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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSadQpQAXRH
Juma hated this kind of show — too bright, too scripted. But it made for the perfect cover.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAGJywZuAOV
“Everyone’s looking up,” he whispered.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYPQuuAt7Xi
“No one sees what we’re pinning to their legs.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv5Y8lqDyo9
Jabari didn’t smile.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL2nmR6vBp1
He reached into his backpack and pulled out a rolled poster, smooth and stiff. Thick matte ink on thick gray stock.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGiX8mh54qn
ORDER OVER INSURRECTION64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN3n05ASWHf
A white wing over a fractured flame.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9QLGuyhdB4
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx3LSXw3IEK
Four in total. No more. Enough to seed rumor, not provoke response.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ8gFe5wRpg
They weren’t messages for students.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEWVVnBMeaJ
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkcqp1i1Yo7
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm1Tr33YPVL
He whispered:64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMRCd3AG0co
“She wanted an audience. Let’s give her one.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDpzMJbbzp0
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2QCkmJ5SJj
But the notification she sent was clear:64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvqipD8nfCy
“The birds are flying banners again. Mercy will see.”
*****64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡquahAOK3Ja
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmV193UbL6P
Inside, Jabari and Juma moved fast, pushing through ankle-deep water that had begun pooling around the eastern wall.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKZyd00Nd8W
“This isn't just a chamber,” Juma snapped. “It’s a channel.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqG3c5MhHDw
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhBIsS4C5KF
Repurposed by whom?64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7QucPQSBqA
By Mercy.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCLUM8arcvg
Atop the hidden stairway, two girls in Kisumu Girls’ jackets stood in silence.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhDU6jxCjW4
One wore Mercy’s old prefect sash — though no one had given it to her.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFISAmFtx3C
The other held the key.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt1fqPPPqef
She waited exactly until her watch ticked to 12:17 a.m.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCOhm7cpQpw
Then she slid the bolt home and turned it once.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5zKXU2eYXQ
Click.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTG1lLxrcAH
The girls didn’t laugh. Didn’t speak.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUBaF4LRVTa
They simply walked away.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpDhYOxfvVF
Jabari’s light flickered.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT9sjPWIsM4
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYwyugbASWC
“She locked us in,” Jabari said.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPGS5A8NFjf
Juma stared at the water now reaching his shins. “That’s not the problem.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAtdoE9u9zo
The sound came next — not fast, not crashing.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdXwS6Fh8YQ
A slow gurgle. A hiss.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIJc0SruzWG
Then the unmistakable suction of redirected flow.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbCD2wMJk0a
Juma turned to Jabari.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrGGjew5XOZ
“She's opened the borehole line.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTskZjh82Fg
And sure enough, behind the sealed hatch, where the borehole channel fed under the school… the grate now trembled.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1d4mcYPWfh
Then the water began to rise.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsHvVKV6yHJ
From the high choir loft, Mercy stood silent, eyes calm, watching the stained glass as shadows shifted across it.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5bvRDfwKth
Behind her, a girl whispered, “They’re in.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwKypXOskD0
Mercy didn’t reply at first. Then:64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFePQsYxCwM
“They came looking for a lie. Let them leave soaked in truth.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfqXDhhomG5
She turned away and walked down the spiral staircase, vanishing into the dark.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz3slTQGJbO
The water rose like a slow betrayal.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvfNvJm5zCA
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeQ25rDJiaG
Then — a sound.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYcnHBB2xQK
Bang. Bang. Clank.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡduF3L6Ogmk
A screech of iron echoed from behind the north wall.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ69EAQOJTff
Juma froze. “Did you hear that?”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK6KNaiOjQn
Clank. Slam.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8JZ1oSwnC4
Then a voice, muffled by metal and rage:64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0MLwyMh5Qx
“Get back!”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHXzOZ0Wit2
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTg4Eum9NQo
And through the water— Musa crawled through.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq11aa76oog
Soaked. Grit-covered. Grinning like a man who had wrestled a pipe system and won.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCHXQ3cchwk
“I told you I was the better swimmer,” he coughed.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ8mnchvYcI
As the water drained and light returned, Juma leaned against the far wall, breathing hard.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe28REFOLKX
“We were seconds from blacking out.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡah49Rad5FZ
Jabari, still quiet, turned his torch toward the south chamber — a small alcove half-submerged behind a collapsed marble panel.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdn7zZz7viL
Musa followed his gaze. “What’s that?”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFkLiTdIEWk
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1wYQIJFBRu
Behind it, half-sunken and chained inside a rusted cage:64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrlqwBqZF0s
Three black ledger boxes, stamped with faded silver initials: “M.O.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzmk3ytDB8I
Juma slowly unlocked one latch. Inside: letters, class registers, intercepted prefect reports, old Order rosters — all annotated in Mercy’s handwriting.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0MY2DGImB5
Jabari picking one up and reading aloud:64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIIsKwrvVDB
“She was never exiled. She was buried.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqO8c74VTe4
Musa whispered “She didn’t build a trap. She built an archive.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyQ4ZPsZkMj
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqsLiFHjyZf
Jabari looked up sharply.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGAyBCpiVbf
“You followed us.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSfR9xwBj6o
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY3qnTz0msy
“You need this one,” he said. “It’s the only one with dates after Mercy’s expulsion.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOA43k3UOPt
Juma narrowed his eyes. “Why help us?”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4BCEa4sooQ
Ayo hesitated, then looked directly at Jabari.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdlCy1Dkt0t
“Because I’ve seen what Kwame would do with it.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxOcGBtspWZ
The silence cracked with the sound of metal boots on water-slick stone.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkyts9cAeet
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxm7JDzdO20
The one marked “Staff Correspondences: 2007–2014.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHFViwCENHg
Jabari stood. “What are you doing?”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2SqB9qXMkv
Otieno held his gaze. “You know I follow the truth.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSflGVFCnmD
Then turned and walked out — no rush, no guilt.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrUpwRLqu05
One box in Jabari’s hands. One box in Ayo’s grip. One box now leaving with Otieno.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQujqiIWOtk
Musa broke the silence.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDnAoBv8sH6
“That’s it, then. The lines are drawn.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9VD1E359fk
Juma added, “And Mercy didn’t even have to choose sides. She just lit the match.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFnFSgJrIw2
Jabari watched Otieno disappear into the crypt tunnel, Ayo still standing beside him, conflicted but present.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjbqpLtX79r
Musa whispered, “This isn't just about the wall anymore. This is a war over what gets remembered.”
******64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtIZK70Ag3I
The video was less than ninety seconds long.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCd3kdwPkWE
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡup3k5ZOPRI
The screen opened on dim light, stone, water glinting along the floor like liquid glass.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiYVDopP0Re
The voice was unmistakable.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp7IQt2BXzP
“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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0Yivliy3ac
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡflDEnLVUXe
Then:64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS9DB8SXrHy
Freeze frame.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡulWESMH3AK
Jabari, back turned, lifting a rusted ledger box.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyoCvOA3vfJ
The words flashed over the image in blood-red type:64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXhn4Ezf4i1
"The Order is underwater."64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPPXEaDBi0y
Then black.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmxqWG9HD8k
By 7:00 a.m., the dorm corridors buzzed like electric wires.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNlilDGhrxn
“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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbwDt2udjZe
In the Kisumu Girls library, Shiko watched Kim watching the terminal.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuBgjr46OES
“That’s the tunnel. That’s the crypt,” Kim whispered. And that—is a declaration.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡojCjX0jp60
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNn5gYW6Jdf
Kwame stood outside, eyes on the sky, arms folded.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJL6UzGcD2E
He didn’t need a phone.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAabAnJxiST
He just needed a network Mercy built…and a reason to set it on fire.
**********64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkLt4W3QJ95
June pushed the heavy doors open just as Mary arrived from the science wing.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6f4NgtBKBk
“The boys have seen it?”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMaKMyjkJlp
“Everyone has.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMaNtaY2LOP
Kim entered last, silent.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeOJzl0DhP8
Shiko hovered in the corridor, uninvited but listening.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRt8miiKqkX
On the old Order wall board, Naomi stood still.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7MUqqlgKxt
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnKSWielIvs
“This wasn’t Mercy’s trap anymore,” Naomi said quietly.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaezzyR0nvc
“It was her signal.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡItKF06Y0hS
Naomi turned to them — prefects.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl1hg5eSeM9
“There’s at least one ledger still moving. Probably being moved to St. Theresa’s. Possibly Maseno.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG0uYWb9cG8
Mary stepped forward. “So, what do we do?”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBQcAAJZyTF
Naomi tapped the board.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡThDcDGWmjZ
“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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3AH6zd0x2i
June’s voice was cold.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2S1lbDtgby
“You think Mercy would use one of us?”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkNVXibUZMG
Naomi didn’t blink.64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4fsswjbIVi
“Mercy doesn’t use people. She recruits them.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEcYbF25Fjr
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡemrHlfA7fn
“Don’t trust who enters first. Trust who stays behind.”64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGxyLMm8oTk
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD4ppT73GUs
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyEou2wkfQ2
She has only one instruction:64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsrX0zMTghZ
“Deliver it by dusk. If you’re stopped — deny you ever knew.”
64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNVQIMebDdD
64Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL38AqVQMsr
