Escape (Part One)

Isabella smiled at the sleeping babies in her room as she hummed her lullaby to them.

After doing her check ins, she took a seat at her desk and grabbed her pen just as the clock chimed twelve. She let out a small sigh as she began writing. She scratched the fourteenth day off the calendar with her pen, a small smile on her face. "Happy birthday, dear Ray, and goodbye."

"RAYY!!! PENNY!!"

At that scream, Isabella narrowed her eyes. She ran towards the dining hall, and instantly covered her nose. "What is this horrible smell?!"

The moment Isabella threw the doors open, the fire spread out, and Emma was on her knees, screaming Ray's name. "Ray!! RAY!!" She chocked on her sobs. "No...RAY! PENNY!"

Isabella narrowed her eyes. "Ray...Penny?" She ran up to Emma and put her hands on the girl's shoulders. "EMMA!"

Emma looked up, tears falling down her cheeks. "Mom, please...do something! You have to help Ray! Penny went in after him!"

Isabella narrowed her eyes, stood up, and checked the tracker. She narrowed her eyes. "Did he set himself on fire?! Penny went after him?!" The woman gritted her teeth. She ran out of the room, where she met Gilda, whose eyes were wide. "Mom!"

"Gilda!" Isabella gasped. "Go get the babies from my room and take everyone outside! Hurry!"

"Right!"

Isabella stood next to Emma with a fire extinguisher in her hands. "If anything..." she mumbled, narrowing her eyes. "I have to save the brains! Just stay back, Emma!"

Emma stood up, her eyes wide with horror. "Ray...Penny..."

Isabella tried extinguishing the fire, but it stopped. She narrowed her eyes. "The sprinklers aren't working! What happened?! Emma, you need to get out of here, too, otherwise you'll end up getting..." She turned around, and her eyes widened.

Emma was nowhere to be found.

"Emma?" Isabella hesitantly asked. She pulled out her tracker, and let out a gasp. She ran to the bathroom. "Emma?!"

Emma wasn't there.

Isabella walked over to a bucket lying on the ground and lifted it, and she let out a horrified gasp.

An ear.

The woman shakily picked it up in her hands. She sat there stunned for a few moments until she narrowed her eyes, standing up.

"Were the children...wearing their shoes?!"

Emma gasped as she ran through the forest, a cloth pressed firmly by her left ear as she ran.

"She's here!" One of the kids exclaimed, drawing Penny's attention. The girl looked up to see Emma running towards them and breathed a heavy sigh of relief. "You made it!"

Emma gasped as she leaned over her knees, panting. She stood up and faced everyone with a grin. "Thanks for waiting, guys!"

Penny grinned up at Ray, who just looked shocked as he put a hand to his ear. The two could easily remember what had just happened before the fire.

"Thanks a lot." Ray mumbled softly as he held the lit match in his hands. "Nice knowing ya, Emma, Penny."

Penny could only watch in horror as Ray flicked the match out of his hands, and Emma lunged forward. The ginger-haired girl managed to catch the flame, stopping it from spreading anything. She let out a smirk as she turned to Ray, her hands slightly burned. She turned to Ray with a smirk. "Nice catch, huh?"

"What the?!" Ray yelped, shocked at what just happened. Penny just stood there, gasping in relief, her heart pounding as Emma shook her head at him. "Sorry, but Penny and I are not letting you die. And the other kids aren't, either."

"Wait, other kids?"

A knock on the door caused the boy to turn around with a gasp. Emma walked over and opened it, revealing Thoma and Lannion. Thoma grinned as he held up a box. "Emma, I brought what you asked me for!"

Lannion nodded, grinning. "Yeah! And everyone's ready to go now!"

"Thanks, you guys!" Emma grinned. "You were a big help." She turned to Ray, and Lannion and Thoma gave him a pair of fresh clothes and shoes. "All right, Ray, time to change!"

She turned to Penny, who looked pale. "Hey, Penny, why don't you help the boys get prepared?"

Penny finally snapped out of it and nodded. "Sure thing." She quickly grabbed something from her pocket and hurried over to the boys, setting things up.

"You done?" Emma asked once Ray was changed. She pulled something out of her pocket as well. "The next is..."

"Emma..." Ray said hesitantly. "Wait."

Emma turned to him.

"Listen, I just think..." Ray let out a surprised yelp as Emma slapped him. Hard. The ginger haired girl angrily grabbed Ray by the cheeks and yelled at his face. "ARE YOU STILL PLANING ON DYING, YOU IDIOT?! SHUT UP AND PREPARE TO RUN AWAY!!"

"Hey Emma! All done here!" Penny, Lannion, and Thoma called out in sync.

"Good." Emma nodded.

Ray just stared at her, cupping his cheek. Ray turned to see the items on the ground curiously. "What's this?"

"Your replacement!" Lannion grinned.

Thoma looked at Ray. "It'll create a specific smell."

The boy looked down at the items and gasped at a pair of familiar braids. "Those braids..."

"They're mine." Penny smiled softly, causing him to turn to her. She now had short hair that reached her cheeks.

Ray chuckled softly, ruffling her hair. "And that gives me a new excuse to call you shorty."

"RAYY!!" Penny whined, flicking his hand away. Ray chuckled.

"And now the tracker." Emma grinned. "Penny already used the device you made, I wouldn't allow her to do this to herself." She held up the scalpel in her hand. "Just give me your ear, and I can take it out for you."

Ray turned to her, surprised. "Wait a sec...why are you..."

Penny smiled at him, giving him a small side hug. "If you're gonna die, then don't make it here. I'll show you something cool so shut up and follow."

"Huh?" Ray glanced at Penny in confusion.

Emma smiled. "Norman told us to tell you that."

Ray's eyes widened. "SERIOUSLY?!"

"Yeah." Penny's brown eyes soften as she remembered the letter Norman wrote to them:

"To my dearest Emma and Penny,

I'm going to give both of you a new plan to follow. First. Ray intends to die. From what he said, he's doing it so that you and I don't get killed. He didn't include himself in the numbers. He's not escaping. Ray has decided to die inside this house. He's going to set himself on fire to distract Mom in order to let us run away. That's his entire plan. But I won't. I know that will easily break Penny's heart, she's such a fragile girl. I won't allow him to do that to someone like her. Not ever.

That's why I'm writing down the plan I recently came up with for you two. It'll happen in about two months. Probably the night before Ray's birthday. Using the fire he's planning to start, I want you two to save Ray, outwit Mom, and escape with everyone. Don't worry. You have enough time.

By the way, I got something unexpected, from Sister Krona.

I'm counting on you two. Please, take care of Ray. And the rest of our siblings. Finish what we started."

Once Penny, Ray, and everyone else was out of the way, Emma lit the match with a determined expression on her face. "Now, let's begin, Norman."

She flicked the match, and it landed on the items on the oil, causing a huge fire to start. Emma took a sharp breath and fell to her knees.

"RAY! PENNY!!"

Emma grinned as she put a hand to the bandage that Anna helped her out with. She stood up and turned to the rest of the kids. "Okay. Time to go. Let's head for the wall!"

"YEAH!" The kids cheered. They took off, leaving Ray standing there, stunned. "Norman..." He quickly took off and ran to Don's side. "Hey, Don, what's happening?! Do they all know about the house's secret and the escape we've been planning?!"

"Yeah." Don nodded.

"But how?!"

"Everybody found out...from Emma."

*FLASHBACK*

"Let's tell them about the escape, okay?"

Norman's eyes widened.

"Emma?" Penny asked, surprised. "What are you..."

"It's just...I have the feeling that the rest of our siblings really aren't as immature as we think they are. Since we'll be running from monsters, it's better they know what dangers lie ahead. That way, they can join us willingly. And besides. Mom doesn't suspect anyone but the older kids."

She glanced at Norman. "Is it...reckless?"

"Afraid so."

"The very thought makes me sick..." Penny muttered, hugging herself. "I mean, who knows if this would work...I'm with Norman on this plan being reckless."

Emma narrowed her eyes. "But...we can catch Mom off guard with this plan! It's the only way to actually escape with everyone!"

*END OF FLASHBACK*

"We started by telling four others." Don continued. "Nat. Anna. Lannion. Thoma. We led them all hear and listened to what Sister Krona said!"

"Since that far back..." Ray shook his head in amazement.

"It took us too months." Don grinned as he ran. "But we managed to bring the rest of the kids! Emma was only pretending to have given up! But the whole time, she was actually given instructions to everyone! Mom never even noticed!"

As he ran, Ray remembered the conversation he had with Emma and Penny an hour ago...

"They're training the others, and making preparations."

"How far along are you?"

"It's all ready. There's warm clothing, supplies and food. We can leave whenever."

"We're ready to escape and survive." Penny added.

"You guys..." Ray shook his head as he ran.

When they finally made it to the wall, Emma turned to the rest of the kids. "Nat and I will climb up first. We'll help you guys once we're at the top."

"You hear that?" Don turned to the other kids. "Just do it like we trained and you'll be fine!"

"Don't worry, everyone!" Penny added with a grin. "We're all going to escape safely!"

The kids let out excited cheers, running towards the wall.

Ray glanced around, his eyes wide. "Hey. Wait a sec-"

Isabella stared at the burning house in front of her, a miniature radio by her side. "Everything is burning...all of it." She glanced at the ear in her hand. "But..."

Isabella chuckled, and soon her chuckling turned into sporadic laughter. When she calmed down, she lifted her arms to the air with a wicked grin. "Ray, Penny, and Emma, they're still alive! My darlings! I WILL NEVER LET YOU ESCAPE FROM HERE!!"

Penny turned to Ray, her now short hair wavering as she ran to his side. She put a hand on his shoulder and glanced worriedly at his shocked face. "Ray, what's wrong?"

"Penny?" Ray glanced down at the ten year old. "Is this...everyone?"

Penny glanced down. "Well..."

Isabella let out a small gasp as a small hand clutched at her skirt. She looked down to see Phil standing there.

Phil glanced at her, his eyes wide with fear. "Hey, Mom?"

Isabella just stared at him in shock.