June wasn’t a morning person.53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ17Sbt7Z86X
But patrols weren’t optional—not for someone recently readmitted into Naomi’s restructured Order. The cold air bit through her sweater as she rounded the far edge of the compound, Mary close behind her, yawning silently.53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwwo3KOus3S
The borehole wasn’t on their official route. But June always checked it. Something about the way it sat—unwatched, forgotten, fenced in by banana trees—made her wary.53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRVbDWMI2AI
That’s when they saw it.53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7nIfTcQRWs
On the concrete lip of the borehole grate, curving like a forgotten crescent, was a thick arc of blue ink. Fresh. Still glistening. Perfectly symmetrical.53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLL3ZhDDFRG
Mary stopped. “Is that… paint?”53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSCqNLwfSyZ
June knelt beside it, heart thudding. “No. It’s ink.”53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ64hu28X9Wi
They exchanged a look.53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfzhIBZdrTk
Not just blue. Mercy’s blue. The same shade that once bled into Order memos, laced warnings, signed forged rosters — and marked betrayals that had cost people dearly.53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLutA4LJGle
“She’s back,” Mary whispered.53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz20sBFGQfq
“She never left,” June replied.53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXqpyMpmIIg
June didn’t touch it, but she knew. The curve wasn’t random. It was a symbol—half of one, maybe. A cipher. A signal. She glanced around. No footprints. No scent. No wind. Mercy had always been a step ahead. Even when she wasn't present, she was somehow already watching.53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYX6uUpRR2m
Mary’s voice dropped. “You think she’s starting something again?”53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJMdqLiVpfR
June stood, jaw tightening. “No. She’s continuing something.”53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiWgvF0LHqg
The ink hadn’t been meant for teachers. It hadn’t even been meant for the Order.53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWnYkATwHhT
It had been meant for someone who would recognize it without explanation.53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmT4YteSSMc
That was the Mercy they remembered.53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaIpVA4zj7o
Unknown to them, a few meters away, Seline crouched behind the east-facing banana trees, watching.53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡywB4x4f3RR
She hadn’t followed them intentionally. But she’d noticed June’s pattern — always checking things that no one cared to. Today, curiosity had won.53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGiEioIX0WQ
Her eyes narrowed as she saw the girls staring at the inked arc.53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSdeZ9me7yK
She couldn’t hear what they were saying. But she saw the shift in their stances.53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHULVPjENJs
Saw the fear. The recognition.53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuCOklUEOul
And she saw the way June instinctively placed herself between the mark and the morning sun—as if shielding it from exposure.53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK4wNF8TlCI
That was all Seline needed. She moved with quiet steps and a patient breath.53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGP9kC72zNY
She hadn’t planned to follow June. But it was hard not to notice how she and Mary had vanished right after fifth bell, slipping off in the direction of the borehole like ghosts on assignment. Old habits die slowly—and jealousy dies slower.53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC8mQ7MxBKU
She waited until the path was empty again. The ink mark was still there. Drier now, darker around the edges. She crouched beside it, tilting her head.53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ65cB1I3vlu
Of course it was blue. Mercy’s old color. Mercy’s old tricks. Mercy’s old arrogance.53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMsS4TzEfTz
Seline reached for her journalism club sanctioned phone, snapped a photo, and opened a blank message window.53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5N5jshKeDd
She didn’t write much.53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUooY4682Mc
"The serpent returns."53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡem9OXRGqj6
She didn’t sign it. She didn’t need to. She hit send.53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf70ahQ4M0l
The recipient was someone who’d once told her: "Mercy doesn't leave trails. She leaves traps that look like invitations."53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbf1NpaLqTR
Maybe it was time they set one of their own.53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0lgklbDwQl
Cutaway: Unknown Recipient (unseen, unnamed)53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtbK2VTIYAh
A buzz.53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl0AxyBYG4N
A photo.53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2LcF1HiR3p
A phrase:53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLCYvVWf28W
“The serpent returns.”53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8vSaKmAg5V
A pair of fingers opened the image, zoomed in on the blue arc, the shadow of the borehole behind it.53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoN9GVv0GEa
A slow breath.53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡicOd6ldRK1
No reply.53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUFOJVM7JmO
Just movement.
***53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ3qhAToiV2
Later that day, Kim sat beneath the loquat tree in the back field, sketching the mark from memory.53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxBJKkK9Zgu
Shiko had redrawn the same on her book. “June found it first. Mary confirmed it was Mercy’s shade.”53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuVGrFUM64M
Kim nodded slowly.53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWEZXFXYKN0
“I’ve seen that curve,” she murmured. “On a stone. The night the boys crossed.”53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFX2MVXLabG
Shiko tilted her head. “You think it’s connected?”53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxr7QVw5GON
Kim didn’t answer. But her mind whispered the name she hadn’t said aloud in weeks: Juma.53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQMX4nwaLIR
Whatever had passed between them—coded notes, fleeting messages, near-meetings—was now moving again. And it wasn’t just because of the Order.53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBU3xYKDTE8
That evening, Naomi stood at the front of the assembly hall, her face pale but composed. She held up a photo printout of the inked mark, shaking it once for emphasis.53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0S5J7Uae78
“This,” she said, “is not art. And anyone found tampering with shared spaces will face full investigation.”53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9Je6BPHbS6
Her voice dropped lower.53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXaIQmH9aMZ
“This school is no longer for games.”53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFiZYZZL7ws
But June, watching from the fourth row, wasn’t convinced. Because Mercy never played games. Mercy built puzzles.53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsFXWieIsvl
And this was her first piece.
*****53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyQnD5I2Al1
June stared at the photo of the blue ink arc again, this time under the glow of a cracked desk lamp in the old arts room. The photo was blurry around the edges, but something in the shape felt… off. Not incomplete. Segmented.53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXk3e8kakON
“Look,” she murmured, pointing to where the arc wasn’t a perfect curve. It dipped and rose in odd places, like a pulse frozen in motion.53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7hEurHA1rj
Mary leaned in. “You think it’s a pattern?”53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcpjcFGV32d
“I think it’s a cipher.”53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMrUnJ3cqF0
June opened her leather notebook and flipped to the final pages, where she’d kept sketches from Mercy’s last term in power — drawings that didn’t fit into normal Order documentation. Half-symbols. Curves. Broken sigils.53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW9czKV7yds
One matched the ink from the borehole exactly.53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4rss2eC1bp
But only if rotated ninety degrees.53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZdGPIQ9MgL
As she turned the photo on its side, the image changed — suddenly the arc wasn’t a shape. It was writing. Cursive. Twisted. Stylized like Mercy’s notes used to be.53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRLVeitkFGk
June slowly copied it onto the desk’s surface with a whiteboard marker.53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZMx4henDWK
F O L L O W W A T E R T O T R U T H53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR2oua4fInd
Mary exhaled. “It’s a phrase.”53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCsMKj3HFyr
“No, it’s a directive,” June said. “And Mercy never gave those lightly.”53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaEVpuX7SKt
“Water…” Mary looked up. “The borehole?”53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQDhNLkNibO
June nodded. “And the old well. The pipes. The drains. All the places no one checks anymore.”53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYC4JsjHBVJ
Mary frowned. “You think she left something there?”53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhnwXXy2P1A
“I think she left everything there.”53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT3nEiJ8WI5
They both went quiet, the weight of it settling in like dusk.53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmSNVj0uIo2
“We have to go in,” June said, voice quiet but firm.53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHqSWrIY3dq
Mary hesitated. “You mean… the tunnels?”53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3NvKOz3eS9
June turned fully toward her. “We both joined the Order thinking it meant loyalty. But Mercy’s truths were never above ground. She wrote in the dust, not in the books.”53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡELXTw7Ioh2
Mary nodded slowly. “Then we follow the water.”
*****53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw1K7X0ptcM
Kim almost missed it.53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKllTZBBeVr
The wind had picked up again, brushing banana leaves against the cement like fingers against drum skin. Her roommates were out, still at group studies or filling water before curfew. She sat cross-legged on her bed, flipping through old pages of a forgotten literature book.53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJMzsUbyNRJ
Then she heard the whisper.53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1Kds3pFTdT
A soft scratch beneath her window. Not loud. Not urgent. But intentional.53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7zHVmKrI30
She rose slowly and crossed the room, brushing aside the curtain.53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3GjdEbrAoF
Nothing. But when she looked down, a folded strip of paper lay just inside the frame — flattened from the crawl beneath the shutters. No name. No seal. No color.53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM6RPBcnkXN
Only three words in small, neat, familiar print.53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWvhIlTh44N
“Jabari knows the underground route.”53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSGuGfDTncr
Kim’s breath caught. Jabari.53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWYgrR8cjEh
The name pressed itself against her chest like a match waiting for flame. She unfolded the paper again, hands trembling slightly.53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8HLz39jebR
That handwriting — not quite formal, but precise. The kind of print someone uses when they expect to be read by a rival.53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpCDvInBSiH
There was nothing else. No signature. No mark. No date. Just that line.53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpQCkrvE5Nx
Her Mind Raced. Why her?53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZDr3H5gVg7
If it was true—if Jabari really did know about the tunnel, about the underground paths—why would he let that slip? Unless he hadn’t. Unless someone else wanted her to know.53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAvQR2VHI5X
But still, she couldn’t help wondering: Was it a warning? Or an invitation?53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoQYDGrrZLA
And how did they even know she was connected to him?53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYmIEN3I3ct
She thought about the night she saw the boys run across the wall. The half-glimpsed shadows. The torn tie. The hooded girl who didn’t stop her.53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhiwyHOtv4Y
She thought about Mercy’s return, the blue ink curling around the borehole like a secret being rehydrated after years in hiding.53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmQepWOqucv
And now this.53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAwzy6ZHrgJ
Kim sat down on the bed; the note clenched in her hand. It wasn’t just about her and Jabari anymore. It wasn’t just curiosity or codes or a shared suspicion that the wall wasn’t as solid as it pretended to be.53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYgY9ot2bX9
It was structure. Not chance. Not coincidence. Someone—or something—was maintaining communication across both schools. Not openly. Not loudly. But quietly. Elegantly.53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNYlFww9utd
Like a system of secrets. Like a network. Like the Order… or something deeper.53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSqLUjXLyJp
She looked at the note again, rereading it until her pulse steadied.53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡidb3aXYzHh
“Jabari knows the underground route.”53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5pSpFhxDeI
Which meant: Someone knew she was close enough to matter.53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJIjf2f7n8r
“If he knows the way beneath the wall… maybe I can finally ask what’s on the other side.”
*****53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHMIGWNdAx5
Shiko watched from the far pew, her breath shallow.53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfUYMGgKGqz
Seline had stormed out in one of her usual flourishes after Naomi’s address — her camera slung over her shoulder, muttering about respect and surveillance. She left it briefly unattended near the altar, in the row where she always kept her things during meetings.53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNDS9jbBGWg
Two minutes. That’s all Shiko needed.53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGtOAb4VVEZ
She moved like she was going to tie her shoe — bent near the camera bag, fingers slipping past the zipper with a smoothness that surprised even herself.53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNKJWMNOGUc
Inside: A small DSLR camera, just as expected. A micro-SD card, exposed in the side pouch. And next to it — Seline’s school phone. 53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFTs6yu94Y5
Shiko’s pulse quickened. Seline never left that phone alone.53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC0Uz0fmK5o
Not unless she was hiding something with it.53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkzWvy2VJYV
Shiko pulled the memory card carefully and slid a blank duplicate in its place — identical in color and make. She didn’t check what was on it. Not yet. Not here.53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6zrt1u0ulp
Next: the phone. She slipped it gently from the bag and into the sleeve of her sweater.53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFGGuERjKNl
No one noticed.53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5VHq0wQh2e
She rose slowly and walked down the side aisle of the chapel, silent shoes on stone tiles. The old wooden pews creaked just slightly beneath her as she crouched near the third from the front — the one with the broken hymn book shelf.53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqQeKJSFZqr
She slid the phone underneath the shelf and wedged it between two cracked Bibles. Gone.53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg3l2YP6eI7
Just in time, the chapel doors opened.53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhkCGvQ2K4U
Seline’s voice echoed in before her footsteps did.53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXnLrIjRuaV
“…it’s not about power, it’s about truth. And if they’re hiding anything—”53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK9rkh4yKyk
Shiko was already walking out the opposite side, face composed.53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2ycW2t6QGV
She didn’t look back.53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsgmfCGho5u
That night, Shiko inserted the stolen SD card into her hidden reader. The screen lit up. Hundreds of images. Blue ink. Borehole arc. Snapshots of June’s notebook. A blurred image of Kim and Shiko whispering near the map. Even a shadowed photo of what looked like… Mercy?53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5go2LYyBfj
Her stomach turned. Seline hadn’t just been collecting for paranoia. She had a timeline. A target list. A strategy.53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrDiXCv3qoG
Shiko leaned back and whispered to herself:53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnFq2uubugL
“You’re not just bitter, Seline. You’re playing something bigger.”
*****53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlrQZQ4Zz0C
Jabari didn’t bring anyone this time.53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4ZOr4PTGlL
He told Musa he was doing a pre-inspection for the upcoming Board visit. He told Ayo he needed quiet. In truth, he wanted no shadows behind him.53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE85yQuOhuS
Just space. And answers.53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMmiO8eRdSv
The grate behind the dormitories hadn’t been used in years. It squealed as he forced it open, the hinges moaning like an old confession. The tunnel beneath was narrow — concrete ribs curved above his head, lined with mildew and spiderwebs that tugged at his shoulders.53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR0YKracMql
He clicked on his torch and descended into the hollow.53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0DTFEDvmZZ
The tunnel sloped slightly downward, toward the foundation of the old water system — long disconnected, now only half-remembered by the school’s plumbers. But Jabari had seen the diagrams. The colonial maps. The blue line that started here and ran... beyond.53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaeVr3k7b4c
He moved slowly, the torchlight sweeping across old pipe valves and chalk markings etched along the walls. Most were faded. One still glowed faintly under his beam:53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgb91PPdURG
A curved wing, almost erased. He paused. Not his symbol. Not the Order’s. But somehow… familiar.53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM2GAzfnZTQ
In the overgrown greenhouse behind the girls' science wing, June steadied her hand, holding her official Order-issued phone — the one Naomi had reluctantly reinstated when they returned to duty.53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3cYeLlceES
Mary leaned close. “Can you zoom anymore?”53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX9WHraWcXP
The camera flickered slightly, just catching the dim flicker of light beyond the boys’ compound wall. A torch. Moving inside the drain channel.53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG5VUJ6Z4KZ
A figure.53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0zKhzxFMfw
Alone.53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyOic8aefmA
June tapped record.53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm4FaNNYtqL
“That’s Jabari,” she whispered.53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNKQl4ZZbfv
“He’s testing the tunnel.”53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZEoxEmMeNL
Jabari reached a junction where the tunnel split in two — left toward the collapsed pump station, right toward the rumored passage.53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIsDAp54MjD
He turned right.53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ809mHwss2K
He didn’t know the wall had hairline fissures above ground. He didn’t know someone was filming.53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfpdIlAvvr0
High above in the broken arch of the greenhouse, three girls stood now — not just Mary and June.53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0lJIDN32Du
One wore a hood. One held a small vial of ink. One, silent, recorded the time.53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsh9t3Zii8M
None of them spoke.53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡODVeniclUI
The light on Jabari’s torch flickered as he passed under a cross-beam marked:53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH38bfNwqgs
"Follow Water to Truth."53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf1C47bfeWn
He did.
