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.64Please respect copyright.PENANAN0VcM3wpnv
Juma hated this kind of show — too bright, too scripted. But it made for the perfect cover.64Please respect copyright.PENANAAaxKdT6vH1
“Everyone’s looking up,” he whispered.64Please respect copyright.PENANAD7qEGZ3A9q
“No one sees what we’re pinning to their legs.”64Please respect copyright.PENANAzRbw4uiABX
Jabari didn’t smile.64Please respect copyright.PENANAZvP4QV60lZ
He reached into his backpack and pulled out a rolled poster, smooth and stiff. Thick matte ink on thick gray stock.64Please respect copyright.PENANA3yNL7h3kho
ORDER OVER INSURRECTION64Please respect copyright.PENANAfDXRb2Rn2F
A white wing over a fractured flame.64Please respect copyright.PENANAypNkoFE8n6
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.64Please respect copyright.PENANAdegqsCVcAz
Four in total. No more. Enough to seed rumor, not provoke response.64Please respect copyright.PENANAz3xs7gNsJx
They weren’t messages for students.64Please respect copyright.PENANA8maclbobc8
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.64Please respect copyright.PENANAATzkf0Rpol
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.64Please respect copyright.PENANAdhKlFhwLmG
He whispered:64Please respect copyright.PENANAsUNVwKEPwk
“She wanted an audience. Let’s give her one.”64Please respect copyright.PENANAIdNEMhOREG
Behind the hydroponics dome, a girl in Kisumu Girls' tracksuit lowered her phone quietly. Her name wasn’t known to either of them.64Please respect copyright.PENANApqG6f0tfFv
But the notification she sent was clear:64Please respect copyright.PENANANZPIgqBAeU
“The birds are flying banners again. Mercy will see.”
*****64Please respect copyright.PENANAxkgg0Ii6kB
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.64Please respect copyright.PENANA65PPmmuLr1
Inside, Jabari and Juma moved fast, pushing through ankle-deep water that had begun pooling around the eastern wall.64Please respect copyright.PENANAAFGjmmSTua
“This isn't just a chamber,” Juma snapped. “It’s a channel.”64Please respect copyright.PENANADkXJP0iL55
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.”64Please respect copyright.PENANAHHeS8Q063O
Repurposed by whom?64Please respect copyright.PENANAfWfXInDjjB
By Mercy.64Please respect copyright.PENANANYT4DmLsBL
Atop the hidden stairway, two girls in Kisumu Girls’ jackets stood in silence.64Please respect copyright.PENANAWS9tWVRhbS
One wore Mercy’s old prefect sash — though no one had given it to her.64Please respect copyright.PENANA0XLAfhDFXF
The other held the key.64Please respect copyright.PENANASIQmLCNgtY
She waited exactly until her watch ticked to 12:17 a.m.64Please respect copyright.PENANAZRQ3RyGTcq
Then she slid the bolt home and turned it once.64Please respect copyright.PENANAeBtds9buCo
Click.64Please respect copyright.PENANAS7NuDKW8wT
The girls didn’t laugh. Didn’t speak.64Please respect copyright.PENANAcslzw0TdLy
They simply walked away.64Please respect copyright.PENANA2MpS6xSvLI
Jabari’s light flickered.64Please respect copyright.PENANAr1xSGbHVvv
He and Juma reached the far side — a rusted metal ladder leading up toward the chapel’s north vestibule — welded shut from above.64Please respect copyright.PENANAazLJKV1MZa
“She locked us in,” Jabari said.64Please respect copyright.PENANAekLq7BgfL4
Juma stared at the water now reaching his shins. “That’s not the problem.”64Please respect copyright.PENANApF2py11xGz
The sound came next — not fast, not crashing.64Please respect copyright.PENANAHcn4nLtK1l
A slow gurgle. A hiss.64Please respect copyright.PENANAsOz2RoAUcr
Then the unmistakable suction of redirected flow.64Please respect copyright.PENANAbbrx0skK3E
Juma turned to Jabari.64Please respect copyright.PENANAMrS21ucVY2
“She's opened the borehole line.”64Please respect copyright.PENANAKwWgJ9x539
And sure enough, behind the sealed hatch, where the borehole channel fed under the school… the grate now trembled.64Please respect copyright.PENANArXQxYAMLUt
Then the water began to rise.64Please respect copyright.PENANA334sx3yibQ
From the high choir loft, Mercy stood silent, eyes calm, watching the stained glass as shadows shifted across it.64Please respect copyright.PENANA7zncPRCurH
Behind her, a girl whispered, “They’re in.”64Please respect copyright.PENANASKIagaLd4r
Mercy didn’t reply at first. Then:64Please respect copyright.PENANApsTo0FUNKf
“They came looking for a lie. Let them leave soaked in truth.”64Please respect copyright.PENANAinG9DgrUNm
She turned away and walked down the spiral staircase, vanishing into the dark.64Please respect copyright.PENANAP5wbvTS2WH
The water rose like a slow betrayal.64Please respect copyright.PENANAqKqdOlbB5p
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.64Please respect copyright.PENANATvnBKKTjhI
Then — a sound.64Please respect copyright.PENANAu1aJ2WxICP
Bang. Bang. Clank.64Please respect copyright.PENANAy45q76MbAz
A screech of iron echoed from behind the north wall.64Please respect copyright.PENANA3GcBTi4cPr
Juma froze. “Did you hear that?”64Please respect copyright.PENANAS1hl4a2fsp
Clank. Slam.64Please respect copyright.PENANA5tW4MMnkFM
Then a voice, muffled by metal and rage:64Please respect copyright.PENANAUcskzaUJT3
“Get back!”64Please respect copyright.PENANAWzJ2YSQDHf
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.64Please respect copyright.PENANASdhzcEkL1X
And through the water— Musa crawled through.64Please respect copyright.PENANADfSnU57G1T
Soaked. Grit-covered. Grinning like a man who had wrestled a pipe system and won.64Please respect copyright.PENANAJOQcNivYpk
“I told you I was the better swimmer,” he coughed.64Please respect copyright.PENANABttUypPsWv
As the water drained and light returned, Juma leaned against the far wall, breathing hard.64Please respect copyright.PENANAeqWJc9Y0SZ
“We were seconds from blacking out.”64Please respect copyright.PENANA413XN9kIzQ
Jabari, still quiet, turned his torch toward the south chamber — a small alcove half-submerged behind a collapsed marble panel.64Please respect copyright.PENANAhqlRbeX89N
Musa followed his gaze. “What’s that?”64Please respect copyright.PENANAXgxxZCgXX9
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.64Please respect copyright.PENANAoOMiJRMu8u
Behind it, half-sunken and chained inside a rusted cage:64Please respect copyright.PENANAbeERNvGdly
Three black ledger boxes, stamped with faded silver initials: “M.O.”64Please respect copyright.PENANArNR7LO1rOF
Juma slowly unlocked one latch. Inside: letters, class registers, intercepted prefect reports, old Order rosters — all annotated in Mercy’s handwriting.64Please respect copyright.PENANAFX0et07mZ1
Jabari picking one up and reading aloud:64Please respect copyright.PENANApW3kYAZNz9
“She was never exiled. She was buried.”64Please respect copyright.PENANArFbttAJxoh
Musa whispered “She didn’t build a trap. She built an archive.”64Please respect copyright.PENANAJWJUTzHhKO
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.64Please respect copyright.PENANApokhHcgE1q
Jabari looked up sharply.64Please respect copyright.PENANAXnmFDUrAXL
“You followed us.”64Please respect copyright.PENANA9zAfyb5Gky
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.64Please respect copyright.PENANANNm1cm2bwa
“You need this one,” he said. “It’s the only one with dates after Mercy’s expulsion.”64Please respect copyright.PENANAEg32DToxeW
Juma narrowed his eyes. “Why help us?”64Please respect copyright.PENANA9xmByUq7eV
Ayo hesitated, then looked directly at Jabari.64Please respect copyright.PENANA4wJTn0LBAo
“Because I’ve seen what Kwame would do with it.64Please respect copyright.PENANA6QshTFqhsF
The silence cracked with the sound of metal boots on water-slick stone.64Please respect copyright.PENANALbhIl0jBDm
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.64Please respect copyright.PENANAPVoSusYp7x
The one marked “Staff Correspondences: 2007–2014.”64Please respect copyright.PENANAzbioUM83Xy
Jabari stood. “What are you doing?”64Please respect copyright.PENANAvlN8sZBojK
Otieno held his gaze. “You know I follow the truth.”64Please respect copyright.PENANABJYgQYk2cC
Then turned and walked out — no rush, no guilt.64Please respect copyright.PENANA60WE5lOgtN
One box in Jabari’s hands. One box in Ayo’s grip. One box now leaving with Otieno.64Please respect copyright.PENANAJa8MEOwhN1
Musa broke the silence.64Please respect copyright.PENANA9oh0qDyxXZ
“That’s it, then. The lines are drawn.”64Please respect copyright.PENANA2KooIT35YV
Juma added, “And Mercy didn’t even have to choose sides. She just lit the match.”64Please respect copyright.PENANALtEPfNxKgw
Jabari watched Otieno disappear into the crypt tunnel, Ayo still standing beside him, conflicted but present.64Please respect copyright.PENANARU5h29gKN3
Musa whispered, “This isn't just about the wall anymore. This is a war over what gets remembered.”
******64Please respect copyright.PENANAlFQH1oOlEn
The video was less than ninety seconds long.64Please respect copyright.PENANApZ0piMZ4FQ
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.64Please respect copyright.PENANAUaz0BfbgMU
The screen opened on dim light, stone, water glinting along the floor like liquid glass.64Please respect copyright.PENANAo80nLtFzYb
The voice was unmistakable.64Please respect copyright.PENANAJyw0x3GIyb
“This is what they called leadership. This is what they built walls to protect. Jabari’s Order — drowning in Mercy’s revenge.”64Please respect copyright.PENANAzJiuSoy54N
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.64Please respect copyright.PENANAuiylxZ8z1F
Then:64Please respect copyright.PENANAlKaGTFs4X0
Freeze frame.64Please respect copyright.PENANAOh6VyDjosl
Jabari, back turned, lifting a rusted ledger box.64Please respect copyright.PENANA0oDaWSmVM3
The words flashed over the image in blood-red type:64Please respect copyright.PENANA74cAVRt13p
"The Order is underwater."64Please respect copyright.PENANAREDPeuYrYc
Then black.64Please respect copyright.PENANAq83SGAt7Hl
By 7:00 a.m., the dorm corridors buzzed like electric wires.64Please respect copyright.PENANA0NLW9B8pwD
“Who recorded it? There are no phones allowed—how did it get out? Was it staged? Is Mercy back? Was the flooding real?”64Please respect copyright.PENANARKACaOHikL
In the Kisumu Girls library, Shiko watched Kim watching the terminal.64Please respect copyright.PENANAfcnoKwLVgZ
“That’s the tunnel. That’s the crypt,” Kim whispered. And that—is a declaration.”64Please respect copyright.PENANAEl8uAjBZsG
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.64Please respect copyright.PENANAFvq3Fy4IPQ
Kwame stood outside, eyes on the sky, arms folded.64Please respect copyright.PENANAK3YRfyjexw
He didn’t need a phone.64Please respect copyright.PENANAcUCofbEOKP
He just needed a network Mercy built…and a reason to set it on fire.
**********64Please respect copyright.PENANAKG2U6iHhpk
June pushed the heavy doors open just as Mary arrived from the science wing.64Please respect copyright.PENANATbOgYVqOic
“The boys have seen it?”64Please respect copyright.PENANAiOjRq9ZxPm
“Everyone has.”64Please respect copyright.PENANAVynQJnTLCT
Kim entered last, silent.64Please respect copyright.PENANAEO21mx9Fm0
Shiko hovered in the corridor, uninvited but listening.64Please respect copyright.PENANAESFLFGOGg9
On the old Order wall board, Naomi stood still.64Please respect copyright.PENANAzxRRjsQUHe
Below her — pinned with blue tacks — were printed stills from the Kwame video. One showed the crypt grate. Another, Jabari holding the ledger.64Please respect copyright.PENANAxEaZRTXf7E
“This wasn’t Mercy’s trap anymore,” Naomi said quietly.64Please respect copyright.PENANAe7myj59L2x
“It was her signal.”64Please respect copyright.PENANA8XNgKQ59Vb
Naomi turned to them — prefects.64Please respect copyright.PENANAAzqgwHay1K
“There’s at least one ledger still moving. Probably being moved to St. Theresa’s. Possibly Maseno.”64Please respect copyright.PENANAC3hO5LbYPf
Mary stepped forward. “So, what do we do?”64Please respect copyright.PENANAj8BYrDlt6Z
Naomi tapped the board.64Please respect copyright.PENANAeIgBEqSb88
“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.”64Please respect copyright.PENANA0UA5s18nSJ
June’s voice was cold.64Please respect copyright.PENANA4jafRsbWQF
“You think Mercy would use one of us?”64Please respect copyright.PENANAHTcQvDuuSr
Naomi didn’t blink.64Please respect copyright.PENANAxg9FF0vBaG
“Mercy doesn’t use people. She recruits them.”64Please respect copyright.PENANAzYGgMoH6mV
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:64Please respect copyright.PENANAWiongzWwSz
“Don’t trust who enters first. Trust who stays behind.”64Please respect copyright.PENANAUmyqObGEeX
The Order Hall is locked though Naomi stays inside, assembling the remaining cipher logs and pulling names off Mercy’s old class rosters.64Please respect copyright.PENANArRpSZTqFZx
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.64Please respect copyright.PENANAfs7h0TlrT2
She has only one instruction:64Please respect copyright.PENANAFV82sGLB6X
“Deliver it by dusk. If you’re stopped — deny you ever knew.”
64Please respect copyright.PENANAlF0IptKGP5
64Please respect copyright.PENANAcbn2XXQblb