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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfAD9hz6ARM
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHK2sbe9gns
No one sat near the center.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIO3SVOvT4D
Jabari stood at the front of the room, back straight, the cracked ledger box in one hand.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIl0BPr7Qqv
He didn’t shout.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXUDOONEBdm
“You all saw what Mercy did.”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmeW4WNpwNI
Silence.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCouEX6uLLj
“She used our stories. Our fractures. She drowned us in our own past.”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl65Lih6AxF
He placed the box down — loudly.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1U0I14AQg7
“So, this time… we drown her in it.”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkUseJtp7yO
He scanned both sides of the room.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwa1ET7zNC6
“We have word Naomi’s side is moving — quietly. They’ve offered a containment pact.”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZUqBCP3Ap3
A few gasps. One laugh — quickly hushed.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡghktopfbo0
Jabari continued.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyvjhln3YDz
“This isn’t an alliance for peace. This is a trap.”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJFjLgACWqV
He walked to the chalkboard and drew a quick diagram: the chapel crypt, the drainage lines, the tunnel forks.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFyP5B3BbAB
“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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ09O7s9rVAz
Kwame wasn’t present.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMQ2oSQ5TEZ
But Otieno was — arms folded, expression blank.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMzmk0KQFng
Ayo muttered under his breath, “He won’t like this.”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1yE5E7xnSE
Juma asked sharply, “So we do Naomi’s cleanup?”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJiESZOufgp
Jabari looked him straight in the eyes.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNTHQpBN65e
“We clean up our own ghosts. Naomi’s just part of the smoke.”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGd41uKb9AJ
Musa stepped forward and unrolled the scroll — Naomi’s signed terms, retrieved from the wall.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj5bdLaui6n
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHpaO4QO9QP
The final line:65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8rHXrswq8E
“No war until the wound is stitched.”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4lUoSsQI8j
A single nod from Jabari. “Vote?”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa124yhwfdo
This time, only one hand stayed down.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJZlUrNW1CE
Otieno.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTXW2jRmxTZ
He met Jabari’s gaze, then whispered: “You catch her… Just don’t become her.”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlreUqnQjlV
The moment Musa finished rolling up the scroll, Juma stood — arms crossed, eyes cold.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZvaoNwJASF
“We’re trusting Naomi now? The same girl who tried to silence everything Mercy uncovered?”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWhBR7VLlZk
The room went quiet again. Even the Shadow Walkers leaned in, sensing heat beneath the words.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ70diOYZWpD
Jabari didn’t answer immediately.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgeKBE9nOQi
Juma continued, his voice quieter but heavier:65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcAtQr7AnkJ
“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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTuSSfKof3H
Otieno glanced at Musa. Ayo looked away.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQRXAqn7Uzo
They knew what Jabari suspected but never asked.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUeCYCM8d3X
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKWWqOFOBVR
He looked straight at Jabari. “You think Naomi won’t use her if it means killing Mercy’s story?”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWsSzTmr8Dj
A slow clap echoed from the hallway.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzWUxUba1G3
Kwame.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCXiTRdxkat
He leaned against the doorframe, shadowed, smirking.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ3NdZXmIAR
“Now that’s what I’ve been waiting for.”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡogp6oaYJyU
Jabari’s jaw tightened. “You weren’t invited.”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn8YtCwCzVV
Kwame stepped in. “I don’t need an invitation to watch a castle collapse. Especially when the stones fight each other.”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSWUXZk1tNN
He glanced at Juma. “Finally, someone with a spine.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD0cXyxWhWw
Jabari stepped forward. “This isn’t about Kim.”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO46uCKQNb1
Juma didn’t move. “No. It’s about all the people who can’t speak anymore. Mercy included.”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkI6924wYaT
Kwame tilted his head, amused. “You know, I think Mercy would like him.”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD3twj3jqqB
Musa finally spoke. “We don’t have time for this.”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ51VPjKOmhI
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCKgsigRJ0m
Juma’s fists clenched.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXuAb3kyH9x
But he didn’t sit back down.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI0UM7aLOwQ
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtPnlDBpSCY
Kwame leaned against the concrete.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡguINVAF0FI
“So. You’re really going with Jabari?”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ42l0gZbSoa
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdrfGZtDr0N
“Does it matter?”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYx2StvCZow
Kwame smirked. “It does to me. I had you pegged as a watcher. Not a follower.”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ040JyiMAPF
Otieno stood slowly. “You’re right.”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgF7SlJeo59
He turned to face Kwame — taller than him in the dim light. 65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1NEWsXrOI4
“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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHK7spsOprJ
Kwame’s smile faded slightly.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu3RLH4Cv7C
“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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVaVCn9gWJl
Kwame raised an eyebrow. “And you think Jabari won’t?”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm9vS1reUDq
Otieno stepped closer.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzMpIJTWOeY
“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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ88QuojogB7
He paused. “For survival.”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8O48xQK11P
Kwame scoffed lightly. “You sound like you’re preparing for a funeral.”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMpawagL95x
Otieno turned away, sliding the copper ring into place.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDoHJCSPqdo
“I am. The old war never ended. This time, I just want to know which side I buried my friends on.”
**********65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡojewC7asqF
The ledger crate was lighter than expected.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu1QJxr8Fsl
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3Q54e577uk
Jabari stood beside him in the hallway shadows. “You’re sure?”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj0attLmp3G
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ32BhfSGc2T
Juma, standing nearby, muttered, “It’s not the box I don’t trust. It’s the gate it’s going through.”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCJvEmQAkHV
Musa turned to Jabari.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1rbYfy9wNv
“Let me take it. If we send a signal through anyone else, they’ll second-guess it.”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVS9oaPXJWt
He gripped the crate.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLsLERGxeE5
“I’m neutral enough to walk through fire.”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIi91j1SrYc
From behind him, Ayo appeared silently, holding a folded black card — flat, thin, almost forgettable.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiJ4N9GZQC6
“For insurance,” Ayo said, sliding it beneath the top canvas.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPtXcVQLZxQ
Musa frowned. “We’re not sending threats.”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ16Vzte4wEK
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPlk6qBHJ8V
“No names. Just the old cipher. Mercy’s mark.”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ159z6NBD8u
Musa hesitated, then said nothing. There wasn’t time. Jabari was still briefing the wall runners. No one else saw.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0r25DYQt7U
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeDN3mvBauw
He stood still, adjusted his sleeves. Waited.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡok2JTpOY3o
The grate shifted open. Two gloved hands — Mary’s, if he had to guess — pulled the crate silently inside.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8P5vovPXep
No words. Only a single origami triangle left behind, folded from printed timetable paper.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAtAonLXkZW
He picked it up, unfolded it.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4lJkSv9uH3
“Drop scheduled. Second chime. No shadows.”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrapOo4sEiP
The plan was live.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN09MU7uPX4
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi01HDwxOcW
Below it: one line in tight handwriting.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaY0yD8ImQ2
“She buried you once. Don’t let her bury you again.”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhQSYPWtNJL
Mary looked up at Naomi.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJUkoJ6hBDT
“Did you put this in?”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡderzQ11nRD
Naomi said nothing.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnPrcS8uzBa
Her fingers tightened.
*****65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSuBMnOmobg
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYKA7u2V9fO
The room smelled like old pine and chalk dust.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE0KBvx52sq
June, Mary, and Naomi stood around the crate. No one had spoken since the door shut.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY1ooUUsDht
The origami triangle Musa left sat neatly beside the latch. Naomi’s hands hovered above it.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMPejEghc6a
“We open it now,” she said.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnODN2aLnEj
“We can’t afford another surprise at the Tribunal.”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrFT8tNP3LK
She glanced at Mary. “Gloves.”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP5HE8BKtNS
Mary handed them over — clean surgical pairs swiped from the chem lab.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBaES5lM0nE
Inside, the ledgers were exactly as expected — wrapped, unmarked, blank. But under the first canvas fold, June’s hand paused.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjVk61xLJrY
“Something’s here.”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcdLUexg5RP
She pulled out the black card.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZAjA9BZYh6
The serpent. Silver ink. Old cipher.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn1zmW1Mwfx
Naomi took it. Kim read the line aloud:65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOcggfGnCgF
“She buried you once. Don’t let her bury you again.”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgNOLmOGqpe
A beat of silence.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHJ7aKPN5rY
Naomi’s face stayed blank, but her pulse visibly jumped.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdfkqcECiOf
“It’s not hers,” she said flatly. “She never wrote in third person.”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpMj9TYSZg9
June stepped in. “Then it’s meant to make it look like it is.”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLjwdbS6dqK
Mary whispered, “Could it be a warning? From the boys?”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM3d8YHoxlH
Naomi shook her head. 65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIXXG3QAxzh
“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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡluYY2t6Hkh
June laid the card flat on the table.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6zqgdVKmpz
“We pull it now. Quietly. And we never say a word.”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeieD6tFazQ
Naomi finally nodded. “Burn it.”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOH2vcLGvmH
Mary hesitated. “That’s a Mercy move.”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG1hG2z1y6T
Naomi replied coldly: 65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9ZjQ9fyjKR
“Then maybe she taught us well.”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR7goNwz7wS
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQV4y8vkqfP
June turned to Naomi. 65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWBCy5dPt9S
“When you open that crate tomorrow, make sure your voice doesn’t shake.”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPGty82n8wZ
Naomi said nothing.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvnOswFHHYO
But her jaw was set.
