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.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTuj82XiNQN
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.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN24COoeUcE
She spread the black card across the dissection tray — the one Mercy had retrieved from the chapel and handed over without explanation.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbNb9a1zDxs
“You know how to look,” Mercy had whispered. “So look.”87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmaG6egdgEq
So Mary did. At first, nothing.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7Q9vpo8QDR
Then the ink shifted — faint glowing threads emerging beneath the card’s surface. The lines curled, widened, and gradually began to form structure.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlOIlYHN4E3
It wasn’t art. It was architecture.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv2iGesMDeh
A floor plan. 87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxJUOPSVPve
June leaned in over her shoulder. “That’s not just the chapel…”87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ98DCf0YlKx
Mary nodded. “That’s the tunnel system.”87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡliCDc2WQuy
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:87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdCFnbjjktq
C.9 – Cryptus Sacrum.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlgIiEikDiI
Mary’s breath caught.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMAWuwyk1Wc
“The chapel has a crypt,” she whispered.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2HNKrWXlHL
June’s eyes narrowed. “No one’s spoken about that since Mercy’s expulsion.”87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQCIS9wnZ4D
“No one dared,” Mary replied.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYzyZ2npsZ4
In the bottom left corner of the blueprint, another glow began to rise beneath the UV:87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqwTq2jpxAS
“Begin from what you buried.”87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡthPVdNWqsI
— M.O.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGkBTmeoppT
June stepped back slightly. “She’s not just reactivating the tunnels. She’s trying to pull us back in.”87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLvtpM3Pi6L
Mary nodded slowly. “Or she never left.”87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaTE9BaJY6v
For the first time in weeks, June didn’t know which side she was on.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJL3cXi1m9T
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.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4V9jHODBwB
And June had always preferred sharp things to dull ones.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWWgIEi3AAO
She looked at Mary, who was still tracing the lines of the blueprint with a gloved fingertip.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwp0VQcHVFO
“If that’s real,” June whispered, “then we’ve never actually been above ground.”
*****87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdeydfyaYnS
Kim didn’t look up when June sat down beside her.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjws3EUXF00
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.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRutBdB2l2P
June broke the silence.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPG5WYSXfvI
“You were right about her.”87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOAS9EaQxa5
Kim turned. “Mercy?”87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHjDSZ45MoB
June nodded; her voice taut. “She doesn’t want power back. She wants the Order buried.”87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGqRGufIsIx
Kim closed her notebook slowly. “What did you find?”87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjnMZbErv6f
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.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI1QuJC2x97
“Three verticals,” June whispered. “Three prefects. Mercy’s way of marking a trap.”87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXnjzZcOrEF
Kim stared. “You’re sure?”87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ54ZCEqjUOD
“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.”87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQv1sRvFI52
Kim traced one of the drawn lines with her finger.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjVhsCzV3iW
“She’s not exposing history,” she said slowly. “She’s rewriting it.”87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRu1Z4B3KP2
June leaned forward.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsrNRkMC9Vx
“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.”87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4wYYBGUEVB
Kim gave a small, tired laugh. “You sound like Shiko.”87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuEQ2Em5LMD
“No. Shiko’s a scout. You’re a witness.”87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmt6LGRpyiv
June paused, then added softly:87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLWefsUrViS
“I don’t want to be part of burying people. Not even Naomi.”
They sat in silence for a moment, petals collecting like snow.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs8ZFViHuSk
Then Kim asked, “What do you want me to do?”87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMAVk95NHkV
June looked up. Her voice was quieter now. Less prefect. More person.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIPZ3rAu6mH
“If anything happens in the crypt... if I can’t stop it... you tell the others. Shiko. Seline. Even Jabari, if you have to.”87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGk8N8RCn84
Kim stared at her. “That could expose you.”87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe8KD2gcCgl
June nodded once.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGAaziJdSpC
“Better me than them.”
*****87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtdsXxYUubp
The corridor was nearly empty when Seline appeared.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1hlndGHmeN
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.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGJlwEwa4e7
“You’ve been busy.”87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSR1OAYORGD
Kim turned slowly, not startled — just tired.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWC7acxLLib
“So have you.”87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwP3abJe2Br
Seline’s eyes were cold, but not cruel.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeeGHm8ZZQO
“Let’s skip the pretend part.”87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYqyQUh5YMo
Kim raised an eyebrow. “Which part?”87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7J9DQuxFqx
“The part where you pretend, you’re not helping Mercy. Or June. Or whoever it is this week.”87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXhc903g5Q0
Kim closed her locker slowly. “I’m not helping anyone. I’m trying to understand what’s happening.”87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7w9tHrs17T
“That’s exactly what makes you useful.”87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzETqdSLsYz
Seline stepped closer, her voice low and measured.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRRc8tughsc
“Help me expose Mercy before this thing in the chapel happens — and I’ll show you something.”87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAYblKTKXOW
Kim didn’t move. “Something about Juma.”87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ46boCiovie
That stopped her.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMgAvm29EGr
“Juma?” she said, sharper than she meant.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5p0N0j91x0
Seline nodded. “Something you’ve clearly been dancing around since last term. Don’t look so surprised, Kim. You don’t hide infatuation well.”87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAnd9ejFWBq
Kim crossed her arms. “And you just happened to be saving this for a rainy day?”87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqkhh3AUvhQ
“No. I was saving it for the right pressure point.”87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIBOKTlszai
Seline reached into her sweater pocket and tapped a folded sheet. Thick. A printout? A photo?87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2bgvWSNgOH
“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.’”87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc74RAF9QZq
The corridor felt suddenly colder. Kim stared at the folded paper, then at Seline’s face. Not smug. Not even manipulative. Just… determined.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzEdKKWxRJ6
Like a girl who had once been close to Mercy. Like a girl who knew betrayal personally — and intended to weaponize it back.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWkFzymPA0x
“You don’t even care about Naomi,” Kim said.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZQcAHHtW8r
Seline’s voice softened. “I care about not being erased.”87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpGpPAhsRnJ
When Kim returned to her desk in the class, there was another mystery to follow waiting up on her.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1xagPCF20y
There was no envelope.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7sQg9ZfqGC
Just a folded note, slipped between the spine of Kim’s literature textbook and the dusty edge of her locker wall.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeCqMaD2AXf
She knew it was Shiko’s. The paper was squared at the corners. Neat. Dry. No handwriting on the outside. Just careful silence.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdGZEkiyU1Q
Inside, a short message:87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqLbco4LGFg
“Meet at Science Week’s midnight demonstration. No one else. No delay.”87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK2vwGpSsP5
— S87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnTrSTiTHIk
Kim stared at the paper, rereading the curves in the "S" — round and sharp in the way only Shiko's handwriting ever was.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwJZ6fi4fgt
She folded it twice and slipped it into her sock.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmiwGlWwBos
Outside, thunder rolled low and slow across the lake.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLrHccOHVoV
If Seline was a warning... Shiko was a reminder:87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAJDtiEFiUa
She wasn’t alone.
*****87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmA0jxTZ3V1
Naomi’s heels echoed unnaturally down the corridor.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2xKuX56LRD
She didn’t bark orders. She never had to.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOZ0LkneaPu
Two junior prefects flanked her, carrying empty crates. She stopped at the lab entrance and waited until the girls looked up from the bench.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKP9P9vRoyO
“New directive from the principal,” Naomi said evenly. “All ultraviolet lighting equipment is to be removed from the lab facilities effective immediately.”87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFscUFfXZUk
Mary blinked. “Why?”87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC3BopwEPcT
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.”87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlNez1wfPYN
June stepped forward. “That’s never been a concern before.”87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzp4wXUxX4Y
Naomi raised an eyebrow. “Well, it is now.”87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8ZI4iMJHJd
As the juniors moved through the cupboards, one lifting the dusty UV lamp from the back shelf, Mary and June exchanged a look.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJZONXmZHMD
This wasn’t about safety. This was about control.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJYfjou7tIJ
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.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoroDm3Wb1u
Then she turned to go.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCjnD7r4Qtn
“If you need light,” she said over her shoulder, “try daylight.”87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOZ9K7KZrzI
The door clicked shut behind her.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1nl0fgfBg0
Mary’s fingers dug into the edge of the desk.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSbMit4kUB7
“She knows,” she whispered.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFeUlS3FJhR
June stared at the door. “She doesn’t know everything.”87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOPJ4U4yyc9
Mary hesitated. “Should we tell Kim?”87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAbM79UBNOK
June exhaled.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKevZ0iRWN3
“No. Not yet. Not until we find the crypt entrance ourselves.”87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjiCDlBKiik
She picked up the blueprint sketch, gently smoothed the corner, and whispered under her breath:87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMY2rkYwOPx
“We don't need light. We need memory.”
******87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlbqydtWQwr
Juma paced just outside the back stage canopy, fists in his jacket pockets. He could feel Jabari before he saw him.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu62R7LXo3I
“You’re late,” Juma muttered.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1338taxh5W
“You followed me,” Jabari replied calmly.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoKsf3YyFaj
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.”87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtWpjcSDCaC
Jabari’s voice was cold. “Neither did you, until you saw the card.”87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHDdCcoKGIy
Juma’s jaw clenched. “This isn’t about who saw what first. It’s about stopping a collapse. Tonight. In the chapel.”87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY3QAPIYVLG
Jabari finally turned, locking eyes.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb12LvoJkZp
“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.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRpS4Sm0pMn
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.”87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9OC6eCVcIB
Kim stared at her. “You sound like you’ve been practicing this.”87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1a9jWmHLS9
Shiko gave a faint grin. “You’re not the only one who gets notes.”87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡENEX08QEXN
Kim unfolded hers again: “Midnight. Come quiet.”87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUCXrV64dWu
There had been no signature — but the direction had been clear. The trap wasn’t just Mercy’s.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsFGEweP7ww
Someone was planning to stop it.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCCtzSMHLsb
They were just making sure someone else survived it.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjjHW56yorM
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.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3G1A5D10yo
And somewhere else — Seline, watching from above the science dome, her eyes flickering with a phone she shouldn’t have had.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJJ84WyZM4w
Jabari reached the tunnel grate first.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPRwhFt68gI
Juma slipped beside him, passing the folded metal rod they’d stashed days ago. Together, for once, they said nothing.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLdmqn2VonA
Inside the tunnel — faint blue paint glowed at the seams.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlKOFVvocU0
The glyph for “complete.”87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3fK6HTgthg
Mercy had finished the sequence.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYwzSedosmU
On the girls’ side, Kim reached into the drain gate.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1d0SGCM1xy
Shiko crouched beside her, prying open a rusted latch.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcHFN6Kr45b
Below them, the faint sound of a click echoed.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnk9fDc40Fe
A door opened.
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