “She’s not just reactivating the tunnels. She’s trying to pull us back in.”27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwYRp76wdsK
Mary nodded slowly. “Or she never left.”27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAnRcIadO61
For the first time in weeks, June didn’t know which side she was on.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIo4NvpJhpc
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.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTscDIr3JML
And June had always preferred sharp things to dull ones.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVsdJkjLS7c
She looked at Mary, who was still tracing the lines of the blueprint with a gloved fingertip.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEfl70MLb08
“If that’s real,” June whispered, “then we’ve never actually been above ground.”
*****27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCbhyAtBHWy
Kim didn’t look up when June sat down beside her.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwXXbzXPh6p
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.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQxw71t6e6x
June broke the silence.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0WaTE7Lx8z
“You were right about her.”27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEyKxmOGs5W
Kim turned. “Mercy?”27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf87g3Feaxj
June nodded; her voice taut. “She doesn’t want power back. She wants the Order buried.”27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ40dx5FqRbs
Kim closed her notebook slowly. “What did you find?”27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg38zGRNOhb
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.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx6UIOglL2H
“Three verticals,” June whispered. “Three prefects. Mercy’s way of marking a trap.”27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfzAneNyIHv
Kim stared. “You’re sure?”27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6Fh53J1Xmq
“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.”27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhMCqb0cK0O
Kim traced one of the drawn lines with her finger.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9UGBhW163K
“She’s not exposing history,” she said slowly. “She’s rewriting it.”27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEtnPvoWY2o
June leaned forward.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLGyOfnFWM7
“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.”27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa7EbXaWBl0
Kim gave a small, tired laugh. “You sound like Shiko.”27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK5FbqeXAny
“No. Shiko’s a scout. You’re a witness.”27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡawJ2dqGj8E
June paused, then added softly:27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDqTkWoSyXx
“I don’t want to be part of burying people. Not even Naomi.”
They sat in silence for a moment, petals collecting like snow.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡitjkGu43Jj
Then Kim asked, “What do you want me to do?”27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFUpHMDXKRD
June looked up. Her voice was quieter now. Less prefect. More person.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdeR1BuU4qq
“If anything happens in the crypt... if I can’t stop it... you tell the others. Shiko. Seline. Even Jabari, if you have to.”27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrnXbBESN2l
Kim stared at her. “That could expose you.”27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeEpDdUBrkS
June nodded once.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr16gZiLdHx
“Better me than them.”
*****27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7xL4qEdRDm
The corridor was nearly empty when Seline appeared.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNDMHDWqxXV
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.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ8Tuq1m4SM
“You’ve been busy.”27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8HbM6WXX8k
Kim turned slowly, not startled — just tired.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ94kDL0t1R5
“So have you.”27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxRbcGYXJtL
Seline’s eyes were cold, but not cruel.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL2U8YCJyNP
“Let’s skip the pretend part.”27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡocI1oKUb2X
Kim raised an eyebrow. “Which part?”27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTru5abSq3d
“The part where you pretend, you’re not helping Mercy. Or June. Or whoever it is this week.”27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF3QNCv3HN5
Kim closed her locker slowly. “I’m not helping anyone. I’m trying to understand what’s happening.”27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnLYoPIl0Qs
“That’s exactly what makes you useful.”27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPva0mbXMFs
Seline stepped closer, her voice low and measured.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK8kqMPvxct
“Help me expose Mercy before this thing in the chapel happens — and I’ll show you something.”27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2ckF9cxxBl
Kim didn’t move. “Something about Juma.”27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa4AYxZJyrD
That stopped her.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ7FygLNOFl
“Juma?” she said, sharper than she meant.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsKFZNUROLx
Seline nodded. “Something you’ve clearly been dancing around since last term. Don’t look so surprised, Kim. You don’t hide infatuation well.”27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5mflBrkX7L
Kim crossed her arms. “And you just happened to be saving this for a rainy day?”27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQp7z2Xs7W2
“No. I was saving it for the right pressure point.”27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6an89OCj5W
Seline reached into her sweater pocket and tapped a folded sheet. Thick. A printout? A photo?27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNwj6RTP4Qw
“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.’”27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9tWtAm08lp
The corridor felt suddenly colder. Kim stared at the folded paper, then at Seline’s face. Not smug. Not even manipulative. Just… determined.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIWCSWESRwJ
Like a girl who had once been close to Mercy. Like a girl who knew betrayal personally — and intended to weaponize it back.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqyPU2QX0aD
“You don’t even care about Naomi,” Kim said.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1o0gS77ktm
Seline’s voice softened. “I care about not being erased.”27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRLRnHeWRW4
When Kim returned to her desk in the class, there was another mystery to follow waiting up on her.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyexuF4Ago8
There was no envelope.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBtcIvTWFz5
Just a folded note, slipped between the spine of Kim’s literature textbook and the dusty edge of her locker wall.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWZRTdHMR12
She knew it was Shiko’s. The paper was squared at the corners. Neat. Dry. No handwriting on the outside. Just careful silence.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKSprF0h3nJ
Inside, a short message:27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOl5uLxyGtm
“Meet at Science Week’s midnight demonstration. No one else. No delay.”27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOJ6RhljHF9
— S27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaWAB0iHgBP
Kim stared at the paper, rereading the curves in the "S" — round and sharp in the way only Shiko's handwriting ever was.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIxZSvmhs3u
She folded it twice and slipped it into her sock.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡITAiLdLTyC
Outside, thunder rolled low and slow across the lake.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe7D64CKAI8
If Seline was a warning... Shiko was a reminder:27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCtpf79kPFu
She wasn’t alone.
*****27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMtdkiM79rI
Naomi’s heels echoed unnaturally down the corridor.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk5cf5vz9ND
She didn’t bark orders. She never had to.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYwOshVuO74
Two junior prefects flanked her, carrying empty crates. She stopped at the lab entrance and waited until the girls looked up from the bench.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3dQW09eNli
“New directive from the principal,” Naomi said evenly. “All ultraviolet lighting equipment is to be removed from the lab facilities effective immediately.”27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHh7qHbqGQo
Mary blinked. “Why?”27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKEwIvvT1Ha
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.”27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJUAAMExHSQ
June stepped forward. “That’s never been a concern before.”27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz4a3DlGgJP
Naomi raised an eyebrow. “Well, it is now.”27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYXhiFgV20z
As the juniors moved through the cupboards, one lifting the dusty UV lamp from the back shelf, Mary and June exchanged a look.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTajFVcLZkU
This wasn’t about safety. This was about control.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaMDCjZ1Gzt
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.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvqHExnmCQ7
Then she turned to go.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡttn6P3EFTx
“If you need light,” she said over her shoulder, “try daylight.”27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgqeUXXYVpU
The door clicked shut behind her.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZMXc9j82b4
Mary’s fingers dug into the edge of the desk.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡckk7ZEHQYG
“She knows,” she whispered.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnOZ732bqoH
June stared at the door. “She doesn’t know everything.”27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6qBh3WeTvp
Mary hesitated. “Should we tell Kim?”27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPMOuvZ84HZ
June exhaled.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVT9XgSVs2W
“No. Not yet. Not until we find the crypt entrance ourselves.”27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI7VHNZ8FNk
She picked up the blueprint sketch, gently smoothed the corner, and whispered under her breath:27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc8evEbX0LD
“We don't need light. We need memory.”
******27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkroCeTYcyP
Juma paced just outside the back stage canopy, fists in his jacket pockets. He could feel Jabari before he saw him.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC1mACVz868
“You’re late,” Juma muttered.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyIRF1Wxs3U
“You followed me,” Jabari replied calmly.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXqGTbULOC5
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.”27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdBVs8d5lTF
Jabari’s voice was cold. “Neither did you, until you saw the card.”27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlzNijk04RI
Juma’s jaw clenched. “This isn’t about who saw what first. It’s about stopping a collapse. Tonight. In the chapel.”27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjXWer3Ni4B
Jabari finally turned, locking eyes.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3SQ1mpq8Eg
“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.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHrLbm0YtHL
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.”27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBJWKzfoZ4L
Kim stared at her. “You sound like you’ve been practicing this.”27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCBflOeJVpt
Shiko gave a faint grin. “You’re not the only one who gets notes.”27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPrMWzAjsrm
Kim unfolded hers again: “Midnight. Come quiet.”27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXsyydExQ2M
There had been no signature — but the direction had been clear. The trap wasn’t just Mercy’s.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm8Q5yh3hb0
Someone was planning to stop it.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAytWccRlgl
They were just making sure someone else survived it.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9PbAxdGjrc
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.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBpLulxzPgn
And somewhere else — Seline, watching from above the science dome, her eyes flickering with a phone she shouldn’t have had.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlRYNrQLuqQ
Jabari reached the tunnel grate first.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNiwJbMTF7L
Juma slipped beside him, passing the folded metal rod they’d stashed days ago. Together, for once, they said nothing.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBZbrGhaQLO
Inside the tunnel — faint blue paint glowed at the seams.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxyoqQPX3ou
The glyph for “complete.”27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlfnWBji1Sa
Mercy had finished the sequence.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU8LJeAf4XH
On the girls’ side, Kim reached into the drain gate.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5ZmL7M08Of
Shiko crouched beside her, prying open a rusted latch.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡekQGHhE4Mt
Below them, the faint sound of a click echoed.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9EFgHvAyJZ
A door opened.
