The quad glittered in moonlight and kerosene halos. Stalls shimmered under makeshift LEDs. Tinny speakers blared distorted jazz as projectors looped grainy experiments on white bedsheets.49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM33Bb5JFVM
Juma hated this kind of show — too bright, too scripted. But it made for the perfect cover.49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQAh9jwKRJk
“Everyone’s looking up,” he whispered.49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjbn9oBPPMA
“No one sees what we’re pinning to their legs.”49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpU3MsMxocb
Jabari didn’t smile.49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuCOlcw87ea
He reached into his backpack and pulled out a rolled poster, smooth and stiff. Thick matte ink on thick gray stock.49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr0RBMKbSp9
ORDER OVER INSURRECTION49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyiKLN8DCZZ
A white wing over a fractured flame.49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDGQndEcj1h
They walked slowly, calmly — like any two team leads reviewing tech projects. But every ten steps, they pinned a new poster to the underside of a demo tent. To a light pole. To the back of a wooden bench.49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOXLuuuzdi0
Four in total. No more. Enough to seed rumor, not provoke response.49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC6jFkVTEZp
They weren’t messages for students.49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmU9MrfWOjn
They were warnings for the Shadow Walkers. The fractured flame was Mercy’s old signal — twisted now. The white wing was the Order’s ghost — not yet dead.49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSDEI6puiZp
Juma stuck the last one behind the water distillation tent, where he knew Ayo used to scout during Fire Theory projects. Jabari paused beside the herb garden exhibit and looked around at the swirling bodies of boys and girls in scattered uniforms.49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrAOMpTIGZN
He whispered:49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRcALx3LaXw
“She wanted an audience. Let’s give her one.”49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSNTfqhZMU0
Behind the hydroponics dome, a girl in Kisumu Girls' tracksuit lowered her phone quietly. Her name wasn’t known to either of them.49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMKAcOHTkT8
But the notification she sent was clear:49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg3C95Nhvn7
“The birds are flying banners again. Mercy will see.”
*****49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKmFjKDGB7m
The crypt door had always been heavy — metal, groaning, older than the last three headteachers combined. But now it swung easily on oiled hinges — prepped, ready, hungry.49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf4NkybwysQ
Inside, Jabari and Juma moved fast, pushing through ankle-deep water that had begun pooling around the eastern wall.49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOcyZ8n7nCg
“This isn't just a chamber,” Juma snapped. “It’s a channel.”49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNn3TipzJom
Jabari knelt, ran his fingers across the grooves in the floor. “It connects to the borehole line. It was always part of the filtration system — just repurposed.”49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmOXuxz0h6d
Repurposed by whom?49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDmNg4LkouA
By Mercy.49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡseGXI6W4aP
Atop the hidden stairway, two girls in Kisumu Girls’ jackets stood in silence.49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgrBWQGi2YT
One wore Mercy’s old prefect sash — though no one had given it to her.49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZkehpSwPg0
The other held the key.49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2QWzEIhSFO
She waited exactly until her watch ticked to 12:17 a.m.49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd2rbjXHjuk
Then she slid the bolt home and turned it once.49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLWYdRWdJxL
Click.49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡngqxn1H5Ki
The girls didn’t laugh. Didn’t speak.49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmq35cgWFje
They simply walked away.49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzDuO79xBzM
Jabari’s light flickered.49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4pt6qVng6d
He and Juma reached the far side — a rusted metal ladder leading up toward the chapel’s north vestibule — welded shut from above.49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡncE9s94Djv
“She locked us in,” Jabari said.49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWXWZ0tZBIt
Juma stared at the water now reaching his shins. “That’s not the problem.”49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡET3e7q1rZX
The sound came next — not fast, not crashing.49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1Wp9Wh3yho
A slow gurgle. A hiss.49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpYsSHUxQti
Then the unmistakable suction of redirected flow.49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlhBD2Kbnxq
Juma turned to Jabari.49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrMf4KxiHPd
“She's opened the borehole line.”49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdSnCqEEkdF
And sure enough, behind the sealed hatch, where the borehole channel fed under the school… the grate now trembled.49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzvTJOkHEVP
Then the water began to rise.49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTJFMpnBC0G
From the high choir loft, Mercy stood silent, eyes calm, watching the stained glass as shadows shifted across it.49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFNXaWmiz8v
Behind her, a girl whispered, “They’re in.”49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDjmPuPHBih
Mercy didn’t reply at first. Then:49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGHMLpNCiWm
“They came looking for a lie. Let them leave soaked in truth.”49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaZOioOrzuB
She turned away and walked down the spiral staircase, vanishing into the dark.49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL7TgJGZZUq
The water rose like a slow betrayal.49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0gZhQYhEyG
Jabari tried to brace the base of the ladder, but the surface slicked too fast. Juma had begun stacking the crates beneath the wall vents, but none led out.49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTVtVzVlVNr
Then — a sound.49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt1HWc4cRsH
Bang. Bang. Clank.49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsIouggnkm8
A screech of iron echoed from behind the north wall.49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUoViVxbDOR
Juma froze. “Did you hear that?”49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡepYVprMP6h
Clank. Slam.49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD6qK6K7pWK
Then a voice, muffled by metal and rage:49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbf6uG4WEsL
“Get back!”49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ32WZI7gND5
Suddenly, the side grate at floor level buckled inward — then burst open with a thundercrack of rust and rock. Water whooshed sideways, funneling out violently, pulling ankle-deep current toward the now-gaping vent.49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOVKbyvtZD5
And through the water— Musa crawled through.49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo86t1OZpUL
Soaked. Grit-covered. Grinning like a man who had wrestled a pipe system and won.49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdjywe2V0gE
“I told you I was the better swimmer,” he coughed.49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwVnSgcZi0i
As the water drained and light returned, Juma leaned against the far wall, breathing hard.49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡON0qdDhVi4
“We were seconds from blacking out.”49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHcBZeDqDyp
Jabari, still quiet, turned his torch toward the south chamber — a small alcove half-submerged behind a collapsed marble panel.49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl9AaPsv5NM
Musa followed his gaze. “What’s that?”49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtMAWu8pK36
They stepped forward slowly. Beneath the now-drained floor, the shape of something metallic gleamed behind a decorative grate. Jabari crouched, pulled at the frame — it came loose with a groan.49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvalYQQuwNB
Behind it, half-sunken and chained inside a rusted cage:49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡstX2N9VEz7
Three black ledger boxes, stamped with faded silver initials: “M.O.”49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZfDaXHXrzQ
Juma slowly unlocked one latch. Inside: letters, class registers, intercepted prefect reports, old Order rosters — all annotated in Mercy’s handwriting.49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhZEjDm0jL9
Jabari picking one up and reading aloud:49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡppHxxy8scp
“She was never exiled. She was buried.”49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY56qfdpHpz
Musa whispered “She didn’t build a trap. She built an archive.”49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvn72Pybp9c
Ayo appeared at the crypt entrance as Jabari flipped through the first ledger. No fanfare. No announcement. Just his shadow crossing the old candlelight, face unreadable.49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwA3F742RVG
Jabari looked up sharply.49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8WKzzC7btu
“You followed us.”49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFxDUsnFCC8
Ayo didn’t nod. Didn’t deny it. Instead, he stepped forward, knelt beside the third box — and picked it up carefully, like it might bite.49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5LUIgJjlgw
“You need this one,” he said. “It’s the only one with dates after Mercy’s expulsion.”49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzg91Tmh04F
Juma narrowed his eyes. “Why help us?”49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC2EyaV5iAl
Ayo hesitated, then looked directly at Jabari.49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXAT2SKbjef
“Because I’ve seen what Kwame would do with it.49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqyqrgY9ypN
The silence cracked with the sound of metal boots on water-slick stone.49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWyoxGj58Aa
Otieno, lean and quiet, stepped through the broken wall entrance where Musa had forced the grate. He didn’t look surprised to find them. He didn’t speak. He simply walked forward, reached into the cage, and took the second box.49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDT0yOTA1P3
The one marked “Staff Correspondences: 2007–2014.”49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7mBvuafKoa
Jabari stood. “What are you doing?”49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrbB907ppMU
Otieno held his gaze. “You know I follow the truth.”49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB5JixF2V8N
Then turned and walked out — no rush, no guilt.49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWUEKbwuZs8
One box in Jabari’s hands. One box in Ayo’s grip. One box now leaving with Otieno.49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡorU15nZDSk
Musa broke the silence.49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDBs7IWYRu0
“That’s it, then. The lines are drawn.”49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ5CX2N0ZMI
Juma added, “And Mercy didn’t even have to choose sides. She just lit the match.”49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvKkBKl8QFH
Jabari watched Otieno disappear into the crypt tunnel, Ayo still standing beside him, conflicted but present.49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGDCvGIC8yw
Musa whispered, “This isn't just about the wall anymore. This is a war over what gets remembered.”
******49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4ZQRXlxv1k
The video was less than ninety seconds long.49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNottwjeSX9
It had no watermark. No source. But it found its way into every inbox in the Kisumu Central Education Circuit — sent from a dead address once used for prefect newsletters.49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡowMRnLJDhG
The screen opened on dim light, stone, water glinting along the floor like liquid glass.49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF1ZrgqqAGF
The voice was unmistakable.49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZYSdumy04p
“This is what they called leadership. This is what they built walls to protect. Jabari’s Order — drowning in Mercy’s revenge.”49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL3Jxs7Ny9x
The footage cut quickly — glimpses of the crypt, soaked boys in Kisumu boys uniform, flooded ankles, two figures dragging themselves out, torchlight flickering like panic.49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJaClxjpomB
Then:49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNB6wpkbsmc
Freeze frame.49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC4RoHkvvmk
Jabari, back turned, lifting a rusted ledger box.49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjPNw7pJ074
The words flashed over the image in blood-red type:49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmjNQze58NH
"The Order is underwater."49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHhuS55aOJ2
Then black.49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡex4cx55yeI
By 7:00 a.m., the dorm corridors buzzed like electric wires.49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmX9WeYCoe5
“Who recorded it? There are no phones allowed—how did it get out? Was it staged? Is Mercy back? Was the flooding real?”49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPgm3aQzCCP
In the Kisumu Girls library, Shiko watched Kim watching the terminal.49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5v03ER2GLI
“That’s the tunnel. That’s the crypt,” Kim whispered. And that—is a declaration.”49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1RDwDFA5MN
Behind the AV club at Maseno school, two junior Shadow Walkers shut down their old relay laptop — wired into the school’s forgotten printer line, a hidden broadcast node Mercy herself once rigged in her second year.49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMDuKwb9a50
Kwame stood outside, eyes on the sky, arms folded.49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfXMdkli64w
He didn’t need a phone.49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsGiT50jEGW
He just needed a network Mercy built…and a reason to set it on fire.
**********49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe16vu1wVYX
June pushed the heavy doors open just as Mary arrived from the science wing.49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIgnqx6eXdH
“The boys have seen it?”49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsdoR49xXEG
“Everyone has.”49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡamUjZqlE1t
Kim entered last, silent.49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGkKhcDw24L
Shiko hovered in the corridor, uninvited but listening.49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxKcUoangYa
On the old Order wall board, Naomi stood still.49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi84LGeblah
Below her — pinned with blue tacks — were printed stills from the Kwame video. One showed the crypt grate. Another, Jabari holding the ledger.49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAgzOMS9RHR
“This wasn’t Mercy’s trap anymore,” Naomi said quietly.49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtYcncDx6hO
“It was her signal.”49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfxnZdAvSRU
Naomi turned to them — prefects.49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUbgiMfkoFf
“There’s at least one ledger still moving. Probably being moved to St. Theresa’s. Possibly Maseno.”49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyc7rchU4pb
Mary stepped forward. “So, what do we do?”49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHEqdDjSfJf
Naomi tapped the board.49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTwpiCHIQGU
“We don’t chase her legacy. We protect ours. Lock down the Hall. Triple-lock the Prefects’ Archive. And find the girl carrying the ledger.”49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1C1NBWiQIk
June’s voice was cold.49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSwSa9TkjST
“You think Mercy would use one of us?”49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF0pyrnyWh4
Naomi didn’t blink.49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgRL4EeOIh4
“Mercy doesn’t use people. She recruits them.”49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf2fZGZmt65
The girls split into teams. June and Mary to the Greenhouse Tunnel, checking Mercy’s known exits. Seline, assigned to patrol around the west dorms, but already planning her own detour. Shiko, pretending to go to class, slips Kim a folded message:49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIAw12j2xM3
“Don’t trust who enters first. Trust who stays behind.”49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7X6SDUaXje
The Order Hall is locked though Naomi stays inside, assembling the remaining cipher logs and pulling names off Mercy’s old class rosters.49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQwEvwj9gOe
Outside the campus fence line, under a tree heavy with wet blossoms, a junior form walks fast — a duffel bag over her shoulder. Her name is not known. But inside the bag is a ledger box, sealed with black tape.49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡil1WhOggc5
She has only one instruction:49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6SnnneDqHC
“Deliver it by dusk. If you’re stopped — deny you ever knew.”
49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnX6Tw9WTKz
49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg3oj2SJu2Q
