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.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr6D14Hw86s
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.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ23Zd6b4aBF
She spread the black card across the dissection tray — the one Mercy had retrieved from the chapel and handed over without explanation.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBKdxPSZU81
“You know how to look,” Mercy had whispered. “So look.”29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡns4ofbzqb2
So Mary did. At first, nothing.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHZbJMCTi0K
Then the ink shifted — faint glowing threads emerging beneath the card’s surface. The lines curled, widened, and gradually began to form structure.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKLHuXzbZqD
It wasn’t art. It was architecture.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzur2241pPH
A floor plan. 29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDKOWswSaoh
June leaned in over her shoulder. “That’s not just the chapel…”29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZs6ke0lpQA
Mary nodded. “That’s the tunnel system.”29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMg1hZhPmaC
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:29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLgsYIVwoem
C.9 – Cryptus Sacrum.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlQYUkfua1v
Mary’s breath caught.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP06OIBnvKb
“The chapel has a crypt,” she whispered.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0uOVcs1SbG
June’s eyes narrowed. “No one’s spoken about that since Mercy’s expulsion.”29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuKr8Eb5kjE
“No one dared,” Mary replied.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4PAHeGP1VH
In the bottom left corner of the blueprint, another glow began to rise beneath the UV:29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCON1wVXPHS
“Begin from what you buried.”29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ01Cfctjux4
— M.O.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaCwQIwuMpq
June stepped back slightly. “She’s not just reactivating the tunnels. She’s trying to pull us back in.”29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcSUlf52kb2
Mary nodded slowly. “Or she never left.”29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡopAJsfbGuk
For the first time in weeks, June didn’t know which side she was on.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSTqw0cvOEN
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.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ20GNiiv3nj
And June had always preferred sharp things to dull ones.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuYSocelppb
She looked at Mary, who was still tracing the lines of the blueprint with a gloved fingertip.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZUtaoHABHD
“If that’s real,” June whispered, “then we’ve never actually been above ground.”
*****29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBUnU6juCD6
Kim didn’t look up when June sat down beside her.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4touuJMBmK
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.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV2TVUGmMKe
June broke the silence.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiscLT2RCbl
“You were right about her.”29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkJ0MbSsWNw
Kim turned. “Mercy?”29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHGMIGdqnUu
June nodded; her voice taut. “She doesn’t want power back. She wants the Order buried.”29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8Xt1BxEg4t
Kim closed her notebook slowly. “What did you find?”29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLW5NJvcAUO
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.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0mWYKKiOAV
“Three verticals,” June whispered. “Three prefects. Mercy’s way of marking a trap.”29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJHxmBWanKs
Kim stared. “You’re sure?”29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡla3mgQGGrL
“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.”29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMJ5iSq38pl
Kim traced one of the drawn lines with her finger.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpaTH6ATxnH
“She’s not exposing history,” she said slowly. “She’s rewriting it.”29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXMiACvvyon
June leaned forward.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1G7Cgd77Fw
“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.”29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaRHogDoDJ2
Kim gave a small, tired laugh. “You sound like Shiko.”29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9z1lDHJSFE
“No. Shiko’s a scout. You’re a witness.”29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoBmZ60pHVs
June paused, then added softly:29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtDSsg2Wf2V
“I don’t want to be part of burying people. Not even Naomi.”
They sat in silence for a moment, petals collecting like snow.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9cVigxzkPQ
Then Kim asked, “What do you want me to do?”29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXC1xsetm6d
June looked up. Her voice was quieter now. Less prefect. More person.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡII8yre0wuh
“If anything happens in the crypt... if I can’t stop it... you tell the others. Shiko. Seline. Even Jabari, if you have to.”29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡae1neMFm1c
Kim stared at her. “That could expose you.”29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUZS3TeiXfX
June nodded once.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVexXcYMi8M
“Better me than them.”
*****29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhQ6Y87PP9A
The corridor was nearly empty when Seline appeared.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL6LzVJK1VI
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.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGJwdwHVHWc
“You’ve been busy.”29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfH6QjKDRtd
Kim turned slowly, not startled — just tired.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFsUHn2Rvxo
“So have you.”29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡITcJMXFAPU
Seline’s eyes were cold, but not cruel.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtq1DHRYthV
“Let’s skip the pretend part.”29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0Ha5Ij9alc
Kim raised an eyebrow. “Which part?”29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZnIkBFkRsT
“The part where you pretend, you’re not helping Mercy. Or June. Or whoever it is this week.”29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHLOoZW2OTj
Kim closed her locker slowly. “I’m not helping anyone. I’m trying to understand what’s happening.”29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbYI0g8xCVk
“That’s exactly what makes you useful.”29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8cC9DiEGef
Seline stepped closer, her voice low and measured.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD8FUHsy4NQ
“Help me expose Mercy before this thing in the chapel happens — and I’ll show you something.”29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRIGSaGqoeV
Kim didn’t move. “Something about Juma.”29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ19B2jIHW7c
That stopped her.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsZgkRcJzZ3
“Juma?” she said, sharper than she meant.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuE6GLl3toW
Seline nodded. “Something you’ve clearly been dancing around since last term. Don’t look so surprised, Kim. You don’t hide infatuation well.”29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwIUz5xNdQs
Kim crossed her arms. “And you just happened to be saving this for a rainy day?”29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc5sEmzk2bV
“No. I was saving it for the right pressure point.”29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF8AXHmPfh2
Seline reached into her sweater pocket and tapped a folded sheet. Thick. A printout? A photo?29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh1fgNOx7mn
“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.’”29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRXIuP7fbTa
The corridor felt suddenly colder. Kim stared at the folded paper, then at Seline’s face. Not smug. Not even manipulative. Just… determined.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe0m7KmHCVB
Like a girl who had once been close to Mercy. Like a girl who knew betrayal personally — and intended to weaponize it back.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFfQzGR337B
“You don’t even care about Naomi,” Kim said.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdL8AQCAwfa
Seline’s voice softened. “I care about not being erased.”29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH1NFTarXMI
When Kim returned to her desk in the class, there was another mystery to follow waiting up on her.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCaIzYZoMse
There was no envelope.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ0I4hKYsLJ
Just a folded note, slipped between the spine of Kim’s literature textbook and the dusty edge of her locker wall.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMjJrwff5w2
She knew it was Shiko’s. The paper was squared at the corners. Neat. Dry. No handwriting on the outside. Just careful silence.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOg8LkvPwjN
Inside, a short message:29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6WMARppfoV
“Meet at Science Week’s midnight demonstration. No one else. No delay.”29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1mDOAK1J7i
— S29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi7fVn63gK9
Kim stared at the paper, rereading the curves in the "S" — round and sharp in the way only Shiko's handwriting ever was.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhgM5jI2nft
She folded it twice and slipped it into her sock.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWRWVI44WA4
Outside, thunder rolled low and slow across the lake.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMqSHjhnhTZ
If Seline was a warning... Shiko was a reminder:29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiVvBu4VpuU
She wasn’t alone.
*****29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7NmH9xowI0
Naomi’s heels echoed unnaturally down the corridor.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2L59bQwCFq
She didn’t bark orders. She never had to.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWzeRW02866
Two junior prefects flanked her, carrying empty crates. She stopped at the lab entrance and waited until the girls looked up from the bench.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqv00NZhUGU
“New directive from the principal,” Naomi said evenly. “All ultraviolet lighting equipment is to be removed from the lab facilities effective immediately.”29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhNXdR2D1tn
Mary blinked. “Why?”29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡToIxsobvN1
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.”29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMKirxOy2WL
June stepped forward. “That’s never been a concern before.”29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoUHxylIlhR
Naomi raised an eyebrow. “Well, it is now.”29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ73WgCiqpyO
As the juniors moved through the cupboards, one lifting the dusty UV lamp from the back shelf, Mary and June exchanged a look.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPYVGhh3AGg
This wasn’t about safety. This was about control.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMhDrIuDVA1
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.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡugyUMwNFLB
Then she turned to go.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ85VgbtG0HB
“If you need light,” she said over her shoulder, “try daylight.”29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJqe5J8GyeW
The door clicked shut behind her.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx1q1yxrqlr
Mary’s fingers dug into the edge of the desk.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl5lp6KwwI1
“She knows,” she whispered.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH6rIhyNKGf
June stared at the door. “She doesn’t know everything.”29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy4gZWFTuFr
Mary hesitated. “Should we tell Kim?”29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfLOW9SyBuA
June exhaled.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi2sF7s2IhS
“No. Not yet. Not until we find the crypt entrance ourselves.”29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGIfBTCeUKr
She picked up the blueprint sketch, gently smoothed the corner, and whispered under her breath:29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpnjeVXnlod
“We don't need light. We need memory.”
******29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWK9f2Bjowp
Juma paced just outside the back stage canopy, fists in his jacket pockets. He could feel Jabari before he saw him.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmsa5p9AbD9
“You’re late,” Juma muttered.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk46BrKDPUj
“You followed me,” Jabari replied calmly.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvqhQaCRaZI
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.”29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqT3M5sHdcc
Jabari’s voice was cold. “Neither did you, until you saw the card.”29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSDGxmJsL98
Juma’s jaw clenched. “This isn’t about who saw what first. It’s about stopping a collapse. Tonight. In the chapel.”29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFk61gfFpuJ
Jabari finally turned, locking eyes.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCL1WsqzdLz
“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.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTPv4zb1piq
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.”29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLsgoF7M4Rj
Kim stared at her. “You sound like you’ve been practicing this.”29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3qz8KI4gJt
Shiko gave a faint grin. “You’re not the only one who gets notes.”29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu2ant8bwRK
Kim unfolded hers again: “Midnight. Come quiet.”29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXVkRT9ZQjA
There had been no signature — but the direction had been clear. The trap wasn’t just Mercy’s.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2DmMus2oRF
Someone was planning to stop it.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi73gDNVj2U
They were just making sure someone else survived it.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9dMWor2Tp8
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.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTgdes2ptj4
And somewhere else — Seline, watching from above the science dome, her eyes flickering with a phone she shouldn’t have had.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZNAQRNhsSO
Jabari reached the tunnel grate first.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmelws9X2St
Juma slipped beside him, passing the folded metal rod they’d stashed days ago. Together, for once, they said nothing.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPdcuvhrvPG
Inside the tunnel — faint blue paint glowed at the seams.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW6lGsFETHN
The glyph for “complete.”29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ62QVcnzA49
Mercy had finished the sequence.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTAmHPMRi3x
On the girls’ side, Kim reached into the drain gate.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLkGq7GdWMl
Shiko crouched beside her, prying open a rusted latch.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBe5juUIhwD
Below them, the faint sound of a click echoed.29Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7Gr7QCSgka
A door opened.
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