'Shit not again' Y/n gritted her teeth while she hurriedly went over to Emma who was currently hyperventilating in her sleep. The orange-haired girl was gasping for air rather quickly and unevenly while a hurt expression was painting her face. Y/n started to lightly crease the sleeping girl's hair while pulling the ginger locks away. She then pulled Emma's cover down a bit, making way for more fresh air to hit that girl's torso which was covered in a cold sweat.
When the sleeping figure had calmed down, Y/n made her way out of the bedroom closing the door neatly behind her. Surrounded by almost complete silence the house felt even more ominous than ever. The only source of sound was the lonely clock on the wall, which was currently showing 4:30 am. With each and every click it made the seconds until the children's death fewer.
That night Y/n didn't get any sleep and wasn't going to. Instead, she was watching over her siblings in fear and worry that somehow mom would find out about her, Emma and Norman's late-night expedition and send the others to their decided fate, death.
After walking into the kitchen, the girl grabbed a glass of water with her shaky hands like she did a few hours ago and drank it all in a few gulps. But even the liquid couldn't stop the headache accompanied by ringing in the ears that started recently. A sudden sound of the floor creaking made Y/n grip the cup she glass tighter.
"It's just me." Ray said while pointing his hands at himself wanting to further insure Y/n of his words.
Y/n breathed out and gave the boy a small smile that didn't reach her eyes. "I know dummy."
"Then why were you startled?" A low chuckle escaped the boy's lips while he observed Y/n carefully.
"Oh, you know..." Y/n began making Ray's brows rise in anticipation. "I was scared it was mama. You know very well she isn't a fan of staying up late." The girl whispered and lowered her gaze to the floor.
Ray nodded his head slowly, letting his eyes land on whatever was so interesting to his left. "Want to start preparing breakfast for everyone?"
"Ray, you should go back and try to get some more sleep." Y/n whispered while making her way to the boy, putting her smooth hand on the boy's shoulder.
"No, I will help you."
"Please, go back to..."
"Y/n, listen... I can help you, it's fine." Ray said while patting the top of the girl's hand a few times that was currently resting on his shoulder and started walking towards the pantry. "So what are we making?"
...
Preparing breakfast with Ray was always pure joy for Y/n. Since the two of them were even younger they utterly enjoyed spending time together quickly developing a love for books and reading. That activity for them was at first like a cup of warm milk before bed, something that put them to sleep quickly. It, later on, became a tradition for them, spending evenings or even nights in the library talking about the imaginary worlds and other various wonders that were not available in the house. They compared one another to characters in those novels they read, sometimes making each other flushed but never noticing the other's tinted cheeks. Now, a few years later, their tradition of spending their free time in the library remained, but they began to draw more amusement from doing simple household duties together.
But that morning was different. Y/n, who was always sparkling with happiness around the boy and surely couldn't keep her mouth shut, stayed silent deep in her thoughts. Although the raven-haired boy's expression didn't change, he often threw glances at Y/n as if she was an interesting exhibit in a museum. The girl on the other hand was trying with all her might to focus on the work that had to be done, but struggled to keep her attention fully on the activity she took up. The headache was still giving its torment as the ringing in the ears went on with their sonata, which was rather tiring.
Imperceptibly, while cutting the cucumber, the knife that was held by the girl slid down the cutting board and hitting not the vegetable itself, but Y/n's thumb creating a cut that soon made an exit for blood to come out.
The girl swallowed the urge of hissing in pain. "You can put the cucumber slices on a plate. I will go set the tables." The girl quietly announced and fled from the kitchen grabbing some kitchen paper beforehand.
As Y/n stepped into the dining room she gently wrapped her thumb in the paper she took avoiding putting too much pressure on the cut. 'Another day, same dumb Y/n.' she thought as she started to place our plates on the tables.
But even with the cut that pinched like flames in hell, Y/n was glad that she could once again do something for her siblings.
...
Attempting to not act suspiciously in front of mama was difficult, especially when Y/n all her life, up until now thought that the caretaker of the house was the one person she could trust the most. Although what was even more troublesome was hiding the effects of a sleepless night and a full backpack consisting of worry. Getting hit by waves of lightheadedness and sweating while dealing with a sharp headache during the day it was no wonder why Y/n's scores on the test that day were inferior. But did that matter for the girl? No. Seeing her siblings improving their points made her chest flutter in happiness, that mattered.
"Y/n! Y/n! I got 90 points! That's a much better score than yesterday!" A little girl giggled while she tugged on Y/n's shirt.
The older girl rose her head from the machinery the tests were carried out on and looked down at Sherry smiling at the older girl.
"Oh Sherry, that's amazing." Y/n said while softly smiling at her little sister. "You always do an amazing job."
"Y/n are you sad that you got a lower score? I'm sorry if what I said made you upset." Sherry whispered while her eyes started to glisten.
"Y/n had trouble sleeping, she is just tired."
Noticing the raven-haired boy Y/n tried to smile softly at him but ended up flinching at the piercing pain in her head.
"Ohhh! I can be your doctor!" Sherry exclaimed, receiving another flinch from Y/n. "Oh sorry, so you have a headache? I can kiss away the pain." The little girl said quietly this time while climbing on top of Y/n's lap kissing the older girl's head lightly.
"Thank you, my little princess." Y/n chuckled while hugging the girl on her lap.
Sherry then climbed down and bolted out of the room leaving the two of the oldest kids alone.
Ray chuckled. "So are you finally going to ask for a painkillers dummy? You know, how hard it's for me to stand the urge of flicking your forehead."
A fruity laugh didn't resist escaping Y/n's throat. "Anything for you."
...
"What was it they said?" Y/n asked while intensively looking at the paper with the children's scores written down.
"Something... something... another six-year-old..." Emma muttered while swiftly pulling the door to the storage room open.
"...Shipping out normal ones" Norman finished stepping over the threshold.
The storage room was very obscure. The only source of light was the lonely light bulb hanging from the ceiling. Y/n hurried past her two companions and stopped under the trickle of light trying with all her might to read the paper she was holding.
"If I recall it correctly those who were shipped out were between 6 and 12 years old, right?" The girl asked, finally glancing at her best friends.
Norman nodded slowly. "And if the 6-year-olds are ranked as 'normal'... then the highest quality is.."
"12 years olds." Emma finished his sentence. She rubbed her eyes with the knuckles of her hands and looked at the other two, horror painting her eyes. "But our scores..."
"It's the order we are getting shipped out..." Y/n muttered fully not believing her words.
"Wha-"
"Our scores are the order-"
"No, I heard you Y/n." Emma said looking at the girl sadly. "But if that's the case... we have been withheld from being harvested because of our perfect scores..."
Y/n dropped the paper with the children's scores. It landed in a tiny pile of dust. She looked at Emma terrified. "No, no, no, no it can't be true, right Norman?"
"I'm afraid it is... "
"But why does the scores matter anyway?" Y/n was close to laughing hysterically. "Just because of my perfect scores, others with lower points didn't get shipped out faster...right?"
"By the age of 12 the brains are fully developed. Although, we can improve our brains by learning, which means the higher the score the better the brain tastes."
Y/n's knees buckled under the weight of the realization. She tangled her finger in her hair and held the strands tightly.
Emma went to the girl and pulled her into a big hug and sat down with the girl. "I'm so sorry, so so sorry Y/n, if I could have done anything sooner. Everything is our fault. Getting high scores-"
So it was the high scores that would make one survive longer.
"It's not your fault. I am sorry for losing my cool." Y/n replied quickly while putting on a soft smile and standing up from the floor, wrapping her arms around Emma.
Very well then.
...
"Farm? Demons? Mom is our enemy?"
"Wow, he catches on fast!" Emma exclaimed looking with wide eyes, mouth slightly agape at Ray.
"Of course, neither Norman nor Y/n would make up something like this, unlike you Emma."
"Hey!"
"Well, now that I think of it, Y/n could also do it."
"Ray!"
Ray chuckled, but his expression remained unchanged. "Well, I had no idea it would be that bad. One of the biggest problems is the number of the children-"
"We will escape with everyone." Emma simply said.
There was a short silence.
"Have you lost your mind? Y/n please help me talk some sense into this idiot."
"As for me, what Emma says is the sense. We are taking everyone." The girl said while Emma nodded eagerly.
"Not you too." Ray said, gritting his teeth. "It's impossible. Emma, you don't get this, do you? This is why Norman wanted to talk to me alone."
It was like a lightning bolt struck Y/n. "Norman, don't tell me-"
"We will escape with everyone! We will not leave anyone behind!" Emma exclaimed as she gripped Ray's forearms. "Just stop jibbering and help us!"
The raven-haired boy looked over at Y/n who was smiling fondly while watching Emma's desperate attempt at making Ray cooperate. Norman broke out in a sudden laugh.
"Norman! Can I talk to you for a second?" Ray got away from Emma and dragged the boy along with him.
"Y/n, do you think Ray will change his mind? If he doesn't I will make sure of it!" The orange-haired girl grinned.
Y/n shook her head gently. "No, I'm sure he will." She said and gave the girl a closed-eye smile while placing her smooth hand on top of Emma's shoulder.
She was starting to feel quite dizzy again.
...
"It's like making a boat out of mud! The plan won't succeed!"
The white-haired boy smiled happily. "But I want to make a boat out of mud!" He took a few steps closer to Ray. "You know, if you bake the mud, you can even get the boat to float!"
"But why?" Ray hissed and gripped Norman's shirt firmly. "Why? You are different! Cool-headed, analytical-"
"Because I like her. I like Emma, I care about her and I always want to see her smiling." The boy said while Ray released the grip.
"And I know for a fact you feel the same way towards Y/n." Norman said while chuckling.
Ray gritted his teeth. Norman was reading him like an open book. "But what if Emma dies?"
"Oh, she won't die, I will make sure of it." Norman's expression became dark. "And you know I always manage to accomplish what I want. As for Y/n... you will make sure not a hair falls of her head, am I right?
Ray scoffed internally. He was absolutely right. "You are foolish."
"Oh, do you mean me? Me and Emma? I'm pretty sure you are not counting in Y/n." Norman grinned while leaning forward. "Maybe we all have lost it."
"So what do you say? You won't let us do this alone, right?" He asked the raven-haired boy.
Damn it. "Of course I won't."
...
a/n: Aaaaand the third chapter is done my lovelies. Hope you liked it! I am in fact very exicted to upload the next chapter heheee, I really wish you all will enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it... hehe