June wasn’t a morning person.101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOlGuG5jNhF
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.101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡChaFJKlipG
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.101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ909SHpbtJw
That’s when they saw it.101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3bZriIyyEb
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.101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS4hjygQGPY
Mary stopped. “Is that… paint?”101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMIQxppkeqz
June knelt beside it, heart thudding. “No. It’s ink.”101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRacNVtSlQx
They exchanged a look.101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZmhgvD99YM
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.101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡczsPqxGvCr
“She’s back,” Mary whispered.101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVMFmGDX6Lm
“She never left,” June replied.101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡolcxxzMBrF
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.101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDKReHAlwYM
Mary’s voice dropped. “You think she’s starting something again?”101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi5YYUWs7Rq
June stood, jaw tightening. “No. She’s continuing something.”101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJqmwGNXUr7
The ink hadn’t been meant for teachers. It hadn’t even been meant for the Order.101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnqbQnx2TqF
It had been meant for someone who would recognize it without explanation.101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgRUaqsZn1Z
That was the Mercy they remembered.101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwM06CorkJE
Unknown to them, a few meters away, Seline crouched behind the east-facing banana trees, watching.101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNhTZvTrDuf
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.101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ51jo2B3nC1
Her eyes narrowed as she saw the girls staring at the inked arc.101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ2OSsX85Io
She couldn’t hear what they were saying. But she saw the shift in their stances.101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4QdRnMfJdg
Saw the fear. The recognition.101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtWiQ0Q6LHu
And she saw the way June instinctively placed herself between the mark and the morning sun—as if shielding it from exposure.101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmoYjEExMmA
That was all Seline needed. She moved with quiet steps and a patient breath.101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0ALB4iI3Cq
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.101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHrhiYLwfyj
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.101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIZKJ8sIE3v
Of course it was blue. Mercy’s old color. Mercy’s old tricks. Mercy’s old arrogance.101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxhJXIDpmQv
Seline reached for her journalism club sanctioned phone, snapped a photo, and opened a blank message window.101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDDxe82Pjn6
She didn’t write much.101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡztd54wRDUY
"The serpent returns."101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP0RJHnHIIr
She didn’t sign it. She didn’t need to. She hit send.101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJLLOc3yxtN
The recipient was someone who’d once told her: "Mercy doesn't leave trails. She leaves traps that look like invitations."101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdKLm7El6fO
Maybe it was time they set one of their own.101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsw4s7CeONB
Cutaway: Unknown Recipient (unseen, unnamed)101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD8jX4yHPBd
A buzz.101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA8PBX7EHhc
A photo.101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5lmyYLhzwt
A phrase:101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU4mqagRNKs
“The serpent returns.”101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjEAj7bioH5
A pair of fingers opened the image, zoomed in on the blue arc, the shadow of the borehole behind it.101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMGR1V3yfP4
A slow breath.101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrDzpluO5l6
No reply.101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8lDSJKB2mi
Just movement.
***101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEDLIxE6bTp
Later that day, Kim sat beneath the loquat tree in the back field, sketching the mark from memory.101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6RRReeowHK
Shiko had redrawn the same on her book. “June found it first. Mary confirmed it was Mercy’s shade.”101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡza5utNcEpn
Kim nodded slowly.101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGK8EE46UCd
“I’ve seen that curve,” she murmured. “On a stone. The night the boys crossed.”101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡglCdofehBC
Shiko tilted her head. “You think it’s connected?”101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1riD67LYUK
Kim didn’t answer. But her mind whispered the name she hadn’t said aloud in weeks: Juma.101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzf5FU73weH
Whatever had passed between them—coded notes, fleeting messages, near-meetings—was now moving again. And it wasn’t just because of the Order.101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF9eJQPYPAx
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.101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjeWWpDL62Q
“This,” she said, “is not art. And anyone found tampering with shared spaces will face full investigation.”101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡefO9dhKWCz
Her voice dropped lower.101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIkppaGWhA0
“This school is no longer for games.”101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxKMa0kzvCl
But June, watching from the fourth row, wasn’t convinced. Because Mercy never played games. Mercy built puzzles.101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfsTS6vrmLt
And this was her first piece.
*****101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiEn5o4HnN8
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.101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIXnFsG8VLB
“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.101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSluFNhqjsm
Mary leaned in. “You think it’s a pattern?”101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD6VdXg2VxZ
“I think it’s a cipher.”101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7g89RsnYR2
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.101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTqUmOGK8c3
One matched the ink from the borehole exactly.101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa68w5B03XS
But only if rotated ninety degrees.101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlilVDk3oAt
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.101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdd6MtBymTj
June slowly copied it onto the desk’s surface with a whiteboard marker.101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTiQ9GrYaE6
F O L L O W W A T E R T O T R U T H101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGI1WXh1uxj
Mary exhaled. “It’s a phrase.”101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUJwgMDW6Fc
“No, it’s a directive,” June said. “And Mercy never gave those lightly.”101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHaASWZIyWb
“Water…” Mary looked up. “The borehole?”101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrdVgepam8p
June nodded. “And the old well. The pipes. The drains. All the places no one checks anymore.”101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEP6cVgnC5b
Mary frowned. “You think she left something there?”101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwqpqnoVGgj
“I think she left everything there.”101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1cXf6wpEjX
They both went quiet, the weight of it settling in like dusk.101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAEulZ1COQ6
“We have to go in,” June said, voice quiet but firm.101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOMoqSqu3b0
Mary hesitated. “You mean… the tunnels?”101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3gwEnsgo8J
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.”101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0wgUcHKswA
Mary nodded slowly. “Then we follow the water.”
*****101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCZXHUUpudG
Kim almost missed it.101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX0OFTrUiAe
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.101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGalyuv9ctU
Then she heard the whisper.101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtIhdKIsiaw
A soft scratch beneath her window. Not loud. Not urgent. But intentional.101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzp2J9yEhaD
She rose slowly and crossed the room, brushing aside the curtain.101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDpM8ES75hg
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.101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZzBBeTUIzX
Only three words in small, neat, familiar print.101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaLzd16l3xF
“Jabari knows the underground route.”101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn1RUPoYTHK
Kim’s breath caught. Jabari.101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMDeEOxHkXq
The name pressed itself against her chest like a match waiting for flame. She unfolded the paper again, hands trembling slightly.101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNTIzWnN8RC
That handwriting — not quite formal, but precise. The kind of print someone uses when they expect to be read by a rival.101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6ilnu96nqV
There was nothing else. No signature. No mark. No date. Just that line.101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm695qNIhJ8
Her Mind Raced. Why her?101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxOvkXIInSj
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.101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK3Ye96xXnY
But still, she couldn’t help wondering: Was it a warning? Or an invitation?101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡarj5W271GK
And how did they even know she was connected to him?101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHXC9VIkX7t
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.101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL50BjHoXDY
She thought about Mercy’s return, the blue ink curling around the borehole like a secret being rehydrated after years in hiding.101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8LCaqfX9dN
And now this.101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQPJoJARvrd
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.101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmocUYNFnOZ
It was structure. Not chance. Not coincidence. Someone—or something—was maintaining communication across both schools. Not openly. Not loudly. But quietly. Elegantly.101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo3KtAXkkFG
Like a system of secrets. Like a network. Like the Order… or something deeper.101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡebvXIwWs33
She looked at the note again, rereading it until her pulse steadied.101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1nbkyZAjaE
“Jabari knows the underground route.”101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsOhjoKDrjC
Which meant: Someone knew she was close enough to matter.101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI5gub86JBW
“If he knows the way beneath the wall… maybe I can finally ask what’s on the other side.”
*****101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjcVMIOEmEu
Shiko watched from the far pew, her breath shallow.101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKM35WqZneW
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.101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhp0fyO9wLW
Two minutes. That’s all Shiko needed.101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHVluColSiA
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.101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKEoa5HY0v6
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. 101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgG9ixQZDsd
Shiko’s pulse quickened. Seline never left that phone alone.101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡynYD4vFZT0
Not unless she was hiding something with it.101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH7rxyWUFu8
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.101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhLsBZFf3lb
Next: the phone. She slipped it gently from the bag and into the sleeve of her sweater.101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSbFStCeR8x
No one noticed.101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBlnHXTaCFi
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.101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1yTaxYYOax
She slid the phone underneath the shelf and wedged it between two cracked Bibles. Gone.101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡls7FGNBfdw
Just in time, the chapel doors opened.101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKibWy7l1Ee
Seline’s voice echoed in before her footsteps did.101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ40Ar3M4Hd1
“…it’s not about power, it’s about truth. And if they’re hiding anything—”101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0xU97aViF6
Shiko was already walking out the opposite side, face composed.101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcRSaJeg05j
She didn’t look back.101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB4IQb0sVin
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?101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsRCylwgfE5
Her stomach turned. Seline hadn’t just been collecting for paranoia. She had a timeline. A target list. A strategy.101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp4PV0Q7gZ7
Shiko leaned back and whispered to herself:101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ10LFOPIluV
“You’re not just bitter, Seline. You’re playing something bigger.”
*****101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgdWT7JoGZX
Jabari didn’t bring anyone this time.101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnQ6pOyqqwk
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.101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4YGruSGngH
Just space. And answers.101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ082chiY5jb
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.101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV2KJRCBK7r
He clicked on his torch and descended into the hollow.101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtQSJkcDvAK
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.101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlSv4Bb9RwV
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:101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcri5fEudWl
A curved wing, almost erased. He paused. Not his symbol. Not the Order’s. But somehow… familiar.101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡblUC9nQGbf
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.101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn2BGWBLH66
Mary leaned close. “Can you zoom anymore?”101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw0GrRdkGmt
The camera flickered slightly, just catching the dim flicker of light beyond the boys’ compound wall. A torch. Moving inside the drain channel.101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeCuRj98OPG
A figure.101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFtbTkxfkWt
Alone.101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0delAw4JOb
June tapped record.101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPFZr9Dxi2q
“That’s Jabari,” she whispered.101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡERhtmnLvFM
“He’s testing the tunnel.”101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJvfJiuutmq
Jabari reached a junction where the tunnel split in two — left toward the collapsed pump station, right toward the rumored passage.101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4SDCRe9mrP
He turned right.101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc8mQbVYU4i
He didn’t know the wall had hairline fissures above ground. He didn’t know someone was filming.101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX1H5ifiCWV
High above in the broken arch of the greenhouse, three girls stood now — not just Mary and June.101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFNEsH4reVU
One wore a hood. One held a small vial of ink. One, silent, recorded the time.101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt3BqlNeYX8
None of them spoke.101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuriCuB8Zbe
The light on Jabari’s torch flickered as he passed under a cross-beam marked:101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcHjBcgnoOw
"Follow Water to Truth."101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCseWs4oRyy
He did.
