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.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUyAawsbYZM
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.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdN1XiVogTL
No one sat near the center.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSj7beyGLzQ
Jabari stood at the front of the room, back straight, the cracked ledger box in one hand.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJEJxLntFE7
He didn’t shout.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkNxUlyzn4a
“You all saw what Mercy did.”31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR3Q0e6neiE
Silence.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDWiD9TEl5H
“She used our stories. Our fractures. She drowned us in our own past.”31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa33R1CVJGd
He placed the box down — loudly.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOZMzeSnVNo
“So, this time… we drown her in it.”31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsatnQtD6DT
He scanned both sides of the room.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrnnZadyk49
“We have word Naomi’s side is moving — quietly. They’ve offered a containment pact.”31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOunAhkwazd
A few gasps. One laugh — quickly hushed.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFRYWQdmLTe
Jabari continued.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7igzZVO1eY
“This isn’t an alliance for peace. This is a trap.”31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbTYRQW8gtQ
He walked to the chalkboard and drew a quick diagram: the chapel crypt, the drainage lines, the tunnel forks.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNoPmxV6bmq
“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.”31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡThVvMr5ukp
Kwame wasn’t present.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSX9ciifiKO
But Otieno was — arms folded, expression blank.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrj3pWgPW0m
Ayo muttered under his breath, “He won’t like this.”31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOvD0SvVWVz
Juma asked sharply, “So we do Naomi’s cleanup?”31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbtMuPlibT3
Jabari looked him straight in the eyes.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZZQZ9wL9CS
“We clean up our own ghosts. Naomi’s just part of the smoke.”31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXw4pVc7XnP
Musa stepped forward and unrolled the scroll — Naomi’s signed terms, retrieved from the wall.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsdDy0pSO5g
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.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMuxuwVZhaD
The final line:31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ82gmHFVXUZ
“No war until the wound is stitched.”31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPO5lhE5E79
A single nod from Jabari. “Vote?”31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4mg3NmvPks
This time, only one hand stayed down.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDiv6FvF7jR
Otieno.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGBBl3DIgfl
He met Jabari’s gaze, then whispered: “You catch her… Just don’t become her.”31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeWWOqB92y6
The moment Musa finished rolling up the scroll, Juma stood — arms crossed, eyes cold.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2nlnUn8fSP
“We’re trusting Naomi now? The same girl who tried to silence everything Mercy uncovered?”31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ49CIdhp6l9
The room went quiet again. Even the Shadow Walkers leaned in, sensing heat beneath the words.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgoWSvoJpcX
Jabari didn’t answer immediately.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNN2XnaScqR
Juma continued, his voice quieter but heavier:31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgo13c5OClc
“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.”31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp3K9sX39sd
Otieno glanced at Musa. Ayo looked away.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoZflohtdvz
They knew what Jabari suspected but never asked.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW8RRVbG10g
Juma’s voice cracked ever so slightly: “I swore I’d protect Kim. Not just physically. From all this. From becoming one of us.”31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCQz1yoO48r
He looked straight at Jabari. “You think Naomi won’t use her if it means killing Mercy’s story?”31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOGTMw5aHH0
A slow clap echoed from the hallway.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvKIaUtiMTK
Kwame.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ58HNbduzMX
He leaned against the doorframe, shadowed, smirking.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpofIQp3640
“Now that’s what I’ve been waiting for.”31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQy2ay95qVO
Jabari’s jaw tightened. “You weren’t invited.”31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8X55ksO5Ok
Kwame stepped in. “I don’t need an invitation to watch a castle collapse. Especially when the stones fight each other.”31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmna2NRFHEo
He glanced at Juma. “Finally, someone with a spine.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx5NO0uPZUg
Jabari stepped forward. “This isn’t about Kim.”31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHkly8BN2sw
Juma didn’t move. “No. It’s about all the people who can’t speak anymore. Mercy included.”31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdyIGOdxv9d
Kwame tilted his head, amused. “You know, I think Mercy would like him.”31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmiNKQbUSVL
Musa finally spoke. “We don’t have time for this.”31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNSzrX9XS8i
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.”31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI4wXsaC3NJ
Juma’s fists clenched.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk57UHPunBi
But he didn’t sit back down.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkxIFbsvAnW
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.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtfxnTLL87H
Kwame leaned against the concrete.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRj1toAzFSC
“So. You’re really going with Jabari?”31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjPkUdielDb
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.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKeAgMRoHpE
“Does it matter?”31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS48aNwMhh4
Kwame smirked. “It does to me. I had you pegged as a watcher. Not a follower.”31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk6afscwxkF
Otieno stood slowly. “You’re right.”31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDPXcTCBvtK
He turned to face Kwame — taller than him in the dim light. 31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQRm8YnlN7W
“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.”31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaE1xWTHLQ6
Kwame’s smile faded slightly.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzthr17JtDq
“She’s rewriting history,” Otieno said. “And you think you’re the editor. But she’ll erase you the second you stop being useful.”31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKgIXa8Fr34
Kwame raised an eyebrow. “And you think Jabari won’t?”31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcX7uLVQ3cl
Otieno stepped closer.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrJA9X824y5
“If we help Jabari now, we keep Mercy’s revenge from destroying us all. Not for Naomi. Not for orders. Not for walls.”31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9VzxpW4QAD
He paused. “For survival.”31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡevYYNWOGWz
Kwame scoffed lightly. “You sound like you’re preparing for a funeral.”31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgKWeL7aRum
Otieno turned away, sliding the copper ring into place.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOZAw1sGJce
“I am. The old war never ended. This time, I just want to know which side I buried my friends on.”
**********31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkMQu7HFvYb
The ledger crate was lighter than expected.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqQn9XzCDJY
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.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxwxim3517m
Jabari stood beside him in the hallway shadows. “You’re sure?”31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1NFNB1Q9ak
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?”31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoXa93KYe0H
Juma, standing nearby, muttered, “It’s not the box I don’t trust. It’s the gate it’s going through.”31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwlSVhCHG7H
Musa turned to Jabari.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdQrVUswqFW
“Let me take it. If we send a signal through anyone else, they’ll second-guess it.”31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcQ8UYOI2zJ
He gripped the crate.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFNjZ0QBK7P
“I’m neutral enough to walk through fire.”31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡehxmlapHZk
From behind him, Ayo appeared silently, holding a folded black card — flat, thin, almost forgettable.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5bQXSIPy1J
“For insurance,” Ayo said, sliding it beneath the top canvas.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTzUXVi5gE9
Musa frowned. “We’re not sending threats.”31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg1328EiG1B
Ayo’s voice was smooth. “It’s not a threat. Just… a reminder. She needs to know she’s still being watched.”31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlEdqsEa0ZM
“No names. Just the old cipher. Mercy’s mark.”31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLKCspaQiZL
Musa hesitated, then said nothing. There wasn’t time. Jabari was still briefing the wall runners. No one else saw.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlr5IokcLZq
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.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ6W0NQ1bfL
He stood still, adjusted his sleeves. Waited.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmiEtqyBIkX
The grate shifted open. Two gloved hands — Mary’s, if he had to guess — pulled the crate silently inside.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlgtO6Sd5bt
No words. Only a single origami triangle left behind, folded from printed timetable paper.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJo84s6AIJG
He picked it up, unfolded it.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq5CTbLMq1u
“Drop scheduled. Second chime. No shadows.”31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaJZm8e3Dtk
The plan was live.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0LxAWYRBru
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.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4avy4wSZtF
Below it: one line in tight handwriting.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2kPWoeg2AV
“She buried you once. Don’t let her bury you again.”31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpuRqAxXNun
Mary looked up at Naomi.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFBpO0bgcVY
“Did you put this in?”31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4W3MmWuzRg
Naomi said nothing.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAdtXuFg5p0
Her fingers tightened.
*****31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8trlMaML8U
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.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw4wRfl2Xrf
The room smelled like old pine and chalk dust.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgBcXhlkRHX
June, Mary, and Naomi stood around the crate. No one had spoken since the door shut.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHTq5SLYKOm
The origami triangle Musa left sat neatly beside the latch. Naomi’s hands hovered above it.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsE8ZpbZhU8
“We open it now,” she said.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwCTxEeG6Is
“We can’t afford another surprise at the Tribunal.”31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPaztfF2808
She glanced at Mary. “Gloves.”31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjNqQWFq7SB
Mary handed them over — clean surgical pairs swiped from the chem lab.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXplLoMygwX
Inside, the ledgers were exactly as expected — wrapped, unmarked, blank. But under the first canvas fold, June’s hand paused.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz1Yo87P2Lq
“Something’s here.”31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ56BC21QiTX
She pulled out the black card.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmSr0oX6J9q
The serpent. Silver ink. Old cipher.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ00dWuJio8x
Naomi took it. Kim read the line aloud:31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6DRKtlidqD
“She buried you once. Don’t let her bury you again.”31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHZZD0cEM0F
A beat of silence.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ53gaImQp1f
Naomi’s face stayed blank, but her pulse visibly jumped.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEYx69pLTjc
“It’s not hers,” she said flatly. “She never wrote in third person.”31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡetcPd1uIrI
June stepped in. “Then it’s meant to make it look like it is.”31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡANDnNjbznP
Mary whispered, “Could it be a warning? From the boys?”31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcTF7mg6xuQ
Naomi shook her head. 31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCLPZgraWgL
“Too calculated. This isn’t warning. It’s planting doubt. Whoever slipped it in wanted us to panic in front of the school.”31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX6NN5i9Q9W
June laid the card flat on the table.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2v8ERs0ntK
“We pull it now. Quietly. And we never say a word.”31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjDs0JlJiyl
Naomi finally nodded. “Burn it.”31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg7w6vd4zYl
Mary hesitated. “That’s a Mercy move.”31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYsfKtRwmqL
Naomi replied coldly: 31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡArk2FO30G6
“Then maybe she taught us well.”31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfIkgjwjEiC
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.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVmpmWpyPwn
June turned to Naomi. 31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMHIXLTh67X
“When you open that crate tomorrow, make sure your voice doesn’t shake.”31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcX5GSqXXY0
Naomi said nothing.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoxQgjGO2xn
But her jaw was set.
