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.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrYp3m6vaFT
Juma hated this kind of show — too bright, too scripted. But it made for the perfect cover.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXrVQzPSn8M
“Everyone’s looking up,” he whispered.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMuofoVQRiJ
“No one sees what we’re pinning to their legs.”24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrlfLHMTqJg
Jabari didn’t smile.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf8uEY5Tw1B
He reached into his backpack and pulled out a rolled poster, smooth and stiff. Thick matte ink on thick gray stock.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFwSlU2CG2B
ORDER OVER INSURRECTION24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpoP9mSbKzt
A white wing over a fractured flame.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzBib4C4jqz
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.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEc8oJI92xv
Four in total. No more. Enough to seed rumor, not provoke response.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqhQkYo9H8r
They weren’t messages for students.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfI4QoyBdzJ
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.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ1O79wbORH
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.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXbEPgcvT63
He whispered:24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9emxbsOz62
“She wanted an audience. Let’s give her one.”24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTOatN7nKxX
Behind the hydroponics dome, a girl in Kisumu Girls' tracksuit lowered her phone quietly. Her name wasn’t known to either of them.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQN4rwPZ5V8
But the notification she sent was clear:24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwq5s2kCN77
“The birds are flying banners again. Mercy will see.”
*****24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5EoVmQTnFK
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.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDG1yweuniG
Inside, Jabari and Juma moved fast, pushing through ankle-deep water that had begun pooling around the eastern wall.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm5ujd0P10E
“This isn't just a chamber,” Juma snapped. “It’s a channel.”24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8dAOY1yO7Q
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.”24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKhDD7XzGWZ
Repurposed by whom?24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡElE9PG04OL
By Mercy.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ59JgMW3YN2
Atop the hidden stairway, two girls in Kisumu Girls’ jackets stood in silence.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTyjUu72Zs3
One wore Mercy’s old prefect sash — though no one had given it to her.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5hssOeSwrj
The other held the key.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIyyuGwmKih
She waited exactly until her watch ticked to 12:17 a.m.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7y410xIJpx
Then she slid the bolt home and turned it once.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdk14hO2UrI
Click.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfDyxHsc4y8
The girls didn’t laugh. Didn’t speak.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3jm87cmdM7
They simply walked away.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpQOT6eVFiG
Jabari’s light flickered.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBcFLlXcKcX
He and Juma reached the far side — a rusted metal ladder leading up toward the chapel’s north vestibule — welded shut from above.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJUo2aoJpJ0
“She locked us in,” Jabari said.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR6JLAHAs5I
Juma stared at the water now reaching his shins. “That’s not the problem.”24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFDXbU1JVAC
The sound came next — not fast, not crashing.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjpwoBifw0n
A slow gurgle. A hiss.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRYsNdcOb1i
Then the unmistakable suction of redirected flow.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4H7cnj6Gd6
Juma turned to Jabari.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKNqt12D5ZD
“She's opened the borehole line.”24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcJNixc8iFO
And sure enough, behind the sealed hatch, where the borehole channel fed under the school… the grate now trembled.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH8V0qIOwlk
Then the water began to rise.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4RJH2JZ9RN
From the high choir loft, Mercy stood silent, eyes calm, watching the stained glass as shadows shifted across it.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYZvigfwMux
Behind her, a girl whispered, “They’re in.”24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLj6PN57KrY
Mercy didn’t reply at first. Then:24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJm1Z24RWpA
“They came looking for a lie. Let them leave soaked in truth.”24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDlB3mB2Tgh
She turned away and walked down the spiral staircase, vanishing into the dark.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkKU6Mxbm70
The water rose like a slow betrayal.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsdFz0MhbN7
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.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2iiRlMhTOJ
Then — a sound.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfjdEWcKZ7B
Bang. Bang. Clank.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLGALkShNyz
A screech of iron echoed from behind the north wall.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD1Z4qCnSnA
Juma froze. “Did you hear that?”24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLnqxjv3gyA
Clank. Slam.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQNQ16otdri
Then a voice, muffled by metal and rage:24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQHV7YAkCTP
“Get back!”24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡugMVnWfxqH
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.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWiuZHuNlc5
And through the water— Musa crawled through.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA1SUfSz8KQ
Soaked. Grit-covered. Grinning like a man who had wrestled a pipe system and won.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj3LSws0FZw
“I told you I was the better swimmer,” he coughed.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQbteH2p3HJ
As the water drained and light returned, Juma leaned against the far wall, breathing hard.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMFNsX1TaSn
“We were seconds from blacking out.”24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSAkxc0kYcI
Jabari, still quiet, turned his torch toward the south chamber — a small alcove half-submerged behind a collapsed marble panel.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbarknCgQ6b
Musa followed his gaze. “What’s that?”24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4FEZCfDOWy
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.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRCy5OfEi5I
Behind it, half-sunken and chained inside a rusted cage:24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxPTtOMdbex
Three black ledger boxes, stamped with faded silver initials: “M.O.”24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoFt85EqqGr
Juma slowly unlocked one latch. Inside: letters, class registers, intercepted prefect reports, old Order rosters — all annotated in Mercy’s handwriting.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkhFS5xvuW0
Jabari picking one up and reading aloud:24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0CIA0oo13g
“She was never exiled. She was buried.”24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4H1vCb1amK
Musa whispered “She didn’t build a trap. She built an archive.”24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeT6cRXpFgt
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.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6PQwz5yJnb
Jabari looked up sharply.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZADaQaJ3Td
“You followed us.”24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtNezuI2TTy
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.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiY3MHijGqA
“You need this one,” he said. “It’s the only one with dates after Mercy’s expulsion.”24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2R6xCOis40
Juma narrowed his eyes. “Why help us?”24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwgWLA7hKWC
Ayo hesitated, then looked directly at Jabari.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡewEm0evDOr
“Because I’ve seen what Kwame would do with it.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw2e1bZ0eC1
The silence cracked with the sound of metal boots on water-slick stone.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdwL6zSF72B
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.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUAmezcUHV8
The one marked “Staff Correspondences: 2007–2014.”24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbGm173EjYi
Jabari stood. “What are you doing?”24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuS4mqOYKTd
Otieno held his gaze. “You know I follow the truth.”24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrDg7fRdPfH
Then turned and walked out — no rush, no guilt.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwBFFiGoRls
One box in Jabari’s hands. One box in Ayo’s grip. One box now leaving with Otieno.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7ucw3HmlWS
Musa broke the silence.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKuufUuJwrA
“That’s it, then. The lines are drawn.”24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡonVmSkQObg
Juma added, “And Mercy didn’t even have to choose sides. She just lit the match.”24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqz8Z6GKmSH
Jabari watched Otieno disappear into the crypt tunnel, Ayo still standing beside him, conflicted but present.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBnen42ORe4
Musa whispered, “This isn't just about the wall anymore. This is a war over what gets remembered.”
******24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjNkEcaGJEV
The video was less than ninety seconds long.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI8fPUiiIoA
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.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpoyirfohWp
The screen opened on dim light, stone, water glinting along the floor like liquid glass.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1gH6xhtQNE
The voice was unmistakable.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDHTEVXopIT
“This is what they called leadership. This is what they built walls to protect. Jabari’s Order — drowning in Mercy’s revenge.”24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7NKGAapetZ
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.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsmUfV6Yx3B
Then:24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYn3TUA0JNd
Freeze frame.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe7UlFhXsCE
Jabari, back turned, lifting a rusted ledger box.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbXhXg7JjBB
The words flashed over the image in blood-red type:24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCTFbBLJvNx
"The Order is underwater."24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs9PRko3UHv
Then black.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDE9Sd32XYO
By 7:00 a.m., the dorm corridors buzzed like electric wires.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF4hVO5Yvos
“Who recorded it? There are no phones allowed—how did it get out? Was it staged? Is Mercy back? Was the flooding real?”24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBQkrR1lqvg
In the Kisumu Girls library, Shiko watched Kim watching the terminal.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHrWA5RygFM
“That’s the tunnel. That’s the crypt,” Kim whispered. And that—is a declaration.”24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg9mLdglQqq
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.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuv7k65MvKb
Kwame stood outside, eyes on the sky, arms folded.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmDC1bqXqVj
He didn’t need a phone.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfrNyhLrySU
He just needed a network Mercy built…and a reason to set it on fire.
**********24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuBdUTm0joz
June pushed the heavy doors open just as Mary arrived from the science wing.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwL5DrDBJRy
“The boys have seen it?”24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9mplKIvyTc
“Everyone has.”24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCP8rEb0tTZ
Kim entered last, silent.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgvFG69xkQ4
Shiko hovered in the corridor, uninvited but listening.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3Acj3AE5zV
On the old Order wall board, Naomi stood still.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6le6Z4ySPW
Below her — pinned with blue tacks — were printed stills from the Kwame video. One showed the crypt grate. Another, Jabari holding the ledger.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK09bsGXIkE
“This wasn’t Mercy’s trap anymore,” Naomi said quietly.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyxskijZ6WT
“It was her signal.”24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2UcfuDTYVw
Naomi turned to them — prefects.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbZAzVmigAh
“There’s at least one ledger still moving. Probably being moved to St. Theresa’s. Possibly Maseno.”24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡppu3u0H1Un
Mary stepped forward. “So, what do we do?”24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGfqWpzivhV
Naomi tapped the board.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfHn3sPCry7
“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.”24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXtFImmRH8x
June’s voice was cold.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwIT3C579fn
“You think Mercy would use one of us?”24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgag7tfOpeE
Naomi didn’t blink.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx0yIpdFL1v
“Mercy doesn’t use people. She recruits them.”24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZkvMWhFOrO
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:24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ6aNOQSEBD
“Don’t trust who enters first. Trust who stays behind.”24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhEPUOvyv19
The Order Hall is locked though Naomi stays inside, assembling the remaining cipher logs and pulling names off Mercy’s old class rosters.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw51J9dkmZE
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.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr8uax6WNam
She has only one instruction:24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzr0NMpjA1i
“Deliver it by dusk. If you’re stopped — deny you ever knew.”
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHq5GRZceUN
24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7FcMOOVxfw
