In the Kisumu Boys' Assembly Room, a closed session in the late afternoon is underway. The rain drums faintly on the roof. Both Order loyalists and Shadow Walker affiliates have been summoned — the first meeting of its kind.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZhSfOl5Ujm
The room buzzed with restrained confusion. On one side: prefects, old Order loyalists, data-keepers. On the other: Shadow Walkers — code-runners, graffiti scouts, watchers from rooftops.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0yPmAGUxWe
No one sat near the center.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5PGjyXohRZ
Jabari stood at the front of the room, back straight, the cracked ledger box in one hand.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb3wiaenBX7
He didn’t shout.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjPgYXC5NRh
“You all saw what Mercy did.”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6m81oSEJe6
Silence.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡREUOhoXs78
“She used our stories. Our fractures. She drowned us in our own past.”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4WIzAf7eY7
He placed the box down — loudly.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCvxWl3WJnS
“So, this time… we drown her in it.”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9kPoWEkdFf
He scanned both sides of the room.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡflTauegIS7
“We have word Naomi’s side is moving — quietly. They’ve offered a containment pact.”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡECFqlEjtbO
A few gasps. One laugh — quickly hushed.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3mcIf9luWP
Jabari continued.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0gVkxnY2Rp
“This isn’t an alliance for peace. This is a trap.”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT2EWUYooEF
He walked to the chalkboard and drew a quick diagram: the chapel crypt, the drainage lines, the tunnel forks.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo4YKCAoiTK
“Mercy’s using the third memory drop — a ledger no one catalogued. We lure her into finishing the cycle. And we lock her there. Not with chains. With evidence. With noise. With memory.”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9BMCqf29IX
Kwame wasn’t present.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdLk3gjzIhf
But Otieno was — arms folded, expression blank.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs8V44PAC2c
Ayo muttered under his breath, “He won’t like this.”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCxteV6vEfo
Juma asked sharply, “So we do Naomi’s cleanup?”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzut0COMbM3
Jabari looked him straight in the eyes.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzJRD5HpNF5
“We clean up our own ghosts. Naomi’s just part of the smoke.”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRVt5UOLZIk
Musa stepped forward and unrolled the scroll — Naomi’s signed terms, retrieved from the wall.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA6Wjj4HvLJ
He read them aloud: Neutral crypt space during the trap execution. Shared counter-signal system (one chime = cancel, two = proceed). No betrayal until both crates are verified and neutralized.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHmUazKJwOz
The final line:65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZzwjxSTJR5
“No war until the wound is stitched.”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqLWKDJnMiX
A single nod from Jabari. “Vote?”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMx8Tvxt6qq
This time, only one hand stayed down.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwAz1soYQMJ
Otieno.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyMzDWd0y6n
He met Jabari’s gaze, then whispered: “You catch her… Just don’t become her.”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGzMubqnsnM
The moment Musa finished rolling up the scroll, Juma stood — arms crossed, eyes cold.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY5gwMIeuNb
“We’re trusting Naomi now? The same girl who tried to silence everything Mercy uncovered?”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ80nl3bYmo9
The room went quiet again. Even the Shadow Walkers leaned in, sensing heat beneath the words.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2XAP3QXJfb
Jabari didn’t answer immediately.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaFwlQABnLJ
Juma continued, his voice quieter but heavier:65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKWEBYiuafi
“She isn’t here to contain anything. She’s here to bury it again. And if we help her… we’re part of it. We’ve already done one cover-up, Jabari. I won’t do a second.”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJEBTJn3jCk
Otieno glanced at Musa. Ayo looked away.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYvwQFtfNEU
They knew what Jabari suspected but never asked.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfb6LOtOMwf
Juma’s voice cracked ever so slightly: “I swore I’d protect Kim. Not just physically. From all this. From becoming one of us.”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdJPzAY7UZw
He looked straight at Jabari. “You think Naomi won’t use her if it means killing Mercy’s story?”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjn39XrZ4vR
A slow clap echoed from the hallway.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJGjKBopGfV
Kwame.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEaze5iansX
He leaned against the doorframe, shadowed, smirking.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPzMmMqD7ZU
“Now that’s what I’ve been waiting for.”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtWMfrL2L6U
Jabari’s jaw tightened. “You weren’t invited.”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQHyxLMzmYn
Kwame stepped in. “I don’t need an invitation to watch a castle collapse. Especially when the stones fight each other.”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHWYeWZk2sb
He glanced at Juma. “Finally, someone with a spine.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZdsTf8LrFx
Jabari stepped forward. “This isn’t about Kim.”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJzISIg9CCl
Juma didn’t move. “No. It’s about all the people who can’t speak anymore. Mercy included.”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWQoPZ88VsE
Kwame tilted his head, amused. “You know, I think Mercy would like him.”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMMuq5T0e8O
Musa finally spoke. “We don’t have time for this.”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHGtEKM5SwQ
Jabari looked at Juma. “You can’t protect her from all of it. You can only decide whether you help shape the truth or let it crush her.”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9rQYg0Bxmo
Juma’s fists clenched.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw0n7SpqEsM
But he didn’t sit back down.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpor2Gglapy
Later that night, after the hall had emptied and the plan was posted on the encrypted wall scroll, Kwame found Otieno near the water tanks, where the fog rolled low and the pipes hissed with steam.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5CqI9iuVIa
Kwame leaned against the concrete.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaWux0BjKTm
“So. You’re really going with Jabari?”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT80vpVVGiL
Otieno didn’t look up. He was fitting a copper ring into the vent grate — a piece of an old filtration system he’d been rigging for months.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3n8JkTHCSk
“Does it matter?”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe1712pc5Y6
Kwame smirked. “It does to me. I had you pegged as a watcher. Not a follower.”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkGbW623nHw
Otieno stood slowly. “You’re right.”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN1qKh41bNZ
He turned to face Kwame — taller than him in the dim light. 65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyM8kkCpdkB
“I do watch. I watched what happened when the last war between Orders wasn’t stopped. I watched Jabari get blamed for things he never did. I watched you use Mercy’s name like a weapon — without carrying any of her burden.”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkXuE7D6NpT
Kwame’s smile faded slightly.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEdfGBDfLsh
“She’s rewriting history,” Otieno said. “And you think you’re the editor. But she’ll erase you the second you stop being useful.”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3Ahl77BwGU
Kwame raised an eyebrow. “And you think Jabari won’t?”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa2YIWooKsn
Otieno stepped closer.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKfKR4NVDGC
“If we help Jabari now, we keep Mercy’s revenge from destroying us all. Not for Naomi. Not for orders. Not for walls.”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWUfA82N6XS
He paused. “For survival.”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEYtNi4Hta5
Kwame scoffed lightly. “You sound like you’re preparing for a funeral.”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKH0p6q73W0
Otieno turned away, sliding the copper ring into place.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx13nbWS3le
“I am. The old war never ended. This time, I just want to know which side I buried my friends on.”
**********65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDI4iEdOLtO
The ledger crate was lighter than expected.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFXf11kvwcO
Musa tested its weight once more as he crouched beneath the courtyard arch. The M.O.3 chalk mark had been carefully redrawn. The false ledgers inside were wrapped in canvas, just enough heft to feel real.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV2s7sZUqOg
Jabari stood beside him in the hallway shadows. “You’re sure?”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX5ZR1O3lTo
Musa gave a half-smile. “You trust me with a busted borehole and a map that doesn’t exist, but not a box full of air?”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9I3UJb53Xl
Juma, standing nearby, muttered, “It’s not the box I don’t trust. It’s the gate it’s going through.”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkIAKYNwmmt
Musa turned to Jabari.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ849qXar8pb
“Let me take it. If we send a signal through anyone else, they’ll second-guess it.”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJHTSlOrDZO
He gripped the crate.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMF5VnT5z41
“I’m neutral enough to walk through fire.”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0aCjr5jlp9
From behind him, Ayo appeared silently, holding a folded black card — flat, thin, almost forgettable.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqSqdZ0j3YD
“For insurance,” Ayo said, sliding it beneath the top canvas.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDjnqkTKaHN
Musa frowned. “We’re not sending threats.”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0QsGogT7kt
Ayo’s voice was smooth. “It’s not a threat. Just… a reminder. She needs to know she’s still being watched.”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDw9qwuoFmU
“No names. Just the old cipher. Mercy’s mark.”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYv08BeeYi6
Musa hesitated, then said nothing. There wasn’t time. Jabari was still briefing the wall runners. No one else saw.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsWUo3Tt6xw
At 5:48 p.m., beneath the buzz of Science Week cleanup, Musa rolled the AV cart up to the old drain-slot gate in the concrete wall.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO0PCTw1dMP
He stood still, adjusted his sleeves. Waited.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXGcyS3ju7D
The grate shifted open. Two gloved hands — Mary’s, if he had to guess — pulled the crate silently inside.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLSUHV2FTi8
No words. Only a single origami triangle left behind, folded from printed timetable paper.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPYIRJ6FfBp
He picked it up, unfolded it.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfQhZLVHSAY
“Drop scheduled. Second chime. No shadows.”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7YkoY3sCOh
The plan was live.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡebPRBCpywx
Inside the crate, beneath the false ledgers and canvas, Naomi’s hand paused when she reached the black card. It bore Mercy’s old cipher — a twisting serpent swallowing its tail — stamped in silver ink.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxvm1jPzcqX
Below it: one line in tight handwriting.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7TsmdkPnuR
“She buried you once. Don’t let her bury you again.”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzAtRb8vZGy
Mary looked up at Naomi.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLSteIHnvQF
“Did you put this in?”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg1BJJIrM6v
Naomi said nothing.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqOjCwFtsGP
Her fingers tightened.
*****65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0rrURKDuQw
On the girls’ side. After dark. Naomi’s inner circle meets in the underground storage room behind the old library annex. The crate sits unopened on a long metal table.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxACwVrnltA
The room smelled like old pine and chalk dust.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKYorSg5jRr
June, Mary, and Naomi stood around the crate. No one had spoken since the door shut.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWSFMwshrEG
The origami triangle Musa left sat neatly beside the latch. Naomi’s hands hovered above it.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHXjj7TBek7
“We open it now,” she said.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFch34wNGmi
“We can’t afford another surprise at the Tribunal.”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrrwOy03HcO
She glanced at Mary. “Gloves.”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpFWhzpRZG5
Mary handed them over — clean surgical pairs swiped from the chem lab.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYliMZ4kF35
Inside, the ledgers were exactly as expected — wrapped, unmarked, blank. But under the first canvas fold, June’s hand paused.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy6CxqX66c3
“Something’s here.”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7XAYTleoVI
She pulled out the black card.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnfx96ZQPJw
The serpent. Silver ink. Old cipher.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFir5DoJtPg
Naomi took it. Kim read the line aloud:65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoUYovPJNTs
“She buried you once. Don’t let her bury you again.”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2MkKQceBnm
A beat of silence.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6JCaCE9rfF
Naomi’s face stayed blank, but her pulse visibly jumped.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLLat3dV3x2
“It’s not hers,” she said flatly. “She never wrote in third person.”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3WeYJLjT3S
June stepped in. “Then it’s meant to make it look like it is.”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSAafmnIVtZ
Mary whispered, “Could it be a warning? From the boys?”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ47gYOhnXf0
Naomi shook her head. 65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWoZFtwOjjn
“Too calculated. This isn’t warning. It’s planting doubt. Whoever slipped it in wanted us to panic in front of the school.”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAt03thfq9x
June laid the card flat on the table.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3CkW7alQWE
“We pull it now. Quietly. And we never say a word.”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIswgki2Qj6
Naomi finally nodded. “Burn it.”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw9KU4Hq248
Mary hesitated. “That’s a Mercy move.”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVlYWL9zpXu
Naomi replied coldly: 65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoPnmdm5rAs
“Then maybe she taught us well.”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYHinTdNfBu
The card was burning in a lab beaker, the serpent curling into ash by the time they were done, Naomi staring into the flame longer than the others.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWyxJRgKvMO
June turned to Naomi. 65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUuKFPl3ZQN
“When you open that crate tomorrow, make sure your voice doesn’t shake.”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMOlBtZb3Hr
Naomi said nothing.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc6HnglM4lK
But her jaw was set.
