June wasn’t a morning person.82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUiY4k20jEQ
But patrols weren’t optional—not for someone recently readmitted into Naomi’s restructured Order. The cold air bit through her sweater as she rounded the far edge of the compound, Mary close behind her, yawning silently.82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2wkTgapRvA
The borehole wasn’t on their official route. But June always checked it. Something about the way it sat—unwatched, forgotten, fenced in by banana trees—made her wary.82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVPQothbcVf
That’s when they saw it.82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbpXVRFiTXV
On the concrete lip of the borehole grate, curving like a forgotten crescent, was a thick arc of blue ink. Fresh. Still glistening. Perfectly symmetrical.82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxmucecxB8H
Mary stopped. “Is that… paint?”82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡenDz2yH8Z7
June knelt beside it, heart thudding. “No. It’s ink.”82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZbNF0FIYYz
They exchanged a look.82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4P8qJdhrus
Not just blue. Mercy’s blue. The same shade that once bled into Order memos, laced warnings, signed forged rosters — and marked betrayals that had cost people dearly.82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOmJxVUPHrR
“She’s back,” Mary whispered.82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5pM76MpY5X
“She never left,” June replied.82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfAWg2pW1hF
June didn’t touch it, but she knew. The curve wasn’t random. It was a symbol—half of one, maybe. A cipher. A signal. She glanced around. No footprints. No scent. No wind. Mercy had always been a step ahead. Even when she wasn't present, she was somehow already watching.82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtvg8xbgc8P
Mary’s voice dropped. “You think she’s starting something again?”82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3k3ISFFn2B
June stood, jaw tightening. “No. She’s continuing something.”82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwEQRVCMLG0
The ink hadn’t been meant for teachers. It hadn’t even been meant for the Order.82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeocYSk7SpH
It had been meant for someone who would recognize it without explanation.82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW2QSxh6KGQ
That was the Mercy they remembered.82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGfAqHQ04Nd
Unknown to them, a few meters away, Seline crouched behind the east-facing banana trees, watching.82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEX9iAIXhHR
She hadn’t followed them intentionally. But she’d noticed June’s pattern — always checking things that no one cared to. Today, curiosity had won.82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX7GR5nZtEo
Her eyes narrowed as she saw the girls staring at the inked arc.82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEfoDOyp57b
She couldn’t hear what they were saying. But she saw the shift in their stances.82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn2KFAqAVWF
Saw the fear. The recognition.82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4Mv7Cz5aUP
And she saw the way June instinctively placed herself between the mark and the morning sun—as if shielding it from exposure.82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEcvlg7MAks
That was all Seline needed. She moved with quiet steps and a patient breath.82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxF00hardde
She hadn’t planned to follow June. But it was hard not to notice how she and Mary had vanished right after fifth bell, slipping off in the direction of the borehole like ghosts on assignment. Old habits die slowly—and jealousy dies slower.82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoAFaz0mmGm
She waited until the path was empty again. The ink mark was still there. Drier now, darker around the edges. She crouched beside it, tilting her head.82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmbCnFXIt7u
Of course it was blue. Mercy’s old color. Mercy’s old tricks. Mercy’s old arrogance.82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkzyHvaEMXy
Seline reached for her journalism club sanctioned phone, snapped a photo, and opened a blank message window.82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDwJ2JsHKKe
She didn’t write much.82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡinijY4XfMe
"The serpent returns."82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlK5qntNT0h
She didn’t sign it. She didn’t need to. She hit send.82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOK1sVXQ7j7
The recipient was someone who’d once told her: "Mercy doesn't leave trails. She leaves traps that look like invitations."82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDtSsxTnZzB
Maybe it was time they set one of their own.82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAeMsBfAsK8
Cutaway: Unknown Recipient (unseen, unnamed)82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF6susL1rXA
A buzz.82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOji35NgkQO
A photo.82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTawc8mQWTc
A phrase:82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVJA9HFMcBJ
“The serpent returns.”82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNF2jd9918x
A pair of fingers opened the image, zoomed in on the blue arc, the shadow of the borehole behind it.82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNiBijpTnWl
A slow breath.82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGqV2UJoe4K
No reply.82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBCji3zs9ao
Just movement.
***82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpfUbbalFDN
Later that day, Kim sat beneath the loquat tree in the back field, sketching the mark from memory.82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP2Df63F9Hg
Shiko had redrawn the same on her book. “June found it first. Mary confirmed it was Mercy’s shade.”82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuntBZavX5q
Kim nodded slowly.82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBLGmditbYg
“I’ve seen that curve,” she murmured. “On a stone. The night the boys crossed.”82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8y6QOrY27g
Shiko tilted her head. “You think it’s connected?”82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbcH4RPruH4
Kim didn’t answer. But her mind whispered the name she hadn’t said aloud in weeks: Juma.82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtAqtpsQk9G
Whatever had passed between them—coded notes, fleeting messages, near-meetings—was now moving again. And it wasn’t just because of the Order.82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOp4nQIW2j4
That evening, Naomi stood at the front of the assembly hall, her face pale but composed. She held up a photo printout of the inked mark, shaking it once for emphasis.82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz4VEvfnOw7
“This,” she said, “is not art. And anyone found tampering with shared spaces will face full investigation.”82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2XccaQ4vTy
Her voice dropped lower.82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxDUZ2pne9V
“This school is no longer for games.”82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiDnDCEOy4o
But June, watching from the fourth row, wasn’t convinced. Because Mercy never played games. Mercy built puzzles.82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbCKlcBfsKS
And this was her first piece.
*****82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ81I6oXldKR
June stared at the photo of the blue ink arc again, this time under the glow of a cracked desk lamp in the old arts room. The photo was blurry around the edges, but something in the shape felt… off. Not incomplete. Segmented.82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqldAao4qEz
“Look,” she murmured, pointing to where the arc wasn’t a perfect curve. It dipped and rose in odd places, like a pulse frozen in motion.82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhaDYmS8J74
Mary leaned in. “You think it’s a pattern?”82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmW4NsUpLwD
“I think it’s a cipher.”82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwC6bbxIhsI
June opened her leather notebook and flipped to the final pages, where she’d kept sketches from Mercy’s last term in power — drawings that didn’t fit into normal Order documentation. Half-symbols. Curves. Broken sigils.82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs3yVznvKKJ
One matched the ink from the borehole exactly.82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm8c5KkSwsH
But only if rotated ninety degrees.82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQYVsRZVJDa
As she turned the photo on its side, the image changed — suddenly the arc wasn’t a shape. It was writing. Cursive. Twisted. Stylized like Mercy’s notes used to be.82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTqIQx3GEKp
June slowly copied it onto the desk’s surface with a whiteboard marker.82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkx2CDlMSDw
F O L L O W W A T E R T O T R U T H82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT0VQJcbV50
Mary exhaled. “It’s a phrase.”82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ558VYAN36a
“No, it’s a directive,” June said. “And Mercy never gave those lightly.”82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡggFz1FAVyx
“Water…” Mary looked up. “The borehole?”82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZXdBe8z33b
June nodded. “And the old well. The pipes. The drains. All the places no one checks anymore.”82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDer6JNb2nI
Mary frowned. “You think she left something there?”82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZtMfOFaxcC
“I think she left everything there.”82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWrxL0ItoCb
They both went quiet, the weight of it settling in like dusk.82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzJBtR9EuxL
“We have to go in,” June said, voice quiet but firm.82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5UL7r3r29e
Mary hesitated. “You mean… the tunnels?”82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeowUU2qwy2
June turned fully toward her. “We both joined the Order thinking it meant loyalty. But Mercy’s truths were never above ground. She wrote in the dust, not in the books.”82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQoUpxNCBKj
Mary nodded slowly. “Then we follow the water.”
*****82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiXeVFoABMM
Kim almost missed it.82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7PXaD4BZGp
The wind had picked up again, brushing banana leaves against the cement like fingers against drum skin. Her roommates were out, still at group studies or filling water before curfew. She sat cross-legged on her bed, flipping through old pages of a forgotten literature book.82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm6jhHxguor
Then she heard the whisper.82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4O8MUkeTc6
A soft scratch beneath her window. Not loud. Not urgent. But intentional.82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8GKVHoBYZx
She rose slowly and crossed the room, brushing aside the curtain.82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh9oog7fBOD
Nothing. But when she looked down, a folded strip of paper lay just inside the frame — flattened from the crawl beneath the shutters. No name. No seal. No color.82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7aQa4LhjjY
Only three words in small, neat, familiar print.82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS4pduo7AK4
“Jabari knows the underground route.”82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwMAibXopUz
Kim’s breath caught. Jabari.82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0UGqyh90EK
The name pressed itself against her chest like a match waiting for flame. She unfolded the paper again, hands trembling slightly.82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu6KNpFtFCW
That handwriting — not quite formal, but precise. The kind of print someone uses when they expect to be read by a rival.82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxQ4eqHVEle
There was nothing else. No signature. No mark. No date. Just that line.82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX4Z8xdyMzp
Her Mind Raced. Why her?82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaNZ18bguNm
If it was true—if Jabari really did know about the tunnel, about the underground paths—why would he let that slip? Unless he hadn’t. Unless someone else wanted her to know.82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXr9voslgEa
But still, she couldn’t help wondering: Was it a warning? Or an invitation?82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUcdcrGeA2u
And how did they even know she was connected to him?82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuTbRVQ95Vt
She thought about the night she saw the boys run across the wall. The half-glimpsed shadows. The torn tie. The hooded girl who didn’t stop her.82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbD2r6q2t95
She thought about Mercy’s return, the blue ink curling around the borehole like a secret being rehydrated after years in hiding.82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3vSJLmI0Hf
And now this.82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRGSXGg2EBh
Kim sat down on the bed; the note clenched in her hand. It wasn’t just about her and Jabari anymore. It wasn’t just curiosity or codes or a shared suspicion that the wall wasn’t as solid as it pretended to be.82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuv07zgVpIk
It was structure. Not chance. Not coincidence. Someone—or something—was maintaining communication across both schools. Not openly. Not loudly. But quietly. Elegantly.82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0xmfNlC2eY
Like a system of secrets. Like a network. Like the Order… or something deeper.82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN8T6nt4G31
She looked at the note again, rereading it until her pulse steadied.82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtjXKeYXzHX
“Jabari knows the underground route.”82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR5zUwAV0t6
Which meant: Someone knew she was close enough to matter.82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡewrfQCOrHu
“If he knows the way beneath the wall… maybe I can finally ask what’s on the other side.”
*****82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJWfhoHyXLo
Shiko watched from the far pew, her breath shallow.82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsH8tKmNoZv
Seline had stormed out in one of her usual flourishes after Naomi’s address — her camera slung over her shoulder, muttering about respect and surveillance. She left it briefly unattended near the altar, in the row where she always kept her things during meetings.82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh4Gj7LEypi
Two minutes. That’s all Shiko needed.82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4zozmxSfZl
She moved like she was going to tie her shoe — bent near the camera bag, fingers slipping past the zipper with a smoothness that surprised even herself.82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVGPLMjxK2F
Inside: A small DSLR camera, just as expected. A micro-SD card, exposed in the side pouch. And next to it — Seline’s school phone. 82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy2V4F5Lj0x
Shiko’s pulse quickened. Seline never left that phone alone.82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpfS4AmsgUL
Not unless she was hiding something with it.82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEph0aA0Mll
Shiko pulled the memory card carefully and slid a blank duplicate in its place — identical in color and make. She didn’t check what was on it. Not yet. Not here.82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeLINGFH5FA
Next: the phone. She slipped it gently from the bag and into the sleeve of her sweater.82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCkZbZEHfnF
No one noticed.82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkgStIiAJv6
She rose slowly and walked down the side aisle of the chapel, silent shoes on stone tiles. The old wooden pews creaked just slightly beneath her as she crouched near the third from the front — the one with the broken hymn book shelf.82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV5E3KPc66r
She slid the phone underneath the shelf and wedged it between two cracked Bibles. Gone.82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK2a82oEba1
Just in time, the chapel doors opened.82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpobYq5xtH0
Seline’s voice echoed in before her footsteps did.82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkb7HfaWcLL
“…it’s not about power, it’s about truth. And if they’re hiding anything—”82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ06UfqCpUJO
Shiko was already walking out the opposite side, face composed.82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ04CacDeuT3
She didn’t look back.82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡseMwsslYRw
That night, Shiko inserted the stolen SD card into her hidden reader. The screen lit up. Hundreds of images. Blue ink. Borehole arc. Snapshots of June’s notebook. A blurred image of Kim and Shiko whispering near the map. Even a shadowed photo of what looked like… Mercy?82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4zFdVEprvL
Her stomach turned. Seline hadn’t just been collecting for paranoia. She had a timeline. A target list. A strategy.82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIpr0bySsb5
Shiko leaned back and whispered to herself:82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm6hKazPTGf
“You’re not just bitter, Seline. You’re playing something bigger.”
*****82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3MjlazTXi7
Jabari didn’t bring anyone this time.82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDbi8U0y9rt
He told Musa he was doing a pre-inspection for the upcoming Board visit. He told Ayo he needed quiet. In truth, he wanted no shadows behind him.82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkkIc4Ukvz7
Just space. And answers.82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnak1B5Qmod
The grate behind the dormitories hadn’t been used in years. It squealed as he forced it open, the hinges moaning like an old confession. The tunnel beneath was narrow — concrete ribs curved above his head, lined with mildew and spiderwebs that tugged at his shoulders.82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxFW3kvogOF
He clicked on his torch and descended into the hollow.82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk9FkuX1FMS
The tunnel sloped slightly downward, toward the foundation of the old water system — long disconnected, now only half-remembered by the school’s plumbers. But Jabari had seen the diagrams. The colonial maps. The blue line that started here and ran... beyond.82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH0xAsSfbtE
He moved slowly, the torchlight sweeping across old pipe valves and chalk markings etched along the walls. Most were faded. One still glowed faintly under his beam:82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHQoA2Ju5rY
A curved wing, almost erased. He paused. Not his symbol. Not the Order’s. But somehow… familiar.82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIWpxivi2dy
In the overgrown greenhouse behind the girls' science wing, June steadied her hand, holding her official Order-issued phone — the one Naomi had reluctantly reinstated when they returned to duty.82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDJYA51IvPB
Mary leaned close. “Can you zoom anymore?”82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfXK4T2PRHP
The camera flickered slightly, just catching the dim flicker of light beyond the boys’ compound wall. A torch. Moving inside the drain channel.82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL4r6VsbZIo
A figure.82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiGn0W5oigE
Alone.82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhzvk0dA2CC
June tapped record.82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLyzPrLMplw
“That’s Jabari,” she whispered.82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcEUgvHzspY
“He’s testing the tunnel.”82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs2gf62sBB7
Jabari reached a junction where the tunnel split in two — left toward the collapsed pump station, right toward the rumored passage.82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhrv61arhbh
He turned right.82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfg5U57bGT5
He didn’t know the wall had hairline fissures above ground. He didn’t know someone was filming.82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXgD6bVq2cZ
High above in the broken arch of the greenhouse, three girls stood now — not just Mary and June.82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeLP6umdR7M
One wore a hood. One held a small vial of ink. One, silent, recorded the time.82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8IcKmzleaL
None of them spoke.82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU6zAMwaEzv
The light on Jabari’s torch flickered as he passed under a cross-beam marked:82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl10iS0ibT0
"Follow Water to Truth."82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUhjRMmyHA9
He did.
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