The quad glittered in moonlight and kerosene halos. Stalls shimmered under makeshift LEDs. Tinny speakers blared distorted jazz as projectors looped grainy experiments on white bedsheets.88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXyOWulsqP0
Juma hated this kind of show — too bright, too scripted. But it made for the perfect cover.88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0Dxf6mMG5q
“Everyone’s looking up,” he whispered.88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnWvEAzXcf1
“No one sees what we’re pinning to their legs.”88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcHmT0K1MPn
Jabari didn’t smile.88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrKZtgRyAUc
He reached into his backpack and pulled out a rolled poster, smooth and stiff. Thick matte ink on thick gray stock.88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlZgNxflseG
ORDER OVER INSURRECTION88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDHUGk8qoCP
A white wing over a fractured flame.88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi0Zgi1E7qi
They walked slowly, calmly — like any two team leads reviewing tech projects. But every ten steps, they pinned a new poster to the underside of a demo tent. To a light pole. To the back of a wooden bench.88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8MbIVXJ2ew
Four in total. No more. Enough to seed rumor, not provoke response.88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhTmgZ4OtDx
They weren’t messages for students.88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJMjBogf4ID
They were warnings for the Shadow Walkers. The fractured flame was Mercy’s old signal — twisted now. The white wing was the Order’s ghost — not yet dead.88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxIJPgz0JNF
Juma stuck the last one behind the water distillation tent, where he knew Ayo used to scout during Fire Theory projects. Jabari paused beside the herb garden exhibit and looked around at the swirling bodies of boys and girls in scattered uniforms.88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLeRAASldhm
He whispered:88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYiIHOPEACD
“She wanted an audience. Let’s give her one.”88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6gWWa92Wc4
Behind the hydroponics dome, a girl in Kisumu Girls' tracksuit lowered her phone quietly. Her name wasn’t known to either of them.88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtZvRKf9mqu
But the notification she sent was clear:88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj0y84gXhqQ
“The birds are flying banners again. Mercy will see.”
*****88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbbUGpYocIi
The crypt door had always been heavy — metal, groaning, older than the last three headteachers combined. But now it swung easily on oiled hinges — prepped, ready, hungry.88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjJL0ZZdZla
Inside, Jabari and Juma moved fast, pushing through ankle-deep water that had begun pooling around the eastern wall.88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtP5vwnjUeB
“This isn't just a chamber,” Juma snapped. “It’s a channel.”88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡux8jHBSFCm
Jabari knelt, ran his fingers across the grooves in the floor. “It connects to the borehole line. It was always part of the filtration system — just repurposed.”88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbwAOlrvksk
Repurposed by whom?88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBIhZ6WpCpM
By Mercy.88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSBfN2gCjqU
Atop the hidden stairway, two girls in Kisumu Girls’ jackets stood in silence.88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAXwHaZGOqV
One wore Mercy’s old prefect sash — though no one had given it to her.88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiuCL3AYeg8
The other held the key.88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe36Hoh6AKD
She waited exactly until her watch ticked to 12:17 a.m.88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTEkp7NImqQ
Then she slid the bolt home and turned it once.88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgpnOhimBxH
Click.88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi0D7FmGHNB
The girls didn’t laugh. Didn’t speak.88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO6WgWWs95Q
They simply walked away.88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm2R2Pd7Lfc
Jabari’s light flickered.88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWNbbzROx7r
He and Juma reached the far side — a rusted metal ladder leading up toward the chapel’s north vestibule — welded shut from above.88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKYwBIZdo0s
“She locked us in,” Jabari said.88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCqIi60rNIE
Juma stared at the water now reaching his shins. “That’s not the problem.”88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1unbDcDXWs
The sound came next — not fast, not crashing.88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5oMSZkubE8
A slow gurgle. A hiss.88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCFaudiv9Id
Then the unmistakable suction of redirected flow.88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhrIMLdzXRe
Juma turned to Jabari.88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmPm9zFbZsj
“She's opened the borehole line.”88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiNn2UuJGqJ
And sure enough, behind the sealed hatch, where the borehole channel fed under the school… the grate now trembled.88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtaQq4KVXCY
Then the water began to rise.88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡas9EPZzAg9
From the high choir loft, Mercy stood silent, eyes calm, watching the stained glass as shadows shifted across it.88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ19m5DduTHk
Behind her, a girl whispered, “They’re in.”88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5K1yMLIV4V
Mercy didn’t reply at first. Then:88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1rAm8n5AaX
“They came looking for a lie. Let them leave soaked in truth.”88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjJO1fGsayG
She turned away and walked down the spiral staircase, vanishing into the dark.88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq6ISDwpfNr
The water rose like a slow betrayal.88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBCQHra24HH
Jabari tried to brace the base of the ladder, but the surface slicked too fast. Juma had begun stacking the crates beneath the wall vents, but none led out.88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlewwKfOvBG
Then — a sound.88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ831CNqgmYE
Bang. Bang. Clank.88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMZetvVBaTc
A screech of iron echoed from behind the north wall.88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNvvmLmpRL9
Juma froze. “Did you hear that?”88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPwIbKDCWEy
Clank. Slam.88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFFOUmetMNi
Then a voice, muffled by metal and rage:88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4Qt7Keav1j
“Get back!”88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOuVAuHPt1Z
Suddenly, the side grate at floor level buckled inward — then burst open with a thundercrack of rust and rock. Water whooshed sideways, funneling out violently, pulling ankle-deep current toward the now-gaping vent.88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV4x5i4RpAP
And through the water— Musa crawled through.88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkewkFiuvWF
Soaked. Grit-covered. Grinning like a man who had wrestled a pipe system and won.88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNA5GJPQw2j
“I told you I was the better swimmer,” he coughed.88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGvpdwakvYz
As the water drained and light returned, Juma leaned against the far wall, breathing hard.88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWJHbaCQOJj
“We were seconds from blacking out.”88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAMV2oQtSro
Jabari, still quiet, turned his torch toward the south chamber — a small alcove half-submerged behind a collapsed marble panel.88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt6O7mq7z7g
Musa followed his gaze. “What’s that?”88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw9ipQjtQ5U
They stepped forward slowly. Beneath the now-drained floor, the shape of something metallic gleamed behind a decorative grate. Jabari crouched, pulled at the frame — it came loose with a groan.88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwdlwzWHBRi
Behind it, half-sunken and chained inside a rusted cage:88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxtFoNxDsTf
Three black ledger boxes, stamped with faded silver initials: “M.O.”88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAxJOO65DHz
Juma slowly unlocked one latch. Inside: letters, class registers, intercepted prefect reports, old Order rosters — all annotated in Mercy’s handwriting.88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8RN5UNUjZz
Jabari picking one up and reading aloud:88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb87jvIuNpz
“She was never exiled. She was buried.”88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6d6EnjUvIl
Musa whispered “She didn’t build a trap. She built an archive.”88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt1fY0TGJhr
Ayo appeared at the crypt entrance as Jabari flipped through the first ledger. No fanfare. No announcement. Just his shadow crossing the old candlelight, face unreadable.88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxICHgPcQbZ
Jabari looked up sharply.88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuVANu6tA07
“You followed us.”88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7HodmUjFLk
Ayo didn’t nod. Didn’t deny it. Instead, he stepped forward, knelt beside the third box — and picked it up carefully, like it might bite.88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCmegG8ccmj
“You need this one,” he said. “It’s the only one with dates after Mercy’s expulsion.”88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9zTtTbiVQd
Juma narrowed his eyes. “Why help us?”88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKHaoMfR6zR
Ayo hesitated, then looked directly at Jabari.88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXb9FFoAbUG
“Because I’ve seen what Kwame would do with it.88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOozfIxNVRQ
The silence cracked with the sound of metal boots on water-slick stone.88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDaaknfWDY8
Otieno, lean and quiet, stepped through the broken wall entrance where Musa had forced the grate. He didn’t look surprised to find them. He didn’t speak. He simply walked forward, reached into the cage, and took the second box.88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJQoGfHmSdL
The one marked “Staff Correspondences: 2007–2014.”88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS9N3bntS0Y
Jabari stood. “What are you doing?”88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI7bQcNy3Rz
Otieno held his gaze. “You know I follow the truth.”88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzjjI5T2Mfm
Then turned and walked out — no rush, no guilt.88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡadqFsBuevA
One box in Jabari’s hands. One box in Ayo’s grip. One box now leaving with Otieno.88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbGaNXLLxBX
Musa broke the silence.88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9q0U7sEKKc
“That’s it, then. The lines are drawn.”88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWTuRBLPbvP
Juma added, “And Mercy didn’t even have to choose sides. She just lit the match.”88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhcNnSlFnJq
Jabari watched Otieno disappear into the crypt tunnel, Ayo still standing beside him, conflicted but present.88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlGVcJlJzcC
Musa whispered, “This isn't just about the wall anymore. This is a war over what gets remembered.”
******88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp794ux6qBd
The video was less than ninety seconds long.88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBo8nGWNa79
It had no watermark. No source. But it found its way into every inbox in the Kisumu Central Education Circuit — sent from a dead address once used for prefect newsletters.88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR0KlHbPz32
The screen opened on dim light, stone, water glinting along the floor like liquid glass.88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLQhTvWUQJN
The voice was unmistakable.88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeatDReux4Y
“This is what they called leadership. This is what they built walls to protect. Jabari’s Order — drowning in Mercy’s revenge.”88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9UD6uB5JAV
The footage cut quickly — glimpses of the crypt, soaked boys in Kisumu boys uniform, flooded ankles, two figures dragging themselves out, torchlight flickering like panic.88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ47p4XHtRY6
Then:88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv7lB6nrsaQ
Freeze frame.88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2bD0wMf3yP
Jabari, back turned, lifting a rusted ledger box.88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTdI3Jc0ecB
The words flashed over the image in blood-red type:88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLCdWVhCZjz
"The Order is underwater."88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoAo39wNDsN
Then black.88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVoynle1eek
By 7:00 a.m., the dorm corridors buzzed like electric wires.88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVjhM1Gy6mi
“Who recorded it? There are no phones allowed—how did it get out? Was it staged? Is Mercy back? Was the flooding real?”88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUKVs4Dy7Nv
In the Kisumu Girls library, Shiko watched Kim watching the terminal.88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvPNyEdJ7ih
“That’s the tunnel. That’s the crypt,” Kim whispered. And that—is a declaration.”88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKQbh6W8HH9
Behind the AV club at Maseno school, two junior Shadow Walkers shut down their old relay laptop — wired into the school’s forgotten printer line, a hidden broadcast node Mercy herself once rigged in her second year.88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡig52MsO4gF
Kwame stood outside, eyes on the sky, arms folded.88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvXZ4LznFzN
He didn’t need a phone.88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPEDW3zXrhB
He just needed a network Mercy built…and a reason to set it on fire.
**********88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡosS6E8gnBQ
June pushed the heavy doors open just as Mary arrived from the science wing.88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSmGV7yguRh
“The boys have seen it?”88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4XElIuKLVF
“Everyone has.”88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡARSp84SihP
Kim entered last, silent.88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIBoQk1O6Uj
Shiko hovered in the corridor, uninvited but listening.88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYPl5t4OoHK
On the old Order wall board, Naomi stood still.88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9EP0Prt89l
Below her — pinned with blue tacks — were printed stills from the Kwame video. One showed the crypt grate. Another, Jabari holding the ledger.88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDogripzWrt
“This wasn’t Mercy’s trap anymore,” Naomi said quietly.88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMVSw2I1KE9
“It was her signal.”88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdaMCv3JsuO
Naomi turned to them — prefects.88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSh8cSZCQzo
“There’s at least one ledger still moving. Probably being moved to St. Theresa’s. Possibly Maseno.”88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7PMUCU7zLG
Mary stepped forward. “So, what do we do?”88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOLTNJn0a3i
Naomi tapped the board.88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2HEeVoZX5E
“We don’t chase her legacy. We protect ours. Lock down the Hall. Triple-lock the Prefects’ Archive. And find the girl carrying the ledger.”88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqgriqdWeQe
June’s voice was cold.88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFauCgKfM4t
“You think Mercy would use one of us?”88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡexm48812Tn
Naomi didn’t blink.88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCIRVVowZ9O
“Mercy doesn’t use people. She recruits them.”88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAtGKEiBN8W
The girls split into teams. June and Mary to the Greenhouse Tunnel, checking Mercy’s known exits. Seline, assigned to patrol around the west dorms, but already planning her own detour. Shiko, pretending to go to class, slips Kim a folded message:88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5nRAWAAC2B
“Don’t trust who enters first. Trust who stays behind.”88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKY534b1f88
The Order Hall is locked though Naomi stays inside, assembling the remaining cipher logs and pulling names off Mercy’s old class rosters.88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDgWN8u55nG
Outside the campus fence line, under a tree heavy with wet blossoms, a junior form walks fast — a duffel bag over her shoulder. Her name is not known. But inside the bag is a ledger box, sealed with black tape.88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFsQU1tyOZA
She has only one instruction:88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKSA28cNNmh
“Deliver it by dusk. If you’re stopped — deny you ever knew.”
88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7aB1Xege5q
88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjXuMWkC6mx
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