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.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn9QpVXfNi4
Juma hated this kind of show — too bright, too scripted. But it made for the perfect cover.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVXBzbZOkhC
“Everyone’s looking up,” he whispered.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCXqzrfPPgf
“No one sees what we’re pinning to their legs.”32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPndIXgA1D1
Jabari didn’t smile.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSpfnAUQ9RW
He reached into his backpack and pulled out a rolled poster, smooth and stiff. Thick matte ink on thick gray stock.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMRCJJ2JekF
ORDER OVER INSURRECTION32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡboA3whlgSr
A white wing over a fractured flame.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcOAS4H6Joh
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.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU8HQWQSXtS
Four in total. No more. Enough to seed rumor, not provoke response.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6zeYPtYM7J
They weren’t messages for students.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZC5PCWqFdU
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.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXXy4S4wmGK
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.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa8H6flgwEt
He whispered:32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlR8cKWQAk9
“She wanted an audience. Let’s give her one.”32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEr0rBo2C54
Behind the hydroponics dome, a girl in Kisumu Girls' tracksuit lowered her phone quietly. Her name wasn’t known to either of them.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkLMDIwtzel
But the notification she sent was clear:32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7eVWo5ORfR
“The birds are flying banners again. Mercy will see.”
*****32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeAy3iiN1TR
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.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl6H7OjL94W
Inside, Jabari and Juma moved fast, pushing through ankle-deep water that had begun pooling around the eastern wall.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuAO7TzbReV
“This isn't just a chamber,” Juma snapped. “It’s a channel.”32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeBSSJUfJWo
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.”32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUlY4RjSZTb
Repurposed by whom?32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4kCgNJEZw5
By Mercy.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy46nFYAd3C
Atop the hidden stairway, two girls in Kisumu Girls’ jackets stood in silence.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZY0emhu2dM
One wore Mercy’s old prefect sash — though no one had given it to her.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5w0OxR0ger
The other held the key.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtupp4VCZRQ
She waited exactly until her watch ticked to 12:17 a.m.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmmz5SuqGt6
Then she slid the bolt home and turned it once.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡedqf3ceR6T
Click.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD7TZTMgJZl
The girls didn’t laugh. Didn’t speak.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXh5EPHTBnK
They simply walked away.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu00RLoQcSH
Jabari’s light flickered.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJSxqAlnKBd
He and Juma reached the far side — a rusted metal ladder leading up toward the chapel’s north vestibule — welded shut from above.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8UIQ9ozxnb
“She locked us in,” Jabari said.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi19tECHQMh
Juma stared at the water now reaching his shins. “That’s not the problem.”32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuY8avmAztF
The sound came next — not fast, not crashing.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgpKiBz6Qsw
A slow gurgle. A hiss.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5NK4wPLMn1
Then the unmistakable suction of redirected flow.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbKLu8P7U0t
Juma turned to Jabari.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM3LAisLH4d
“She's opened the borehole line.”32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ3q1VZBAaO
And sure enough, behind the sealed hatch, where the borehole channel fed under the school… the grate now trembled.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd8rBC4k3lA
Then the water began to rise.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyP7i9KzbVl
From the high choir loft, Mercy stood silent, eyes calm, watching the stained glass as shadows shifted across it.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl0nl7TsiHI
Behind her, a girl whispered, “They’re in.”32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFYT6q69m0j
Mercy didn’t reply at first. Then:32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6evWWIvydX
“They came looking for a lie. Let them leave soaked in truth.”32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbBLdoQYfzY
She turned away and walked down the spiral staircase, vanishing into the dark.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNp0d08VwbQ
The water rose like a slow betrayal.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0dZq1JXON5
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.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGGrdD8oJD1
Then — a sound.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡATHN5WvY3K
Bang. Bang. Clank.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEL4wfinNJD
A screech of iron echoed from behind the north wall.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9i6CF60v62
Juma froze. “Did you hear that?”32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa3WTkb5yuq
Clank. Slam.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVp0Pq2fWnm
Then a voice, muffled by metal and rage:32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkh9CfGctbD
“Get back!”32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIybDVvUXuL
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.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2xwPNubkIx
And through the water— Musa crawled through.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg19ka1eFIS
Soaked. Grit-covered. Grinning like a man who had wrestled a pipe system and won.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa683lyRcsM
“I told you I was the better swimmer,” he coughed.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMSo48jrjxN
As the water drained and light returned, Juma leaned against the far wall, breathing hard.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz5l0CyfGKb
“We were seconds from blacking out.”32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrtd4JUNK0b
Jabari, still quiet, turned his torch toward the south chamber — a small alcove half-submerged behind a collapsed marble panel.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRNMh1FEASW
Musa followed his gaze. “What’s that?”32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtDc240cv1Q
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.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF58lU3RrdK
Behind it, half-sunken and chained inside a rusted cage:32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0kFElFmf3A
Three black ledger boxes, stamped with faded silver initials: “M.O.”32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjfPs3OXf3Q
Juma slowly unlocked one latch. Inside: letters, class registers, intercepted prefect reports, old Order rosters — all annotated in Mercy’s handwriting.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmAoxrEWuDW
Jabari picking one up and reading aloud:32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡICSMIqOahG
“She was never exiled. She was buried.”32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3Luo0akqkk
Musa whispered “She didn’t build a trap. She built an archive.”32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ17yeg2K88e
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.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ13USlzClZ
Jabari looked up sharply.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4odcEWugLi
“You followed us.”32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGNFAwZSLLR
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.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFoW1ok0ioc
“You need this one,” he said. “It’s the only one with dates after Mercy’s expulsion.”32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡakbOvDmVCU
Juma narrowed his eyes. “Why help us?”32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVasow5giCG
Ayo hesitated, then looked directly at Jabari.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTLfcC7K4A8
“Because I’ve seen what Kwame would do with it.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡamizKdEO43
The silence cracked with the sound of metal boots on water-slick stone.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6fPMZj7A3F
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.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4H1AzJC5Rc
The one marked “Staff Correspondences: 2007–2014.”32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiNvNdLFzt8
Jabari stood. “What are you doing?”32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡReeXI7UYhr
Otieno held his gaze. “You know I follow the truth.”32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1awrnhnQ2I
Then turned and walked out — no rush, no guilt.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL9KZyOYVxZ
One box in Jabari’s hands. One box in Ayo’s grip. One box now leaving with Otieno.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVAmA9YFKbv
Musa broke the silence.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ00T2euho3o
“That’s it, then. The lines are drawn.”32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxoRPW2Xh4s
Juma added, “And Mercy didn’t even have to choose sides. She just lit the match.”32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPZU7F6FPk2
Jabari watched Otieno disappear into the crypt tunnel, Ayo still standing beside him, conflicted but present.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcCXri0SV0M
Musa whispered, “This isn't just about the wall anymore. This is a war over what gets remembered.”
******32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTgUIaQfOiy
The video was less than ninety seconds long.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3eygRVwXmB
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.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV9iB3it6JI
The screen opened on dim light, stone, water glinting along the floor like liquid glass.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEuOcizkdCZ
The voice was unmistakable.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTwfIVfD7u4
“This is what they called leadership. This is what they built walls to protect. Jabari’s Order — drowning in Mercy’s revenge.”32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOTdvN98DOn
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.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ1dx9Zwzj4
Then:32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlOj3KTeBG9
Freeze frame.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP9c57qgjhT
Jabari, back turned, lifting a rusted ledger box.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCCzp4a62pp
The words flashed over the image in blood-red type:32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡghrL8FReIS
"The Order is underwater."32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ78BBHULTsx
Then black.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQAHBvthXe2
By 7:00 a.m., the dorm corridors buzzed like electric wires.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhC7gAb6Yi3
“Who recorded it? There are no phones allowed—how did it get out? Was it staged? Is Mercy back? Was the flooding real?”32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfdMu9bRiJk
In the Kisumu Girls library, Shiko watched Kim watching the terminal.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFI4Vevf8ON
“That’s the tunnel. That’s the crypt,” Kim whispered. And that—is a declaration.”32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgTR6Gsjlyt
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.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9Ti8SCbofX
Kwame stood outside, eyes on the sky, arms folded.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFtW4kIvxpQ
He didn’t need a phone.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPjfmUoMvjf
He just needed a network Mercy built…and a reason to set it on fire.
**********32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ21S2U4ymzD
June pushed the heavy doors open just as Mary arrived from the science wing.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyrYRbZuj0B
“The boys have seen it?”32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4GNKvDOX4j
“Everyone has.”32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡISkuS2NTLy
Kim entered last, silent.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqs35Cf1YUl
Shiko hovered in the corridor, uninvited but listening.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfTzablxVMG
On the old Order wall board, Naomi stood still.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4GsIG2FxWy
Below her — pinned with blue tacks — were printed stills from the Kwame video. One showed the crypt grate. Another, Jabari holding the ledger.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGtIjuccABP
“This wasn’t Mercy’s trap anymore,” Naomi said quietly.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡczyl0ZHHCk
“It was her signal.”32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRunB70WNRR
Naomi turned to them — prefects.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnlsPIMgyXQ
“There’s at least one ledger still moving. Probably being moved to St. Theresa’s. Possibly Maseno.”32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHpdcHAWVXw
Mary stepped forward. “So, what do we do?”32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6TGAaB98a6
Naomi tapped the board.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlurvPIKU1e
“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.”32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvBeZIveW4I
June’s voice was cold.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡADE7NrsReE
“You think Mercy would use one of us?”32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwD7v0b0Zat
Naomi didn’t blink.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqQcA5gmyBF
“Mercy doesn’t use people. She recruits them.”32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjRYjGsGf2U
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:32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlD2rExU9ES
“Don’t trust who enters first. Trust who stays behind.”32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSsmkeRNEJh
The Order Hall is locked though Naomi stays inside, assembling the remaining cipher logs and pulling names off Mercy’s old class rosters.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmnAyC8fFwv
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.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNcYZ5cXaqm
She has only one instruction:32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbdxDmSa0QR
“Deliver it by dusk. If you’re stopped — deny you ever knew.”
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAPIyv2Zpfq
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7jBNDfnZmo
