The science lab hadn’t been officially used in months — the windows were cracked, the wiring unstable, and the door only locked from the inside. Which made it perfect.81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBBvN0pMouY
Mary adjusted the lens on the UV lamp, flicking the toggle back and forth until the bulb buzzed to life with a dull purple glow.81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsSPslKDykS
She spread the black card across the dissection tray — the one Mercy had retrieved from the chapel and handed over without explanation.81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0G5to2LfnN
“You know how to look,” Mercy had whispered. “So look.”81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKdb7IVBmdm
So Mary did. At first, nothing.81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQfRCu8Glzx
Then the ink shifted — faint glowing threads emerging beneath the card’s surface. The lines curled, widened, and gradually began to form structure.81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0TAMqxnEKG
It wasn’t art. It was architecture.81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGJg0DQH0yR
A floor plan. 81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgvVjzaZyEK
June leaned in over her shoulder. “That’s not just the chapel…”81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN4jAcdzyTU
Mary nodded. “That’s the tunnel system.”81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEtXCxilwEj
The map showed multiple levels: A narrow tunnel from the borehole curving beneath the dining wing. Level two: The greenhouse access route — confirmed. Level three: A set of interlocking service paths ending in a room marked by a circle and the letters:81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl3Y0JoKVJn
C.9 – Cryptus Sacrum.81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMuY8rSXISe
Mary’s breath caught.81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7sZ7Hz7IIi
“The chapel has a crypt,” she whispered.81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡegNIq9NHmQ
June’s eyes narrowed. “No one’s spoken about that since Mercy’s expulsion.”81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuBbUzZuho4
“No one dared,” Mary replied.81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXyIPRTShKZ
In the bottom left corner of the blueprint, another glow began to rise beneath the UV:81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbJneotDRav
“Begin from what you buried.”81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0ICM6xHAMV
— M.O.81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFbArYJ4wyI
June stepped back slightly. “She’s not just reactivating the tunnels. She’s trying to pull us back in.”81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkDy0ktLOmw
Mary nodded slowly. “Or she never left.”81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT1MMp9z210
For the first time in weeks, June didn’t know which side she was on.81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYervkonkxj
Naomi had restored her badge. Reinforced their place in the Order. Offered peace. But what Mercy offered now was truth. Not orderly. Not safe. But real.81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2KQn6bb7tm
And June had always preferred sharp things to dull ones.81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf9b3O9BNmk
She looked at Mary, who was still tracing the lines of the blueprint with a gloved fingertip.81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjy0f4DBpJP
“If that’s real,” June whispered, “then we’ve never actually been above ground.”
*****81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsPLG6Kt2bt
Kim didn’t look up when June sat down beside her.81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc02rZqz6On
The bench under the jacaranda had become her quiet spot — the only place where questions didn’t buzz in her ears. The petals drifted down like soft ink, blanketing her shoulder, the pages of her notebook, even the edges of her thoughts.81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTtZx0FMMxs
June broke the silence.81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9Tuo0pmwVw
“You were right about her.”81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ53UFJhqCv7
Kim turned. “Mercy?”81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmGI1KyRUQx
June nodded; her voice taut. “She doesn’t want power back. She wants the Order buried.”81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ610VjrK5Cd
Kim closed her notebook slowly. “What did you find?”81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3VbLqEGFyQ
June didn’t answer at first. She reached into her sweater pocket and pulled out a slip of folded paper — not the blueprint itself, but a tracing she’d made in secret, away from Mary, away from Naomi. On it: the outline of the chapel. And beneath it — the crypt, marked in Mercy’s faint symbol: M.O., crossed by three vertical lines.81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgkJ4vf9zbc
“Three verticals,” June whispered. “Three prefects. Mercy’s way of marking a trap.”81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaVvW814iwc
Kim stared. “You’re sure?”81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ30e7dOOJsB
“Dead sure. She means to draw them there. Naomi, the others. And seal it. Not physically — symbolically. Shame them. Expose what they covered up about the tunnels, the Walkers, her expulsion. All of it.”81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK9JcOxcsrA
Kim traced one of the drawn lines with her finger.81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVbtjUkIrT2
“She’s not exposing history,” she said slowly. “She’s rewriting it.”81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6EfW1oHmdO
June leaned forward.81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡefPxeq2rqz
“You’re not in the Order. You’re not on anyone’s side. But you’ve seen more than most — and you don’t scare easy.”81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLA8AOJPUPz
Kim gave a small, tired laugh. “You sound like Shiko.”81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKuH8yuJZ7z
“No. Shiko’s a scout. You’re a witness.”81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9BOG5lsxKX
June paused, then added softly:81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6OZI26645P
“I don’t want to be part of burying people. Not even Naomi.”
They sat in silence for a moment, petals collecting like snow.81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdrtf8JiP7r
Then Kim asked, “What do you want me to do?”81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmVf7zy30x4
June looked up. Her voice was quieter now. Less prefect. More person.81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGh21jx6uou
“If anything happens in the crypt... if I can’t stop it... you tell the others. Shiko. Seline. Even Jabari, if you have to.”81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzLah0AQELA
Kim stared at her. “That could expose you.”81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2SGxBHBvWG
June nodded once.81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvwv6zA0sMF
“Better me than them.”
*****81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5aPoJziLkt
The corridor was nearly empty when Seline appeared.81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdQZsNbFGA8
She didn’t slam her locker or call Kim’s name. She just stood there, leaning against the doorway like someone who had waited long enough for the exact moment to arrive.81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk60XeD8dA0
“You’ve been busy.”81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyTgghvLxSh
Kim turned slowly, not startled — just tired.81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8lmFSlE3K3
“So have you.”81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡODeF0qyNiY
Seline’s eyes were cold, but not cruel.81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkb6weJZpaB
“Let’s skip the pretend part.”81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL7DJArSZJN
Kim raised an eyebrow. “Which part?”81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPVvtGcY1Un
“The part where you pretend, you’re not helping Mercy. Or June. Or whoever it is this week.”81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3iDBZAEYDD
Kim closed her locker slowly. “I’m not helping anyone. I’m trying to understand what’s happening.”81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtEiD7WIQgr
“That’s exactly what makes you useful.”81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQTAcrWNCLS
Seline stepped closer, her voice low and measured.81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUtKScN3Yzn
“Help me expose Mercy before this thing in the chapel happens — and I’ll show you something.”81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9Ekid4oBpU
Kim didn’t move. “Something about Juma.”81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0LyctcyjFU
That stopped her.81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD6YUBQUSbI
“Juma?” she said, sharper than she meant.81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ58WIATBWiC
Seline nodded. “Something you’ve clearly been dancing around since last term. Don’t look so surprised, Kim. You don’t hide infatuation well.”81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiwecPTrrW4
Kim crossed her arms. “And you just happened to be saving this for a rainy day?”81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeopl2wNqkb
“No. I was saving it for the right pressure point.”81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzcRPTmV6eL
Seline reached into her sweater pocket and tapped a folded sheet. Thick. A printout? A photo?81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgg7wKD4Qvv
“You help me shut this down — expose Mercy, burn the tunnels, force Naomi to act — and you’ll get the truth about what Juma’s really doing when he says he’s ‘off-grid.’”81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS6D6uuKuLZ
The corridor felt suddenly colder. Kim stared at the folded paper, then at Seline’s face. Not smug. Not even manipulative. Just… determined.81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡomO6DpgH21
Like a girl who had once been close to Mercy. Like a girl who knew betrayal personally — and intended to weaponize it back.81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtqEE3HofTl
“You don’t even care about Naomi,” Kim said.81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLHdLU2uHIw
Seline’s voice softened. “I care about not being erased.”81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUMtrcDSYEd
When Kim returned to her desk in the class, there was another mystery to follow waiting up on her.81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ61xgdhF97G
There was no envelope.81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXTcVDCZ7NV
Just a folded note, slipped between the spine of Kim’s literature textbook and the dusty edge of her locker wall.81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsYZBDGKy2v
She knew it was Shiko’s. The paper was squared at the corners. Neat. Dry. No handwriting on the outside. Just careful silence.81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkSaDzQz1EM
Inside, a short message:81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtou66oS5hD
“Meet at Science Week’s midnight demonstration. No one else. No delay.”81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKV1W3XX6ay
— S81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWaI3qhkz7c
Kim stared at the paper, rereading the curves in the "S" — round and sharp in the way only Shiko's handwriting ever was.81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxcMo4V5CN1
She folded it twice and slipped it into her sock.81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9enh7A5R1Q
Outside, thunder rolled low and slow across the lake.81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg940KANwXP
If Seline was a warning... Shiko was a reminder:81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9Tn63zlS9Q
She wasn’t alone.
*****81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsfPw0g0whm
Naomi’s heels echoed unnaturally down the corridor.81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjQfnyOzmna
She didn’t bark orders. She never had to.81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRBmYthBg4u
Two junior prefects flanked her, carrying empty crates. She stopped at the lab entrance and waited until the girls looked up from the bench.81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEuaKxnTMCX
“New directive from the principal,” Naomi said evenly. “All ultraviolet lighting equipment is to be removed from the lab facilities effective immediately.”81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHsPBrgHdQU
Mary blinked. “Why?”81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8P0NfDIlRO
Naomi held up the clipboard. “Cited: potential risk of chemical interactions. Some of these lamps are over a decade old. Filaments cracking. Possible mercury leaks.”81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhxbmATgV8I
June stepped forward. “That’s never been a concern before.”81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyT0jiYZ8XG
Naomi raised an eyebrow. “Well, it is now.”81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡio2nB3ewYW
As the juniors moved through the cupboards, one lifting the dusty UV lamp from the back shelf, Mary and June exchanged a look.81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmdBpAzOh2Y
This wasn’t about safety. This was about control.81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy9qHz02PxV
Naomi didn’t glance at the blueprint folder tucked beneath Mary’s stack of textbooks — but her silence was surgical. Her eyes landed on it. Briefly. Knowing.81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ7w2m44AUR
Then she turned to go.81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcB6am1nsHx
“If you need light,” she said over her shoulder, “try daylight.”81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjqTy37ddqP
The door clicked shut behind her.81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI0haqWBtH7
Mary’s fingers dug into the edge of the desk.81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡynXb3aOnlc
“She knows,” she whispered.81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpEpqnU5UPi
June stared at the door. “She doesn’t know everything.”81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZfG4F00gxb
Mary hesitated. “Should we tell Kim?”81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIjfKJ4mX6U
June exhaled.81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF4B59u37yh
“No. Not yet. Not until we find the crypt entrance ourselves.”81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9XTSlrHBcD
She picked up the blueprint sketch, gently smoothed the corner, and whispered under her breath:81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡavmOX7Zj6G
“We don't need light. We need memory.”
******81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrpHGR60Ey1
Juma paced just outside the back stage canopy, fists in his jacket pockets. He could feel Jabari before he saw him.81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRErOC8E1PL
“You’re late,” Juma muttered.81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2C11203Nxa
“You followed me,” Jabari replied calmly.81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWp6VpNV5L4
Juma stepped forward. “You’re walking into a trap. Mercy isn’t just planting symbols — she’s turning them into a net. And Naomi doesn’t see it.”81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKf8BJYvZop
Jabari’s voice was cold. “Neither did you, until you saw the card.”81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGIKwyttNA3
Juma’s jaw clenched. “This isn’t about who saw what first. It’s about stopping a collapse. Tonight. In the chapel.”81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcx4tPDtnIe
Jabari finally turned, locking eyes.81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNYpujWx647
“Then let’s collapse it before she does.”
Beneath the science wing on the girls’ side, Kim and Shiko crouched behind the old reagent shed.81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBxhzpOlnbn
Shiko passed her the flashlight. “If the crypt’s real, it has to open from somewhere near the annex sub-basement. The original plans placed the drain gate there.”81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvbWLVSBInY
Kim stared at her. “You sound like you’ve been practicing this.”81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSCdgX7haED
Shiko gave a faint grin. “You’re not the only one who gets notes.”81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8sJAm10uav
Kim unfolded hers again: “Midnight. Come quiet.”81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT2FTCJvRwd
There had been no signature — but the direction had been clear. The trap wasn’t just Mercy’s.81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNl336Wfbib
Someone was planning to stop it.81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡms8AiIrBRr
They were just making sure someone else survived it.81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuiIRyAwCqH
At 12:06 a.m., while students at the science demo lit hydrogen bubbles and experimented with heat coils, four shadows moved in four separate arcs: Jabari and Juma, slipping behind the stage, through the external water tank corridor. Kim and Shiko, looping behind the incinerator shed toward the chapel annex. Mercy, already beneath the chapel, lighting her candle, placing the final lock in the metal gate.81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXY6ySeFiAY
And somewhere else — Seline, watching from above the science dome, her eyes flickering with a phone she shouldn’t have had.81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5Hw4rwAAZV
Jabari reached the tunnel grate first.81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPcEZfwSA2h
Juma slipped beside him, passing the folded metal rod they’d stashed days ago. Together, for once, they said nothing.81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsFAofxzikA
Inside the tunnel — faint blue paint glowed at the seams.81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9C91cMA6F1
The glyph for “complete.”81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOFtmVfXtnU
Mercy had finished the sequence.81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbAOaEhjFA4
On the girls’ side, Kim reached into the drain gate.81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDKuNzQDA8u
Shiko crouched beside her, prying open a rusted latch.81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDq3g7hV2Kt
Below them, the faint sound of a click echoed.81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgGgHtdE7bs
A door opened.
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