In the Kisumu Boys' Assembly Room, a closed session in the late afternoon is underway. The rain drums faintly on the roof. Both Order loyalists and Shadow Walker affiliates have been summoned — the first meeting of its kind.46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeieXODocxo
The room buzzed with restrained confusion. On one side: prefects, old Order loyalists, data-keepers. On the other: Shadow Walkers — code-runners, graffiti scouts, watchers from rooftops.46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQCQbOUKixg
No one sat near the center.46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNz7wONoAgf
Jabari stood at the front of the room, back straight, the cracked ledger box in one hand.46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaJvCovNYGl
He didn’t shout.46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWZdoW827VO
“You all saw what Mercy did.”46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgxPxn3yUMX
Silence.46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoIc2DHtQYY
“She used our stories. Our fractures. She drowned us in our own past.”46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFLDLzRLaQn
He placed the box down — loudly.46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZYsfABD8Sy
“So, this time… we drown her in it.”46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwFwZ1hPpbB
He scanned both sides of the room.46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqNbPx7OfSA
“We have word Naomi’s side is moving — quietly. They’ve offered a containment pact.”46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHZ8UBq7tt1
A few gasps. One laugh — quickly hushed.46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHmxqKnYddu
Jabari continued.46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwtiypmvf92
“This isn’t an alliance for peace. This is a trap.”46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡATbt9QyJ2U
He walked to the chalkboard and drew a quick diagram: the chapel crypt, the drainage lines, the tunnel forks.46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡibUAgrBBua
“Mercy’s using the third memory drop — a ledger no one catalogued. We lure her into finishing the cycle. And we lock her there. Not with chains. With evidence. With noise. With memory.”46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBZqtZfls3N
Kwame wasn’t present.46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXaOGOMCrp1
But Otieno was — arms folded, expression blank.46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3oJdhZPKla
Ayo muttered under his breath, “He won’t like this.”46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYf9HcODKRV
Juma asked sharply, “So we do Naomi’s cleanup?”46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxZ81nMQCIQ
Jabari looked him straight in the eyes.46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9nseFBT8Bq
“We clean up our own ghosts. Naomi’s just part of the smoke.”46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU265khXB09
Musa stepped forward and unrolled the scroll — Naomi’s signed terms, retrieved from the wall.46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk5DH8KAR6I
He read them aloud: Neutral crypt space during the trap execution. Shared counter-signal system (one chime = cancel, two = proceed). No betrayal until both crates are verified and neutralized.46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWINAfhm7Fv
The final line:46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvCKELQNfIg
“No war until the wound is stitched.”46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHhyBbmJncz
A single nod from Jabari. “Vote?”46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR7XVMV2RZS
This time, only one hand stayed down.46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj7SeDKkwF0
Otieno.46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrSmKSOwK19
He met Jabari’s gaze, then whispered: “You catch her… Just don’t become her.”46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3viiXybUbg
The moment Musa finished rolling up the scroll, Juma stood — arms crossed, eyes cold.46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2PgX5SAaz1
“We’re trusting Naomi now? The same girl who tried to silence everything Mercy uncovered?”46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYY5bMKax81
The room went quiet again. Even the Shadow Walkers leaned in, sensing heat beneath the words.46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPNu68i9VgU
Jabari didn’t answer immediately.46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡylEHr2g15y
Juma continued, his voice quieter but heavier:46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb5YOGErsHH
“She isn’t here to contain anything. She’s here to bury it again. And if we help her… we’re part of it. We’ve already done one cover-up, Jabari. I won’t do a second.”46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIU0Iz2mGKe
Otieno glanced at Musa. Ayo looked away.46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQcKwkWvy86
They knew what Jabari suspected but never asked.46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCEKlQrOdb5
Juma’s voice cracked ever so slightly: “I swore I’d protect Kim. Not just physically. From all this. From becoming one of us.”46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZlg3r7t6tK
He looked straight at Jabari. “You think Naomi won’t use her if it means killing Mercy’s story?”46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnJ2JpVvHOx
A slow clap echoed from the hallway.46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOh5mPXEHYp
Kwame.46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNfg90vEC6A
He leaned against the doorframe, shadowed, smirking.46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ78oearUd0b
“Now that’s what I’ve been waiting for.”46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ8Fan1hNF2
Jabari’s jaw tightened. “You weren’t invited.”46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXRH1xbNBQq
Kwame stepped in. “I don’t need an invitation to watch a castle collapse. Especially when the stones fight each other.”46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgHWfcZPIUr
He glanced at Juma. “Finally, someone with a spine.46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZYIPkOYiYh
Jabari stepped forward. “This isn’t about Kim.”46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmQ1s8mKsQR
Juma didn’t move. “No. It’s about all the people who can’t speak anymore. Mercy included.”46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3xIIeQ29Bq
Kwame tilted his head, amused. “You know, I think Mercy would like him.”46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHWijb2m52t
Musa finally spoke. “We don’t have time for this.”46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxzk6sJ3ivY
Jabari looked at Juma. “You can’t protect her from all of it. You can only decide whether you help shape the truth or let it crush her.”46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAeGFjYvS92
Juma’s fists clenched.46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxYOp4WVfRf
But he didn’t sit back down.46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMvwJaIJLF1
Later that night, after the hall had emptied and the plan was posted on the encrypted wall scroll, Kwame found Otieno near the water tanks, where the fog rolled low and the pipes hissed with steam.46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2d6ZTY0c9r
Kwame leaned against the concrete.46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcUIDiIZD3z
“So. You’re really going with Jabari?”46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc35AqVKnMd
Otieno didn’t look up. He was fitting a copper ring into the vent grate — a piece of an old filtration system he’d been rigging for months.46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm2FP3L9wvr
“Does it matter?”46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYx9XIbvDSg
Kwame smirked. “It does to me. I had you pegged as a watcher. Not a follower.”46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKpgUR0BVuf
Otieno stood slowly. “You’re right.”46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGcl9l2Nmth
He turned to face Kwame — taller than him in the dim light. 46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmsVGY6YKxd
“I do watch. I watched what happened when the last war between Orders wasn’t stopped. I watched Jabari get blamed for things he never did. I watched you use Mercy’s name like a weapon — without carrying any of her burden.”46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3JE3JlgJmZ
Kwame’s smile faded slightly.46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtJjqgViAM4
“She’s rewriting history,” Otieno said. “And you think you’re the editor. But she’ll erase you the second you stop being useful.”46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDcc3GJ18to
Kwame raised an eyebrow. “And you think Jabari won’t?”46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsrEa4zkotm
Otieno stepped closer.46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡikAsALR89j
“If we help Jabari now, we keep Mercy’s revenge from destroying us all. Not for Naomi. Not for orders. Not for walls.”46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMfHXtRuYr1
He paused. “For survival.”46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡieMIbq2n9h
Kwame scoffed lightly. “You sound like you’re preparing for a funeral.”46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡILlvJiAsIy
Otieno turned away, sliding the copper ring into place.46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQXLXkj4oAF
“I am. The old war never ended. This time, I just want to know which side I buried my friends on.”
**********46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbZmbvzsvyy
The ledger crate was lighter than expected.46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiXVy9nGNNv
Musa tested its weight once more as he crouched beneath the courtyard arch. The M.O.3 chalk mark had been carefully redrawn. The false ledgers inside were wrapped in canvas, just enough heft to feel real.46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdrdIppe6ao
Jabari stood beside him in the hallway shadows. “You’re sure?”46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVMgDPcAWUg
Musa gave a half-smile. “You trust me with a busted borehole and a map that doesn’t exist, but not a box full of air?”46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaz3tdfu1Rg
Juma, standing nearby, muttered, “It’s not the box I don’t trust. It’s the gate it’s going through.”46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTvQtNrAF11
Musa turned to Jabari.46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuN16EnS3cv
“Let me take it. If we send a signal through anyone else, they’ll second-guess it.”46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKxZNWFtOx7
He gripped the crate.46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKgh4pD7W2M
“I’m neutral enough to walk through fire.”46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsNDmMLMkGp
From behind him, Ayo appeared silently, holding a folded black card — flat, thin, almost forgettable.46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMnX2h3ngdd
“For insurance,” Ayo said, sliding it beneath the top canvas.46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgABBYd7xUG
Musa frowned. “We’re not sending threats.”46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNHic7BPHKq
Ayo’s voice was smooth. “It’s not a threat. Just… a reminder. She needs to know she’s still being watched.”46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8rOgixHRrY
“No names. Just the old cipher. Mercy’s mark.”46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy4zEzuSR8b
Musa hesitated, then said nothing. There wasn’t time. Jabari was still briefing the wall runners. No one else saw.46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaIsw8kxP2D
At 5:48 p.m., beneath the buzz of Science Week cleanup, Musa rolled the AV cart up to the old drain-slot gate in the concrete wall.46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvYJBKdMqVj
He stood still, adjusted his sleeves. Waited.46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7GFDKcvb4K
The grate shifted open. Two gloved hands — Mary’s, if he had to guess — pulled the crate silently inside.46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ681hz3CF6B
No words. Only a single origami triangle left behind, folded from printed timetable paper.46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5EOUbEqpMH
He picked it up, unfolded it.46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3dBWo68CWp
“Drop scheduled. Second chime. No shadows.”46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡugppgUUrDP
The plan was live.46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqzVLKRiTAW
Inside the crate, beneath the false ledgers and canvas, Naomi’s hand paused when she reached the black card. It bore Mercy’s old cipher — a twisting serpent swallowing its tail — stamped in silver ink.46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO1lj2OrV4r
Below it: one line in tight handwriting.46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNDtEUCjaBn
“She buried you once. Don’t let her bury you again.”46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJm0jQEcBZ3
Mary looked up at Naomi.46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCM8NecUxbf
“Did you put this in?”46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu8gIMMuz6C
Naomi said nothing.46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡToIoB0KSAd
Her fingers tightened.
*****46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBcpX7SyTRw
On the girls’ side. After dark. Naomi’s inner circle meets in the underground storage room behind the old library annex. The crate sits unopened on a long metal table.46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUHQL9i4pQ7
The room smelled like old pine and chalk dust.46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBZ9vvFzyaY
June, Mary, and Naomi stood around the crate. No one had spoken since the door shut.46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgpmV2ct4Au
The origami triangle Musa left sat neatly beside the latch. Naomi’s hands hovered above it.46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLlMBYQ3fgL
“We open it now,” she said.46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlwz1PgPDqb
“We can’t afford another surprise at the Tribunal.”46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAtf5NZTBXZ
She glanced at Mary. “Gloves.”46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiO5RTaYr9I
Mary handed them over — clean surgical pairs swiped from the chem lab.46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGCawDPSnaD
Inside, the ledgers were exactly as expected — wrapped, unmarked, blank. But under the first canvas fold, June’s hand paused.46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlvSuVzxsZ1
“Something’s here.”46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZCDlyixQIk
She pulled out the black card.46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpvaqXVhP0W
The serpent. Silver ink. Old cipher.46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7iteT3g24H
Naomi took it. Kim read the line aloud:46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrq6EJVfS77
“She buried you once. Don’t let her bury you again.”46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTwJzD7sR0N
A beat of silence.46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS9O92MaAPB
Naomi’s face stayed blank, but her pulse visibly jumped.46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnxrnNcDpxJ
“It’s not hers,” she said flatly. “She never wrote in third person.”46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX0yMaxWUEN
June stepped in. “Then it’s meant to make it look like it is.”46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqySzKiimHh
Mary whispered, “Could it be a warning? From the boys?”46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡycjE045z8B
Naomi shook her head. 46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3QRv1cVKBV
“Too calculated. This isn’t warning. It’s planting doubt. Whoever slipped it in wanted us to panic in front of the school.”46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1MZM2K7aPv
June laid the card flat on the table.46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUsJmWjkjvq
“We pull it now. Quietly. And we never say a word.”46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7qleoGfxcT
Naomi finally nodded. “Burn it.”46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPbRFjW0vbD
Mary hesitated. “That’s a Mercy move.”46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjCytNeOXGV
Naomi replied coldly: 46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj2DOikjelW
“Then maybe she taught us well.”46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLbUVn77l6L
The card was burning in a lab beaker, the serpent curling into ash by the time they were done, Naomi staring into the flame longer than the others.46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNbBlT898Cb
June turned to Naomi. 46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgK6mnVU4fP
“When you open that crate tomorrow, make sure your voice doesn’t shake.”46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMWq3ZxDQiM
Naomi said nothing.46Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnRPYT14SxX
But her jaw was set.
