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.49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWqT3RI4YPX
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.49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdy1O1YCyIr
She spread the black card across the dissection tray — the one Mercy had retrieved from the chapel and handed over without explanation.49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt0TgpSQIPa
“You know how to look,” Mercy had whispered. “So look.”49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVI2lbVNfwx
So Mary did. At first, nothing.49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0RCgttYCmg
Then the ink shifted — faint glowing threads emerging beneath the card’s surface. The lines curled, widened, and gradually began to form structure.49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWFBPrHeFGq
It wasn’t art. It was architecture.49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfntsrIVVDc
A floor plan. 49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD51E28ZpbJ
June leaned in over her shoulder. “That’s not just the chapel…”49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVw3xzbznkO
Mary nodded. “That’s the tunnel system.”49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcIxasXGlw5
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:49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJVtheVKWj8
C.9 – Cryptus Sacrum.49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb54kLS09Eu
Mary’s breath caught.49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAKsxJkA0qE
“The chapel has a crypt,” she whispered.49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYaTDLVmg6T
June’s eyes narrowed. “No one’s spoken about that since Mercy’s expulsion.”49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuMfzPuPFxQ
“No one dared,” Mary replied.49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDC2BxrT4BM
In the bottom left corner of the blueprint, another glow began to rise beneath the UV:49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnQGp5xsJLv
“Begin from what you buried.”49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJlOkPLotie
— M.O.49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuycvSK00mn
June stepped back slightly. “She’s not just reactivating the tunnels. She’s trying to pull us back in.”49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1ChOhfJFaK
Mary nodded slowly. “Or she never left.”49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHzfqWl6CXW
For the first time in weeks, June didn’t know which side she was on.49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGHdedsiBvI
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.49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTdQ26trBIk
And June had always preferred sharp things to dull ones.49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8BSffrPyM2
She looked at Mary, who was still tracing the lines of the blueprint with a gloved fingertip.49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAJ8QPKYqex
“If that’s real,” June whispered, “then we’ve never actually been above ground.”
*****49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡytNscbwlCe
Kim didn’t look up when June sat down beside her.49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOyIslpnEtO
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.49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ61kub1NQQC
June broke the silence.49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgpLGP5uVSw
“You were right about her.”49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4N9wMdmlHk
Kim turned. “Mercy?”49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeU6gmUo82Z
June nodded; her voice taut. “She doesn’t want power back. She wants the Order buried.”49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlGWG1Si3pE
Kim closed her notebook slowly. “What did you find?”49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqBkt9ZOZqS
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.49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZX0CDuIbrG
“Three verticals,” June whispered. “Three prefects. Mercy’s way of marking a trap.”49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdEyYyM42Jo
Kim stared. “You’re sure?”49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDNy4KDLUhB
“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.”49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn26D5YWP3s
Kim traced one of the drawn lines with her finger.49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHi4DuxCHmW
“She’s not exposing history,” she said slowly. “She’s rewriting it.”49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYk0o3MRRD9
June leaned forward.49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBiaFwheXfo
“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.”49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbnkEiPXpJI
Kim gave a small, tired laugh. “You sound like Shiko.”49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHzHoWvY65j
“No. Shiko’s a scout. You’re a witness.”49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ35HwrZMQhX
June paused, then added softly:49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdkz9LPgMcH
“I don’t want to be part of burying people. Not even Naomi.”
They sat in silence for a moment, petals collecting like snow.49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRUAEPSegIZ
Then Kim asked, “What do you want me to do?”49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0ae0ZsBlu7
June looked up. Her voice was quieter now. Less prefect. More person.49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmqFJGba53g
“If anything happens in the crypt... if I can’t stop it... you tell the others. Shiko. Seline. Even Jabari, if you have to.”49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0VXghdHx1K
Kim stared at her. “That could expose you.”49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxSfv62AdvX
June nodded once.49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVPVCROmqmJ
“Better me than them.”
*****49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUusBd2kxt9
The corridor was nearly empty when Seline appeared.49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO9WlAbTqVV
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.49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDhqZs6PsVs
“You’ve been busy.”49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8GuSrNacKU
Kim turned slowly, not startled — just tired.49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLf5Ow26TPE
“So have you.”49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnRipCpw15a
Seline’s eyes were cold, but not cruel.49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdtzBp7aq78
“Let’s skip the pretend part.”49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWIb49GpN9H
Kim raised an eyebrow. “Which part?”49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpPIInKeEPW
“The part where you pretend, you’re not helping Mercy. Or June. Or whoever it is this week.”49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNOAU718rmA
Kim closed her locker slowly. “I’m not helping anyone. I’m trying to understand what’s happening.”49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz0vMuBwVSQ
“That’s exactly what makes you useful.”49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡizaz7Ry3A7
Seline stepped closer, her voice low and measured.49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCUMdI7p1zX
“Help me expose Mercy before this thing in the chapel happens — and I’ll show you something.”49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0qD5nG2vyW
Kim didn’t move. “Something about Juma.”49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHGli0XbGzf
That stopped her.49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfNxr5kocFs
“Juma?” she said, sharper than she meant.49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7IwYrGSUbz
Seline nodded. “Something you’ve clearly been dancing around since last term. Don’t look so surprised, Kim. You don’t hide infatuation well.”49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2MfU0ovr9D
Kim crossed her arms. “And you just happened to be saving this for a rainy day?”49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ73U0tdickK
“No. I was saving it for the right pressure point.”49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMFA1MuJGEM
Seline reached into her sweater pocket and tapped a folded sheet. Thick. A printout? A photo?49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡye2NMjkEdq
“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.’”49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW2PcJdiW3k
The corridor felt suddenly colder. Kim stared at the folded paper, then at Seline’s face. Not smug. Not even manipulative. Just… determined.49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJmg03DzTXc
Like a girl who had once been close to Mercy. Like a girl who knew betrayal personally — and intended to weaponize it back.49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN5aDEQu6NC
“You don’t even care about Naomi,” Kim said.49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL79NWSSz5Q
Seline’s voice softened. “I care about not being erased.”49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ97zuPf5B6d
When Kim returned to her desk in the class, there was another mystery to follow waiting up on her.49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCj6jv1l8Pj
There was no envelope.49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5VkwgHyHaZ
Just a folded note, slipped between the spine of Kim’s literature textbook and the dusty edge of her locker wall.49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8esGXLpkjX
She knew it was Shiko’s. The paper was squared at the corners. Neat. Dry. No handwriting on the outside. Just careful silence.49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM6UJA6xNbM
Inside, a short message:49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡILmoIVA3NO
“Meet at Science Week’s midnight demonstration. No one else. No delay.”49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDihLtVcN1z
— S49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnKadfa9UNb
Kim stared at the paper, rereading the curves in the "S" — round and sharp in the way only Shiko's handwriting ever was.49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdukbMrK3q2
She folded it twice and slipped it into her sock.49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdT3OhhxItZ
Outside, thunder rolled low and slow across the lake.49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqMquDlzod0
If Seline was a warning... Shiko was a reminder:49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHFmyqs8HDu
She wasn’t alone.
*****49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6Z9xiEE0md
Naomi’s heels echoed unnaturally down the corridor.49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlcswnUK1W9
She didn’t bark orders. She never had to.49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0IsLcIVC0i
Two junior prefects flanked her, carrying empty crates. She stopped at the lab entrance and waited until the girls looked up from the bench.49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE9J9nJXbwr
“New directive from the principal,” Naomi said evenly. “All ultraviolet lighting equipment is to be removed from the lab facilities effective immediately.”49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFXDHufZ9cl
Mary blinked. “Why?”49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaJ1JY1evqK
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.”49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaif23GkF0m
June stepped forward. “That’s never been a concern before.”49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIlOI25rwFL
Naomi raised an eyebrow. “Well, it is now.”49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡouSYTi6Btg
As the juniors moved through the cupboards, one lifting the dusty UV lamp from the back shelf, Mary and June exchanged a look.49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcBDtB6fshC
This wasn’t about safety. This was about control.49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpSsk8h7KAE
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.49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHvTfHb3jqH
Then she turned to go.49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzri5vxy8Vj
“If you need light,” she said over her shoulder, “try daylight.”49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5DkaPptGPa
The door clicked shut behind her.49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ65yeZSZY8Z
Mary’s fingers dug into the edge of the desk.49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw5s7ZHCtNd
“She knows,” she whispered.49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWh5VEwHpcU
June stared at the door. “She doesn’t know everything.”49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG8nPJhBsRW
Mary hesitated. “Should we tell Kim?”49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJIDFc6oDa9
June exhaled.49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzZASAF437O
“No. Not yet. Not until we find the crypt entrance ourselves.”49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWGPIRE5jPN
She picked up the blueprint sketch, gently smoothed the corner, and whispered under her breath:49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy4fvXyrkxd
“We don't need light. We need memory.”
******49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQy33cdXIl6
Juma paced just outside the back stage canopy, fists in his jacket pockets. He could feel Jabari before he saw him.49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyO7MdbgRKw
“You’re late,” Juma muttered.49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpxIOW22oq0
“You followed me,” Jabari replied calmly.49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvhY6Uac3zW
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.”49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjA6i6f429l
Jabari’s voice was cold. “Neither did you, until you saw the card.”49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3Cs4rOwRTx
Juma’s jaw clenched. “This isn’t about who saw what first. It’s about stopping a collapse. Tonight. In the chapel.”49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrpkfRJeYeR
Jabari finally turned, locking eyes.49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ66rER6nRjv
“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.49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoPYGBZU9XZ
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.”49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpMWC4o44nK
Kim stared at her. “You sound like you’ve been practicing this.”49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ13dnBbZGRC
Shiko gave a faint grin. “You’re not the only one who gets notes.”49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYJRu4tLG20
Kim unfolded hers again: “Midnight. Come quiet.”49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRWorH7hBcw
There had been no signature — but the direction had been clear. The trap wasn’t just Mercy’s.49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbQL3ZQ4Dtx
Someone was planning to stop it.49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1Pwbfi8Fph
They were just making sure someone else survived it.49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbWRiV3Fk8q
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.49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL8vwNmly0I
And somewhere else — Seline, watching from above the science dome, her eyes flickering with a phone she shouldn’t have had.49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX83z3ZdWgc
Jabari reached the tunnel grate first.49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnM7WD3wXBb
Juma slipped beside him, passing the folded metal rod they’d stashed days ago. Together, for once, they said nothing.49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWPK9w5xMZN
Inside the tunnel — faint blue paint glowed at the seams.49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqRjpjCp45G
The glyph for “complete.”49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH31rnbcO38
Mercy had finished the sequence.49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ26oziFhz0m
On the girls’ side, Kim reached into the drain gate.49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjTA7cQqsyS
Shiko crouched beside her, prying open a rusted latch.49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHPWZtDEUEF
Below them, the faint sound of a click echoed.49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqQ60sF7h4T
A door opened.
