Dandelions | Emma x Fem!Reader

Chapter 38 | Escape

***

"I'm putting you in charge of Plant 3 starting next month." Grandma said.

Isabella stood in front of her, wearing the Mama's uniform.

***

"I don't regret anything. It's the path I chose myself. The world won't change. What good would it do if I died? In that case, I should do what I can. Give them all the love they need. Extend their lives as long as possible. For these children who don't know anything...and for Melissa and Leslie...who aren't around anymore."

***

A six-year-old Ray sat against a tree near the gate. He hummed an all too familiar song. Isabella heard it and came walking up to the boy.

"Ray. How do you know that song?" She asked.

Ray smiled at her which caused her eyes to widen. She had hummed that song to her unborn child. She stared at Ray, a horrified look on her face.

"Hey... Why did you give birth to me, mother?"

***

Isabella stood atop the wall once again. She stared ahead at the trees and grass across the cliff. The same blank expression on her face.

"It was in order for me to survive." She had replied to Ray.

"I wanted to live for a long time. Longer than anyone. I was so angry. Unbearably so. When I learned they'd been killed. I couldn't do anything. I couldn't change anything. That's why...at least I wanted to keep living as a human they couldn't eat!"

Isabella smiled sadly, looking down.

"But I guess I've had enough." She said sadly.

"I lost. Those children went outside. I'm an incompitent caretaker who couldn't keep track of the merchandise. The position at the top and the results I'd built up just disappeared into thin air. Even if I go after them, it's already too late... If I hadn't gotten rid of Krone, or if I hadn't shown Norman the cliff and what was beyond that wall, would things have been different? No, there are no what-ifs when it comes to results. I couldn't see how they'd grown... So I lost after all."

Isabella kneeled down as a young Emma smiled up at her.

"Mom, look at this!" She exclaimed excitedly.

She brought Emma into her arms and hugged her tightly.

"They were so small. They were...all so...small. I wish I could have just loved them all normally."

Isabella opened her eyes and snapped out of her daze. The memories of the children made her smile. She looked over at the other side and stood up, smiling grimly and waving.

"Go on. Be careful. And I pray...that you can find light."

***

Phil stood at the edge of the trees, staring off at the burning house.

"Emma..." he thought.

He heard footsteps and whirled around to see Isabella walking up to him, blankets in her arms.

"Mom!" He said.

She walked up and gently patted his head, smiling at him.

"Don't worry. They escaped safely." She assured him.

Phil was stunned. "Huh?"

One of the younger kids woke up and rubbed her eyes.

"Mom?" She asked sleepily.

Isabella bent down and embraced the children.

"I'm sorry, everyone. You must have been cold and lonely." She said,

She sat down against a tree and all the children cuddled up to her. She laid blankets over them to keep them warm and began to hum.

"It's so pretty. I've never heard it." A girl said sleepily.

Isabella smiled and patted her head.

"I know. This is my favourite song."

"The pursuers won't catch on yet. They won't imagine the kids would escape via the cliff. I retrieved the ropes. For the time being, the higher-ups will frantically search within the scene. This is all I can do. Do your best and escape."

***

"Far, far away! We did it... We did it, Norman! This is the outside! We were able to make it out! It's been three months since that day... I'm here, alive on the outside! Out here, there are no shipments. I don't have to go through that again. Tomorrow will come for the twelve-year-olds, including Ray. We won't have to watch others die. We won't be left for dead. We're free! We are finally free!" Emma thought.

She began to tear up as she and the other children ran through the trees. Yvette tripped and fell and they all stopped to help her before they took off again.

"But this isn't the end. Outside, the society of demons awaits. We humans are food. To live outside means that we continuously have to preserve our existence among enemies. There's no house, no food. There's not even a society to live in. From now on, all of that needs to be obtained with our hands."

Emma looked down at her shaking hands, gripping them into fists.

"Wow. Freedom is so beautiful yet so cruel. Even so...no matter how harsh it is...I'll survive. I'll live with everyone. And I'll definitely go back to retrieve Phil and everyone else!" Emma thought, determined.

Sunlight began to peek through the trees and Don pointed.

"Look!" He exclaimed.

"Today we take the first step."

The children all stepped out of the tree line and were greeted with the rising sun. They all stopped moving to admire it.

"It's our first morning." Emma announced with a smile.

(Y/n) walked up beside Emma and grabbed her hand, intertwining their finger. Emma smiled down at their intertwined hands. All of the children looked relieved. They'd managed to escape. Now, all they had to do...was survive.

January 15, 2046
17 children escaped from
Grace Field House

...CH. 38/END

A/n: DISCLAIMER!! From the next chapter on will be manga spoilers. In the book's summary/description I put that it follows the manga but I'm putting a spoiler warning again. Also, there will be three other OCs that will show up again in the manga arcs. Much like Maiko, they aren't canon characters so if you've never read the manga I don't want you to get confused when they appear. I like putting my OCs into my stories, if you've read multiple of my other stories, you'd know this :) That's all and have a great day/night!