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.58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡokHIzE36WF
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.58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4dp6K6t8fg
She spread the black card across the dissection tray — the one Mercy had retrieved from the chapel and handed over without explanation.58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQn8UAtmAg9
“You know how to look,” Mercy had whispered. “So look.”58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF6SQ58HXPf
So Mary did. At first, nothing.58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxssj4Bdj5N
Then the ink shifted — faint glowing threads emerging beneath the card’s surface. The lines curled, widened, and gradually began to form structure.58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyz5t6DoEIp
It wasn’t art. It was architecture.58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOJ3xEy4G4L
A floor plan. 58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjKk1YckaID
June leaned in over her shoulder. “That’s not just the chapel…”58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb6ggzHkDa5
Mary nodded. “That’s the tunnel system.”58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkzofZX1eTq
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:58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo9Hjr18owH
C.9 – Cryptus Sacrum.58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5joFYNeIhv
Mary’s breath caught.58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6Q42ujLaOP
“The chapel has a crypt,” she whispered.58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC0QpcnD0nx
June’s eyes narrowed. “No one’s spoken about that since Mercy’s expulsion.”58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSAmkbxwVFn
“No one dared,” Mary replied.58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrXUgE5REpT
In the bottom left corner of the blueprint, another glow began to rise beneath the UV:58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI0WusTxxzS
“Begin from what you buried.”58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPeHGV30DIS
— M.O.58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm9rmxEHhlm
June stepped back slightly. “She’s not just reactivating the tunnels. She’s trying to pull us back in.”58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPGjeyW90wf
Mary nodded slowly. “Or she never left.”58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG90UZZ0d0k
For the first time in weeks, June didn’t know which side she was on.58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWpd8StAKBn
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.58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqEYSEAkkva
And June had always preferred sharp things to dull ones.58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8m3GH1Gdbc
She looked at Mary, who was still tracing the lines of the blueprint with a gloved fingertip.58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOJ3cIb759n
“If that’s real,” June whispered, “then we’ve never actually been above ground.”
*****58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoZhjHfvtLZ
Kim didn’t look up when June sat down beside her.58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAekHXK2lap
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.58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5CKJdKSJOF
June broke the silence.58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTsoQ6GjP9c
“You were right about her.”58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr4r16GaD88
Kim turned. “Mercy?”58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd9VdGJPcpg
June nodded; her voice taut. “She doesn’t want power back. She wants the Order buried.”58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsv32OBs5Fo
Kim closed her notebook slowly. “What did you find?”58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ72KpMuaDRS
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.58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYCluzLdLeW
“Three verticals,” June whispered. “Three prefects. Mercy’s way of marking a trap.”58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5q9QSZR2ul
Kim stared. “You’re sure?”58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNhL3kMFfkO
“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.”58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTYC3Diq6hg
Kim traced one of the drawn lines with her finger.58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlupVsX0jSz
“She’s not exposing history,” she said slowly. “She’s rewriting it.”58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlOyKDnEPb2
June leaned forward.58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡayIetz09ud
“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.”58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvww9K62izp
Kim gave a small, tired laugh. “You sound like Shiko.”58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNQelX519bn
“No. Shiko’s a scout. You’re a witness.”58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkTol2BSz2x
June paused, then added softly:58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9iYCt0YWxj
“I don’t want to be part of burying people. Not even Naomi.”
They sat in silence for a moment, petals collecting like snow.58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPLLVPy3nKw
Then Kim asked, “What do you want me to do?”58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTGtghjtPAi
June looked up. Her voice was quieter now. Less prefect. More person.58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7lIHakD5DU
“If anything happens in the crypt... if I can’t stop it... you tell the others. Shiko. Seline. Even Jabari, if you have to.”58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡenMlspVPdy
Kim stared at her. “That could expose you.”58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl9KRBijHgt
June nodded once.58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzJobbF82Nr
“Better me than them.”
*****58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNNZY60LWLP
The corridor was nearly empty when Seline appeared.58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXYgEk9VH1g
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.58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2ZmpqfoqhQ
“You’ve been busy.”58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ08LGBhHlF8
Kim turned slowly, not startled — just tired.58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaz39rQI5op
“So have you.”58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJFfsP5yn1A
Seline’s eyes were cold, but not cruel.58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGNMN4Lu3XJ
“Let’s skip the pretend part.”58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ21gN0RVQaS
Kim raised an eyebrow. “Which part?”58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy7zuecocVH
“The part where you pretend, you’re not helping Mercy. Or June. Or whoever it is this week.”58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh5zVCZJ2cT
Kim closed her locker slowly. “I’m not helping anyone. I’m trying to understand what’s happening.”58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3ZlGfmK7kQ
“That’s exactly what makes you useful.”58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAfyZqNeppb
Seline stepped closer, her voice low and measured.58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1xGmOhz54C
“Help me expose Mercy before this thing in the chapel happens — and I’ll show you something.”58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhzUn751X50
Kim didn’t move. “Something about Juma.”58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYRb1mUtGYj
That stopped her.58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvqF1D0F1Bo
“Juma?” she said, sharper than she meant.58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKNmEZFcLo8
Seline nodded. “Something you’ve clearly been dancing around since last term. Don’t look so surprised, Kim. You don’t hide infatuation well.”58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAgfHKileQr
Kim crossed her arms. “And you just happened to be saving this for a rainy day?”58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQCx0VnIDsa
“No. I was saving it for the right pressure point.”58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPkqivrBnVG
Seline reached into her sweater pocket and tapped a folded sheet. Thick. A printout? A photo?58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2Dshb4uf8h
“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.’”58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmfyKqCfzqD
The corridor felt suddenly colder. Kim stared at the folded paper, then at Seline’s face. Not smug. Not even manipulative. Just… determined.58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz3ii711uf7
Like a girl who had once been close to Mercy. Like a girl who knew betrayal personally — and intended to weaponize it back.58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP52tbsHaU7
“You don’t even care about Naomi,” Kim said.58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZtIwBqOtXT
Seline’s voice softened. “I care about not being erased.”58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAuZZA30Ka8
When Kim returned to her desk in the class, there was another mystery to follow waiting up on her.58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1EB5REphVw
There was no envelope.58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8ybNOswK4i
Just a folded note, slipped between the spine of Kim’s literature textbook and the dusty edge of her locker wall.58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaVgvnp2zjD
She knew it was Shiko’s. The paper was squared at the corners. Neat. Dry. No handwriting on the outside. Just careful silence.58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbtaJ31lyT6
Inside, a short message:58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDcW14iiPTQ
“Meet at Science Week’s midnight demonstration. No one else. No delay.”58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgHC3X0j114
— S58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5qRcKu5ISH
Kim stared at the paper, rereading the curves in the "S" — round and sharp in the way only Shiko's handwriting ever was.58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm5Y6c2FGJc
She folded it twice and slipped it into her sock.58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7WKY4c4ZU1
Outside, thunder rolled low and slow across the lake.58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡURhTjJ2q5t
If Seline was a warning... Shiko was a reminder:58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8Gx571rAru
She wasn’t alone.
*****58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp0XK3gpSXy
Naomi’s heels echoed unnaturally down the corridor.58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyi8fJuD9bI
She didn’t bark orders. She never had to.58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5h5zoiKXg5
Two junior prefects flanked her, carrying empty crates. She stopped at the lab entrance and waited until the girls looked up from the bench.58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ975E2kuMvj
“New directive from the principal,” Naomi said evenly. “All ultraviolet lighting equipment is to be removed from the lab facilities effective immediately.”58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfsq6UeL4iJ
Mary blinked. “Why?”58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6JBW5LeCIK
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.”58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡffyxVZjEAs
June stepped forward. “That’s never been a concern before.”58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡezUT8V3uMR
Naomi raised an eyebrow. “Well, it is now.”58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7w4KVnyAqC
As the juniors moved through the cupboards, one lifting the dusty UV lamp from the back shelf, Mary and June exchanged a look.58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfueQvvEMXs
This wasn’t about safety. This was about control.58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmCRtt6lepY
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.58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv8cPrIXzun
Then she turned to go.58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUEhf0Fygxz
“If you need light,” she said over her shoulder, “try daylight.”58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3juavKqRvL
The door clicked shut behind her.58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQhwNAS6PAa
Mary’s fingers dug into the edge of the desk.58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNcRRdN5Icb
“She knows,” she whispered.58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbu7UWlnTt5
June stared at the door. “She doesn’t know everything.”58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw2vGyFas7b
Mary hesitated. “Should we tell Kim?”58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC2WBeFyBuj
June exhaled.58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUMiRUsVAwS
“No. Not yet. Not until we find the crypt entrance ourselves.”58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi8LqUmDAN7
She picked up the blueprint sketch, gently smoothed the corner, and whispered under her breath:58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgT6ektVk5F
“We don't need light. We need memory.”
******58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2KGOM1OR7T
Juma paced just outside the back stage canopy, fists in his jacket pockets. He could feel Jabari before he saw him.58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡORTwGfC2RX
“You’re late,” Juma muttered.58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5fS58Z631C
“You followed me,” Jabari replied calmly.58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrhqu23TBWP
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.”58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6oGilm1l7j
Jabari’s voice was cold. “Neither did you, until you saw the card.”58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡixJx0PhVGT
Juma’s jaw clenched. “This isn’t about who saw what first. It’s about stopping a collapse. Tonight. In the chapel.”58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpaiDmVS5tr
Jabari finally turned, locking eyes.58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb9qsmleUpF
“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.58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr7fbhdKnjj
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.”58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ210ZRvA4zi
Kim stared at her. “You sound like you’ve been practicing this.”58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5UaWDKEAN8
Shiko gave a faint grin. “You’re not the only one who gets notes.”58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd7cXH1FLIN
Kim unfolded hers again: “Midnight. Come quiet.”58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡds0XqTjsAi
There had been no signature — but the direction had been clear. The trap wasn’t just Mercy’s.58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbv9ETWtDi1
Someone was planning to stop it.58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9aXzSKu5og
They were just making sure someone else survived it.58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoicvtUv9YQ
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.58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrJE0gTSlz9
And somewhere else — Seline, watching from above the science dome, her eyes flickering with a phone she shouldn’t have had.58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN1o8rOpHb7
Jabari reached the tunnel grate first.58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhTT38GV2gi
Juma slipped beside him, passing the folded metal rod they’d stashed days ago. Together, for once, they said nothing.58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ42NgtJHHNb
Inside the tunnel — faint blue paint glowed at the seams.58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCWEY6je4zL
The glyph for “complete.”58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFrtjjSdxNd
Mercy had finished the sequence.58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY6WaoGz9sp
On the girls’ side, Kim reached into the drain gate.58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsSHdw0z8Vi
Shiko crouched beside her, prying open a rusted latch.58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOFIvrFvwcv
Below them, the faint sound of a click echoed.58Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1MMhjLjVQJ
A door opened.
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