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.