June wasn’t a morning person.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDm7Faav13n
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.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxzJrAhdoeb
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.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYoOJSlD9jL
That’s when they saw it.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgGBObtI5iW
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.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfOvnnXl8sJ
Mary stopped. “Is that… paint?”84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb6LntMy00f
June knelt beside it, heart thudding. “No. It’s ink.”84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVM4SzVZZr3
They exchanged a look.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1Qh2fgBios
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.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt2d7DxPZ1d
“She’s back,” Mary whispered.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUAu5iFMobf
“She never left,” June replied.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvMB3KcPjaz
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.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4SGbUPG1Oy
Mary’s voice dropped. “You think she’s starting something again?”84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxFO61X8Ftr
June stood, jaw tightening. “No. She’s continuing something.”84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxB9DIWZN85
The ink hadn’t been meant for teachers. It hadn’t even been meant for the Order.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2wDPEcgP1D
It had been meant for someone who would recognize it without explanation.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZgjy7bwPJk
That was the Mercy they remembered.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYNG87t7uTZ
Unknown to them, a few meters away, Seline crouched behind the east-facing banana trees, watching.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpJoMpxFMW1
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.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCRAD3CUK5X
Her eyes narrowed as she saw the girls staring at the inked arc.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFbPkUQ6g9v
She couldn’t hear what they were saying. But she saw the shift in their stances.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7rHfvSVKMr
Saw the fear. The recognition.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiIZiVpfQkT
And she saw the way June instinctively placed herself between the mark and the morning sun—as if shielding it from exposure.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlu8FcllYEt
That was all Seline needed. She moved with quiet steps and a patient breath.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAtbXMiuKkY
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.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrgpAu7PPuG
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.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxQz3fAXIvQ
Of course it was blue. Mercy’s old color. Mercy’s old tricks. Mercy’s old arrogance.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjFQ8J24qhw
Seline reached for her journalism club sanctioned phone, snapped a photo, and opened a blank message window.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPm81xuPmm1
She didn’t write much.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjLnCqrAB1z
"The serpent returns."84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6Cr7LLN17m
She didn’t sign it. She didn’t need to. She hit send.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh2NH7hvJL6
The recipient was someone who’d once told her: "Mercy doesn't leave trails. She leaves traps that look like invitations."84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvEoMmcEFEW
Maybe it was time they set one of their own.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ46I3FJY6kx
Cutaway: Unknown Recipient (unseen, unnamed)84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGRmAXBNVaa
A buzz.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNRnf3ah4PR
A photo.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnIO7xWWGQ7
A phrase:84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF33CdbnKbL
“The serpent returns.”84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnmHyEKujVP
A pair of fingers opened the image, zoomed in on the blue arc, the shadow of the borehole behind it.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDpZwF9XiTL
A slow breath.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDfN5MJRUrj
No reply.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGLPSTIiWXW
Just movement.
***84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt3hEbmck8Y
Later that day, Kim sat beneath the loquat tree in the back field, sketching the mark from memory.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLPIvb5CR2g
Shiko had redrawn the same on her book. “June found it first. Mary confirmed it was Mercy’s shade.”84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0R1yG5UyF0
Kim nodded slowly.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6uXz8cBLF5
“I’ve seen that curve,” she murmured. “On a stone. The night the boys crossed.”84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlug6lt7K4e
Shiko tilted her head. “You think it’s connected?”84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhdpmuwiF5U
Kim didn’t answer. But her mind whispered the name she hadn’t said aloud in weeks: Juma.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIwwmdx73G5
Whatever had passed between them—coded notes, fleeting messages, near-meetings—was now moving again. And it wasn’t just because of the Order.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1lzFsTkRjq
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.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡktrE8URdT4
“This,” she said, “is not art. And anyone found tampering with shared spaces will face full investigation.”84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ5yx6S2JzG
Her voice dropped lower.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeLanSoN1UR
“This school is no longer for games.”84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKAuePnFWGe
But June, watching from the fourth row, wasn’t convinced. Because Mercy never played games. Mercy built puzzles.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ3mF2ARokj
And this was her first piece.
*****84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgN58AXpiBH
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.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsPBCDW3wxV
“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.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkNINE5HbXE
Mary leaned in. “You think it’s a pattern?”84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFD0KFHAOet
“I think it’s a cipher.”84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbVM1hRNoRg
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.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFQwj0FPmNR
One matched the ink from the borehole exactly.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7z61HAZaLg
But only if rotated ninety degrees.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3sIYHJhn3p
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.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH7xxnCMOE2
June slowly copied it onto the desk’s surface with a whiteboard marker.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO3zkADEtEd
F O L L O W W A T E R T O T R U T H84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlc7Yukk6HA
Mary exhaled. “It’s a phrase.”84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7QrullB6Fu
“No, it’s a directive,” June said. “And Mercy never gave those lightly.”84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ052oA9SKj8
“Water…” Mary looked up. “The borehole?”84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVuYxnYHyav
June nodded. “And the old well. The pipes. The drains. All the places no one checks anymore.”84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡANv8mg3JIJ
Mary frowned. “You think she left something there?”84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIJWpOMwkh7
“I think she left everything there.”84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVv34HncXlw
They both went quiet, the weight of it settling in like dusk.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkoIahU5NLb
“We have to go in,” June said, voice quiet but firm.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrC0yqB9Pov
Mary hesitated. “You mean… the tunnels?”84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNyCiULsjKq
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.”84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvnvuMhVecQ
Mary nodded slowly. “Then we follow the water.”
*****84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqSvMfBuElH
Kim almost missed it.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVpJ7KEDmMj
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.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjQTUEOeC17
Then she heard the whisper.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyws8367Btm
A soft scratch beneath her window. Not loud. Not urgent. But intentional.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqxPdNByjJM
She rose slowly and crossed the room, brushing aside the curtain.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlHJWv7Tnx0
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.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbGu8U2j8Uh
Only three words in small, neat, familiar print.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd25r211slZ
“Jabari knows the underground route.”84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRUzvq7RWtO
Kim’s breath caught. Jabari.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMsLnon80Dd
The name pressed itself against her chest like a match waiting for flame. She unfolded the paper again, hands trembling slightly.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXD1VKXrx2C
That handwriting — not quite formal, but precise. The kind of print someone uses when they expect to be read by a rival.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS7EWCbYrNE
There was nothing else. No signature. No mark. No date. Just that line.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsZO2RRYeCd
Her Mind Raced. Why her?84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUYEmV2RpJK
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.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6JJLY3pelC
But still, she couldn’t help wondering: Was it a warning? Or an invitation?84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhV7rhJkcHM
And how did they even know she was connected to him?84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIaWvzTDOfb
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.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX1BULTVt36
She thought about Mercy’s return, the blue ink curling around the borehole like a secret being rehydrated after years in hiding.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG0ieomsAIg
And now this.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy2n4Ba2zzA
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.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbTUtyJceao
It was structure. Not chance. Not coincidence. Someone—or something—was maintaining communication across both schools. Not openly. Not loudly. But quietly. Elegantly.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2Qcu7yhETf
Like a system of secrets. Like a network. Like the Order… or something deeper.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTCUqxRC71h
She looked at the note again, rereading it until her pulse steadied.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzTJbSmUeLc
“Jabari knows the underground route.”84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZeqA8x8uIz
Which meant: Someone knew she was close enough to matter.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK5gmwP1LbY
“If he knows the way beneath the wall… maybe I can finally ask what’s on the other side.”
*****84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb30Dv2zgo5
Shiko watched from the far pew, her breath shallow.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcqb7tzYU1O
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.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoGBTJpfS2k
Two minutes. That’s all Shiko needed.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNDYZn1wkyC
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.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOb6wkYnnq2
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. 84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOzi3bsvdTS
Shiko’s pulse quickened. Seline never left that phone alone.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT2gsNnUCcN
Not unless she was hiding something with it.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKlzBrpN8d4
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.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgr5KvNkbNB
Next: the phone. She slipped it gently from the bag and into the sleeve of her sweater.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmRuczYzhhk
No one noticed.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX6pJJTRk5w
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.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDc9eh1yolW
She slid the phone underneath the shelf and wedged it between two cracked Bibles. Gone.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcMchuksExC
Just in time, the chapel doors opened.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpTJ3wDmiXy
Seline’s voice echoed in before her footsteps did.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLYygNrSNep
“…it’s not about power, it’s about truth. And if they’re hiding anything—”84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD5PEnxAEJA
Shiko was already walking out the opposite side, face composed.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2jBfjAYbEA
She didn’t look back.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv7WEUbGrue
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?84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ57tBaFgV4J
Her stomach turned. Seline hadn’t just been collecting for paranoia. She had a timeline. A target list. A strategy.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ163UzdlAQC
Shiko leaned back and whispered to herself:84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaDXBoQmJ9G
“You’re not just bitter, Seline. You’re playing something bigger.”
*****84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFpiaEothpY
Jabari didn’t bring anyone this time.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeJudoPsagh
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.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiTxKrKuCod
Just space. And answers.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwv8gJWc3Kh
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.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfb1VcAK4JW
He clicked on his torch and descended into the hollow.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0mmVyeX7J9
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.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsjhNY4jISN
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:84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGFkGexBwjE
A curved wing, almost erased. He paused. Not his symbol. Not the Order’s. But somehow… familiar.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡujCHRwJGjf
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.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXzhF4UmL5c
Mary leaned close. “Can you zoom anymore?”84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIBb57nmRRS
The camera flickered slightly, just catching the dim flicker of light beyond the boys’ compound wall. A torch. Moving inside the drain channel.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLlO9lOAGZn
A figure.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBCti8yX8Pq
Alone.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOxz5ke5TGv
June tapped record.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy33tOlhTn5
“That’s Jabari,” she whispered.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDQt9kztOxV
“He’s testing the tunnel.”84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIXVmhH1iZH
Jabari reached a junction where the tunnel split in two — left toward the collapsed pump station, right toward the rumored passage.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXWNCc0Ckyk
He turned right.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS17ryMkOHY
He didn’t know the wall had hairline fissures above ground. He didn’t know someone was filming.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdunk8aBNmy
High above in the broken arch of the greenhouse, three girls stood now — not just Mary and June.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSn354yyooR
One wore a hood. One held a small vial of ink. One, silent, recorded the time.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlI50fekfnF
None of them spoke.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkVWVRWZic0
The light on Jabari’s torch flickered as he passed under a cross-beam marked:84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzJXecAqZlF
"Follow Water to Truth."84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjKpxnXiGcZ
He did.
然後按「加至主畫面」