02. | i care about her.

DISCLAIMERS ~ strong language, mild violence

I still had the belief that mom was human, like us. I believed that she still loved us.

The kind mom was all a lie. A performance to feed us to the demons.

"She's not our mother, she's not even human like us." Norman said, his head in his hands in disbelief. "Mom is a demon."

𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊

Our time limit is two months. We need to figure out a way for everyone to escape before then.

"Tracking devices... I didn't think she'd go that far." Emma said, holding up the washing pole.

But this... Is this even worth doing so much for?

Emma thought.

"The key to our value is-" Norman said before Emma interrupted him.

"Our ages and scores."

Norman put his hand on his chin, falling deep into thought.

"'Another six year old'? 'Shipping out normal ones'? Judging from what the Demons said, age equals the grade of meat." He finalized, "if I remember correctly, the siblings who were shipped out were all between ages twelve and six."

If being six years old ranks as normal then...

The highest quality is twelve years old.

"Then what about our scores?" Emma questioned, "The order of getting shipping out?"

"Unless we get full marks, our scores are never announced." He replied, running a hand through his hair, "So we didn't notice, but that's probably it. After we turn six, we're harvested in order of lowest test scores. And when we're twelve, we get shipped out no matter what."

Emma's hand fell to her mouth, almost in shock. "So we were withheld from being harvested because we got perfect scores?" She reitterated.

"I just don't understand why it depends on our scores." He mumbled.

Why does it depend on being between six and twelve?

Is it the size of our bodies? That would equal more meat, right?

No, then it would depend on our height.

"The size of our brains.." Norman mumbled. "our brains!"

"Huh?"

"A human brain is said to develop by 90% by the time we're six years old. Another theory says it's 100% developed by 12 years old. The Demons are after human brains!" Norman finished.

Emma looked up at the sky, "That means.." She mumbled to herself, ultimately realizing.

"The brain probably tastes the best and the more developed, the better."

They eat brains? And they're willing to risk and spend a lot. That's why we're valuable merchandise.

Emma thought before they turned around.

"First off, we need a rope." Norman blurted out. "Let's return to the house and look for one. actually, I already have an eye on where some might be."

Emma gripped onto his arm, putting a finger on her lip, "Wait!" She hushed him, "They have tracking devices on us, what if they have other stuff? Like cameras or listening devices?"

He smiled at the girl, "We don't have to worry about that. I looked around last night and there was nothing of the sort in the house." He said, "I figured we should know about the security conditions if we want to escape."

He says it so casually! Oh, Norman...

"So, the security measures are on us and not in the building. I should've known." Norman muttered as we walked up the stairs.

"Do you think Mom knows already?" Emma asked, walking next to Norman. "That we went all the way to the wall?"

"I wonder. Last night, she didn't know we were there so that means Mom doesn't always know where we are. She can tell our location only when she checks." Norman replied, "So if the signals from our tracking devices can specify individuals and if Mom checked our movements last night, then she knows. She knows that we went to the gate, that we found out about the Demons and that we're planning to escape."

Emma's face dropped in shock, it wasn't the answer she wanted to hear but she knew it was the truth.

"But we can't be sure just yet. I believe that she hasn't figured out who was there last night." He said, putting his hands out in front of him, "If she knew, she wouldn't have warned us in such a roundabout way. She would've threatened us directly, that's why-"

"Hey, Norman?" Don's voice called out from the hall, "Do you have a second?"

Norman looked in his direction, giving him a smile before walking up to him, "Sure, what's up?" He asked, their voices fading as Emma watched them leave.

She noticed the wall of painting on her left, her body turning to look at it without her even thinking about it.

That's why...

For now, we have to act like nothing's happened.

Her hand fell onto the painting Conny had done just a few days earlier, and now she's gone.

Emma will never see her beaming smile again, instead she'll see the horrified look that she saw on Conny's limp body.

She died scared. She knew nobody was coming to save her, and that thought broke Emma's heart into a million pieces.

Even if Emma knew what was going to happen, she couldn't have done anything to help her, although she wished she could.

She wished she could've helped her so badly.

Emma was cut out of her thoughts by a tall figure by the side of her, staring her straight in the eyes. It was Isabella.

If looks could kill, Emma was be six feet under.

It wasn't an angry look, it was more of an interrogating look and it sent shivers down Emma's spine.

"What's wrong, Emma? You look pale." She said, carefully moving her orange hair behind her ear but still staring daggers into her soul, "Come to think of it, you weren't as cheerful this morning."

"That's not.." Emma whispered to herself through all of her internal conflict.

Does she know? Is this a bluff? Did she see us?!

Mom is...

No. She's checking my reaction.

This is the real Mom.

I really loved her, but to her, we were only...

I'm scared.

I want to cry.

I'm so angry.

I want to scream.

"It's nothing." She jeered in response, forcing a smile.

I can't back down here. If I do, she's going to attack and everyone I care about will be gone.

Astoria.

Ray.

Norman...

"I just got a little sad thinking that I'm going to leave the house soon!" She said, putting on a sincere tone, but she had never lied through her teeth like this before.

The way that Isabella was looking at Emma made her want to bawl. She felt so under pressure. "Do you like it here at the house?" She asked, continously tucking her hair behind her ear.

Emma nodded a threw her arms around her so that she wouldn't see if she broke the innocent girl she was playing, "I love the house, and you, Mom!" she said, "I wonder what Conny's doing right now. Did you know? Conny said she wanted to be a Mother like you when she grew up!"

Isabella smiled before standing up, Emma was at a loss for words as she saw the nonchalant smile on her face. "Yes, I know. I'm looking forward to it. I know that Conny will become a lovely adult and a good Mother." She replied, her hands resting at her sides.

Emma didn't know how to react so she just gave a small fake smile. To save her from the moment, Ray came with a bell.

"Dinner is ready, Mom." He muttered.

Ray...

Isabella turned around to face him, smiling. "I'll be right there!" She said, her voice sounding a lot kinder now.

"Emma!" Norman's voice called out, he walked over to her with a smile, placing his hand on her back to tell her that it's all okay. "Let's go."

Thank goodness, I got through it.

Norman and Emma walked down the stairs before stopping at the chilling words that fell out of Isabella's mouth, "Did the two of you go to gate yesterday?"

It was so abrupt, it actually sent shivers down Emma's spine.

She stood dumfounded for a second whilst Norman was quick to react. "Huh? No. That's against the rules, besides, we were having so much fun playing tag yesterday, right?" He said, turning to Emma as if to tell her to play along and not be scared.

Emma forced a laugh, "Yeah! I couldn't catch you in the end!"

"Why'd you ask?" Norman asked Isabella who just shook her head in response.

"Nevermind. Just as long as you didn't go." She said, walking off, her heels were echoing through the house with each step she took.

Norman and Emma walked to the bottom of the stairs, Emma hit the floor as she landed on the last step, her hand falling to her chest as she tried to steady her breathing.

"Sorry, I'm just so relieved, I..." She whispered, "Haha, it's like my heart started beating again just now."

Norman gently gripped onto her hand, concern written all over his face, "Can you stand up?" He asked.

"Yeah, sorry."

He nodded, making sure she could actually stand before he began talking. "Mom is investigating. She knows her target is two kids, but she still doesn't know who. The tracking devices don't indicate specific individuals." He told her, his voice soft and calm.

That's why she's searching.

𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊

"We don't have much time. We have less than two months." Norman said, twisting the pin in the lock of the door. "I looked over the entire house last night, if there's any rope, it'll be in here."

We'll outwit mom and break out before she realizes our plan.

We'll all survive.

𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊

"Table cloths!" Emma exclaimed happily, earning an amused 'shh' from Norman.

Norman and Emma couldn't find any ropes, so instead they used table cloths and wrapped them around their waists to sneak out of the house for play time.

After unwrapping it, they put it in a bag. Emma climbed up the tree to put the bag there so that Isabella wouldn't find it.

Once she got down with the help of Norman, their gazes turned to the wall.

"We can go over the wall with this." Norman stated before turning to emma, "But the hard part still remains."

She nodded in agreement.

The tracking devices.

How to actually get everyone out.

"Hey, Norman? I think it would be okay to tell Ray and Astoria." Emma muttered, not sure on the idea herself.

"I was thinking that too." Norman said, "They wouldn't panic, and because Ray knows a lot, he's good with machines. Astoria is incredibly strategic too. They'd both be an asset of our plan."

Coolheaded and precise, both of them.

Ray always thinks several steps ahead and make the best decision.

Astoria is strategic and a quick thinker, she could help us get out of any bad situation.

If we want everyone to survive, then their cooperation is essential.

But...

"I'll talk to Ray and Astoria. Emma, why don't you go back for now and-" Norman suggested before being cut off.

"You can tell us now." Ray's voice echoed from the bush, an annoyed looking Astoria pulling her arm out of his grip behind him before muttering a rude nickname under her breath.

"Ray, Astoria?!" Norman asked, stumbling back in shock for a moment before regaining his composure.

Astoria looked at them, "We followed you. You've both been acting weird since you came back from the gate. Care to explain?" She asked, wrapping her arms around their necks, pulling them closer to her.

"It's been bugging us for a while, so we thought we'd ask you."

"No, it's been bugging you." Astoria corrected the ravenhead with a roll of her eyes before turning back to the other two in her arms, "So, what happened? You were both acting weird and you came back from the gate empty-handed when you said you 'didn't make it'. So spit it out."

Emma chuckled nervously, "You two are sharp!"

Astoria let them go once she realised they couldn't breathe properly.

"Will you two help us?"

"Sure." Ray muttered.

Norman looked at them, "Then let me explain. We all have to escape from here."

𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊

"Demons? A farm? Mom is the enemy?" Ray mumbled, putting his hand on his chin, pretending to be deep in thought.

"That explains the bolted down windows." Astoria said, looking down at her shoes.

Emma pointed at the two with raised eyebrows, "I'm surprised you two are believing us so easily!"

"What?" Astoria asked, "It's not like you would lie about something this grave."

"Of course we'd believe it. There's no way Norman would make up such an unbelievably dumb lie. he's not you, Emma." Ray taunted with a smirk.

Emma sighed in defeat.

Astoria rolled her eyes at Ray's words before huffing. "So in short, you guys want us to help you with this escape?" She asked.

Emma and Norman nodded.

"If we're really going to escape, there are various issues. But the biggest is the number of kids. We could never really take everyone." Ray said, "Sorry to say it, but we should narrow it down to who can make it and-"

"Wait." Emma interrupted him. "We want everyone to escape. We need your guys' cooperation to make that happen."

Astoria held her hands up, taking a few steps back because she wasn't willing to pick sides. Ray looked at her, rolling his eyes in frustration as he realized she wasn't going to back him up.

"There are 38 of us in total. Most of us are under the age of 6. Mom, demons, tracking devices. These factors make an already difficult escape even more challenging." Ray argued, feeling flustered.

"I know that, but I don't think it's impossible..."

Astoria zoned out for a few moments as they continued to argue back and forth until Emma pushed Ray into her on accident.

Ray immediately turned around to make sure she was okay and once he saw she was, he cut her a pissed off look, which she reciprocated.

"Sorry, Stori." Emma said, giving her a nervous smile.

Ray gripped onto Norman's collar, dragging him away from Astoria and Emma.

Astoria watched with confusion as she had zoned out. Emma explained what happened so that she was caught back up.

𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊

Ray let go of Norman's collar, making him stumble. "Can you whack some sense into that fucking idiot?! She's being unreasonable!" Ray said, pointing to Emma who ranting to Astoria.

He couldn't help but notice how out of it Astoria seemed, confused almost, but he shook it off, convincing himself he didn't care.

"Yeah, totally!" Norman said, laughing, "But I'm glad she's back to her cheerful self!"

"You're missing my point! Stop her or else you'll all die! Astoria included!" Ray yelled, his grip on his book tightening slightly, "But you knew that from the very start, didn't you?"

"Emma was crying. She never cries. I thought she was crying because she was scared. I was scared too, but I was wrong. I was scared of dying. She was scared of her family dying. She's amazing, being able to think of protecting others in a situation like that." Norman mumbled.

Ray's jaw clenched in frustration. "But it's not the correct fucking thing to do!" Ray shouted in response. "It's like trying to make a boat out of mud! Honestly, if it's just the four of us, we can escape! You're right. It's nothing to be ashamed of. Don't distort your decisions based on emotions!"

Norman smirked, holding his arms out by either side of him. "It's not that, Ray. I also want to make a boat out of mud." He said.

"Why?!" He asked, looking over to the two girls who were still talking. "You're supposed to be different! You're supposed to be the cool-headed one, always thinking of the best decision. That's right, more then me and Astoria! You're the one who.. So why?!"

"Because I care about her." He said, making Ray's jaw drop.

Did he just..

"I like Emma, I want her to always be smiling." He said, smiling at Ray.

"You're crazy, and what if Emma and Astoria die because of it? I swear to fucking god, Norman, I'll never forgive you if that happens."

"I won't let that happen." He confirmed, his expression turning into one of determination. "I will use myself to accomplish that. luckily, I've always accomplished what I've set out to do."

Ray just listened, unable to think of any words to counteract his.

"I care about emma the same way you care about Astoria."

"I just threw up." Ray said.

Norman smiled. "You can bake mud, it can become a vessel. Although it depends on the mud. So a boat made out of mud won't necessarily sink." He replied, his arms still out by the side of him.

Ray wondered how they didn't ache yet.

"You're being foolish. I thought you were better than this, Norman." Ray said, crossing his arms.

"Maybe. So, what are you going to do? Emma and I are insane, we've completely lost it. But you and Astoria can't let us do this alone, can you?"

"Damn." Ray said, a small smirk plastering his features.

He knows we won't.

"Of course not."

𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊

Ray put his book out in front of the other three who's eyebrows were raised.

"This is the newest book in the house. So, at least until 2015, it was a world where books could get published. Despite what I said, it's only been 30 years." Ray said.

"I'm going to be fucking fifty by the time he finishes." Astoria mumbled in annoyance.

"Glad to see you're back to yourself." He said, giving her a sarcastic smile in which she reciprocated. "as I was saying, it's possible there's a human society outside. But I'm not going to gamble on something with no chance of winning."

You always gamble on something with no chance of winning, you fuckwit.

"Know the outside, know the enemy, come up with a strategy and survive." Emma and Norman said at the same time.

"Fuck it. If we're doing this, we're going to win." Astoria mumbled.

💌

i went to a concert last night and im dead