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.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ00WFOf1kVC
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.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsiW7JKQe82
She spread the black card across the dissection tray — the one Mercy had retrieved from the chapel and handed over without explanation.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpdHeM9oYCO
“You know how to look,” Mercy had whispered. “So look.”56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7DzNvsly1G
So Mary did. At first, nothing.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVU1SFowflN
Then the ink shifted — faint glowing threads emerging beneath the card’s surface. The lines curled, widened, and gradually began to form structure.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡciJudv3dZw
It wasn’t art. It was architecture.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWYJR949J6I
A floor plan. 56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWn9YP0u32W
June leaned in over her shoulder. “That’s not just the chapel…”56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhDpsPetG3c
Mary nodded. “That’s the tunnel system.”56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0EKhgFlEZs
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:56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFO2aZOGJuX
C.9 – Cryptus Sacrum.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJjicu2Lq2V
Mary’s breath caught.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXfSf1rn5s1
“The chapel has a crypt,” she whispered.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtwcFAsyTDU
June’s eyes narrowed. “No one’s spoken about that since Mercy’s expulsion.”56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFdn07NolVU
“No one dared,” Mary replied.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZxXXQjB7Os
In the bottom left corner of the blueprint, another glow began to rise beneath the UV:56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2Ednluupvu
“Begin from what you buried.”56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9ntdX81biX
— M.O.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4pxIYl2ZBX
June stepped back slightly. “She’s not just reactivating the tunnels. She’s trying to pull us back in.”56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIPbCHjGd0U
Mary nodded slowly. “Or she never left.”56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA14SpGqvD0
For the first time in weeks, June didn’t know which side she was on.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEWo33mrpvq
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.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVoDECvVG1n
And June had always preferred sharp things to dull ones.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡACz4FyuQTO
She looked at Mary, who was still tracing the lines of the blueprint with a gloved fingertip.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ3tQpdtQSP
“If that’s real,” June whispered, “then we’ve never actually been above ground.”
*****56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoeI9GJyNd7
Kim didn’t look up when June sat down beside her.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY5hT7DyOr0
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.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr8R8P6NGID
June broke the silence.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsFkmcMSgNd
“You were right about her.”56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsTE3v1y0iQ
Kim turned. “Mercy?”56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXinPyMElfG
June nodded; her voice taut. “She doesn’t want power back. She wants the Order buried.”56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7eYOc0lVCD
Kim closed her notebook slowly. “What did you find?”56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA6tbBPN0Ud
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.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLsncANew29
“Three verticals,” June whispered. “Three prefects. Mercy’s way of marking a trap.”56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7EV90AeGvp
Kim stared. “You’re sure?”56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmZWII4j95z
“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.”56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEyNiQWWBgZ
Kim traced one of the drawn lines with her finger.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgprtBNwMWQ
“She’s not exposing history,” she said slowly. “She’s rewriting it.”56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhWc9a5hAlI
June leaned forward.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtvojLKiZsi
“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.”56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbns0O3Dz1J
Kim gave a small, tired laugh. “You sound like Shiko.”56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvY50hZUORZ
“No. Shiko’s a scout. You’re a witness.”56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaj7f94Fphu
June paused, then added softly:56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOOv3aPV5Yh
“I don’t want to be part of burying people. Not even Naomi.”
They sat in silence for a moment, petals collecting like snow.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0uCEddk31q
Then Kim asked, “What do you want me to do?”56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZxDGqq6M64
June looked up. Her voice was quieter now. Less prefect. More person.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwr1c4xON3q
“If anything happens in the crypt... if I can’t stop it... you tell the others. Shiko. Seline. Even Jabari, if you have to.”56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcsie0jgfgJ
Kim stared at her. “That could expose you.”56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp7BDTq1BC0
June nodded once.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ67EiWYlto0
“Better me than them.”
*****56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJjcDdPWMQT
The corridor was nearly empty when Seline appeared.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEtPnuiTvAM
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.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1ZxuXA8IjU
“You’ve been busy.”56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7xpykXmq3j
Kim turned slowly, not startled — just tired.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe5AvF3yRXl
“So have you.”56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLBrF1Zd3yG
Seline’s eyes were cold, but not cruel.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF7HzkWIUBp
“Let’s skip the pretend part.”56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSKXWyZ5t5i
Kim raised an eyebrow. “Which part?”56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgWb8CrEgVw
“The part where you pretend, you’re not helping Mercy. Or June. Or whoever it is this week.”56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzuep8tX9Vk
Kim closed her locker slowly. “I’m not helping anyone. I’m trying to understand what’s happening.”56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVQsJbvctJo
“That’s exactly what makes you useful.”56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyt9RO5Db88
Seline stepped closer, her voice low and measured.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYm3RyZhmxY
“Help me expose Mercy before this thing in the chapel happens — and I’ll show you something.”56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZGiYxxCWmD
Kim didn’t move. “Something about Juma.”56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEHD8B2SHpc
That stopped her.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdmYbsXYtQO
“Juma?” she said, sharper than she meant.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJuYLs6pLPz
Seline nodded. “Something you’ve clearly been dancing around since last term. Don’t look so surprised, Kim. You don’t hide infatuation well.”56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR4LLigJGKH
Kim crossed her arms. “And you just happened to be saving this for a rainy day?”56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc73EMSBeyg
“No. I was saving it for the right pressure point.”56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNAiES4lHsj
Seline reached into her sweater pocket and tapped a folded sheet. Thick. A printout? A photo?56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkYolNQdnDc
“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.’”56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1XmqPdtDWR
The corridor felt suddenly colder. Kim stared at the folded paper, then at Seline’s face. Not smug. Not even manipulative. Just… determined.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU6zDcIUCgB
Like a girl who had once been close to Mercy. Like a girl who knew betrayal personally — and intended to weaponize it back.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4yLwKimJJa
“You don’t even care about Naomi,” Kim said.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9fvE5OhH1l
Seline’s voice softened. “I care about not being erased.”56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfZci12nBYU
When Kim returned to her desk in the class, there was another mystery to follow waiting up on her.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNZN78YCyQ5
There was no envelope.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsdfc8qcfQE
Just a folded note, slipped between the spine of Kim’s literature textbook and the dusty edge of her locker wall.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡni0mgZRoWq
She knew it was Shiko’s. The paper was squared at the corners. Neat. Dry. No handwriting on the outside. Just careful silence.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBbvTAfQxKE
Inside, a short message:56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR1ar5e3nZb
“Meet at Science Week’s midnight demonstration. No one else. No delay.”56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzzGBsmxZxv
— S56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDFJT4JF4QL
Kim stared at the paper, rereading the curves in the "S" — round and sharp in the way only Shiko's handwriting ever was.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOxD1Dm4gkx
She folded it twice and slipped it into her sock.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5nZ5gQKQnN
Outside, thunder rolled low and slow across the lake.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0vF3H4YBpy
If Seline was a warning... Shiko was a reminder:56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT9bB9kbLvE
She wasn’t alone.
*****56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt34T3A6Nk2
Naomi’s heels echoed unnaturally down the corridor.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrjVjfQw4pp
She didn’t bark orders. She never had to.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx3wVXv7c2Q
Two junior prefects flanked her, carrying empty crates. She stopped at the lab entrance and waited until the girls looked up from the bench.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnHzZFgfFo4
“New directive from the principal,” Naomi said evenly. “All ultraviolet lighting equipment is to be removed from the lab facilities effective immediately.”56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpwsLkMNglg
Mary blinked. “Why?”56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0DSLa3DSZB
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.”56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6UT82SnPOG
June stepped forward. “That’s never been a concern before.”56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW0Y4TiwUfU
Naomi raised an eyebrow. “Well, it is now.”56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBNO8WrqAmz
As the juniors moved through the cupboards, one lifting the dusty UV lamp from the back shelf, Mary and June exchanged a look.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOHVBiYMafw
This wasn’t about safety. This was about control.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy8k7h48zJU
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.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhhH8cl2b5Z
Then she turned to go.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRgDiqZZlOh
“If you need light,” she said over her shoulder, “try daylight.”56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7H8CZ5o7i8
The door clicked shut behind her.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNb1NIdcGtO
Mary’s fingers dug into the edge of the desk.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXGOR2m6vkD
“She knows,” she whispered.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoc5vdBHoZa
June stared at the door. “She doesn’t know everything.”56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPUvak3beID
Mary hesitated. “Should we tell Kim?”56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCmB8Untiqj
June exhaled.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPqhB1Wmaz8
“No. Not yet. Not until we find the crypt entrance ourselves.”56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZZ8yxEi4Yy
She picked up the blueprint sketch, gently smoothed the corner, and whispered under her breath:56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkhOenqJ0jh
“We don't need light. We need memory.”
******56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ32YGtCqcBX
Juma paced just outside the back stage canopy, fists in his jacket pockets. He could feel Jabari before he saw him.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUIvHav3ORe
“You’re late,” Juma muttered.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEtNkiMMMUR
“You followed me,” Jabari replied calmly.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxbfMYc2KH9
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.”56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTywdkcNS1z
Jabari’s voice was cold. “Neither did you, until you saw the card.”56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwkjrphL3yF
Juma’s jaw clenched. “This isn’t about who saw what first. It’s about stopping a collapse. Tonight. In the chapel.”56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI4g4cQ9eyl
Jabari finally turned, locking eyes.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxWYjER8aqI
“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.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj4HZettMGV
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.”56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmTJB6fkVGN
Kim stared at her. “You sound like you’ve been practicing this.”56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkfM4aMBd4q
Shiko gave a faint grin. “You’re not the only one who gets notes.”56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgdYInKiwCV
Kim unfolded hers again: “Midnight. Come quiet.”56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8hFWWQHMGY
There had been no signature — but the direction had been clear. The trap wasn’t just Mercy’s.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCOkHuOkpug
Someone was planning to stop it.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRAfDKithdX
They were just making sure someone else survived it.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvjTrqL3hHn
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.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRugkV4PcyI
And somewhere else — Seline, watching from above the science dome, her eyes flickering with a phone she shouldn’t have had.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI8EN4cynF3
Jabari reached the tunnel grate first.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdmYCtRPlQr
Juma slipped beside him, passing the folded metal rod they’d stashed days ago. Together, for once, they said nothing.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSIg8JrBDaO
Inside the tunnel — faint blue paint glowed at the seams.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDP4Fd7nurA
The glyph for “complete.”56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhKm6HHTEaT
Mercy had finished the sequence.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxBpXgQpJ0T
On the girls’ side, Kim reached into the drain gate.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNCsSmXfg5o
Shiko crouched beside her, prying open a rusted latch.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXxOe5tw51f
Below them, the faint sound of a click echoed.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8jk8hefoqk
A door opened.
