"No. 18684: Krone. From today on, you are able to work towards your ultimate goal of becoming a "Mama"."
Our teacher, known as "Grandma", told me: you must compete. This is how we must "survive".
***
"Come right in." Sister Krone opens her bedroom door to Norman, Maiko, (Y/N), and Emma. "Now... What would you like to know?"
-Flashback-
"Are you seriously going?! It's Sister Krone!" Gilda exclaimed.
Right now the seven were inside of the library.
"She did say that she'd tell us anything." Emma said.
"But what if...her true intentions look like this?!" Gilda panicked, thinking of Sister Krone being a spider and leading butterflies, (Y/N), Maiko, Emma and Norman, into her web.
"We'll be okay. We already know what the enemy wants." Norman assures her.
"It's to make us trust her enough to stop pieces of useable "evidence" in front of her." Maiko said.
"That's right. So our job is to prevent that from happening. We'll never trust her, and we'll never let her gain any evidence. However, we will gain information from her." (Y/N) told them.
"Anyway..."
Emma pulled Don and Gilda into a huddle.
"We've got to take advantage of everything we can."
"Keep in mind that there's no guarantee she'll tell us the complete truth." Ray told them.
"I agree. I predict that she'll be throwing at least a few lies here and there. But I still want to make use of her to the fullest. We'll gain information and we'll feed her with lies as well." Norman said.
"In essence, all we have to do is to make sure we don't give ourselves away."
***
"Fire away, kids!" Sister Krone said.
"Are you sure we can ask you about anything?" Maiko asked.
"Let's plan out our questions before we leave."
"Oh, yes. Anything, whether it's about the farm, the headquarters, or-"
"How about "what it feels like to be an adult who murdered children"?" Maiko cut her off.
Sister Krone's eyes narrowed.
"Yes. I can answer that too, and anything else you'd like to know." She replied.
"Then..."
"Our first demand will be..."
"Show is that thing. The device you adults use to track us kids." (Y/N) said.
"Oh... Of course." She pulls out the tracker and hands it to them. "What do you think? Pretty simple, isn't it? You can't really identify who each mark represents. But I'm impressed that you already knew about the trackers."
"...Yeah. Mama showed us once. But we don't know where they are or how to destroy them." Norman tells her.
"And that's why you can't escape, huh?" Sister Krone says.
"...But do you know, Sister Krone?" Emma asks her.
"Is here." She touches the back of her ear. "Somewhere in the left ear. I have no idea how to destroy them...but I'd advise against it. After all, both that thing and the headquarters will get an alert if you do." Sister Krone explained.
"It's just like Ray said. And she didn't lie about the location either." Emma thought.
"You've got no choice but to remove them from your body. Cutting them out would be an option, I suppose." She adds.
"But this building has barely anything sharp. Knives...even the cooking knives we have wouldn't do the job. And once we do make our escape, we won't have any medicine either. I'd rather not leave this place with a high risk of blood loss or a nasty infection." Norman tells her.
"Well, there is a rather decent scalpel inside the medical kit here. You rarely ever need it...but it's there, just in case an accident happens within the house grounds. All the tools and drugs you'll need will be in the infirmary as well...including anesthesia. I'd say we have enough material in stock for 5 kids. As for the key, I'll lend to mine. Heck, I'll even teach you how to properly carry out the procedure. And with that, this case is closed. What's next?" She asks the kids.
There's silence amongst them before Maiko asks...
"How old are you? Were you born into this state, just like we were?"
"Geez, have some decency! You should never ask a grown woman her age... Is what I'd like to say, but... I'm 26."
"Born in 2019, huh?"
"I was born and raised in a Grace Field House. As for Isabella, she's 31."
"Born in 2014..."
"And she, also... was born and raised in a place like this."
"Huh?!" The four thought in unison.
"At least, that's what it said in her records."
"Mama was born before that book was even published...and yet she was born on a farm like us, too?" (Y/N) thought.
"So neither of these adults are from the "outside" world, huh?" Maiko thought.
"How is the outside world? Have you ever seen it?" Norman asked her.
"Never."
The four were surprised by her answer.
"What did you expect me to say "yes", even if it was a lie?" She questions. "Finally, a change in expression." "It's true, I haven't. But I know that there are humans out there. Adults like us who come from farms produce your food. But there are also people from the "outside" world who produce and deliver all of our clothes and other supplies." She explained.
"Supplies?" Emma questions.
"Like toys...and books...?" (Y/N) asks.
"Yes. Furniture and test materials also come from their side of the world." The woman tells them.
"If that's true, then Mr. Minerva's books are also...!" The four children thought in unison.
"I've actually seen one of them in the headquarters, just once in my life. From what I could tell, that human was on an equal ground with them. Outside there are humans who won't get eaten. Your goal should be to blend in with their society." Sister Krone tells them.
"Humans...who won't get eaten?!" Maiko thought.
"If this is true, there's definitely a higher possibility of Mr. Minerva still being alive!" Emma thought, a glimmer of hope starting to surface in her.
"If this is true. She has been a farm animal since birth. She's never been in the outside world." Norman thought.
"Wait, so Sister Krone... Do you know when the demons came to our world...and why we all ended up like this?" (Y/N) asked.
"The "demons"? Oh, you mean them? I have no idea." She answered.
"Where is this farm located?" Maiko questioned.
"No idea."
"How's the security around this farm?" Norman asks.
"I can answer that. Honestly, it's not bad at all. They have so much faith in the trackers that there's barely any security. Heck, I don't think anybody even consistently comes around to patrol the area." She explains.
"It's true that I couldn't hear anything on the other side of the wall. But this is probably still a lie. There's no way...that the security is going to be this lax!"
"Thank you very much." Emma says as Norman shakes the woman's hand.
"That's it?" She asks.
"Yes, ma'am. Goodnight." (Y/N) says.
"They're intelligent. They come headfirst towards me to obtain information that they don't even know if they should trust...and yet they're also taking care to not drop any obvious hints I could use against them. This kid... These kids...know exactly what's going on. As long as they don't let me obtain my "evidence", I have no choice but to let them go. But still..."
Sister Krone then began laughing which caused the kids to tense up as her laughter bounced around the rooms' walls. They turned their heads towards her, their eyes wide.
"I see... So you already knew where the trackers are located and how to destroy them! Very intriguing! I've learned a lot today!"
"H-How?! We planned this out! We haven't made any mistakes! And yet, why..." Emma's thoughts trailed off.
"Information...isn't necessarily just words. You four were very careful with your words. In order to hide what you truly wanted to get from me, you've all paid the utmost attention to the way you worded and timed your questions. I'm proud of you four! But you four also let your guard down because you were overconfident in your ability to plan. Humans are like open books. You can learn a lot about them just by watching them stand still! Attitude. Eyes. Blinking. Sweat. Actions. Pupils. Heart Rate. Everything can become a very useful clue that allows you to check on your opponent. And yet, the four of you...didn't lift a single finger to check your ears once I revealed the location of the trackers. You didn't seem excited at all when I told you that there's a way to remove them safely." Sister Krone explained.
"That's right! In the beginning, we also..." Maiko's thoughts trailed off.
"How stupid of me! She already knew that we would be smart enough to avoid making foolish statements...so instead of focusing on our language, she focused...on our visual reactions!" Norman thought.
"So... Why did you ask me questions you already knew the answers to? Is there still something that you're trying...to hide from me?" She asked them.
"Don't worry. We still haven't dropped anything big enough for her to use as evidence against us." Norman whispered.
"Yeah, you're right." (Y/N) whispers back.
"Well, whatever. Do you know about Him?" She asked the kids.
"Wha-"
"You don't. Of course you don't!"
"What did she just...?"
"I'll tell you all about that the next time you come visit me. Feel free to stop by again anytime." She told them.
She pushed the four shocked children out of her room.
"We'll definitely talk a lot more when you come by next."
She closed her door after the last word of that sentence left her mouth. The four stood in silence and stared at each other. Then they began walking down the hall.
"We were severely underestimating Sister Krone." Norman said.
Maiko nodded. "She saw right through us."
"Yeah..." Emma trailed off.
"She still doesn't have any proof against us." (Y/N) added, trying to give her and her friends some
hope.
"(Y/N) is right, but still...our aim was to not let her get any information out of our side." Norman thought.
"She too, is just like Mama. She's an adult who's actually managed to stay alive in this harsh system to this day. I've realized just now...that we really do need to get out of this place, as quickly as possible."
"We can't afford to slack around anymore. And because of that, tomorrow's planned investigation has to go perfectly!"
***
The clocks inside of the silent house ticked. Mama was sitting down at her desk, a book open in front of her. She shut her book and stood up.
"Now... I suppose...
It's about time...
***
THURSDAY, 11/2. 6 DAYS UNTIL THE DAY OF ESCAPE.
***
...CH. 21/END