It was the morning after our arrival. We had a smooth morning and everything went well. We had just finished breakfast and we were now playing outside. I was helping Isabella with the babies, and Krone was playing with the toddlers.
For the next few days I was inside helping Isabella with the babies. She always complimented me on having 'the mother's touch.' It was nice hearing it from someone other than the caretakers at headquarters. I helped her with cleaning, feeding the babies, and changing their diapers. Krone was called in every now and then, but she was in-charge of watching the kids outside.
It was the 27th now, ten days after Krone and I arrived. It's been a while since I've come outside, and I was enjoying the breeze, playing and talking to the little babies around me.
I was standing near Ray when the other children started coming out from the woods. "Y/N you finally came outside!" Lannion shouted. "I bet you would beat Norman if you played tag with us.
"Tag?" I said, patting his head. "Sounds fun."
"Yeah, you should play with us!" Mark yelped, running over to me and hugging me.
"You can't just erase your footprints," Ray muttered as Lannion took a seat next to him. "You have to check Norman's footprints as well. And Norman is also reading your habits."
I spotted Krone running off into the forest leaving me puzzled. Great. I looked at Isabella who was also looking in the direction Krone ran off to. How is she going to work around this?
"For example Thoma you tend to..." Ray trailed off. His eyes flicked to me and then frantically started looking around. Guess he didn't notice her leaving. "Hey! Where did she go!"
I was standing in the forest next to Krone. Ray had ran after her, and the other kids followed along, dragging me with them. I asked Isabella for permission and she nodded. We both knew that the only reason I was going was to keep a close eye on Krone. She's a threat, not only to the children but for us too. What a snitch.
I looked around the forest. From the highest tree, to the small river I saw in the distance. I could hear nearly every little thing that there was in this forest. Perks of being at Lambda. I learned a lot from that nightmare of a place.
"I want to get to know everyone," Krone said, bringing her hands together, forcing a wide smile on her face. "So let's play tag."
The little children seemed ecstatic. But Emma, Norman, and Ray seemed to be having a telepathic conversation among themselves.
Ray turned to the two of us. "This match will have a time limit of 20 minutes."
Krone's smile widened. "I'm in. Try to get away from us."
Krone looked at me as I counted to ten in my head.
"Don't get in my way," she snarled. "We both know why you're here. Don't get in my way and I won't drag you down as I will to Isabella."
I laughed and crossed my arms. "Like you'll ever be able to drag me down. I may be younger, but I have more power than you will ever have. So don't go running your big mouth."
She looked around, and dashed off. I trailed along, keeping out of sight. I could hear everyone's positions. The bushes rustling, their obnoxiously loud breathing. I could even see some of them staring at me, peeking behind the trees. But it wasn't my job to catch them. The only job I had was to watch Krone. Watch how she moved and watch what she said. It was clear that she was trying to find who were the culprits. And it was also clear that she had a suspicion on who it could be. The top three scorers. And she wasn't wrong. Of course it'd be the top three scorers. It'd only be a logical explanation to assume them.
I perched up on a tree and hopped branch to branch, keeping a close eye on Krone, but at a far enough distance. I could see the trio watching from afar. So, they're watching her too.
I followed her around as she caught more and more kids. The trio was still chasing her tail. They almost caught me at some point, but they haven't realized that I'd also been following Krone. I wonder if they've wondered where I've been.
Emma dashed out from her hiding spot and snatched up two small children that Krone was headed for. She eventually, but barely outran Krone and took a hiding spot behind a tree. I could see Norman and Ray watching in horror.
"Running while carrying two young ones," Krone called out, her eyes flicking to every hiding spot she could find. "You must be tired, Emma."
I hopped down from my tree, and landed behind a bush directly in front of Emma.
"You won't be able to move unless you rest," Krone continued. "I'm sure you've never been chased like this before."
She let out a little laugh as she walked. "Do you know, Norman's weakness is physical strength. I heard he was feeble when he was younger."
She's not wrong there. When he was barely a baby he got constant fevers. He spent most of his first year stuck in an isolated room, far from the other babies. Peter threatened to feed the baby to the wild demons. If it wasn't for me and Rain, he would've been dead a long time ago.
"Ray's weakness is that he's a little quick to give up," Krone said, rushing over to a bush and tearing apart the leaves. "He makes a decision fast but abandons others just as quickly. And Emma, your weakness is being naive."
Krone's face turned into an eerie, disgusting smile. Emma had been spotted.
"Like carrying others when you're being chased. Just give up and come on out. I won't do you wrong."
Liar.
"If you saw the harvest that day, then I'm on your side."
Emma's face turned sour. And in that split second, that moment when Emma's guard dropped, Krone took advantage and moved to Emma. "Found you."
Ray and Norman moved quickly and ran off, Krone following closely behind.
I walked past Emma, her face seemed surprised. Guess they didn't realize that I was following Krone. I gave her a knowing smile before running after Krone.
I saw Ray and Norman split up. Likewise, Krone went after Norman. Physical weakness after all. But, if I was going to play, then I think now would be the ideal time. I left Krone and went after Ray. Fortunately he hadn't seen me coming. All that time playing in headquarters and stalking the people there paid off. Everyone there complimented me at how stealthy I was. I knew that was going to pay off.
I jumped off of my tree and landed right in front of Ray. Him– caught off guard– stopped all of a sudden and nearly fell back if it wasn't for me to catch him by his wrist. I pulled him back to his feet. "Found you," I said, before snatching his pocket watch from his hand and running over to Krone.
Norman was standing on a small hill, looking down on Krone. His expression shifted when he saw me.
I tapped Krone on the shoulder. "Times up," I said as I held open Ray's pocket watch. "1 survivor, huh? What a disappointment."
Krone slapped my hand away and marched off into the forest. I followed behind her, handing Ray his watch as we passed by him. I love people's expressions when they look genuinely confused. Makes everything worth it.
We reached the house and I immediately ran over to the babies. Isabella eyed me as if she was waiting for me to say something. I mouthed the word 'later' and she understood.
I had offered to help clean up after we finished eating dinner, and Krone was stuck helping around. Guess she wasn't disappointed since Norman and Ray were in the room too. It was pretty clear that they had piqued her interest.
Some children stayed behind and colored on sheets of paper. They were occasionally calling me over to ask me some questions. I couldn't say much so I just gave them extremely vague answers. Fortunately, they understood half of my words and moved on.
I finished early and headed over to Isabella's room. I knocked on the door a few times. "Come in."
The door squeaked open. Does every door in this house do that? "Good evening, Isabella."
She let out a small laugh as she looked up from her papers. "There's no need to be so formal, Y/N. Don't tell me you got your formality from Peter."
"Nope, other people, in fact," I answered innocently as I took a seat on one of the two chairs placed by the table in her room.
"I suppose you're here to tell me about what happened earlier today?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Yeah. Krone is an obstacle. You should fire her," I said.
Isabella just looked at me, not even batting an eyelash. "Clarify for me."
"She sucks," I blurted. "She knows who the children are. And she wants to side with them to take you down. Remove you from your position. That much is clear. Besides, she even confessed it. She told me to stay out of her way. She's such a pain in the ass."
"Language, Y/N, language," Isabella sighed, shaking her head. "Go get Krone for me. I need to speak with her."
I pushed myself to my feet and marched out of there. I just got there and now she's telling me to go back downstairs? What a pain. I slammed open the doors and Krone's head snapped in my direction.
"Isabella wants to talk," I spat, jabbing my thumb behind me. As Krone walked over to me, I spotted Ray and Norman peek out from the storage room.
Just as I was about to leave, I felt a hand tug on my skirt. I turned around and saw Yvette.
"Y/N," she said, looking up at me. Her eyes seemed unreadable. They looked sad almost. "Why don't you call Mom...Mom? Aren't you as old as Ray?"
I crouched down and placed my hand on her head. "Guess I haven't gotten used to it yet. Don't worry about it though. It's not a big deal."
"Where did you come from, Sister Y/N?" she asked.
I was about to say 'from another farm' but luckily my mind caught on. "It's a secret," I whispered, holding a finger to my lips.
"Oh," she whispered, giving me a half-hearted smile. It was clear that she was disappointed in my response, but as long as she didn't ask anything else that was a win in my book. I stood up and marched out of there, catching up with Krone as we approached Isabella's room.
I quickly took a seat at the table.
"As I already told you, I have the situation under control," Isabella said, looking up at Krone. She pushed herself to her feet. "You're just insurance. Insurance I called for just in case, to make sure the products are protected."
Krone shot me a glare. Snitch.
"Think rationally about how you can benefit. The best thing you can do is just remain my pawn, correct?" Isabella continued. That's right, Peter told me Isabella lives as if she's playing a game of chess. As long as she's in control, she wins. Every time. "You don't have to know the targets. Just work as a dutiful assistant and you can laugh on the inside about how you have something over me."
Haha. Burn.
"Then I will make you a 'Mom' I guarantee it," she said, smiling. "And, what did you learn playing tag with the children?"
"They are excellent," Krone answered, straining a smile. "And special."
Isabella let out a sigh. Not a relieved one though. "I see, so you do understand. My intentions and the value of those children."
She walked over to Krone and placed a hand on her cheek. "You are a smart girl. Make sure you don't make any errors in the future. You are excused."
Krone slumped out of there. I was going to laugh, but I was kicked out too. I glanced over at Krone and regretted it. She had this intense intimidating aura surrounding her. It almost hurt my eyes. And she was headed to our room. Great. I honestly do not know how I've been able to sleep in the same room as her. Where am I supposed to sleep now? I don't want to sleep with her now.
"Y/N," Naila shouted as she came running up the stairs.
"No running in the house, Naila," I said. I picked her up and held her in my arms. "You're going to hurt yourself. How many times have I told you this?"
"Uhh, I don't know," she laughed.
I sighed and shook my head. "Bad sign."
"But that doesn't matter Y/N!" she exclaimed, throwing her arms up. "Can you sing us a lullaby?"
A lullaby? I don't know any. "Why don't you ask Isabella?"
"You mean Mom?" Naila asked, tilting her head.
"Y-Yeah...her," I muttered in response.
I saw Nalia's eyes sadden. "Well, Mom's always busy at this time, so we can't ask her."
"And the other older kids, why don't you ask them?" I asked.
"They help the little kids get ready for bed," she responded. "Sooo, can you?"
I sighed. No getting out of this one. I'll think of a lullaby. "Yeah, sure," I nodded, hesitantly. "Let's go, hm?"
- - -
a/n:
I'm aware this is an early update but why not :)
welcome to Chapter Five and goodbye to Chapter Five.
This chapter dates from Oct 18-Oct 21, 2045.
I just wanna say thanks to those who are keeping up, I appreciate it and it makes my day :)
anyways, hope you enjoyed. The next chapter will have the among us scene. it will be coming out this coming Sunday :)
also, I understand that this is an OliverxReader fanfic but we're taking things slow before we get to the Goldy Pond arc.
Also, I'm thinking of updating every Wednesday and Sunday for the next few weeks so make sure you stay caught up.
stay tuned for that.
as always, happy days :)
published: 12.14.22
(2347 words) ✥