When the first bell rang at 7:23 a.m., girls loyal to the order froze mid-breakfast.65Please respect copyright.PENANAgGJGHsh9uU
By the second bell — louder, longer — every corridor emptied into the courtyard.65Please respect copyright.PENANAeAdK3mWsGf
Whispers flew faster than feet:65Please respect copyright.PENANAGxhF9rU4Yu
“Tribunal.65Please respect copyright.PENANAJcZmy9R9VK
“She’s calling names.”65Please respect copyright.PENANAHXzjYKUeMA
“Is it because of the video?”65Please respect copyright.PENANAZSiZN0Qcal
“Did someone move the ledger?”65Please respect copyright.PENANACwcpDj6r8Z
Inside the Assembly Hall, Naomi stood center-stage, hands behind her back.65Please respect copyright.PENANAw8ntCoMBuJ
Behind her: two senior prefects. To her right: Mary.65Please respect copyright.PENANALVvOkPfpYC
To her left: the Order Ledger Book, unopened since Mercy’s fall.65Please respect copyright.PENANAXPKxoCIUa9
The girls filed in. No laughter. No chatter. Only breaths held under stiff collars.65Please respect copyright.PENANAMGWJ5v62ST
Naomi’s voice echoed when she began:65Please respect copyright.PENANAIeOptjEMD9
“There is a war over truth. Before we face it out there, We must decide who we are in here. I am calling an Order Tribunal.”65Please respect copyright.PENANAlPSBbu9zPg
Gasps rippled through the room.65Please respect copyright.PENANA5j729zVZUl
“Each girl in this hall will have a choice: Recommit to the Order — or walk away.”65Please respect copyright.PENANAnLVxrBhcNA
A hand shot up. Seline. “What about those who were never in?”65Please respect copyright.PENANAqjKrpMiRDc
Naomi didn’t flinch.65Please respect copyright.PENANAVydy4CgdEy
“Then decide who you’re standing beside now.”65Please respect copyright.PENANAqzu9Ujn5Zc
She pointed to the bell.65Please respect copyright.PENANA4qJfXM3con
“Step forward. Touch the bell. State your name. You’ll be marked ‘Known.’ Stay silent — and you’ll remain ‘Unlisted.’ Either way, we’ll all see who you are.”65Please respect copyright.PENANAceZiKbPXgo
The first girl — a Form 1, trembling — stepped up and touched the bell.65Please respect copyright.PENANANLjliw8TRu
“Amara Oketch,” she whispered. The bell rang once.65Please respect copyright.PENANASXPdLiTcsM
Another followed. Then another. Shiko, near the back, stayed seated, her eyes locked on Kim across the room. Seline stepped forward dramatically, hand brushing the bell with a smirk. “Seline Wanjiku. Still watching.”65Please respect copyright.PENANANariYsh66f
Naomi’s expression never changed.65Please respect copyright.PENANAHpYeZZehQ2
But inside, the ledger was already shifting — loyalty was becoming currency.65Please respect copyright.PENANAlnMaOtcFwm
Kim rose only when half the room had already gone forward. She walked slowly, eyes not on Naomi, but on Mary. She touched the bell.65Please respect copyright.PENANAH93dV5U6rA
“Kimberly Diana Otieno. I came to listen. Not to lie.”65Please respect copyright.PENANADlBoyzHJ0l
The bell did not ring.65Please respect copyright.PENANArRUiFdoex2
Mary frowned.65Please respect copyright.PENANAzjej0lRvY4
Naomi closed the ledger without writing.65Please respect copyright.PENANAL7aGP7Ba08
“Some names don’t need to echo,” Naomi said.65Please respect copyright.PENANAesrdGXrMk1
There was one empty chair near the stage — June’s and as if she was called out, the back door creaks and June enters late, eyes calm, uniform clean, face unreadable.65Please respect copyright.PENANAxMuuwLkMib
Naomi’s voice is filled with unspoken disgust:65Please respect copyright.PENANAePZCgsO2Mn
“Miss June… do you still believe in the wall?”65Please respect copyright.PENANAkRoBwyz7Bc
June walks past the bell, but doesn’t touch it. She stops beside Kim.65Please respect copyright.PENANA8kPkF0PyVS
“I believe in the cracks.”
*****65Please respect copyright.PENANAhhK7yNOvah
June didn’t speak until all three of them stood in silence. The air was humid. The echo of the bell still rang faintly in their ears.65Please respect copyright.PENANA3PB5eL0LUI
“There’s a ledger being held by Jabari’s boys. Not the one in the broadcast. A second one. Still sealed.”65Please respect copyright.PENANA3oRIQC52hx
Kim tensed. “We thought Ayo took it.”65Please respect copyright.PENANA3P43FbOPDo
“He did,” June said. “But he gave it back too quickly. That means it’s stashed somewhere, waiting for the right time.”65Please respect copyright.PENANAWtkWaXqJdO
Shiko asked, “What’s inside?”65Please respect copyright.PENANAwrneI5uYzz
June pulled a folded note from her pocket — Mercy’s handwriting, unmistakable.65Please respect copyright.PENANARcUUoyzIPs
“Box 3 holds their fingerprints.65Please respect copyright.PENANAIcoQP7tKyP
What they buried beneath your dorm.65Please respect copyright.PENANAuT7wRChnHa
Who vanished, and who let them.”65Please respect copyright.PENANAdBJSmFDXav
Kim’s throat went dry. “That’s… not just old Order business.”65Please respect copyright.PENANAXvpqLkiiw3
“No,” June said. 65Please respect copyright.PENANAK75Wl5nVGs
“It’s a minefield. You need to find the crate. It’s in the archives wing on the boys’ side. Jabari’s men have it under pretext of ‘found records.’ You need to swap it before it's opened. Replace it with anything that looks like it.”65Please respect copyright.PENANAgnUq8lN1TK
Shiko frowned. “We’re not even sure what it looks like.”65Please respect copyright.PENANApLbYRDSx5m
June smirked slightly. “You will. It’s the only crate stamped in red chalk. ‘M.O.3’ — Mercy’s final cipher box.”65Please respect copyright.PENANATKTPymoAn3
Kim looked at her. “And what happens if they’ve already opened it?”65Please respect copyright.PENANAbreDjp2Klf
June met her eyes.65Please respect copyright.PENANAQCpXHXMa85
“Then make sure what they read next… isn't real.”65Please respect copyright.PENANA01uK7eHPj0
Kim nods slowly.65Please respect copyright.PENANA9ONCTsDGfW
Shiko reaches into her backpack and pulling out a dummy crate lid she stole from chemistry storage and June hands Kim a paperclip bent into a tiny “M.”65Please respect copyright.PENANAfUYeBKQvRd
“Plant it when the swap’s done. That’s how I’ll know.”65Please respect copyright.PENANA2YbUsFfYMm
As June walks away, she murmurs to herself: “Let them remember what we allow.”65Please respect copyright.PENANAAHkkhlzDXd
*****65Please respect copyright.PENANAN7gtHsY5yR
Naomi stood beneath the frangipani tree, flanked by two prefect guards. The tribunal had quieted some nerves — but not all. There was still one ledger out there. Still one story too dangerous to break.65Please respect copyright.PENANAso3i8MhcU1
“We need eyes everywhere,” Naomi said. “No dorms unchecked. No keys misplaced.”65Please respect copyright.PENANATHittC0MfT
Seline stepped forward with studied calm.65Please respect copyright.PENANAxVpmcwZ4Xe
“I may know where they're planning to meet.”65Please respect copyright.PENANAiRTUcW74HA
Naomi narrowed her eyes. “Who?”65Please respect copyright.PENANAVptNQhPYCJ
Seline didn’t answer directly.65Please respect copyright.PENANACVSzh1k5LW
“Let’s say I’ve seen enough body language. Kim. And the quiet one. Shiko. They’ve been whispering too much for two girls with nothing to hide.”65Please respect copyright.PENANAN10fp6GFed
Naomi raised an eyebrow. “You think they’re involved with Mercy’s crate?”65Please respect copyright.PENANAyL5Ega7o9O
Seline folded her arms.65Please respect copyright.PENANAJeTZIcCOuP
“I think if you want answers, send your guards to the south incinerator lane — just before dusk. They’ll find more than ash.”65Please respect copyright.PENANAskBZrHLqUW
At the meeting point near the old herbarium wall, Kim adjusted the dummy crate lid inside her bag. Shiko scanned the perimeter with a pocket mirror.65Please respect copyright.PENANA3WdWx0s7h4
“We have six minutes,” Shiko whispered.65Please respect copyright.PENANACipBsFOrFE
“Once the bell rings for sunset inspection, all internal guards get recalled.”65Please respect copyright.PENANAdQDRfBMg65
Kim glanced at the marked fence post — red chalk: “M.O.3.”65Please respect copyright.PENANABFTdaMtp5C
“Let’s just make sure we’re not the ones being followed.”65Please respect copyright.PENANAR29fWVHUgK
Naomi nodded slowly. “Good work, Seline. Stay close.”65Please respect copyright.PENANAtEFYo0TiuW
As the prefect guards jogged off, boots thudding across the tiled walkways, Seline lingered behind — smiling faintly. She pulled her phone from her sock — the one she was never supposed to have — and tapped a message into a hidden note app:65Please respect copyright.PENANA09Bs0ODkEZ
“If the bait’s good, they’ll bite. If they bite, I watch who bleeds.”65Please respect copyright.PENANApHTTOnqKDV
She never pressed send.65Please respect copyright.PENANAknjktXGJ8V
She didn’t need to.
******65Please respect copyright.PENANAKe9kikvoXO
They came from two sides — four prefect guards, swift and silent, their batons clipped tight and flashlights already stuttering in the growing dark.65Please respect copyright.PENANATi8qhNGDz3
Kim turned first.65Please respect copyright.PENANAakbhdGPR8o
“We’re boxed.”65Please respect copyright.PENANAUPHQU8A5zM
“No,” Shiko said, calm. “We’re just poorly lit.”65Please respect copyright.PENANAKo8CSIp0Un
From her satchel, she pulled a small envelope marked “Science Week – Safe Burn”.65Please respect copyright.PENANAbTVji58i8s
Flash-paper.65Please respect copyright.PENANAucJorXRIwn
Confetti-layered. Impregnated with fine magnesium salt.65Please respect copyright.PENANA7ZcMbtDpbB
Designed for stage experiments.65Please respect copyright.PENANA3YpdhCr8FT
She struck the match.65Please respect copyright.PENANAWKwtgHQ1n7
FOOM. A burst of white light exploded around them — silent, heatless, bright enough to blind the guards for two full seconds. White flecks scattered through the air like ash and stars.65Please respect copyright.PENANAL44L3bB8KH
Kim didn’t flinch.65Please respect copyright.PENANAWLDkKEkNp6
She sprinted through the dust cloud, weaving past the closest wall and cutting behind the Hall, where the delivery crate — “M.O.3” — was being wheeled toward the west staff entrance on a borrowed AV trolley.65Please respect copyright.PENANAjCdCBKhIdX
Two tech interns who worked in the principal’s office were halfway through handing it over to the runner when Kim appeared, winded, bag in hand.65Please respect copyright.PENANAuk59NbhK4y
“They sent the wrong box,” she said, breathless, flashing her forged badge.65Please respect copyright.PENANAxbwcLJWFsA
“I’ve got the corrected archive.”65Please respect copyright.PENANABZs9v7MkBV
They looked confused. One shrugged. “It’s all sealed.”65Please respect copyright.PENANAiTM4eeQz51
Kim tapped the chalk mark on the side — slightly smudged.65Please respect copyright.PENANA0GUicut1zF
“See? Rained out. Mercy’s tag faded. Could be mislabeled.”65Please respect copyright.PENANA7q0KD6cLsY
They hesitated.65Please respect copyright.PENANAJDpSzKETal
Shiko appeared behind them, adjusting her glasses, calm and efficient.65Please respect copyright.PENANAhYcJhMx8ZQ
The boys handed it over.65Please respect copyright.PENANAJH1Y2VQ1AL
Kim wheeled the real crate away, heart pounding.65Please respect copyright.PENANA5AXSHgWPgY
The prefect guards staggered out of the light-blast cloud, coughing and confused. Seline, watching from the upper dorm window, narrowed her eyes.65Please respect copyright.PENANAwPq6FBRrkq
“You underestimated the quiet ones,” she whispered.
*****65Please respect copyright.PENANAtsFmgvRBNu
Naomi stood at the front table, her fingers on the crate’s seal.65Please respect copyright.PENANAFs4pMAtVwr
June and Mary flanked her. The Order Hall was quieter than usual — no full assembly, just a controlled group of trusted seniors. The rest had been dismissed after the Tribunal.65Please respect copyright.PENANAg5wfGbl7sH
“Let this end what she started,” Naomi said.65Please respect copyright.PENANAYdfUMzIJxQ
She peeled back the tape. Inside: a folder marked “Confession Index: Volume I” — filled with blank pages.65Please respect copyright.PENANASc2Vq1kiPM
Mary frowned.65Please respect copyright.PENANADmhyzNoG6u
June looked to Naomi, whose face remained unreadable. “This isn’t the original,” she said.65Please respect copyright.PENANAvy3Op5Kg2M
Then the lights flickered.65Please respect copyright.PENANA8U84rQzHKl
Just once.65Please respect copyright.PENANAbkH5lChzHs
Not enough to panic. But enough to shift attention.65Please respect copyright.PENANAAlBYIN5BkV
A faint hum rose from the archive cabinet in the corner — the audio box used for morning address recordings. It hadn’t been touched in weeks.65Please respect copyright.PENANANO7e4Z4NQe
Then it clicked. And played.65Please respect copyright.PENANAN5GTn1EyyB
Mercy’s voice.65Please respect copyright.PENANASJvqsBybgo
“Nice switch. Too slow.”65Please respect copyright.PENANA7mxmUx5Xd3
Heads turned sharply. A soft whir from the old cassette speaker in the wall — a repurposed relic. Vintage. Protected.65Please respect copyright.PENANAFTbczXHCYZ
The voice continued — calm, amused, in perfect control:65Please respect copyright.PENANA5B8z74iMsu
“Let’s not pretend this was about justice. This was about story. And I still write the better one.”65Please respect copyright.PENANAgJrZnmQokN
A pause. Then:65Please respect copyright.PENANApEMpmMS2bR
“To the girl with the sharp hands—well played. But you forgot something. I never left. See you in the crypt. Round two begins.”65Please respect copyright.PENANAofu3ZRDTQh
Click. Silence.65Please respect copyright.PENANADDTaZb0b1w
Outside, thunder cracked.65Please respect copyright.PENANAqjW58WCXen
Naomi’s fingers tightened on the empty folder.65Please respect copyright.PENANAUGlJb9eZGy
Mary whispered, “She recorded it before the Tribunal.”65Please respect copyright.PENANAQ0mZIL08wp
June looked at the now-open ceiling vent above the archive. “No. She triggered it after.”65Please respect copyright.PENANAHRH8Igzazf
Kim, listening from the hallway, stared at the speaker — then slowly slipped the real crate deeper under her cloak.65Please respect copyright.PENANAMLjPZWqA8a
The war hadn’t ended. It had just gone underground again.
**********65Please respect copyright.PENANAS67d4zUrun
Jabari laid out the sealed envelope on the table. It had come that afternoon — slipped through the vented panel beneath the main wall, the one only a few knew existed. No name, but the handwriting was unmistakable.65Please respect copyright.PENANAFPHzpM4tA2
Naomi’s.65Please respect copyright.PENANAoja0IjlCSS
He broke the seal.65Please respect copyright.PENANAp7BTkEj5Gu
Inside: a short message and a typed formal proposal, stamped with Naomi’s name.65Please respect copyright.PENANAF3RnGXkjjb
“Temporary Intelligence Exchange Proposal.65Please respect copyright.PENANA9XVc1V1ZUF
Objectives: Stop second wave. Contain ledger fallout. Restrict Shadow Walker expansion.”65Please respect copyright.PENANAeiWhh1bHU2
Musa leaned in. “She’s serious.”65Please respect copyright.PENANAYidVYP5JPE
Juma scoffed. “Serious or desperate?”65Please respect copyright.PENANATAEcUTNJff
Jabari didn’t answer. He was already reading the fine print: No direct physical meetings. Exchange via designated wall drops. Shared surveillance logs (anonymized). Tunnel use strictly prohibited unless both sides agree. All mentions of “M.O.” to be contained or denied until internal hearings.65Please respect copyright.PENANAM9WfDpsE99
Ayo paced. “You trust Naomi?”65Please respect copyright.PENANA1AgzWmyAtg
“No,” Jabari said. “But I trust the threat.”65Please respect copyright.PENANAqiGTsmQWDU
Juma added, “If she’s suggesting shared control, it means she doesn’t have it.”65Please respect copyright.PENANAHVX87m4Aem
Musa tapped the table. “And if we say no, we’re not allies. We’re targets.”65Please respect copyright.PENANAR1T2BD8y61
Juma looked around. “I can’t believe we’re even considering this.”65Please respect copyright.PENANABfTYNhUFlc
But his voice wasn’t angry. Just tired.65Please respect copyright.PENANAiVe1URxNcK
“She beat us. That message from the chapel? That was a declaration. If we don’t stand together, we’re all just going to be footnotes in her confession index.”65Please respect copyright.PENANAp5xQD3omCf
One by one, hands rose.65Please respect copyright.PENANA4letMaZ8em
Even Juma’s.65Please respect copyright.PENANAcyp04XcfqL
The decision was unanimous.65Please respect copyright.PENANAj3WVHObxCh
Jabari scribbled a short response:65Please respect copyright.PENANABWjh5CtiPe
“Agreed. Shared containment.65Please respect copyright.PENANApsJFAGNUmV
Our fire stays cold until her flame dies.”65Please respect copyright.PENANA72fVv4oVyw
He slipped the letter into a clean envelope, sealed it with the old Order wax-stamp, and marked it with a chalk triangle. That night, just before midnight, Musa tucked it behind the drain grate, the way they used to pass ledgers during term inspections.65Please respect copyright.PENANAMdK2AVHgFc
The next morning, the note was gone.65Please respect copyright.PENANA43OyZAhufh
And beneath the vent, someone had drawn a small M.65Please respect copyright.PENANAnwgLXayjQ1
Then crossed it out.