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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtnBollArZ3
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpgFNeQ619h
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcQKN1bcJ1l
“You know how to look,” Mercy had whispered. “So look.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡorRjcC2uZo
So Mary did. At first, nothing.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaNTTuXvfMu
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJvCHNM9cqI
It wasn’t art. It was architecture.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1lqT1iSijm
A floor plan. 64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwPrmf3kSll
June leaned in over her shoulder. “That’s not just the chapel…”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5cCkMm7aUD
Mary nodded. “That’s the tunnel system.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0e30oP0J3w
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡngBCvuq3B0
C.9 – Cryptus Sacrum.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzQLQY8qt0t
Mary’s breath caught.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLT0SwD9vZi
“The chapel has a crypt,” she whispered.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyZ9lFUvZ53
June’s eyes narrowed. “No one’s spoken about that since Mercy’s expulsion.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoYjfXxm9SS
“No one dared,” Mary replied.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPxm8RfNPcG
In the bottom left corner of the blueprint, another glow began to rise beneath the UV:64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5Wm7M2b3kn
“Begin from what you buried.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaUQGtVpvCn
— M.O.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKAXnIyU8j2
June stepped back slightly. “She’s not just reactivating the tunnels. She’s trying to pull us back in.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVRH8A2GdwN
Mary nodded slowly. “Or she never left.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfT0UJwQZJ7
For the first time in weeks, June didn’t know which side she was on.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4yhPMewKH6
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfwi3q6mP7h
And June had always preferred sharp things to dull ones.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhBNS6sMiTI
She looked at Mary, who was still tracing the lines of the blueprint with a gloved fingertip.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJl5pCm7SxL
“If that’s real,” June whispered, “then we’ve never actually been above ground.”
*****64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzHFYhPUBof
Kim didn’t look up when June sat down beside her.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRewwaW9f8m
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡApOPMCGT6p
June broke the silence.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpqcoHcQcME
“You were right about her.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCHLid0URN7
Kim turned. “Mercy?”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP6YC1JGnRu
June nodded; her voice taut. “She doesn’t want power back. She wants the Order buried.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1wH6LxpB9h
Kim closed her notebook slowly. “What did you find?”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAkYCCXl0Vq
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaryNpQuQkJ
“Three verticals,” June whispered. “Three prefects. Mercy’s way of marking a trap.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJfBBaxQLA4
Kim stared. “You’re sure?”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZCl4b72fPM
“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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhB8y4bTwDb
Kim traced one of the drawn lines with her finger.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhWbvVSOsee
“She’s not exposing history,” she said slowly. “She’s rewriting it.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNNEjsRDX7E
June leaned forward.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzgeXurqS4i
“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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB3DHjH8Z5G
Kim gave a small, tired laugh. “You sound like Shiko.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMC8fGtjpzd
“No. Shiko’s a scout. You’re a witness.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6eze1oEYaP
June paused, then added softly:64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeFxSIeqk4L
“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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3XQrlSeHOE
Then Kim asked, “What do you want me to do?”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡycWSMekUMS
June looked up. Her voice was quieter now. Less prefect. More person.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfCPgAqjk7V
“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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEDp2eVwITH
Kim stared at her. “That could expose you.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6dmYDKehTY
June nodded once.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡklJXAZmUWE
“Better me than them.”
*****64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ93GqPeVyys
The corridor was nearly empty when Seline appeared.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1FEP9IiOJB
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkIiOgILN1t
“You’ve been busy.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYCMi0z4XHr
Kim turned slowly, not startled — just tired.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8vNR3XM2ep
“So have you.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk1oK9hLSS2
Seline’s eyes were cold, but not cruel.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhK8vdxyhQe
“Let’s skip the pretend part.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh5WLXTwOpS
Kim raised an eyebrow. “Which part?”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB8AfEUN1Bk
“The part where you pretend, you’re not helping Mercy. Or June. Or whoever it is this week.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ24MtMmoGeA
Kim closed her locker slowly. “I’m not helping anyone. I’m trying to understand what’s happening.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMqq5Sxh7TV
“That’s exactly what makes you useful.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡatIaiHjq17
Seline stepped closer, her voice low and measured.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt5yChOU9A9
“Help me expose Mercy before this thing in the chapel happens — and I’ll show you something.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZEGhexdm4c
Kim didn’t move. “Something about Juma.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3H9sODubAA
That stopped her.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxU7rZTtWdY
“Juma?” she said, sharper than she meant.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL7ez4Vmk5H
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡICe00LCQQd
Kim crossed her arms. “And you just happened to be saving this for a rainy day?”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJrss660mxv
“No. I was saving it for the right pressure point.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbHtNLnStuP
Seline reached into her sweater pocket and tapped a folded sheet. Thick. A printout? A photo?64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrikhAwVGiA
“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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZvZBkxfPbE
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkozCdkGv1u
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGQdFHCTFsB
“You don’t even care about Naomi,” Kim said.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡncc4vhB7ZI
Seline’s voice softened. “I care about not being erased.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0FXJeXHEJb
When Kim returned to her desk in the class, there was another mystery to follow waiting up on her.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSDuhRJyxho
There was no envelope.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJjnIvnLfSS
Just a folded note, slipped between the spine of Kim’s literature textbook and the dusty edge of her locker wall.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFi4orWA7fz
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4WRwASjQX0
Inside, a short message:64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdnAAJLV3gB
“Meet at Science Week’s midnight demonstration. No one else. No delay.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡon9qEHlXAd
— S64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAsbQe1jQD1
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6skpp2xcJ7
She folded it twice and slipped it into her sock.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7ydARpHMLQ
Outside, thunder rolled low and slow across the lake.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrTRNtqIbwt
If Seline was a warning... Shiko was a reminder:64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDIHOjnI3sV
She wasn’t alone.
*****64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw0DahMGHuj
Naomi’s heels echoed unnaturally down the corridor.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLDXvPsWkr0
She didn’t bark orders. She never had to.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEn9PPYVe7e
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMqN6skm1yN
“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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVhPxEwkxuU
Mary blinked. “Why?”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAiKUE8lnDO
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa9FDFvXz00
June stepped forward. “That’s never been a concern before.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhc8kvffdM3
Naomi raised an eyebrow. “Well, it is now.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0wYLAABp9b
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4KEY7OxBDI
This wasn’t about safety. This was about control.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAjTFkYyhx0
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgP4w8UPVLi
Then she turned to go.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡniZ2yHFgCK
“If you need light,” she said over her shoulder, “try daylight.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ14u1S6Uktb
The door clicked shut behind her.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs3kpfIFWmL
Mary’s fingers dug into the edge of the desk.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzBScULklUa
“She knows,” she whispered.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCXawzJL9Gn
June stared at the door. “She doesn’t know everything.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMUNwp6yX7a
Mary hesitated. “Should we tell Kim?”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGqBS9HEz03
June exhaled.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqq1hveu1OP
“No. Not yet. Not until we find the crypt entrance ourselves.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn3v8D5dfKK
She picked up the blueprint sketch, gently smoothed the corner, and whispered under her breath:64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlu6Fw1Wj9y
“We don't need light. We need memory.”
******64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdB1xXuRC9J
Juma paced just outside the back stage canopy, fists in his jacket pockets. He could feel Jabari before he saw him.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTIaSeBUpAm
“You’re late,” Juma muttered.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRZrxVOPE2L
“You followed me,” Jabari replied calmly.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNTyUKzMd19
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgmfBc8pFd6
Jabari’s voice was cold. “Neither did you, until you saw the card.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2BFR6XiVkk
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXRSbKy5vwU
Jabari finally turned, locking eyes.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7qZNO9wJfZ
“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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxNG2suERN0
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcxziRTXw0m
Kim stared at her. “You sound like you’ve been practicing this.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEbCkHRoiGw
Shiko gave a faint grin. “You’re not the only one who gets notes.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaBgNM17YFh
Kim unfolded hers again: “Midnight. Come quiet.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgYEQZd5ACT
There had been no signature — but the direction had been clear. The trap wasn’t just Mercy’s.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm0mUG9ne8S
Someone was planning to stop it.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUc5yepVBip
They were just making sure someone else survived it.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrdVIzOYVqH
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUTEn4nJrKS
And somewhere else — Seline, watching from above the science dome, her eyes flickering with a phone she shouldn’t have had.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa61lbvgApp
Jabari reached the tunnel grate first.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNfm6nC3DCG
Juma slipped beside him, passing the folded metal rod they’d stashed days ago. Together, for once, they said nothing.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuoz7w4JOJp
Inside the tunnel — faint blue paint glowed at the seams.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtkDVupKhYW
The glyph for “complete.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUOwCVjRMyO
Mercy had finished the sequence.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ21KMhMLw7X
On the girls’ side, Kim reached into the drain gate.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpl0aEMJdj6
Shiko crouched beside her, prying open a rusted latch.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡButwWCAX56
Below them, the faint sound of a click echoed.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQPznFLgOoK
A door opened.
