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.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPSiJVnwihU
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.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdYPnpSHlOy
She spread the black card across the dissection tray — the one Mercy had retrieved from the chapel and handed over without explanation.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEpkDYRiKVo
“You know how to look,” Mercy had whispered. “So look.”84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdiaQV3XgWQ
So Mary did. At first, nothing.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGL1zJyPYFB
Then the ink shifted — faint glowing threads emerging beneath the card’s surface. The lines curled, widened, and gradually began to form structure.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5zFrXdUGbq
It wasn’t art. It was architecture.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCP8YqcJpDm
A floor plan. 84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ65gcYDyBnY
June leaned in over her shoulder. “That’s not just the chapel…”84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYlCTZyr6tM
Mary nodded. “That’s the tunnel system.”84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8060G3eAZU
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:84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXvxde8Jwk6
C.9 – Cryptus Sacrum.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjHlhdUwnab
Mary’s breath caught.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡomZ9hniaL9
“The chapel has a crypt,” she whispered.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2PRcjcxYfm
June’s eyes narrowed. “No one’s spoken about that since Mercy’s expulsion.”84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5k3mzELuvd
“No one dared,” Mary replied.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrnnU1nueQ0
In the bottom left corner of the blueprint, another glow began to rise beneath the UV:84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnhFtH8uIjI
“Begin from what you buried.”84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXuca1zzuNz
— M.O.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx0MA6sWIj9
June stepped back slightly. “She’s not just reactivating the tunnels. She’s trying to pull us back in.”84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG0CEFSk85i
Mary nodded slowly. “Or she never left.”84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8bQcOEVmj4
For the first time in weeks, June didn’t know which side she was on.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdmVozjLV85
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.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡthEOj4sqt0
And June had always preferred sharp things to dull ones.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrCERQqfkv3
She looked at Mary, who was still tracing the lines of the blueprint with a gloved fingertip.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4VB0aEoRht
“If that’s real,” June whispered, “then we’ve never actually been above ground.”
*****84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSqlMnY6Xo3
Kim didn’t look up when June sat down beside her.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSJ05kvE6TU
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.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMKOdlx933Z
June broke the silence.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFB7pdOLsAo
“You were right about her.”84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBMf2GV9Jex
Kim turned. “Mercy?”84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlZRnO1QVjR
June nodded; her voice taut. “She doesn’t want power back. She wants the Order buried.”84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz9cWPtU7DB
Kim closed her notebook slowly. “What did you find?”84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD174mStpdD
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.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ12Wy4y2FCo
“Three verticals,” June whispered. “Three prefects. Mercy’s way of marking a trap.”84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9H3kaG2OMk
Kim stared. “You’re sure?”84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ93aCkqObcE
“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.”84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ71venU4STT
Kim traced one of the drawn lines with her finger.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQpgDsO9iht
“She’s not exposing history,” she said slowly. “She’s rewriting it.”84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOSWvczQ4rb
June leaned forward.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0VxOAXvt8F
“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.”84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ11iChbr3Nr
Kim gave a small, tired laugh. “You sound like Shiko.”84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbUzXAbpPQL
“No. Shiko’s a scout. You’re a witness.”84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvwduxV4vIG
June paused, then added softly:84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqnlvHQxbBc
“I don’t want to be part of burying people. Not even Naomi.”
They sat in silence for a moment, petals collecting like snow.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc85fWBXgUZ
Then Kim asked, “What do you want me to do?”84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB1oGUVM8bp
June looked up. Her voice was quieter now. Less prefect. More person.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡercVCYqiQi
“If anything happens in the crypt... if I can’t stop it... you tell the others. Shiko. Seline. Even Jabari, if you have to.”84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyQSAjniDKe
Kim stared at her. “That could expose you.”84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIIyMm2fZnM
June nodded once.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnJimRNASob
“Better me than them.”
*****84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrLGGdCuve4
The corridor was nearly empty when Seline appeared.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV2h5PaRobq
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.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyS5pduUA1w
“You’ve been busy.”84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYdcEu1c6Tw
Kim turned slowly, not startled — just tired.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6qRnyfHizv
“So have you.”84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8TXKWaq7SH
Seline’s eyes were cold, but not cruel.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgImZWGrJMf
“Let’s skip the pretend part.”84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeRAOhmykvr
Kim raised an eyebrow. “Which part?”84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu9YELQks6H
“The part where you pretend, you’re not helping Mercy. Or June. Or whoever it is this week.”84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRqt3wSsLxq
Kim closed her locker slowly. “I’m not helping anyone. I’m trying to understand what’s happening.”84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTMD4NVfkF1
“That’s exactly what makes you useful.”84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3usVXKO9zU
Seline stepped closer, her voice low and measured.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxS5Mwjech5
“Help me expose Mercy before this thing in the chapel happens — and I’ll show you something.”84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7j6sjbQuyM
Kim didn’t move. “Something about Juma.”84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtvWkfC54d4
That stopped her.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMZbOH5zjik
“Juma?” she said, sharper than she meant.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwRoolbet0B
Seline nodded. “Something you’ve clearly been dancing around since last term. Don’t look so surprised, Kim. You don’t hide infatuation well.”84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5MnJZcSFGT
Kim crossed her arms. “And you just happened to be saving this for a rainy day?”84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1KcFFLIRiQ
“No. I was saving it for the right pressure point.”84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcKmbKc19E3
Seline reached into her sweater pocket and tapped a folded sheet. Thick. A printout? A photo?84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrXXgpxcWLi
“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.’”84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxzkflJAAur
The corridor felt suddenly colder. Kim stared at the folded paper, then at Seline’s face. Not smug. Not even manipulative. Just… determined.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2SwSpSFlGf
Like a girl who had once been close to Mercy. Like a girl who knew betrayal personally — and intended to weaponize it back.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4elvPGvcgA
“You don’t even care about Naomi,” Kim said.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ69oF8jR0ce
Seline’s voice softened. “I care about not being erased.”84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7ycyE8d3Yk
When Kim returned to her desk in the class, there was another mystery to follow waiting up on her.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡemJq5pIKuP
There was no envelope.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhvnCAftgaI
Just a folded note, slipped between the spine of Kim’s literature textbook and the dusty edge of her locker wall.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAXb3KC9qEq
She knew it was Shiko’s. The paper was squared at the corners. Neat. Dry. No handwriting on the outside. Just careful silence.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjbvQFtgqzR
Inside, a short message:84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqep2ne8G62
“Meet at Science Week’s midnight demonstration. No one else. No delay.”84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7Sz84lG0OJ
— S84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw6nNnpIgVR
Kim stared at the paper, rereading the curves in the "S" — round and sharp in the way only Shiko's handwriting ever was.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3lq26jHSuz
She folded it twice and slipped it into her sock.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4KGZrasXLE
Outside, thunder rolled low and slow across the lake.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQgnSAhV5Hv
If Seline was a warning... Shiko was a reminder:84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs1gfYy2IjV
She wasn’t alone.
*****84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM6ftbYTBVH
Naomi’s heels echoed unnaturally down the corridor.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0Z2ZTIpTAB
She didn’t bark orders. She never had to.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT7P8QSvZN0
Two junior prefects flanked her, carrying empty crates. She stopped at the lab entrance and waited until the girls looked up from the bench.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLxqK8xGrsx
“New directive from the principal,” Naomi said evenly. “All ultraviolet lighting equipment is to be removed from the lab facilities effective immediately.”84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5guaaUWYvu
Mary blinked. “Why?”84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSgvN5Q1g9N
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.”84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdVZZEJnoAu
June stepped forward. “That’s never been a concern before.”84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVWK4uhSaal
Naomi raised an eyebrow. “Well, it is now.”84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyj8zUAMMKy
As the juniors moved through the cupboards, one lifting the dusty UV lamp from the back shelf, Mary and June exchanged a look.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyZObxhOxx0
This wasn’t about safety. This was about control.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbBH40H3LKW
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.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL7ppMJusLz
Then she turned to go.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwFi1uQu3iD
“If you need light,” she said over her shoulder, “try daylight.”84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxyb3TNflcW
The door clicked shut behind her.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcUiM9kwynk
Mary’s fingers dug into the edge of the desk.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ709RY83Fe7
“She knows,” she whispered.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFxsx8guFF8
June stared at the door. “She doesn’t know everything.”84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw0mnalCqh5
Mary hesitated. “Should we tell Kim?”84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzcYuHRRSO4
June exhaled.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2rF0lrzVsz
“No. Not yet. Not until we find the crypt entrance ourselves.”84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXqRHTLACwb
She picked up the blueprint sketch, gently smoothed the corner, and whispered under her breath:84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI7JrGF2fVl
“We don't need light. We need memory.”
******84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO97j9qG66X
Juma paced just outside the back stage canopy, fists in his jacket pockets. He could feel Jabari before he saw him.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0Lec8WMSz9
“You’re late,” Juma muttered.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaBCI6JLlsd
“You followed me,” Jabari replied calmly.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmnRok4CgK4
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.”84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB0Zp26ESeE
Jabari’s voice was cold. “Neither did you, until you saw the card.”84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrkoXfAWi4t
Juma’s jaw clenched. “This isn’t about who saw what first. It’s about stopping a collapse. Tonight. In the chapel.”84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7vlvZqGede
Jabari finally turned, locking eyes.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4rRw0C1Gu7
“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.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvQdUT89lY2
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.”84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfDTvNG4rqk
Kim stared at her. “You sound like you’ve been practicing this.”84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8UrTtU5TzU
Shiko gave a faint grin. “You’re not the only one who gets notes.”84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmHFDr27Mzt
Kim unfolded hers again: “Midnight. Come quiet.”84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLjZDKD9xOn
There had been no signature — but the direction had been clear. The trap wasn’t just Mercy’s.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡANRDYNJrUN
Someone was planning to stop it.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBhpW2oP7zK
They were just making sure someone else survived it.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ362Uhfwv85
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.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhCzXw7cmHz
And somewhere else — Seline, watching from above the science dome, her eyes flickering with a phone she shouldn’t have had.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ58JlPPuDVx
Jabari reached the tunnel grate first.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQoMBkbCCqY
Juma slipped beside him, passing the folded metal rod they’d stashed days ago. Together, for once, they said nothing.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ32O1fAZZjX
Inside the tunnel — faint blue paint glowed at the seams.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEhrgS0Seu9
The glyph for “complete.”84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMW4EVWB90E
Mercy had finished the sequence.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡabyOVLEcJ5
On the girls’ side, Kim reached into the drain gate.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqtUyztiBOA
Shiko crouched beside her, prying open a rusted latch.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdS0yQR9pTc
Below them, the faint sound of a click echoed.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGbJo3q8b3X
A door opened.
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