Emma's POV
"Conny?" I call out.
I then see a table with drinks and food on it. I walk towards it while holding little bunny in my arms.
"Oh?" I let out as I look more closely at the table.
It was Conny on a silver plater.
A mouth with super sharp teeth was then behind me.
And then all of a sudden, I wake up. I started panting for air. I hear snoring around me and a ticking clock.
'It was just a nightmare. It was just a nightmare. It was just a nightmare. It was just a nightmare. It was just a nightmare. It was just...a nightmare...' I say as I try to go back to sleep.
Morning, in the kitchen
"Come on, wait for me!" A kid says.
"Good morning!" Another kid says.
"Good morning!!!" Phil says running in the kitchen.
"Hey, Phil! No running!" Gilda says.
"Does this go there?" A kid asks.
"Yes, please." Mama says.
Just when I heard her voice, it made me flinch and turn around with my eyes wide.
'How can she talk so normally after what we just saw last night!?' I say as Mama looked just as happy as ever.
"Mark, can you set the table?" Mama asks.
"Sure thing, Mama." Marks says happily and Mama gives him a closed eye smile with a small giggle.
"Huh..?" I say shocked and surprised.
'Isn't she sad at all!?' I ask myself.
I gulped and then hear some new footsteps, so I turn around and see Norman with 2 of my little siblings hand in hand.
"Hi Emma, morning." Norman greets to me.
I start panicking about all that was going on and Norman goes right next to my ear.
"Come on smile, Emma." Norman whispers to me.
I wanted to cry so bad but I knew I had to hold my tears back in.
'Come on Emma no tears right now, you have to act happy!' I remind myself.
Later when me and Norman were alone
"Listen, Emma. We have to behave like we normally do. Yesterday, we broke the rules and went to the gate. But that doesn't mean we didn't see anything that happened." Norman says to me.
"But we left little bunny..." I say.
"Yeah, Mama probably found it. But she doesn't know who left it there." He explains.
"But Mama was smiling during breakfast. She doesn't show it on her face at all." I continued with sadness in my tone.
"And that's what we have to do, too. If our faces show it, Mama will notice." Norman says but then smiles.
"We can't lose. So let's smile." He says.
I then gathered all my strength in me to smile. To which I was able to manage to do.
"The delicious food, the white clothes where dirt can easily stand out, the well-regulated life..." I say as I touch my clothing.
"This is all to maintain our quality as merchandise. The only thing we can do is wait as we are shipped out indiscriminately." I added.
"It's not indiscriminately. Remember what the demon said? 'Another six-year-old. We've been shipping out average-quality ones.'" Norman says.
"What does that mean?" I ask.
"Judging from those words, age probably equals the grade of meat. If I remember correctly, the siblings who were shipped out were between 6 and 12 years old. If a six-year-old is ranked as average, then the highest quality is...." he says while thinking.
"12 years old, but what about our scores? Meat won't taste better based on how well it did on some tests, right?" I ask.
"Well, only the full scores are ever announced, but maybe..." Norman says and I gasped.
"The shipping order!?" I asked.
"Yeah, after we turn 6, we get harvested starting from the lower test scores. And when we turn 12, we get shipped out no matter what." Norman says.
"So, we were never shipped out because we have full scores?" I ask.
"But I don't understand why it depends on our scores." Norman says.
"Is there meaning for being between the ages of 6 and 12? Is it the size of our bodies? No, then it would depend on our weight." I say. Norman then thinks about it for a little but then gasps.
"The size of our brains." Norman says which makes me gasp lightly and look at him.
"That means..." I try to say but got cut off.
"That the brain probably tastes the best. And the more developed the brain, the better." He says a little scared.
"Eating... the brain?" I say scared.
"And they don't care how much they risk or spend. That's why we're high-quality merchandise." Norman says before pausing.
"Try to remember, Emma. Conny was shipped out, Before her was Hao. Before him was Ceddy. Based on the cycle so far, the next shipment should be 2 months from now at the earliest." Normans says as he raises two fingers up.
"We need to think of a way for all of us to escape before then." Norman said.
Later, at the forest
Me and Norman started walking side by side and crossed over a log.
"We'll start by making a simple map of this site. The house is in the middle, and then the gate. And the forest that surrounds us. First, where should we escape from? The gate or the forest?" Norman asks.
"I'd say maybe the forest. The gate is always closed except during shipping, and when it's open..." I say.
"The demons are there." Norman says calmly.
"When should we escape through the forest? It's either at playtime, during the day, when we can get out of the house freely, or at night during shipping when Mama is not-" Norman says as he gets cut off by me.
"It can't be the day of shipping! That means someone will be sacrificed and die." I say.
"Your right, and I'm worried if the younger ones can stay awake at night. Then it's decided. We'll escape during the day through the forest. Whether that's possible..." He says.
"Depends on what it's like beyond the forest." I say.
Me and Norman jump over the fence and run for about 5 minutes and then finally see a wall. Norman then turns to a tree and try's to climb it only to be dropped back down since he lost his step.
"Norman! Are you ok!?" I ask as I come over right next to his side.
"I guess I'm tired from thinking too much. " Norman admits and I smile.
"I guess it's up to me!" I say as I climb the tree and then Norman smiles as I reach the top.
"So, is something there?" Norman asks.
"Nothing." I say.
"But the wall looks about 2-3 meters thick. The top of it is pretty high up." I say.
"But there are no guards. It's quiet. Emma, what do you think?" He asks as i come down the tree and touch the wall.
"It's hard and sturdy. There are no edges, let alone any seams. And the surface is smooth. There's no way anyone could climb this." I say.
"Then should we just give up?" Norman asks.
"That's probably what this wall is meant to have us think. But if it was you or me, we could climb it as long as we had a rope." I say happily.
"I don't sense any demons around. The only one watching us is Mama. So, there is no need to be scared." Norman tells me to which I just nod at and then we hear the bell.
Your POV
Back at Grace field after running at full speed Emma and Norman are left panting
"Huh? 2 kids are missing." Gilda says a little worried.
"Yeah, Mark and Naila are missing." I say as i look up from my book and then a sudden scream was heard.
"MAMA!!!!" Mark calls out.
"What's wrong, Mark? Did something happen?" Mama asks worried.
"What should I do!? I got separated from Naila in the forest!? I tried looking, but I couldn't find her!" Mark says while sobbing.
Mama then pulls out her "pocket watch" and smiles. But Norman looked shocked.
"No need to worry, everyone, stay here. Till I get back. Understood? I won't be long." Mama says as she starts walking towards the forest to which i just scoffed at.
'Using the tracker in front of everyone, what's she thinking?' I ask.
I then feel weight on my shoulder so i look away from mama's figure and see Ray's head leaning on my shoulder.
I was quite used to it since he would do this every time when we read or just naturally feel sleepy. So I just smiled and let him be and just read the book that i was were reading and hummed Mama's lullaby to make Ray feel more comfortable.
"I'm sorry, Naila." Mark says sadly.
After a while, Mama came back
"Oh!" Phil says as he spot Mama carrying Naila in her arms, she was sleeping comfortably.
All the younger kids giggled at seeing Naila safe.
"Mama!" Phil calls out as he raced towards her and Naila.
"Naila!" Mark cry's out.
"She got tired and fell asleep. See, not a scratch on her. She's perfectly fine." Mama says.
"Thank goodness! I was worried." Mark says and all the other younger kids laughed.
"I'm so sorry, Naila. I'm sorry!" Mark says.
"It was like Mama knew exactly where Naila was." Norman says scared yet curious.
"Come to think of it, Mama has always been good at finding us. No matter where we hid, she found us quickly." Emma says.
"That's not a pocket watch, it's a tracking device." Norman says to which Emma let's out a gasp.
"They could be implanted somewhere in our bodies. And Mama just purposely used the compact to show us exactly what it was." Norman says before pausing.
'No matter who you are, I will not let you escape.' That's probably what Mama wants to say." Norman says as Emma and him fake smiled as Mama walked past by them. And dropped it as soon as she was out of hearing range.
"So Mama is..." Norman starts.
AN ENEMY....
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Another chapter done, hoped y'all liked it and didn't leave just yet 🥲
And maybe I'll re-write another chapter later today, idk I just need motivation is all 🙂👍