A/N: So I know I haven't updated in a month but thanks for all the reads and votes! It makes me really happy to see you readers enjoying the story so far! I hope that you'll continue the support.
And without further ado, here is the next chapter.
Chapter 3: Disagreements
Start...
You closed the door behind you after making sure no one was outside or in the room. You stopped at your nightstand, opening the top compartment to see a small item as well as a note that hadn't been there that morning.
So all I'm missing is that piece, you thought, lifting the floorboards up to reveal a small bag. You flipped the bag over, a few items tumbling out of the bag and onto the soft comforter of the bed.
I only have about fifteen minutes until free time is over, you noted, your hands fidgeting with the objects. I need to be quick.
Fifteen minutes passed by quickly and when you heard the sound of childish laughter, you immediately stopped with your work and quickly returned the bag to its hiding spot. You were now one step away from being able to rescue everyone, but... that would only work if they followed your plan.
Tomorrow, we will tell them about my plan. You crumpled the note as you clenched your fist tightly. I will get them to follow my plan. No matter what you tell them, I will convince them to follow me.
You knew that he was the one who let them go. You wanted to get mad at him, for letting Norman and Emma go to the gate that night. You knew that if they had been found by Isabella or the demons, not even he would be able to do anything to prevent their early shipping. And when that happened, both your plans would go down the drain and your years of planning would be wasted.
But you couldn't. You knew that this was the easiest way to let them know what they were going up against. After all, you had found out the horrible truth about the House the exact same way. You would always remember that scene vividly, like it had just happened. That scene haunted you in your sleep and there was no way you would be able to erase it from your memory.
You could only imagine how he must have felt, knowing the truth since birth.
You stopped at the mirror, looking at the printed numbers on your neck. 83194, Your identification number. Everyone had these numbers printed on their skin at birth, no two numbers the same. You couldn't count the number of times you had tried to scrub the numbers off but no amount of soap could rid you of the cursed ID.
You had just walked out of the room when you heard a voice behind you. "Um, (y/n)?" You turned around to see Nat standing behind you, fidgeting nervously. "Can I ask for a favor?" You nodded in response, gesturing for him to continue.
He had always admired you, for having the talent he didn't. He admired your music, the way it could move anyone that heard it. He had listened to your music for years and he wanted to be like you.
He had lacked the confidence to ask you, knowing that he would never be as good as you were. But a certain realization allowed him to finally act. You were already eleven. It wasn't before long that you would be adopted, just like the rest of his siblings and he knew that he probably would never have the chance to ask again.
"Can you teach me to play music just like you?" And of course, you were happy to answer to his request. 'Of course,' you nodded.
Night had fallen when you had split ways with Nat after the end of his first lesson. But when you walked out of the recreation room, you saw Norman standing at the end of the hallway, a panicked expression on his face. Confused, you walked up to him.
He didn't seem to notice you approaching so when you tapped his shoulder to get his attention, he jumped a little in surprise at the sudden contact. "(y/n)," he said in a hushed tone.
'What are you doing?' You signed before he grabbed your hand and put his finger to his lip. You could hear two sets of breathing other than your own and Normans. One was erratic and the other calm and you instantly knew what their identities were. Emma and Mama.
"What's wrong, Emma?" Isabella asked. "You look pale. Which reminds me, you weren't so cheerful this morning." Next to you, Norman had his hand over his mouth, trying to quiet down his just-as-erratic breathing.
"That's not..." Emma said, trying to hide the panic in her voice. Norman's grip on your hand tightened as panic washed over his expression. You tried tugging on his sleeve to get his attention but he didn't seem to notice as panic overtook his thoughts.
She's checking my reaction. This is who Mama really is... Emma thought as Isabella's finger rested on her neck, taking her pulse. "It's nothing!" She said cheerfully. "I just got a little sad thinking that I'll leave the House soon too."
"Do you like it here at the House?" Isabella asked warmly. "I love the House and you, Mama!" Emma said, jumping into the woman's arms. "I wonder what Conny's doing right now." She broke the hug, smiling widely. "Conny said she wanted to be a mother like you when she grew up."
"Yes, I know," Isabella said. "I'm sure Conny will become a lovely adult and a good mother too."
Your hand hurt even more as Norman's grip on it tightened but you didn't show it. You understood what he was feeling right now. He was terrified of being found out and he was even more terrified of dying. Subconsciously, you squeezed Norman's hand back in reassurance, causing him to look at you. And then he seemed to realize that he was still holding your hand. "I-I'm so sorry, (y/n)," Norman apologized, releasing your hand. He frowned apologetically at you as you rubbed your hand. "D-Did I hurt you?"
You shook your head, giving a small smile in reassurance. 'I'm okay but what about you?' You signed, concerned.
"It's nothing," Norman answered, faking a smile. Honestly, who did he think he was fooling? You frowned at him, about to reply only to be interrupted by the sound of the dinner bell followed by Ray's voice. "Mama, the dinner preparations are ready," he said, the sound of childish laughter following after. "I'll be right there," Isabella said.
You felt a tug on your skirt, looking down to see Sherry's innocent blue eyes staring up at you. "(y/n), Norman, what are you doing?" She asked curiously.
You gave the girl a warm smile before bending down to pick her up. You dragged your finger across the girl's palm, causing her to giggle at the ticklish sensation. 'Little kids shouldn't be so nosy,' you wrote before tapping the girl's nose. "Okay!" Sherry said, nodding before turning to the boy next to you.
"Come on, (y/n), Norman! Let's go eat dinner!" Sherry said, looking between you two, her blue eyes shining brightly. "Yeah," Norman said, smiling back at the girl before you two walked out from around the corner. "Emma, let's go," Norman called out. "Okay!" Emma hummed in response before joining the two of you.
"Emma, Norman, did the two of you..." Isabella said, causing the said two to stop. "... go to the gate yesterday?"
"Gate? Aren't we not supposed to go to the gate?" Sherry asked innocently as you continued to walk down the stairs. 'Mama said this already, didn't she? It's dangerous to go to the gate,' you wrote on the girl's hands. 'You don't want to get in trouble, do you?'
"No!" Sherry said, shaking her head furiously. "I don't want Mama to get mad at me!" You smiled at the girl's firm rejection before placing her down at the last step. 'Good. Now let's go eat dinner. You're hungry, right?' You signed, ruffling the girl's hair. "Okay!" Sherry said, smiling brightly as she grabbed hold of your hand.
I will follow through with my plan and you can't stop me. I will make my dream into a reality. I know it is possible.
The next day...
0011783916 836521 6510891604737803 6598111784 16049784
Well, it's not like I can say anything in the first place, you thought sarcastically as you watched the small flame engulf the note, turning the paper to ashes.
Coded notes, they were how you were able to converse and relay information to each other without raising too much suspicion. Of course, you made sure that no one else would be able to know the code unless they had a certain book (but too bad you had burned it already).
Don't say anything about that, was what the note had said and hence, your sarcastic thought. Does he seriously think I would? You thought, sighing. But better to be safe than sorry, I guess. Of course you wouldn't say anything about that. If Isabella had somehow found out about it, you might as well stay to be killed.
During free time, Norman and Emma, once again, took off for the wall. But what they didn't know was that there were eavesdroppers nearby, listening to every single word of their conversation.
"Hey, Norman," Emma said. "I think it might be fine if we told Ray and (y/n)."
"I was thinking that too," Norman agreed. "Ray most likely wouldn't panic. And because of his extensive knowledge, he's good with machines too. And (y/n)'s quick to adapt to her surroundings so she'll be of help when we escape. But..." He was filled with mixed feelings as he looked down. "I don't know how she'll take it." How would you take this information?
He remembered Emma's mental state that night and came to a conclusion. "We'll hold off on telling her," he said firmly. "But if we keep it from her, she'll know that something's up," Emma reasoned.
"I don't want her to break down," Norman said loudly. "Norman..." Emma said, shocked at his sudden outburst.
"Sorry about that," Norman apologized guiltily. "I just... don't want her to... she loves everyone..." Emma put her hand on his shoulder, smiling reassuringly at him. "Then we'll tell her slowly. I'm worried about (y/n) too so we'll slowly tell her so she's more prepared to accept the truth."
Norman smiled at her suggestion. "Yeah," he agreed.
You fidgeted with a twig in between your fingers, listening to their conversation. You could feel your heart warm at Norman's worry for you and you were grateful for that. But you knew that it was too late for that.
"And for Ray..." Norman said thoughtfully. "I'll talk to Ray so why don't you head back..."
"Why?" Ray's voice cut in, causing the two to turn around in shock. "Ray! What... how..." Emma said, unable to form a coherent thought at the boy's sudden appearance.
"Yo," Ray said, putting a hand up in greeting. "Sorry, I followed you guys," he said, causing Norman to chuckle nervously.
"It's been bugging me for a while so I thought I should ask about it," Ray said, handing his book to Emma before circling around them. He put his arms around their shoulders, surprising them. "What happened at the gate that night? When you went to deliver Little Bunny to Conny."
Norman averted his eyes nervously as Ray's forest green eyes bore into him. "You were both clearly acting weird and you were empty-handed when you said you didn't make it," Ray pointed out. "You're perceptive," Norman said, smiling nervously.
"So of course something happened. Spit it out!" Ray demanded. "Ray is smart too, after all," Emma said, her face paling at the boy's tightened hold.
"Alright, we'll talk," Norman said before Ray released the two. "Ray, we need your help." And he went on to explain everything.
"Demons... a farm... Mama is an enemy?" Ray repeated thoughtfully. "Isn't this bad? Ah, and that's why all the windows are laticed."
"He got all of that way too fast!" Emma exclaimed.
"So you're saying we were seriously taken care of to become demon food," Ray summarized, touching the numbers on his neck. "But... I'm surprised you're believing us so easily," Emma pointed out.
"Hah? Of course. Norman wouldn't make up such a stupid lie," Ray pointed out. "But you, on the other hand..." His words stabbed into Emma's heart.
"So? Have you told (y/n) yet?" He asked, shoving his hands into his pockets. "No. We were thinking that maybe we should let her know slowly," Norman answered. "I don't know how she'll take it if we just suddenly sprung it on her."
"Well, it's a little too late for that," Ray said, looking up at the tree you were in. "Huh? What do you mean?" Emma asked, tilting her head in confusion.
"Hey, you can come down now," Ray said to you. Emma and Norman watched as the leaves rustled before you jumped down, landing silently on the ground. 'Hey,' you waved as you dusted yourself off. "W-Wait, h-how long..." Emma said, startled.
'Since the beginning,' you gestured. "T-Then you heard everything?" Norman asked slowly, receiving a nod from you. "Then... are you okay?"
'I'm glad that you're worried about me but I'm fine,' you signed before putting a hand on his shoulder. 'After all, I already knew.'
"You knew...?" Norman repeated in disbelief, receiving a nod in response. Your hand dropped back to your side as you smiled at him. 'It's been years so I'm fine now,' you signed, forcing a smile.
But how did you find out about the truth? You 'said' a few years but he couldn't remember a time when you had the chance to... His eyes widened when a certain memory came to mind. "Can it be... when Diana was shipped out six years ago..."
He knew he hit a sore spot when he saw you flinch at the name. "I'm sorry..." He said guiltily. You shook your head before giving him a smile in reassurance but he could tell it was forced.
Norman looked at you, a mixture of dumbfoundment, shock, and worry in his sapphire blue eyes. And that was when he connected everything. The reason why you were never there to see the others off, the reason why you would spend as much time with everyone, and most importantly, the reason why you had broken out into a fever the very next day and had become unable to speak.
Diana was your teacher, your older sister, your role model. He couldn't imagine what you could have felt when you saw her in the hands of the demons.
You had him completely fooled. For six years, you had watched your family die, unable to do anything to help them. He couldn't see past your warm smile and eyes, past the mask that you had put up. Why couldn't he tell that you were suffering? He was supposed to be one of the people who knew you best, right?
Ray cleared his throat, breaking Norman out of his thoughts. "So, now that (y/n) knows too, there are several issues if we're going to escape," Ray informed. "First, the number of kids. We'll narrow it down to who can make it and..."
"Wait," Emma cut in. "I want to escape with everyone. Lend us your strength, Ray, (y/n)."
At her words, you let out a breath you didn't know you were holding. Honestly, why did you believe that Emma would ever leave her family behind to die? She loved everyone almost as much as you did. You smiled to yourself. Looks like I didn't really need to do anything to convince her. And you could only hope that Norman would be on board with the idea as well.
"Everyone? You're kidding, right?" Ray asked, his eyes narrowing. "There are 38 of us. And the majority are under six years old. Mama, the transmitters, the demons... we've already got our hands full and you want to add even more to that?"
"I know that," Emma said. "But it's not impossible..."
"No, it's impossible," Ray rejected. "Emma, you haven't noticed, have you?"
"Ray, wait," Norman interjected, trying to stop the boy from continuing. "I see. That's why you said you'll talk to me yourself," Ray said, walking up to Emma. "You have to be blunt about these kinds of things. It won't be enough to just escape from here."
"What do you mean?" Emma asked, confused. "We don't know what it's like on the outside," Ray said. "But there's a place we're getting shipped to. Because there's a farm, that should give you an idea. What waits outside is a demon's society. There's no place for humans to live. So it's impossible. If we take everyone, we'll all die. We leave them behind. That's the best option."
Ray had a point but it didn't necessarily mean that you were going to follow along with his suggestion. You just didn't understand why he would say it's impossible. Has he ever attempted it? No, so why does he say that it's impossible? Was it the best option? Sure, it seems like the most logical option but the most logical option isn't always the correct option.
You honestly found your disability restricting at times like this when you just want to voice out your opinion. But thankfully, Emma did it for you. "No," she said simply, catching the raven-haired boy off guard. "Hah?!"
"It might be impossible but I still want to take everyone with us! Let's just figure out a way to do it!" Emma said, her determination causing you to hold back your laughter. Really, it seems like Emma is just as crazy as I am, you thought, wiping the tears from your eyes.
"I don't want all of us to die but leaving everyone else behind isn't an option," Emma continued. "With the four of us, I'm sure we can make Conny the last one to go. I'm sure we can make the impossible possible. If there isn't a place for humans to live, we'll make one. Let's change the world. Thanks to you, Ray, I've realized that this is the kind of jailbreak we have to do. I'm not giving up on this. Because we've already decided."
You put a hand on Ray's shoulder, getting his attention. 'There's nothing you can do to change her mind,' you tapped rhythmically on his shoulder. Ray could definitely see the amusement in your (e/c) eyes at the situation. "(y/n)!"
'But this is perfect,' you signed. 'I thought that it would be harder to convince you to help me with my plan but it looks like I didn't have to do anything.' Emma brightened up at your response. "Then that means you're going to help us?" She asked, her voice hopeful. She cheered happily when you nodded. "Alright!"
Ray was seething and Norman, like you did, found the situation incredibly amusing and was laughing uncontrollably. "Hey, Norman, come with me for a sec!" Ray said, grabbing Norman by the shirt before pulling him into the forest. "Do something about those two! They're being unreasonable!"
"I know, right? But I'm glad they're so cheerful," Norman said, still laughing. "If I knew Emma was going to do something like this, I would have stopped (y/n) from following you two! I wanted you to stop them! Or you're all going to die!" Ray tried to reason. "You knew that from the very start, huh?"
Norman chuckled dryly, looking down. "That night, Emma was crying. I thought she was crying because she was scared but it wasn't it. She was crying because she was scared her family would die," he said before looking up at his friend. Ray swore he saw his sapphire-blue eyes darken.
"I never saw through her. Even though we were so close," Norman said, laughing dryly. "She's such a great actor! I couldn't see through her act at all!"
Ray watched as Norman's hands clenched into a fist. "I couldn't see it at all... how much suffering and pain she must have gone through. I thought, maybe if I had found out sooner, she wouldn't have to shoulder this by herself," he said. "But she's not alone now. I want to help her."
Ray did too. He wanted to help you but couldn't you tell that what you were planning is unreasonable?! And now Norman, the most logical and rational person he knew was following along with you!
"But that's not right! It's a boat made of mud!" Ray tried to reason. "It's a boat made of mud! And it's just us four, right? If it's just us, we can escape. Don't deny your rationality! Don't let your emotions get the best of you, Norman!"
"Ray, the thing is..." Norman said, cutting in. "I also want to make a boat out of mud."
"Huh? Why? Norman, you're different!" Ray asked, dumbfounded. "You're calm and rational... you always choose the most logical solution..." More than anyone... more than me... Ray gritted his teeth before grabbing Norman by the collar. "Yet why..."
"Because I love her," Norman confessed. "I love (y/n) so I want to be able to do anything for her. I want to see her happy. And Emma is like a little sister to me. Both of them are important to me so I want to support them."
Ray's forest-green eyes widened at his response, his hold on Norman's collar loosening. "You're crazy..." He gritted his teeth tightly. "Ray, you want to see (y/n) happy too, don't you?" Norman taunted.
Ray let go of Norman's collar completely. "What if they die from it? What if (y/n) dies because of it?" He asked, his eyes narrowing.
"I won't let them die. Not Emma. Not (y/n). That's why I'm going to utilize myself," Norman said, determined. "Luckily, I've always accomplished what I set out to do. And if you bake mud, it'll become a vessel. A boat made out of mud won't necessarily sink."
"You're being ridiculous," Ray said, clenching his fist from irritation. "Maybe you're right. The three of us are insane. We've completely lost it," Norman said before stepping forward and leaning towards the raven-haired boy, taunting him. "You can't let us do this on our own, right? You don't want (y/n) to die either, do you?"
Ray smirked, gritting his teeth. "Damn it. Just how the hell do you expect me to do that?" You win, (y/n).
To Be Continued...
A/N: Tell me what you thought about the chapter! Your comments and feedback help a lot so leave lots of them!
The updates are pretty random right now but I'll try to update at least once a month until I have my life sorted out.