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.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbvXVgy2nAG
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.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZYcK6QBhhN
She spread the black card across the dissection tray — the one Mercy had retrieved from the chapel and handed over without explanation.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkcFTSttK2D
“You know how to look,” Mercy had whispered. “So look.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgbkOSlWCrG
So Mary did. At first, nothing.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMuBcuUdaP0
Then the ink shifted — faint glowing threads emerging beneath the card’s surface. The lines curled, widened, and gradually began to form structure.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOTMAySh5e9
It wasn’t art. It was architecture.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhuhC6jNbu2
A floor plan. 50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLwPwXgCgXB
June leaned in over her shoulder. “That’s not just the chapel…”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgiEKZE0k7M
Mary nodded. “That’s the tunnel system.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkf0kLcbjDR
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:50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEEnYpdCFpv
C.9 – Cryptus Sacrum.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuXgZ4RGAOe
Mary’s breath caught.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNO8wjGVJFs
“The chapel has a crypt,” she whispered.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaaafoWGKhx
June’s eyes narrowed. “No one’s spoken about that since Mercy’s expulsion.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlsmdG29K4K
“No one dared,” Mary replied.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwyjZhC2PzE
In the bottom left corner of the blueprint, another glow began to rise beneath the UV:50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvEMOl2XKEk
“Begin from what you buried.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3bNjvk226e
— M.O.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjSOmRwSSzt
June stepped back slightly. “She’s not just reactivating the tunnels. She’s trying to pull us back in.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKo7MF428hG
Mary nodded slowly. “Or she never left.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZQ8VSOSjbU
For the first time in weeks, June didn’t know which side she was on.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe3cg5vsKnw
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.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3zrDKlsf4I
And June had always preferred sharp things to dull ones.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIG23C3t2HK
She looked at Mary, who was still tracing the lines of the blueprint with a gloved fingertip.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxi1qhaq5Zf
“If that’s real,” June whispered, “then we’ve never actually been above ground.”
*****50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4EGgRWfDQn
Kim didn’t look up when June sat down beside her.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwfCWM8WaA1
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.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqzRsGp2Xtx
June broke the silence.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVfSP38bzm6
“You were right about her.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOWsiVsECIp
Kim turned. “Mercy?”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0vddCH5bY0
June nodded; her voice taut. “She doesn’t want power back. She wants the Order buried.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡljCUfC9IrU
Kim closed her notebook slowly. “What did you find?”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHqV8pKXjlW
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.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpyKm0yJ4qa
“Three verticals,” June whispered. “Three prefects. Mercy’s way of marking a trap.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN3VAwdozsk
Kim stared. “You’re sure?”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr47BvSrTV2
“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.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpPaUyuktqm
Kim traced one of the drawn lines with her finger.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgiQWkGzAUc
“She’s not exposing history,” she said slowly. “She’s rewriting it.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHhIeZaQkvm
June leaned forward.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1WuU8Vl1SQ
“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.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdwQIAK4txj
Kim gave a small, tired laugh. “You sound like Shiko.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWVlUsmPTbG
“No. Shiko’s a scout. You’re a witness.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFG4xjlLPfY
June paused, then added softly:50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBdeOQ2av9N
“I don’t want to be part of burying people. Not even Naomi.”
They sat in silence for a moment, petals collecting like snow.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaLO5XWDSEd
Then Kim asked, “What do you want me to do?”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiBi26GPpPD
June looked up. Her voice was quieter now. Less prefect. More person.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgopX8KGZVo
“If anything happens in the crypt... if I can’t stop it... you tell the others. Shiko. Seline. Even Jabari, if you have to.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcbpBSKbnkY
Kim stared at her. “That could expose you.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE0AKUCgzoh
June nodded once.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzn1wfN788Y
“Better me than them.”
*****50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmpn1p2OHIX
The corridor was nearly empty when Seline appeared.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4mDPbhtLqL
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.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOuzdD4CzZr
“You’ve been busy.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlPboh5LZX8
Kim turned slowly, not startled — just tired.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOirLDV7gU6
“So have you.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF9kxb6sIV6
Seline’s eyes were cold, but not cruel.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbK1r2CBe8Y
“Let’s skip the pretend part.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7U7udOYbvq
Kim raised an eyebrow. “Which part?”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKaSmSitOl4
“The part where you pretend, you’re not helping Mercy. Or June. Or whoever it is this week.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk0y2W9neqZ
Kim closed her locker slowly. “I’m not helping anyone. I’m trying to understand what’s happening.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXKqMvv8gMY
“That’s exactly what makes you useful.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkmEsIoT3aZ
Seline stepped closer, her voice low and measured.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa1Upd7IqAt
“Help me expose Mercy before this thing in the chapel happens — and I’ll show you something.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3FPM969CqX
Kim didn’t move. “Something about Juma.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt5uZGMSpH0
That stopped her.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTMCR8wLNEJ
“Juma?” she said, sharper than she meant.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEodL4j8D8L
Seline nodded. “Something you’ve clearly been dancing around since last term. Don’t look so surprised, Kim. You don’t hide infatuation well.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpYgMy7NHPH
Kim crossed her arms. “And you just happened to be saving this for a rainy day?”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡooiPYdQv8A
“No. I was saving it for the right pressure point.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnMKOs5l7GZ
Seline reached into her sweater pocket and tapped a folded sheet. Thick. A printout? A photo?50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCNGAGcbza7
“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.’”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFuFV8WD0L1
The corridor felt suddenly colder. Kim stared at the folded paper, then at Seline’s face. Not smug. Not even manipulative. Just… determined.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0qYu2tBRGT
Like a girl who had once been close to Mercy. Like a girl who knew betrayal personally — and intended to weaponize it back.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL5TyzKwEqS
“You don’t even care about Naomi,” Kim said.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgo8VIggXvH
Seline’s voice softened. “I care about not being erased.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXk3LE2BbkW
When Kim returned to her desk in the class, there was another mystery to follow waiting up on her.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuj9rAk401A
There was no envelope.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLrKF17GfeF
Just a folded note, slipped between the spine of Kim’s literature textbook and the dusty edge of her locker wall.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU7L31kuWJO
She knew it was Shiko’s. The paper was squared at the corners. Neat. Dry. No handwriting on the outside. Just careful silence.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6SE419Cc3r
Inside, a short message:50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCBBamOAJSE
“Meet at Science Week’s midnight demonstration. No one else. No delay.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeo7boLVlJO
— S50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7xHncQ7ois
Kim stared at the paper, rereading the curves in the "S" — round and sharp in the way only Shiko's handwriting ever was.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXQNUPcMY8U
She folded it twice and slipped it into her sock.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLQwMzfrxgk
Outside, thunder rolled low and slow across the lake.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYyL5GBGFgS
If Seline was a warning... Shiko was a reminder:50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqVrjy6mPa3
She wasn’t alone.
*****50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1bxcL5rNUW
Naomi’s heels echoed unnaturally down the corridor.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJLdkfX1zFi
She didn’t bark orders. She never had to.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRAuUcieKVH
Two junior prefects flanked her, carrying empty crates. She stopped at the lab entrance and waited until the girls looked up from the bench.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeN652vgUoo
“New directive from the principal,” Naomi said evenly. “All ultraviolet lighting equipment is to be removed from the lab facilities effective immediately.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0Ytz3nmamd
Mary blinked. “Why?”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxpKd60NBeo
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.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ97vPoQk26M
June stepped forward. “That’s never been a concern before.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMDPb4ABUHV
Naomi raised an eyebrow. “Well, it is now.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZuqlJWakar
As the juniors moved through the cupboards, one lifting the dusty UV lamp from the back shelf, Mary and June exchanged a look.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbwiD1htzD7
This wasn’t about safety. This was about control.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA5ablwYIxO
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.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaeKpuG1Y1Q
Then she turned to go.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZRVW85SLYN
“If you need light,” she said over her shoulder, “try daylight.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5fawHGQN3P
The door clicked shut behind her.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTUDsxWpSTC
Mary’s fingers dug into the edge of the desk.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMmbDafvf3J
“She knows,” she whispered.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh5HLUwlJTg
June stared at the door. “She doesn’t know everything.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3wftTP3zIJ
Mary hesitated. “Should we tell Kim?”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEsF4PlfVhz
June exhaled.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8pdxzrfzLg
“No. Not yet. Not until we find the crypt entrance ourselves.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfVVnsLexP2
She picked up the blueprint sketch, gently smoothed the corner, and whispered under her breath:50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBr0E60B2iQ
“We don't need light. We need memory.”
******50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdjqWwYb7hl
Juma paced just outside the back stage canopy, fists in his jacket pockets. He could feel Jabari before he saw him.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEKIW4biecz
“You’re late,” Juma muttered.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr6ypfEe5A1
“You followed me,” Jabari replied calmly.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzNdO9i9t9l
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.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9ylx4cAezS
Jabari’s voice was cold. “Neither did you, until you saw the card.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS0pjsBUURR
Juma’s jaw clenched. “This isn’t about who saw what first. It’s about stopping a collapse. Tonight. In the chapel.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmGXzHEVxMg
Jabari finally turned, locking eyes.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBe2MFb6zqA
“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.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ30lJ90VsRC
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.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡACajlNVNLT
Kim stared at her. “You sound like you’ve been practicing this.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMgkvNq2Q2G
Shiko gave a faint grin. “You’re not the only one who gets notes.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxTK5QlEBz5
Kim unfolded hers again: “Midnight. Come quiet.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzfabVD69E7
There had been no signature — but the direction had been clear. The trap wasn’t just Mercy’s.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNQjwSpmQ8y
Someone was planning to stop it.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWKZfwxBW5Z
They were just making sure someone else survived it.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFwaMSLqzx2
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.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4aEkpgicLK
And somewhere else — Seline, watching from above the science dome, her eyes flickering with a phone she shouldn’t have had.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZS26PC75A5
Jabari reached the tunnel grate first.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQO8qykIlL5
Juma slipped beside him, passing the folded metal rod they’d stashed days ago. Together, for once, they said nothing.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6yxUV2Ogkg
Inside the tunnel — faint blue paint glowed at the seams.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoRqEYZRYHW
The glyph for “complete.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ31V0JojydC
Mercy had finished the sequence.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDkbXm91UTx
On the girls’ side, Kim reached into the drain gate.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7JhgTByQ1v
Shiko crouched beside her, prying open a rusted latch.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbN2Q1aQTmy
Below them, the faint sound of a click echoed.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQcEGp0Lkhv
A door opened.
