“Water’s Path”76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbrTzAGfCp6
The grate groaned louder this time.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq7HvxiDBYe
Musa had oiled the hinges the day before, but rust still fought them on principle. Jabari winced at the noise — not because it might give them away, but because it was inefficient. Unclean. Sloppy.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3NWZvEpRSS
Otieno ducked in first, his frame slipping through the rectangular opening like he’d done it before.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2g41L03yzo
Because he had.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6niTZg7cBj
Jabari followed, torchlight already painting the sloped concrete ahead of them in shaky yellow arcs. Musa took the rear, glancing back once to check that the lock clicked quietly into place.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjQ2Fq5Hr5W
Below them, the earth sloped downward — the tunnel running like an artery between buried decades.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRYZ7e1o1wv
They said nothing. They had said enough upstairs — mapped it, measured it, debated its existence.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ7CoMdhXLM
Now they moved. The walls narrowed where old pipes jutted from the ceiling, dripping condensation and rust. Footprints marked the sludge — faint, shallow, but undeniable.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcpLA2tpoLM
Otieno paused and pointed. Three footprints. One small, barefoot.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ68Q3lFmuUI
Musa stared. “Girls’ side?”76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3BtMgU7UCA
“Maybe,” Otieno muttered.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIiZB7cJI13
“Maybe not,” Jabari said. “Shadow Walkers don’t move to be recognized.”76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw9TTuyVg5I
They walked for seven more minutes.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8nGQEQ9YiC
The tunnel veered slightly to the left, then leveled. At the far end, beneath the old junction where Kisumu Girls’ science wing once connected to the shared pre-independence utility shaft, a faint patch of air carried a new scent: chalk dust and old detergent.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwag9XUQgvq
Jabari stopped.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBsZIsAdyFr
The space widened slightly. A second hatch — rusted but intact — blocked the passage forward. Spray-painted once in faded white: “O3” — the old access tag for shared maintenance between both schools.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsfsqufjAOM
Jabari placed his hand against it.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbnFYHCZVha
Warm. Not recent use — recent presence.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0YnkMVPkru
He knelt and examined the lock. Not padlocked. Not welded. Just… placed. Like someone expected it to stay closed out of memory, not resistance.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo9yZglTSKj
Otieno bent down beside him. “Should we open it?”76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoaMC7zE9Ri
Jabari looked to Musa. Musa didn’t nod. He just stepped back.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlo97mxdcUU
They opened it.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7JifQMGG8w
The air that spilled out was drier than the tunnel — warmer. Faint traces of soap and boiled cabbage told them what they feared: They were on the other side now.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnz39CpHULU
They emerged behind a collapsed water pump near the base of what used to be the girls’ science annex — now a disused tool shed beside a cracked concrete trough.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPSaLnnhHzc
It was quiet. But not still.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMUDWLzDmgU
Musa crouched immediately and pointed to something beneath the trough:76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNsd6rliYje
A red ribbon, frayed at the edge, tied to a pipe. Not school-issued. Shadow Walker.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE7zmD764tn
Jabari’s breath slowed.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvkZFaBWpt8
Otieno glanced up toward the tree line. “They know.”76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiqMBF7KpkG
“They’ve known,” Musa muttered.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYxmKce6Xtg
Jabari scanned the treetops, the broken greenhouse beyond the annex, the faint shadows leaning in the wind.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIF6em2iYg7
No alarms. No voices. But they were not alone. He felt it in his bones.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZWYSpHdSaO
They didn’t linger. The breach had been proven. The path existed. The schools were not two. They were one body, stitched together by ignorance and fear — and now, that thread was unraveling.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgTLsDz50Lh
As they retreated into the tunnel, Jabari whispered low:76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC8oBHvBxFH
“No word of this. Not yet. Not until we understand what they’ve left behind.”76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdIMhIKmV5a
Musa didn’t respond. But Otieno, from behind, whispered the question they were all too afraid to ask:76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL3MPNSAb7e
“And what if they’ve never left?”
*****76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9jdwPIlQ64
He wasn’t meant to be there.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTMD23zSiwe
He hadn’t been invited.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWuGhZB2q7L
Hadn’t even been told.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKviqofH7H8
But Juma knew how Jabari moved when he was hiding something. The way he tucked his sleeves. The way he avoided eye contact with people who asked too few questions.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYCBGzQTROk
So, when Jabari, Musa, and Otieno vanished after prep without explanation, Juma followed — a few paces back, hidden in the shadow of the unfinished perimeter wall.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUcORsZYrFK
At first, he thought they were going to stash records. Maybe revisit the archive gap Otieno had found. But when they pried open the borehole grate, his stomach turned.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvIVkcmPd4x
The tunnel.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWTYRmZY6XP
They were testing the tunnel. Without him.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOaBGuZmezt
Juma waited until the last foot disappeared. Then crept forward and lowered himself in.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvunYBIOLXy
He didn’t follow directly. He walked slower, far enough back to let the echoes settle. He didn’t need to hear them. He just needed to watch. He could still smell the rust of the pipe joints. Still hear the old riddle in his mind— “follow water to truth”. It used to sound like legend.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGaBX6sj9yP
Now it felt like betrayal.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLoGCiYVVy9
Crossing into the girls’ side?76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjnVXzlg1uv
For what? Information? Or for someone?76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0JaQdXkvHq
Kim’s name surfaced like a wound, unspoken but sharp. Did she know? Had she met Jabari? Was this part of their “alliance,” the one Juma never got the full story on?76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4SHIGGrtLd
The wall was supposed to divide them. Now Jabari moved through it like it didn’t exist.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH2t2rCe62f
Juma clenched his fists. It wasn’t just about power anymore. It was about truth. And about who got to hold it first.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpA6yaQnT3I
As Jabari and his crew reached the junction beneath the science annex and paused to survey the exit point, Juma watched from behind a bend, hidden in shadow.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX4gX9lkZyl
He didn’t speak. Didn’t breathe. But in his chest, a slow decision began to form. If Jabari won’t say what he’s doing… Then Juma will find out for himself.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ01v6fqYiA7
Even if it means crossing alone.
*****76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkesNPTPDII
They never heard them coming.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4N5Gzmlurv
Not Otieno, who usually heard everything. Not Musa, whose instincts were tight as fencing wire. Not even Jabari, who trusted shadows too well.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJqTGBiuB9K
They were halfway back through the tunnel, the return path slick with dripping lime-water, when the air shifted.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzZIQ7BcNcN
It wasn’t light. It was heat. Then a hiss.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlIdmMxmtnp
Kerosene.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMpWKMJfAY7
The smell punched into the space like a slap—acrid, chemical, recent.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd5MaTALn47
Jabari stopped dead. He threw a hand out to halt the others.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQDrp2676h8
From up ahead — near the tunnel mouth — came a glint.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn2EuTxq3UQ
Small. Orange.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzx55BQWVfk
Then the flare lit.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAdi0IbDJ1I
A white-hot hiss exploded forward, rolling fire in a half-spiral across the wet stone. Jabari yanked back violently, his games kit catching on a pipe and nearly igniting.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4i5fto8SHN
He hit the wall hard, smothering the sleeve in dirt. Musa cursed.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡddByQDj1mf
Otieno dove back into the bend.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN7RhNiPd90
And then they heard it— A voice.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvuXAwUoW3b
Calm. Cold. Crooked by the tunnel’s acoustics:76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmVOPqZfTPP
“You were warned.”76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGnswDY808i
The light died as quickly as it came.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡamEXt8XvDI
When they stumbled forward five minutes later — torchlight flickering nervously — they found only the reek of scorched cloth, a blackened floor, and a small smear of red chalk on the tunnel wall:76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQgFnnM1lGq
A glyph: Shadow Walker fire mark.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWOjJRcuSIz
Jabari said nothing for a long time.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCDVJAkRQSa
Musa stared at the chalk. “They knew we’d be here.”76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ56c0OVZGZp
Otieno clenched his jaw. “They let us in… just to mark the border.”76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHl9Gui7EnI
Jabari’s voice was low when it finally came:76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8R06kCS2Rq
“No. They let us in… to remind us it’s not ours.”76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcNeJkFAuYW
From high above in the greenhouse shadows, Kwame uncapped the second flare and blew gently on the tip.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX9nTDopeO2
Ayo looked down at the smoking tunnel vent.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjbgWMcczvq
“Was that really necessary?”76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGahs5mlZ0W
Kwame didn’t smile. He just whispered:76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa1HMk4SL84
“They drew maps of our bones. Now we burn their paper.”76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSzpePuVf4Y
The flare’s glow had barely died when Kwame stepped out of the smoke.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOIhWavCk6M
No hood. No bluff.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6bq4jxkves
Just him — tall, furious, silent.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY0yfoI5nkD
Jabari rose quickly, dirt smearing his sleeve, his eyes locked with Kwame’s like old enemies recognizing the war had finally begun.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjCPT601U4z
Kwame said nothing. He raised a second flare.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq0HdT3im7s
And that’s when Musa moved. He didn’t shout. Didn’t warn.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡicFetFqfEN
Just tackled Kwame sideways with a thud that cracked against the pipe wall. The flare dropped, bounced once — skidded harmlessly into a puddle. Extinguished.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ74tM9Q9iEo
They crashed into the damp stone, grunting, Musa’s elbow driving into Kwame’s chest with years of silent discipline.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtJG7SfGnw6
Otieno was already helping Jabari to his feet.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBxLjXQGsy8
But Ayo — Ayo was gone.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmmRI50zisY
The boys spun, torchlight slicing through the tunnel like frantic blades.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPt3YcyANED
No sound. No echo. A shadow where Ayo had been seconds before.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG9Aa7AmIAg
And on the ground where he’d stood — half hidden under an old gear bag — was a folded square of thick paper.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm2jGK3kYGc
Black. Crisp.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6Wr7ARPayz
Stamped with a mark: M.O.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWiXOTBuIZj
Jabari picked it up carefully. The wax seal had melted slightly from the heat — enough to distort the shape.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGxwqipP6hS
But he recognized the symbol beneath the black ink.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeaZaIYALiq
Mercy’s initials.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm7GCdbfbPU
Kwame lay pinned beneath Musa, coughing. He didn’t fight back. Didn’t speak.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzCNt4gLYtV
But his eyes were locked on Jabari.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡODNtfMuL9G
Daring him to guess how deep this went.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡROYmRIcMpK
Jabari backed away slowly, holding the black card like it might catch flame.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVkDmqRzDKs
Otieno whispered, “He was never here for us.”76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2NraYYqpUm
“No,” Jabari said, his voice low. “He was here for the message.”
**********76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLHarB1ajmC
The chapel had long been closed for renovations — at least that’s what the staff told anyone who asked. But Mercy knew better.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYjdCHO743S
The boarded doors didn’t stop her.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd57nPBOMy0
She descended through the old sacristy vent — a crawlspace known only to three girls in the school’s long history. She entered barefoot, silent, and carrying only a candle stub, a bottle of ink, and the folded black card Ayo had delivered.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0TF2F4y1ei
She sat on the edge of the cracked altar bench, unfurled the card under the flickering light, and stared.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdMUnXA87SJ
Her initials. But not her handwriting.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdICQ5BV3SX
A test. Or a tribute. Either way, she recognized the pattern.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOV1ctiKGd1
It wasn’t just a seal. It was layered.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrG143OzapC
The fold lines created seven geometric segments — each containing a barely visible ink dot. It wasn’t aesthetic. It was directional.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2eoGYH75Rq
Mercy rotated the card slowly, letting muscle memory guide her. It felt familiar. Like a map she hadn’t drawn but had once walked.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiIvKLNijhW
Then it clicked.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQtTOh0cNz2
She opened her ink bottle, dipped a pin in lightly, and connected the dots in the order they appeared from fold to fold. A new shape formed:76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKwi6lSTyZB
A spiral that looped west, then curved north — then stopped.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuUzYtCfa7a
It mirrored the forgotten layout beneath the science annex. The same route she'd once used to vanish during inspections, emerge behind the greenhouse, and drop messages across the wall without ever touching its surface.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsJC07Fcbj0
It wasn’t just a cipher. It was a return route.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjyrtzdApWk
Ayo hadn’t just escaped the boys’ ambush — he’d reopened the thread Mercy had left behind. And sent it back.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcgLrArxDXA
June didn’t mean to watch her. But she'd grown used to Mercy disappearing at odd hours, always returning with a sharper look in her eyes — like she knew something no one had asked yet.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqqAwOhaG2g
This morning, June followed — only a few steps behind. She never entered the chapel basement. She only peeked once through the warped window slit.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCHMh9xjozv
And what she saw?76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbuHI5kUGHU
Mercy — lit by a single flame, her fingers gliding across the black card like a priestess reading scripture.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYk1G3vsmWq
She was smiling. Not cruelly. Not proudly.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA1vbHbiXB7
Knowingly.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuCIOqH1GuR
And that terrified June more than any punishment Mercy had ever given.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7t5KfviIuc
Mercy turned the card over. One last message, revealed only when ink-stained fingers warmed the wax:76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrt7kts9gfb
“Some truths only reveal themselves in reverse.”76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbbIzOphU1z
She smiled wider. So that was the game. They hadn’t just reopened the tunnel. They had given her the key to walk back through it.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP1x3D49Rid
Mercy stood, tucking the black card into the seam of her skirt. Her steps were slow, silent, almost ceremonial as she exited the chapel’s back door and disappeared toward the annex.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFXt6cl7kWl
By dusk, the greenhouse would hum with new footsteps.76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡahz1klsKXO
And the Shadow Walkers — on the girls’ side — would know that their serpent had returned not to bite, but to lead.
76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuH0ay57gxp
76Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsg2nmhv0jM
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