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.85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg3Svf5QYuX
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.85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ845rLYfGka
She spread the black card across the dissection tray — the one Mercy had retrieved from the chapel and handed over without explanation.85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQHlrKMpZk4
“You know how to look,” Mercy had whispered. “So look.”85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ45GlVzCQVG
So Mary did. At first, nothing.85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUGqTQ2GllB
Then the ink shifted — faint glowing threads emerging beneath the card’s surface. The lines curled, widened, and gradually began to form structure.85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0XetnbTpqb
It wasn’t art. It was architecture.85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyjrcnEi7YN
A floor plan. 85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡddqqP5psxc
June leaned in over her shoulder. “That’s not just the chapel…”85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuo5XaC7xQx
Mary nodded. “That’s the tunnel system.”85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXuISlkqAYZ
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:85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsL2WBwIbHh
C.9 – Cryptus Sacrum.85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSOOd0S85Ks
Mary’s breath caught.85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQypBYYcPgb
“The chapel has a crypt,” she whispered.85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfpGr54g3oJ
June’s eyes narrowed. “No one’s spoken about that since Mercy’s expulsion.”85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbFcyQyYZFg
“No one dared,” Mary replied.85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlD6HwKrzoJ
In the bottom left corner of the blueprint, another glow began to rise beneath the UV:85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhIxA1UUpGW
“Begin from what you buried.”85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSvfWsmvRjy
— M.O.85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcliModF6RF
June stepped back slightly. “She’s not just reactivating the tunnels. She’s trying to pull us back in.”85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL6DekBEwEF
Mary nodded slowly. “Or she never left.”85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtQ4ThA7efh
For the first time in weeks, June didn’t know which side she was on.85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtgLR3y6SmG
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.85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoFsw5IbyKv
And June had always preferred sharp things to dull ones.85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJQqOZefRtJ
She looked at Mary, who was still tracing the lines of the blueprint with a gloved fingertip.85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfvp4a1JXYm
“If that’s real,” June whispered, “then we’ve never actually been above ground.”
*****85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5awsTwDtEs
Kim didn’t look up when June sat down beside her.85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdGscKbdDLa
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.85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2PfEb2kark
June broke the silence.85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdeL3m5v51a
“You were right about her.”85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp2aQqgXys8
Kim turned. “Mercy?”85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡav18xZFBlK
June nodded; her voice taut. “She doesn’t want power back. She wants the Order buried.”85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPyN0xHZrTO
Kim closed her notebook slowly. “What did you find?”85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡImnDJGJXHC
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.85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP0IE0BScSn
“Three verticals,” June whispered. “Three prefects. Mercy’s way of marking a trap.”85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuts3P3F5mg
Kim stared. “You’re sure?”85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAvvsTpfsji
“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.”85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ72CaGKvP7W
Kim traced one of the drawn lines with her finger.85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjnThlsMmcq
“She’s not exposing history,” she said slowly. “She’s rewriting it.”85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2jM3nr54bx
June leaned forward.85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnRtxR1PItn
“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.”85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmTvRh5Uw5M
Kim gave a small, tired laugh. “You sound like Shiko.”85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyIEJj7yNjx
“No. Shiko’s a scout. You’re a witness.”85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc3mWyg96he
June paused, then added softly:85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8QH3nGf8XB
“I don’t want to be part of burying people. Not even Naomi.”
They sat in silence for a moment, petals collecting like snow.85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnStVcRn0ZS
Then Kim asked, “What do you want me to do?”85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvqVfpYs5I2
June looked up. Her voice was quieter now. Less prefect. More person.85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIsMsMTWrcI
“If anything happens in the crypt... if I can’t stop it... you tell the others. Shiko. Seline. Even Jabari, if you have to.”85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuyNM6XaGNl
Kim stared at her. “That could expose you.”85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4a6XAnHpby
June nodded once.85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhFupCFG3nW
“Better me than them.”
*****85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZgB4HCu99p
The corridor was nearly empty when Seline appeared.85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoIVcIbwVXr
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.85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHVK0G3l0X1
“You’ve been busy.”85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnoK93qxRom
Kim turned slowly, not startled — just tired.85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY2VGbCDxQh
“So have you.”85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkvxR3ZlNvK
Seline’s eyes were cold, but not cruel.85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8PSnOaL4YA
“Let’s skip the pretend part.”85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzNNlGveZYC
Kim raised an eyebrow. “Which part?”85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgSPRK9jD89
“The part where you pretend, you’re not helping Mercy. Or June. Or whoever it is this week.”85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP3tdJpaEf4
Kim closed her locker slowly. “I’m not helping anyone. I’m trying to understand what’s happening.”85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLreqi53tnj
“That’s exactly what makes you useful.”85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ92d13tI4u9
Seline stepped closer, her voice low and measured.85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHneK7ovwlM
“Help me expose Mercy before this thing in the chapel happens — and I’ll show you something.”85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr4SuTUkted
Kim didn’t move. “Something about Juma.”85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqhi51DAnL8
That stopped her.85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLulOW3QkFH
“Juma?” she said, sharper than she meant.85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTebzwuC121
Seline nodded. “Something you’ve clearly been dancing around since last term. Don’t look so surprised, Kim. You don’t hide infatuation well.”85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaKcUtE9h5z
Kim crossed her arms. “And you just happened to be saving this for a rainy day?”85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtp0gRYf1bJ
“No. I was saving it for the right pressure point.”85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9DqbDQ6lmo
Seline reached into her sweater pocket and tapped a folded sheet. Thick. A printout? A photo?85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡADikBsnKvg
“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.’”85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo9zcmYYLsi
The corridor felt suddenly colder. Kim stared at the folded paper, then at Seline’s face. Not smug. Not even manipulative. Just… determined.85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKKITTEVADs
Like a girl who had once been close to Mercy. Like a girl who knew betrayal personally — and intended to weaponize it back.85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu814VMkxAs
“You don’t even care about Naomi,” Kim said.85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqCrRAD6WYO
Seline’s voice softened. “I care about not being erased.”85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIp6LcYPKV2
When Kim returned to her desk in the class, there was another mystery to follow waiting up on her.85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWRsTWsr5Pc
There was no envelope.85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgCMF9YJpVk
Just a folded note, slipped between the spine of Kim’s literature textbook and the dusty edge of her locker wall.85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡixvj9AmKk8
She knew it was Shiko’s. The paper was squared at the corners. Neat. Dry. No handwriting on the outside. Just careful silence.85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWP4HJtVmAc
Inside, a short message:85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT8857cfYVO
“Meet at Science Week’s midnight demonstration. No one else. No delay.”85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjPhgN2k75D
— S85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgBZWyY7bpZ
Kim stared at the paper, rereading the curves in the "S" — round and sharp in the way only Shiko's handwriting ever was.85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvxFbQZPXF4
She folded it twice and slipped it into her sock.85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTkiaE7kjFZ
Outside, thunder rolled low and slow across the lake.85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7TnhK8OUwu
If Seline was a warning... Shiko was a reminder:85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUmBt5ugjCG
She wasn’t alone.
*****85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1tFVDl9Yc5
Naomi’s heels echoed unnaturally down the corridor.85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNl4EYUYIYW
She didn’t bark orders. She never had to.85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEnuW8ktTLK
Two junior prefects flanked her, carrying empty crates. She stopped at the lab entrance and waited until the girls looked up from the bench.85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGYBxUGt5Nh
“New directive from the principal,” Naomi said evenly. “All ultraviolet lighting equipment is to be removed from the lab facilities effective immediately.”85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA9F9Rm0l9Y
Mary blinked. “Why?”85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡel6sHLTTNq
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.”85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡevlktIht2q
June stepped forward. “That’s never been a concern before.”85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY7Do7KJTm5
Naomi raised an eyebrow. “Well, it is now.”85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa3OETNje84
As the juniors moved through the cupboards, one lifting the dusty UV lamp from the back shelf, Mary and June exchanged a look.85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx9FcgAUl4X
This wasn’t about safety. This was about control.85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdXnxOyNQGR
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.85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhwD77dZl9c
Then she turned to go.85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ38fMoCUOcU
“If you need light,” she said over her shoulder, “try daylight.”85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuksudlhRAi
The door clicked shut behind her.85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxfKp1eN4wT
Mary’s fingers dug into the edge of the desk.85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ28bdLuscB8
“She knows,” she whispered.85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy8KDZzZe4R
June stared at the door. “She doesn’t know everything.”85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmR09jpMf6n
Mary hesitated. “Should we tell Kim?”85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY8N17Vu0ps
June exhaled.85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3aphya2Vq1
“No. Not yet. Not until we find the crypt entrance ourselves.”85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXNJEp0QGaN
She picked up the blueprint sketch, gently smoothed the corner, and whispered under her breath:85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0EbnHgG0Dj
“We don't need light. We need memory.”
******85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzf86wQdfat
Juma paced just outside the back stage canopy, fists in his jacket pockets. He could feel Jabari before he saw him.85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYvbTq85OTB
“You’re late,” Juma muttered.85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUAYgi7loHz
“You followed me,” Jabari replied calmly.85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEQdoFw9TGQ
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.”85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJP6zcY7iGD
Jabari’s voice was cold. “Neither did you, until you saw the card.”85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLrNrX2n6z3
Juma’s jaw clenched. “This isn’t about who saw what first. It’s about stopping a collapse. Tonight. In the chapel.”85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqYCoUoIr8H
Jabari finally turned, locking eyes.85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjWePrgXJro
“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.85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPBCrChJQKB
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.”85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4jkWwDcxiZ
Kim stared at her. “You sound like you’ve been practicing this.”85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ06tjRWWuQz
Shiko gave a faint grin. “You’re not the only one who gets notes.”85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYl3MugNHfp
Kim unfolded hers again: “Midnight. Come quiet.”85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIYLxNPlzDa
There had been no signature — but the direction had been clear. The trap wasn’t just Mercy’s.85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmlG8rZtYyU
Someone was planning to stop it.85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAKZ8AFkEx5
They were just making sure someone else survived it.85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFXlsy7TEdE
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.85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9vfnHswFGj
And somewhere else — Seline, watching from above the science dome, her eyes flickering with a phone she shouldn’t have had.85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrJ6kifVqeu
Jabari reached the tunnel grate first.85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrGD3riBXFh
Juma slipped beside him, passing the folded metal rod they’d stashed days ago. Together, for once, they said nothing.85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS9Emr3m901
Inside the tunnel — faint blue paint glowed at the seams.85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX5sI8cyJeM
The glyph for “complete.”85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqnPUP7APx3
Mercy had finished the sequence.85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfQvuDsA9FV
On the girls’ side, Kim reached into the drain gate.85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxbURL1sGK9
Shiko crouched beside her, prying open a rusted latch.85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrgTPbiAUVo
Below them, the faint sound of a click echoed.85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd4UajP4DOt
A door opened.
