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.34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrKZPcYolXk
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.34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeY5rfKEgvI
She spread the black card across the dissection tray — the one Mercy had retrieved from the chapel and handed over without explanation.34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi506Z42P2e
“You know how to look,” Mercy had whispered. “So look.”34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbWY81WY2KP
So Mary did. At first, nothing.34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZtcYuB0j9D
Then the ink shifted — faint glowing threads emerging beneath the card’s surface. The lines curled, widened, and gradually began to form structure.34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDNSUPp1Ada
It wasn’t art. It was architecture.34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9FLJ0FTfKY
A floor plan. 34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyjuqjgdclD
June leaned in over her shoulder. “That’s not just the chapel…”34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh95Q1vYj7J
Mary nodded. “That’s the tunnel system.”34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQWt3UWc2aG
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:34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1AjPMHgexS
C.9 – Cryptus Sacrum.34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa89kMYYttZ
Mary’s breath caught.34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBWg9eXuv8o
“The chapel has a crypt,” she whispered.34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzmB9J4Vi5r
June’s eyes narrowed. “No one’s spoken about that since Mercy’s expulsion.”34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWIDzX2ZdS0
“No one dared,” Mary replied.34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmnyKV9UDFF
In the bottom left corner of the blueprint, another glow began to rise beneath the UV:34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLEn7niMjS4
“Begin from what you buried.”34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrcrh6bn2VQ
— M.O.34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuugzKG2JXy
June stepped back slightly. “She’s not just reactivating the tunnels. She’s trying to pull us back in.”34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡueTq5WEa0h
Mary nodded slowly. “Or she never left.”34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ801MGWIOmP
For the first time in weeks, June didn’t know which side she was on.34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMuCNpnP9Jt
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.34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx6s8VMac2n
And June had always preferred sharp things to dull ones.34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5RvyKVpUpL
She looked at Mary, who was still tracing the lines of the blueprint with a gloved fingertip.34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS2u7GoOhKz
“If that’s real,” June whispered, “then we’ve never actually been above ground.”
*****34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfOufmNzVqI
Kim didn’t look up when June sat down beside her.34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZfiWzpI27U
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.34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9wKEbtvLJF
June broke the silence.34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ51rA3xQWvt
“You were right about her.”34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh68bqd7GEL
Kim turned. “Mercy?”34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH45JvegVjN
June nodded; her voice taut. “She doesn’t want power back. She wants the Order buried.”34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR2wrQcAumP
Kim closed her notebook slowly. “What did you find?”34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7vlMOQHTOg
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.34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq9pPKE8R6z
“Three verticals,” June whispered. “Three prefects. Mercy’s way of marking a trap.”34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj5Yhhsf1lT
Kim stared. “You’re sure?”34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGJUWgwt6Mk
“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.”34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7m4VHZ6lIY
Kim traced one of the drawn lines with her finger.34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7znExjWucL
“She’s not exposing history,” she said slowly. “She’s rewriting it.”34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHQpuAOMKDm
June leaned forward.34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPLprRNpz94
“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.”34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaykWS4Js3b
Kim gave a small, tired laugh. “You sound like Shiko.”34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEWqtSJBEck
“No. Shiko’s a scout. You’re a witness.”34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjfQ6quM23q
June paused, then added softly:34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrwGsP6KSug
“I don’t want to be part of burying people. Not even Naomi.”
They sat in silence for a moment, petals collecting like snow.34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOeNuSpPM9p
Then Kim asked, “What do you want me to do?”34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBdkb2A6Op4
June looked up. Her voice was quieter now. Less prefect. More person.34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBwgXqYv2M5
“If anything happens in the crypt... if I can’t stop it... you tell the others. Shiko. Seline. Even Jabari, if you have to.”34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuPzSf7EsOe
Kim stared at her. “That could expose you.”34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcXXTyaZkjV
June nodded once.34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnM2oKmDvIG
“Better me than them.”
*****34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7D0Mnef007
The corridor was nearly empty when Seline appeared.34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb2M6FYetFq
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.34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCgEzGfK5fq
“You’ve been busy.”34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt07aofgzU3
Kim turned slowly, not startled — just tired.34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7E3YqtqLz6
“So have you.”34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6Q8hKzaXFI
Seline’s eyes were cold, but not cruel.34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5yS40PVkBb
“Let’s skip the pretend part.”34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPviRpHUyJV
Kim raised an eyebrow. “Which part?”34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuLMluMdx4H
“The part where you pretend, you’re not helping Mercy. Or June. Or whoever it is this week.”34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU5g982FZAV
Kim closed her locker slowly. “I’m not helping anyone. I’m trying to understand what’s happening.”34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfQQxI8R8dS
“That’s exactly what makes you useful.”34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQMTuLerPjx
Seline stepped closer, her voice low and measured.34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBGAtlCI1my
“Help me expose Mercy before this thing in the chapel happens — and I’ll show you something.”34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjjMo0kz4xE
Kim didn’t move. “Something about Juma.”34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3vXbFwVUkd
That stopped her.34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpkMKfyBJBu
“Juma?” she said, sharper than she meant.34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3SWnbG9wPz
Seline nodded. “Something you’ve clearly been dancing around since last term. Don’t look so surprised, Kim. You don’t hide infatuation well.”34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdOfKQ2CBmq
Kim crossed her arms. “And you just happened to be saving this for a rainy day?”34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡunSytidb2Y
“No. I was saving it for the right pressure point.”34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaaI59dFl5H
Seline reached into her sweater pocket and tapped a folded sheet. Thick. A printout? A photo?34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA8x9LDnqaK
“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.’”34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYGMwkePQ9t
The corridor felt suddenly colder. Kim stared at the folded paper, then at Seline’s face. Not smug. Not even manipulative. Just… determined.34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzWsh4QYTWo
Like a girl who had once been close to Mercy. Like a girl who knew betrayal personally — and intended to weaponize it back.34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡppNhlGkI7i
“You don’t even care about Naomi,” Kim said.34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGM5wuaZeQB
Seline’s voice softened. “I care about not being erased.”34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1YeI2yeX73
When Kim returned to her desk in the class, there was another mystery to follow waiting up on her.34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWNTcD8iFpM
There was no envelope.34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8z7ph3oLWk
Just a folded note, slipped between the spine of Kim’s literature textbook and the dusty edge of her locker wall.34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBtuEnoMRrJ
She knew it was Shiko’s. The paper was squared at the corners. Neat. Dry. No handwriting on the outside. Just careful silence.34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd3hbEXwl9K
Inside, a short message:34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4twIliBDXq
“Meet at Science Week’s midnight demonstration. No one else. No delay.”34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJfztHMzaSF
— S34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFnUoVZUAkF
Kim stared at the paper, rereading the curves in the "S" — round and sharp in the way only Shiko's handwriting ever was.34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrDFPnVP8Bb
She folded it twice and slipped it into her sock.34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvetpNjqfWY
Outside, thunder rolled low and slow across the lake.34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLxQHuy9FTo
If Seline was a warning... Shiko was a reminder:34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS5BIkBQmH7
She wasn’t alone.
*****34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7jaHPJUGI1
Naomi’s heels echoed unnaturally down the corridor.34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHjgmFCRJ2d
She didn’t bark orders. She never had to.34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUXRFCH1Kpq
Two junior prefects flanked her, carrying empty crates. She stopped at the lab entrance and waited until the girls looked up from the bench.34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgeAxkXT8ui
“New directive from the principal,” Naomi said evenly. “All ultraviolet lighting equipment is to be removed from the lab facilities effective immediately.”34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHhgb0RGpYG
Mary blinked. “Why?”34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcUB1D8Qmd3
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.”34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2cDpd9mmSV
June stepped forward. “That’s never been a concern before.”34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAapFHoaogm
Naomi raised an eyebrow. “Well, it is now.”34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz7RGOoNaEx
As the juniors moved through the cupboards, one lifting the dusty UV lamp from the back shelf, Mary and June exchanged a look.34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoQOBioHjbN
This wasn’t about safety. This was about control.34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsme3x9rmS2
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.34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLwssWinPGw
Then she turned to go.34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGEMMRCJzTz
“If you need light,” she said over her shoulder, “try daylight.”34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFULWrfgsI8
The door clicked shut behind her.34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTRjroobGzn
Mary’s fingers dug into the edge of the desk.34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHbb75fMZlQ
“She knows,” she whispered.34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVE8x6ZJL0x
June stared at the door. “She doesn’t know everything.”34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH1cMI23lym
Mary hesitated. “Should we tell Kim?”34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN0PhrnXJDw
June exhaled.34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ24txgpokdX
“No. Not yet. Not until we find the crypt entrance ourselves.”34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuUwnEUiVeB
She picked up the blueprint sketch, gently smoothed the corner, and whispered under her breath:34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp9NZGY4wBA
“We don't need light. We need memory.”
******34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrlGq9jg52t
Juma paced just outside the back stage canopy, fists in his jacket pockets. He could feel Jabari before he saw him.34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7OMT8cUPRG
“You’re late,” Juma muttered.34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEl6CkrtPek
“You followed me,” Jabari replied calmly.34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQm6tMiFInZ
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.”34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcSm1W9iDqt
Jabari’s voice was cold. “Neither did you, until you saw the card.”34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcZJZJJEVL1
Juma’s jaw clenched. “This isn’t about who saw what first. It’s about stopping a collapse. Tonight. In the chapel.”34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2E5rLOucXI
Jabari finally turned, locking eyes.34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx2uGS8TDlt
“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.34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDA4MZUGMmC
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.”34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0p956djZEy
Kim stared at her. “You sound like you’ve been practicing this.”34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLDzGvq9b4Y
Shiko gave a faint grin. “You’re not the only one who gets notes.”34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGWYIr9jnxd
Kim unfolded hers again: “Midnight. Come quiet.”34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxjch47Fnfe
There had been no signature — but the direction had been clear. The trap wasn’t just Mercy’s.34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLukvlfxKXs
Someone was planning to stop it.34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9HwmdZfkcj
They were just making sure someone else survived it.34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo2s1uqqhSo
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.34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVtMjF87RbT
And somewhere else — Seline, watching from above the science dome, her eyes flickering with a phone she shouldn’t have had.34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1cn6oAV4ME
Jabari reached the tunnel grate first.34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE1U5Tybc37
Juma slipped beside him, passing the folded metal rod they’d stashed days ago. Together, for once, they said nothing.34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqd2vW4XHLw
Inside the tunnel — faint blue paint glowed at the seams.34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9gNFyVEcnu
The glyph for “complete.”34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd81lbP8GGK
Mercy had finished the sequence.34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPkkJw2uMq9
On the girls’ side, Kim reached into the drain gate.34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6rgf0Rq8xa
Shiko crouched beside her, prying open a rusted latch.34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyj4qfe2Z8s
Below them, the faint sound of a click echoed.34Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQFUTXavtnx
A door opened.
