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
