The quad glittered in moonlight and kerosene halos. Stalls shimmered under makeshift LEDs. Tinny speakers blared distorted jazz as projectors looped grainy experiments on white bedsheets.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPpZRUQs8aR
Juma hated this kind of show — too bright, too scripted. But it made for the perfect cover.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTzqMWgVxlX
“Everyone’s looking up,” he whispered.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqmgby6cMvf
“No one sees what we’re pinning to their legs.”91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbXndyowp5L
Jabari didn’t smile.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDPwn3AfS4d
He reached into his backpack and pulled out a rolled poster, smooth and stiff. Thick matte ink on thick gray stock.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmqOMFT7Mht
ORDER OVER INSURRECTION91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrZSLbpBRJt
A white wing over a fractured flame.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8aeTC4rnIK
They walked slowly, calmly — like any two team leads reviewing tech projects. But every ten steps, they pinned a new poster to the underside of a demo tent. To a light pole. To the back of a wooden bench.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcVZUH6zZKt
Four in total. No more. Enough to seed rumor, not provoke response.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXYdz9YeqIl
They weren’t messages for students.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6fQ6vz4h9d
They were warnings for the Shadow Walkers. The fractured flame was Mercy’s old signal — twisted now. The white wing was the Order’s ghost — not yet dead.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2OPZX73aOs
Juma stuck the last one behind the water distillation tent, where he knew Ayo used to scout during Fire Theory projects. Jabari paused beside the herb garden exhibit and looked around at the swirling bodies of boys and girls in scattered uniforms.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgXLiZPx1zh
He whispered:91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbGX2pEnNSi
“She wanted an audience. Let’s give her one.”91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡax34s00NBG
Behind the hydroponics dome, a girl in Kisumu Girls' tracksuit lowered her phone quietly. Her name wasn’t known to either of them.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg9ulvMlAPB
But the notification she sent was clear:91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT4B5U9toiC
“The birds are flying banners again. Mercy will see.”
*****91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeeJXTvbMxd
The crypt door had always been heavy — metal, groaning, older than the last three headteachers combined. But now it swung easily on oiled hinges — prepped, ready, hungry.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRs9CaJKxBV
Inside, Jabari and Juma moved fast, pushing through ankle-deep water that had begun pooling around the eastern wall.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyVk1dcu29i
“This isn't just a chamber,” Juma snapped. “It’s a channel.”91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCAU7DdBLvk
Jabari knelt, ran his fingers across the grooves in the floor. “It connects to the borehole line. It was always part of the filtration system — just repurposed.”91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcYahl0oyKF
Repurposed by whom?91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDfeEntqt44
By Mercy.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr8BOxx4Ai3
Atop the hidden stairway, two girls in Kisumu Girls’ jackets stood in silence.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgvcGT9kvb7
One wore Mercy’s old prefect sash — though no one had given it to her.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw3inqmw0od
The other held the key.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5Lid9wqWTj
She waited exactly until her watch ticked to 12:17 a.m.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxpQ73jb4wr
Then she slid the bolt home and turned it once.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqvjdKgeu4f
Click.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYVW5lFfNUa
The girls didn’t laugh. Didn’t speak.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrmq3AbXTPv
They simply walked away.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1bmGvYiV6a
Jabari’s light flickered.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3RfzrqRP6w
He and Juma reached the far side — a rusted metal ladder leading up toward the chapel’s north vestibule — welded shut from above.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf20pcH8rIl
“She locked us in,” Jabari said.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuKlw4buoyw
Juma stared at the water now reaching his shins. “That’s not the problem.”91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7KhH4purOX
The sound came next — not fast, not crashing.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVTZdDPFDIn
A slow gurgle. A hiss.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9ynxqME8cQ
Then the unmistakable suction of redirected flow.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0uDBmDZnF4
Juma turned to Jabari.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHgLsxpfWQp
“She's opened the borehole line.”91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4uZ6KKgkhc
And sure enough, behind the sealed hatch, where the borehole channel fed under the school… the grate now trembled.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbo9yUXi58D
Then the water began to rise.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZBe9U1Qk1d
From the high choir loft, Mercy stood silent, eyes calm, watching the stained glass as shadows shifted across it.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWM1WmSUc2w
Behind her, a girl whispered, “They’re in.”91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs4EOpF8xVk
Mercy didn’t reply at first. Then:91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRVJ2Ao5nYr
“They came looking for a lie. Let them leave soaked in truth.”91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaFUFsKQ66w
She turned away and walked down the spiral staircase, vanishing into the dark.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTWDy1SVNcC
The water rose like a slow betrayal.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDtLdAZMxV5
Jabari tried to brace the base of the ladder, but the surface slicked too fast. Juma had begun stacking the crates beneath the wall vents, but none led out.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkY1Wm8gFFJ
Then — a sound.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7h1S3byXhu
Bang. Bang. Clank.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfHLCYF7g41
A screech of iron echoed from behind the north wall.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxcIIIW4cBX
Juma froze. “Did you hear that?”91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9cOdS4GhRy
Clank. Slam.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS7yDb7IQgW
Then a voice, muffled by metal and rage:91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc0Q5p0SgdQ
“Get back!”91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZUYuSPt7jf
Suddenly, the side grate at floor level buckled inward — then burst open with a thundercrack of rust and rock. Water whooshed sideways, funneling out violently, pulling ankle-deep current toward the now-gaping vent.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEV3P5o6S17
And through the water— Musa crawled through.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh3WZlaw9pJ
Soaked. Grit-covered. Grinning like a man who had wrestled a pipe system and won.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEI5T5kQKD1
“I told you I was the better swimmer,” he coughed.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqZ0992tAc3
As the water drained and light returned, Juma leaned against the far wall, breathing hard.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKfX7EtQVD0
“We were seconds from blacking out.”91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcq858e0Gbl
Jabari, still quiet, turned his torch toward the south chamber — a small alcove half-submerged behind a collapsed marble panel.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqMQ5cWkzI1
Musa followed his gaze. “What’s that?”91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbHzhKMdK3J
They stepped forward slowly. Beneath the now-drained floor, the shape of something metallic gleamed behind a decorative grate. Jabari crouched, pulled at the frame — it came loose with a groan.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx8KMJReF1K
Behind it, half-sunken and chained inside a rusted cage:91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiA9xexS7cy
Three black ledger boxes, stamped with faded silver initials: “M.O.”91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE1cZwu9Adt
Juma slowly unlocked one latch. Inside: letters, class registers, intercepted prefect reports, old Order rosters — all annotated in Mercy’s handwriting.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtD7s0mH9zu
Jabari picking one up and reading aloud:91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOVm3GDpBSf
“She was never exiled. She was buried.”91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrkfMgX18go
Musa whispered “She didn’t build a trap. She built an archive.”91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwA87GYlGqM
Ayo appeared at the crypt entrance as Jabari flipped through the first ledger. No fanfare. No announcement. Just his shadow crossing the old candlelight, face unreadable.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7lXZiGswBI
Jabari looked up sharply.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCZwQKIdEV9
“You followed us.”91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf0r5AmkD6j
Ayo didn’t nod. Didn’t deny it. Instead, he stepped forward, knelt beside the third box — and picked it up carefully, like it might bite.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQkI8nGji2X
“You need this one,” he said. “It’s the only one with dates after Mercy’s expulsion.”91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIftfrrGZB1
Juma narrowed his eyes. “Why help us?”91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8XRWcGNYW6
Ayo hesitated, then looked directly at Jabari.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxWSoFccL9f
“Because I’ve seen what Kwame would do with it.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6y7DNsBLJo
The silence cracked with the sound of metal boots on water-slick stone.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRzG4XJ0Imw
Otieno, lean and quiet, stepped through the broken wall entrance where Musa had forced the grate. He didn’t look surprised to find them. He didn’t speak. He simply walked forward, reached into the cage, and took the second box.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡARA6nhvFQR
The one marked “Staff Correspondences: 2007–2014.”91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCfavdCiCKv
Jabari stood. “What are you doing?”91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPvNgfnncdK
Otieno held his gaze. “You know I follow the truth.”91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsk9MpF8EJ1
Then turned and walked out — no rush, no guilt.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZTY2y2teLG
One box in Jabari’s hands. One box in Ayo’s grip. One box now leaving with Otieno.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVFi8rcXLrk
Musa broke the silence.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKg4irXc4I8
“That’s it, then. The lines are drawn.”91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5tD40J7bOc
Juma added, “And Mercy didn’t even have to choose sides. She just lit the match.”91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx8YXZLMmIO
Jabari watched Otieno disappear into the crypt tunnel, Ayo still standing beside him, conflicted but present.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf4HrZZl22X
Musa whispered, “This isn't just about the wall anymore. This is a war over what gets remembered.”
******91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQp227ZFP2o
The video was less than ninety seconds long.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsW2eFWoIUB
It had no watermark. No source. But it found its way into every inbox in the Kisumu Central Education Circuit — sent from a dead address once used for prefect newsletters.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3mJIvatits
The screen opened on dim light, stone, water glinting along the floor like liquid glass.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡELDVofE1U0
The voice was unmistakable.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9qtB2v7prG
“This is what they called leadership. This is what they built walls to protect. Jabari’s Order — drowning in Mercy’s revenge.”91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTt87DLCpPh
The footage cut quickly — glimpses of the crypt, soaked boys in Kisumu boys uniform, flooded ankles, two figures dragging themselves out, torchlight flickering like panic.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhiV96sHzcy
Then:91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ60dpy6eL1C
Freeze frame.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrAqcTOUbA6
Jabari, back turned, lifting a rusted ledger box.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC5zSdxFkRJ
The words flashed over the image in blood-red type:91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5goBxbsj7I
"The Order is underwater."91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrOJqECe1io
Then black.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡle8KTGMtFR
By 7:00 a.m., the dorm corridors buzzed like electric wires.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmd319Q0PAs
“Who recorded it? There are no phones allowed—how did it get out? Was it staged? Is Mercy back? Was the flooding real?”91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ228iPDXuuv
In the Kisumu Girls library, Shiko watched Kim watching the terminal.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaZTfboBcRM
“That’s the tunnel. That’s the crypt,” Kim whispered. And that—is a declaration.”91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz15TM1nFsb
Behind the AV club at Maseno school, two junior Shadow Walkers shut down their old relay laptop — wired into the school’s forgotten printer line, a hidden broadcast node Mercy herself once rigged in her second year.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1VMd6Nyug8
Kwame stood outside, eyes on the sky, arms folded.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcDbw1Zjyr9
He didn’t need a phone.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIRlFttc4AY
He just needed a network Mercy built…and a reason to set it on fire.
**********91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnmznAParfn
June pushed the heavy doors open just as Mary arrived from the science wing.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQG9fPlwjcO
“The boys have seen it?”91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCdpJnCUXfJ
“Everyone has.”91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQu7N1aubmC
Kim entered last, silent.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHpA9GC6uiN
Shiko hovered in the corridor, uninvited but listening.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡygW9pcfE1b
On the old Order wall board, Naomi stood still.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ07dFQWI53D
Below her — pinned with blue tacks — were printed stills from the Kwame video. One showed the crypt grate. Another, Jabari holding the ledger.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqEWGcVI7ap
“This wasn’t Mercy’s trap anymore,” Naomi said quietly.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjZHNiXou08
“It was her signal.”91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXgr3V1clVv
Naomi turned to them — prefects.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn3QJo0r3Nf
“There’s at least one ledger still moving. Probably being moved to St. Theresa’s. Possibly Maseno.”91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZpIVx2UDiV
Mary stepped forward. “So, what do we do?”91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmRaquxIupa
Naomi tapped the board.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXwbHObo9tW
“We don’t chase her legacy. We protect ours. Lock down the Hall. Triple-lock the Prefects’ Archive. And find the girl carrying the ledger.”91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ3zVxMumnu
June’s voice was cold.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2OyRW5Sy4D
“You think Mercy would use one of us?”91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgFlzVrB0tC
Naomi didn’t blink.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDmysjgqrMD
“Mercy doesn’t use people. She recruits them.”91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTbcXUDWgoz
The girls split into teams. June and Mary to the Greenhouse Tunnel, checking Mercy’s known exits. Seline, assigned to patrol around the west dorms, but already planning her own detour. Shiko, pretending to go to class, slips Kim a folded message:91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvSde29WAiD
“Don’t trust who enters first. Trust who stays behind.”91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTJwrVSXLm2
The Order Hall is locked though Naomi stays inside, assembling the remaining cipher logs and pulling names off Mercy’s old class rosters.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXrkYLddJFK
Outside the campus fence line, under a tree heavy with wet blossoms, a junior form walks fast — a duffel bag over her shoulder. Her name is not known. But inside the bag is a ledger box, sealed with black tape.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoIEaTK3ZfI
She has only one instruction:91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbORHgJmezg
“Deliver it by dusk. If you’re stopped — deny you ever knew.”
91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0CaFrwvLg9
91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlWX8CVvrD3
and then Add to home screen.