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.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYifAbLeMdd
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.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjbsRWukNfG
She spread the black card across the dissection tray — the one Mercy had retrieved from the chapel and handed over without explanation.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoQSb2QUzwC
“You know how to look,” Mercy had whispered. “So look.”35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCOa0x6UlZo
So Mary did. At first, nothing.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjeUW0u2Jc7
Then the ink shifted — faint glowing threads emerging beneath the card’s surface. The lines curled, widened, and gradually began to form structure.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh1HItBPKI8
It wasn’t art. It was architecture.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDRxOpED8Ss
A floor plan. 35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUe3NyzMJMt
June leaned in over her shoulder. “That’s not just the chapel…”35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB0QjKje5Ol
Mary nodded. “That’s the tunnel system.”35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgrQgKA5859
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:35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUoDmacCOew
C.9 – Cryptus Sacrum.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkboMJE13gW
Mary’s breath caught.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ75SZFbOiaa
“The chapel has a crypt,” she whispered.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR9w2r4gj79
June’s eyes narrowed. “No one’s spoken about that since Mercy’s expulsion.”35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxClFtdsb6M
“No one dared,” Mary replied.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfB3kGlHUQQ
In the bottom left corner of the blueprint, another glow began to rise beneath the UV:35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH0gfZlIwEg
“Begin from what you buried.”35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs47QMOV9yb
— M.O.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpShbudyKPx
June stepped back slightly. “She’s not just reactivating the tunnels. She’s trying to pull us back in.”35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEPf8VAXC5i
Mary nodded slowly. “Or she never left.”35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyYsrfVkluB
For the first time in weeks, June didn’t know which side she was on.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡokednyhJaK
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.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNZ6LbrMnCk
And June had always preferred sharp things to dull ones.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcoT1hytl4f
She looked at Mary, who was still tracing the lines of the blueprint with a gloved fingertip.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBaAXWgPkxY
“If that’s real,” June whispered, “then we’ve never actually been above ground.”
*****35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJeJBxzYMfM
Kim didn’t look up when June sat down beside her.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdlp6ac5giO
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.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZfz4JX9Jum
June broke the silence.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCV4vcSvMJ1
“You were right about her.”35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOwaunWbz56
Kim turned. “Mercy?”35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5dQoISJ1ZR
June nodded; her voice taut. “She doesn’t want power back. She wants the Order buried.”35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF3ZZRGXm4T
Kim closed her notebook slowly. “What did you find?”35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwl7p8kAXUT
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.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYgDpE6myLV
“Three verticals,” June whispered. “Three prefects. Mercy’s way of marking a trap.”35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgTrg7vW0Fy
Kim stared. “You’re sure?”35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzV3zDRVvzf
“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.”35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjvDDo8s2VG
Kim traced one of the drawn lines with her finger.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiEC7g21Enu
“She’s not exposing history,” she said slowly. “She’s rewriting it.”35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9cKZptSWSF
June leaned forward.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBBnrzmdB2p
“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.”35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuVQ5Cs2RgL
Kim gave a small, tired laugh. “You sound like Shiko.”35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡksCtm6LoXO
“No. Shiko’s a scout. You’re a witness.”35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ48zHGDclHW
June paused, then added softly:35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbkzX5GkxJo
“I don’t want to be part of burying people. Not even Naomi.”
They sat in silence for a moment, petals collecting like snow.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmfeBQOeXUR
Then Kim asked, “What do you want me to do?”35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡznPD1ddhq0
June looked up. Her voice was quieter now. Less prefect. More person.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTeHPFNzhiO
“If anything happens in the crypt... if I can’t stop it... you tell the others. Shiko. Seline. Even Jabari, if you have to.”35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3d0eR4Djtd
Kim stared at her. “That could expose you.”35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVHYalMKxD2
June nodded once.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDCMO4X7SoB
“Better me than them.”
*****35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHvxSuizf9A
The corridor was nearly empty when Seline appeared.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR899c7N2S3
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.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKDheYv3QpY
“You’ve been busy.”35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUmkMN32eTo
Kim turned slowly, not startled — just tired.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhSOwLYQfhB
“So have you.”35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2TB39wnnmc
Seline’s eyes were cold, but not cruel.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNu0xIxdRMX
“Let’s skip the pretend part.”35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0BHhGAkJe3
Kim raised an eyebrow. “Which part?”35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeC9ghZUpx4
“The part where you pretend, you’re not helping Mercy. Or June. Or whoever it is this week.”35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeKipGKfGs4
Kim closed her locker slowly. “I’m not helping anyone. I’m trying to understand what’s happening.”35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU6JAmKNCSB
“That’s exactly what makes you useful.”35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbWLKDOZJJ7
Seline stepped closer, her voice low and measured.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0Rvrmwknls
“Help me expose Mercy before this thing in the chapel happens — and I’ll show you something.”35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzdvDE7GiSK
Kim didn’t move. “Something about Juma.”35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO48zWeWsQi
That stopped her.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgabIgRMI1l
“Juma?” she said, sharper than she meant.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1Qaj4sdEq4
Seline nodded. “Something you’ve clearly been dancing around since last term. Don’t look so surprised, Kim. You don’t hide infatuation well.”35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZjaY1Q5wvC
Kim crossed her arms. “And you just happened to be saving this for a rainy day?”35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcKVz7ERJb7
“No. I was saving it for the right pressure point.”35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIJn4WP8lZP
Seline reached into her sweater pocket and tapped a folded sheet. Thick. A printout? A photo?35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwndI3NtHjl
“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.’”35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM7oINgpETz
The corridor felt suddenly colder. Kim stared at the folded paper, then at Seline’s face. Not smug. Not even manipulative. Just… determined.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz8C4sDzwQw
Like a girl who had once been close to Mercy. Like a girl who knew betrayal personally — and intended to weaponize it back.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4u3kmjCNcO
“You don’t even care about Naomi,” Kim said.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKUG9n5YwoN
Seline’s voice softened. “I care about not being erased.”35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVFZhPhyXup
When Kim returned to her desk in the class, there was another mystery to follow waiting up on her.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBbfDsTD3tL
There was no envelope.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7ActtnRp9W
Just a folded note, slipped between the spine of Kim’s literature textbook and the dusty edge of her locker wall.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTQv6OTvYNb
She knew it was Shiko’s. The paper was squared at the corners. Neat. Dry. No handwriting on the outside. Just careful silence.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq3ZhlUMvqC
Inside, a short message:35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1M35AXuLSF
“Meet at Science Week’s midnight demonstration. No one else. No delay.”35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2homGwCXoD
— S35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlL9NF796Le
Kim stared at the paper, rereading the curves in the "S" — round and sharp in the way only Shiko's handwriting ever was.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAfIm2k0K7O
She folded it twice and slipped it into her sock.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAL7QFVMTcA
Outside, thunder rolled low and slow across the lake.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtI1I0IEhpA
If Seline was a warning... Shiko was a reminder:35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLFHYz81GFH
She wasn’t alone.
*****35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyW2In4BCOv
Naomi’s heels echoed unnaturally down the corridor.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXC81taOnJR
She didn’t bark orders. She never had to.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKjevPu22zi
Two junior prefects flanked her, carrying empty crates. She stopped at the lab entrance and waited until the girls looked up from the bench.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnhk1dcbJ3p
“New directive from the principal,” Naomi said evenly. “All ultraviolet lighting equipment is to be removed from the lab facilities effective immediately.”35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpc1f4Hofji
Mary blinked. “Why?”35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXyrkgOHXBk
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.”35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXZXb1uLYx0
June stepped forward. “That’s never been a concern before.”35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzZ1wtblaXE
Naomi raised an eyebrow. “Well, it is now.”35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB3RqbOU1FQ
As the juniors moved through the cupboards, one lifting the dusty UV lamp from the back shelf, Mary and June exchanged a look.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOz9Y6fP1IT
This wasn’t about safety. This was about control.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCiBRX3zW0f
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.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuSrvXVZVIH
Then she turned to go.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr3Id38qCUJ
“If you need light,” she said over her shoulder, “try daylight.”35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSvGHkTOCQD
The door clicked shut behind her.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6PimnD3vXo
Mary’s fingers dug into the edge of the desk.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPjIvMukZij
“She knows,” she whispered.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7gDMwU77t2
June stared at the door. “She doesn’t know everything.”35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡksrVXe0Bo9
Mary hesitated. “Should we tell Kim?”35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ5A4G1Lmu5
June exhaled.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU6wqSuuZKy
“No. Not yet. Not until we find the crypt entrance ourselves.”35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk7Sk3lpBbJ
She picked up the blueprint sketch, gently smoothed the corner, and whispered under her breath:35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLbU7KXkgSm
“We don't need light. We need memory.”
******35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNsKtFGtNuN
Juma paced just outside the back stage canopy, fists in his jacket pockets. He could feel Jabari before he saw him.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvSTe2rmSPN
“You’re late,” Juma muttered.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCkf7Gx74A4
“You followed me,” Jabari replied calmly.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsCCJ9dKc5P
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.”35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr0kiG9LbuQ
Jabari’s voice was cold. “Neither did you, until you saw the card.”35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAwe5onJ486
Juma’s jaw clenched. “This isn’t about who saw what first. It’s about stopping a collapse. Tonight. In the chapel.”35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlWb5h7aStF
Jabari finally turned, locking eyes.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeov96Y2a6L
“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.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcdQGZettQA
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.”35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpEmNbdIx4E
Kim stared at her. “You sound like you’ve been practicing this.”35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbpqrKxKgDR
Shiko gave a faint grin. “You’re not the only one who gets notes.”35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3yFbEFr1G1
Kim unfolded hers again: “Midnight. Come quiet.”35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCg4b0XUeTj
There had been no signature — but the direction had been clear. The trap wasn’t just Mercy’s.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU1kME69Zoi
Someone was planning to stop it.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwp4gW2V5fB
They were just making sure someone else survived it.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdoJQ1XZv5r
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.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa5SXSujfyd
And somewhere else — Seline, watching from above the science dome, her eyes flickering with a phone she shouldn’t have had.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxZE9H7HQeT
Jabari reached the tunnel grate first.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVDTmalxosJ
Juma slipped beside him, passing the folded metal rod they’d stashed days ago. Together, for once, they said nothing.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAl1AzAwY5k
Inside the tunnel — faint blue paint glowed at the seams.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4X8rDV43P8
The glyph for “complete.”35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxxNU7k6w3b
Mercy had finished the sequence.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDxJUU9wihN
On the girls’ side, Kim reached into the drain gate.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuReXlJgr7Q
Shiko crouched beside her, prying open a rusted latch.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn8NEocBqRu
Below them, the faint sound of a click echoed.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqZCO4V2nNC
A door opened.
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