stay by my side... [ray x oc, the promised neverland]

chapter one (pt2)

"the truth?! the truth about the orphanage? what do you mean, ray?", i asked.

"okay, listen to me, please. i have to let you know about everything. this will take a little while, so let me know if i rush." i could tell ray was nervous. his breath was almost shaking.

"conny is not getting adopted right now. this orphanage raises kids to be eaten by demons. you know why we are not allowed to go to the gate? it's because there are demons, waiting to receive their meals. when we get adopted, we really become food.

"you probably think i'm lying, and this all sounds really crazy. i was confused when i realized, but i did not want you to witness conny's death. emma and norman right now are about to learn the reality of the world we live in, and i wanted to tell you personally.

"i knew about the truth of this orphanage since i was born pretty much. i have memories from being inside my mother's womb, getting placed here in grace field, and more. it's all fragmented, so i knew something was off about this place. nothing really made sense with what i remembered and what this orphanage is supposedly like.

"i also know who my birth mother is. she raises everyone here. the reason i'm telling you all of this is because i really entrust you with this information. i know this is all a huge shock, and it might be scary, but this is for your safety."

ray's pov

i heard madeline's breathing get more and more intense. it was not hard to hear since we were alone, but i noticed that her eyes were staring to water up.

"so my suspicions were right? i can't believe this... there really is something off about this place."

"wait, you knew? how did you figure that out?" this was shocking. madeline probably would have mentioned this to me, but i guess it's kind of fair she's only mentioning this to me now. she stood up from her seat next to me and went to gather some books. i caught a good look at her hair. she kept her sleek hair down, but tied the sides of it together, keeping some out of the way. a white bow decorated the ponytail. madeline turned around and caught me staring at her.

"um, ray? is something wrong? i think your face is getting red, but it could just be the lighting."

oh crap. was i really blushing this much?

"there's nothing wrong with me, just carry on." i responded.

"well, okay then..." madeline responded softly, almost confused. dang it. she definitely knew something was off. why did she have to be so observant?

after the awkward silence of gathering books, madeline scattered the books onto the wide table and opened the cover of each one of them

"madeline, this is not the time to be reading so many books at once."

"i know, but hear me out."

madeline motioned for me to stand next to her. pointing at some of the bookplates inside the books, she asked me if i noticed something about them.

"well, there's an owl. and a circle."

"well, obviously there is! but look closely at the circle."

"morse code!" i gasped. how could i not notice this sooner? i have read more books than madeline, yet she noticed this faster than i did.

"yep! i translated many of the bookplates int he library, except for the books i haven't read. they all said things about demons, farms, and a promise. this was all so weird, so i never mentioned it to you. i probably should have told you sooner, and i'm sorry that i didn't-"

"are you kidding madeline?! this is great! you are not as much of an idiot as i thought."

"hey, ray! you thought i was that dumb? also, there's something else i should tell you as well."