Lorraine's POV
The hooded man or should I say, demon, behind us is holding his weapon as he look down on us. He's so tall and intimidating as he spoke to the woman in front of us. I couldn't focus on anything else but the fact that fragments of hallucinations is entering my mind, I don't know if it's hallucination or a memory playing before me. It's just a man wearing an armor beside Sung-Joo, he seems to be begging, I don't know if he can see me but I can't understand him, it feels like he's speaking a language that I haven't learned yet. I tried walking to Sung-Joo, beside him to check the man but a hand wrap its way around my arm, forcing me to stop.
"What are you doing, Lorraine?" Ray whispered as he held me back, my head turning to him but as soon as I look back to the man, he suddenly lunged at me.
My body couldn't move as Ray spoke to Sung-Joo and the woman, Musica. This man, in front of me and crying, is making me feel so uncomfortable. I look at everyone and it seems that they can't really see this man. He didn't spoke, he just cried and cried until slowly, he's fading away.
"What's wrong with them? They look, really awful." Sung-Joo said as he lowered his head to us, snapping me from my trance.
"Because we don't know anything about you and Musica, it's normal to feel this way and I believe that it's also because both of you are demons." I said, venom dripping from my voice as I stare at him with emotionless eyes.
"Why did you help...?" Ray's voice was shaking, his hand around my arm is also shaking.
"Calm down." I whispered and pull his other hand, giving him a light squeeze.
"You're looming over them with that thing, tsk, Sung-Joo take that away. These children are scared." Musica said, almost like a mom's voice.
"That's...the little ones there aren't even scared." He replied, ignoring us.
"Where are the children!?" Emma's voice boomed inside the underground, it's the first time that I heard Emma like this. It's something new.
Emma's glare sent shivers to my spine, Sung-Joo wasn't able to give a reply and that made her blood boil even more. She suddenly run and I look at Musica and Sung-Joo then to Ray, Ray nodded his head and I quickly run after Emma. I'm worried that she might get lost in this underground, we don't know the tunnels here.
"Emma! Please...slow..down." I almost yelled while running after her. She's really atlethic and I saw her play inside the orphanage but damn, she's using up her skills like crazy.
I'm also worried about our siblings but I couldn't let my emotions beat my thinking, it's so hard to make decisions when you have your emotions connected to you. Of course, I would flip this underground and might kill the two demons there, if I wouldn't be able to find my siblings.
"Emma!" I heard the voices of my siblings.
Emma stopped in front of an area in the underground, it's a little more brighter here, making me sighed in relief. They're still alive and they're around a huge pot, cooking something. I take a breathe for a while before walking behind Emma.
"Nor--- Lorraine!" Anna called me as I enter the picture, I smiled and brushed off the fact that she almost call me Norman, we really are identical.
"I'm glad that all of you are fine." I said and hugged Anna and Don.
"Well, were also glad that you and Emma are fine----Hey, careful around her." Gilda scolded the kids as the lunged to Emma, almost pushing her to the ground.
"Is everyone all right?" Emma asked.
"Yup!" We all answered in chorus with a smile, she's worrying a lot.
I sensed a presence behind me and I am quick to turn my head around, Ray's standing behind Musica as she walk inside.
"I am very sorry to frighten you, we didn't really mean to add up with your troubles, let us introduce again." Musica said, putting down the hood of her cloak.
"I am Musica," She introduced herself, then looked beside her, "and this is Sung-Joo."
They're wearing mask with a small hole on them, I suddenly felt relaxed around them as my stiff shoulders turned limp.
"Don't be scared, we don't have any plans of hurting you and your friends, we don't eat humans." Musica explained.
After the introduction, we all sat around the pot and was given a bowl with soup in it, it feels so warm. We thanked for the food before I put a spoonful of soup in my mouth and even if it's just vegetables, I suddenly felt so lucky to have it. It felt so good to feel that you're still alive, my family is still alive.
"Your medicines." Ray spoke beside me as he eat quietly.
"What about them?" I ask him, putting down the bowl.
"Who gave them to you?" He ask, his eyes were dark and full of worry, almost like he's tired.
"The man from the orphanage, he rarely visit but after finding out that his experiment is working properly with me, he seems to be going a lot after that." I said, sighing and trying to forget the bad memories from that house.
"Experiments?" He asked, well it's not something that I should be hiding now.
"They've conducted experiments on me...it was scary, I didn't know what to do before because Mom is threatening me if I reveal their secrets and I'm still scared while saying these to you." I whispered, whimpering as I hug myself, the syringes were really scary.
"I'm sorry..." Ray mumbled, putting down his bowl of soup. I look up to him to see him staring at me with worry in his eyes.
"It's all right now." I replied, more like I'm saying it to myself, convincing myself.
"No, I should have known, I was a spy, I was checking everything in her office." He said and I smiled, his hand caressing my cheeks.
"It's all right now, don't worry." I closed my eyes and lean to his touch, it's warm.
"Are you still scared of them?" He asked and I quickly nod my head.
"Come here" He said and when I opened my eyes, his arms are open widely for me, he was blushing, I giggled and hugged him.
"Please hold me, just hold me for a moment." I whispered as he wrap his arms around my body.
I was floating as he hug me close to him, it feels like all of my worries were gone. The voices of those demons and cries of the other kids are gone, I could only hear his heartbeat, a hollow lullaby. I've hugged a lot of person, maybe not a lot, considering that I only hug my siblings, but Ray's hug is different. They make me feel safe and it feels like I want to smile.
"There, you're fully charged now with energy hug." He suddenly pulled away, his hands on my shoulder. His cheeks were full of pink tints, making me laugh.
"Don't laugh at me!" He yelled and take his bowl of soup.
I observe Sung-Joo and Musica more, they actually look familiar, so familiar...Wait! If I'm not mistaken, I have dreamt of them before, they were in a forest, smiling to each other as they hunt for food. It was a dream when I was 8 and I believe that, that dream was just a fantasy, I believe that I was just missing Noah that day.
"They're acting so close." Ray mumbled, Emma also noticed it.
The children, with Musica and Sung-Joo looks so sweet and adorable. It looks like a picture of a family, except that they're demons. I look at Emma's face to see her doubting them. Well, it's not right to doubt someone but we just met Musica and Sung-Joo.
"Stay relaxed, we eat some earlier and it's really safe here, I think that if they'd want to do something to us then they would've done it already." Gilda said to Emma, noticing her discomfort.
"Also, thanks to them that you guys made it here, we need to believe in them!" Don said to us, grinning.
We all talked before finishing the meal, I helped Musica with cleaning the dishes, still observing her, then after that, we all prepare for sleeping. Ray, Emma and I wasn't really planning to sleep, we need to talk to Musica and Sung-Joo.
"C'mon." Ray ushered us to follow him and we did.
"Oh, you kids are still awake." Sung-Joo spoke, without even looking at his back.
Sung-Joo's back were facing us, I sighed and lightly hug myself, it's a little cold here, even if I'm wearing my blazer it's not enough to keep me warm but I should stop complaining now.
"Can we have a talk now?" Emma asked Sung-Joo.
"Of course." He answered and the three of us walked a little closer to him, we sat beside him in comfort.
"You three were running around before, you should rest properly until tomorrow, it might ruin your body." Sung-Joo said while examining us.
"No, it's all right, we'll go to rest after this." I answered with a small smile.
"Thank you and I'm also sorry that I doubted you and Musica even if all you wanted to do is to help. I couldn't help but to think before that all the demons out here are hunting for us humans." Emma said to him, a smile on her lips.
"No worries, you have the rights to be suspicious of us, most of the demons valued the human meat, the brain above anything. Those who don't eat humans like us are awfully few," Sung-joo stopped for a moment before looking at us directly, "most of the demons out here are craving for your flesh, your brains and it's good that you're assuming that they want to eat yours."
"Then what are you...?" Ray asked, confusion in his voice.
"Faith, our religion has a rule that we shouldn't eat humans but we can still eat anything that aren't human beings. We are called Heathens, those who owns the farms, I don't care about them." Sung-Joo said, even if he's wearing a mask, I could tell that he's giving us a smile.
"I saved you kids out of curiosity, a simple reason, isn't? It's been a while since I've had a nice talk with humans like you." Sung-Joo continued to talk and even offered us a drink.
"Could you tell us, what happened to humankind? What's happening with the world?" Emma asked, almost with a desperate voice.
I could only look at my hands as I felt something drip from my nose, I quickly wipe it and looked up, Ah, I couldn't see anything but some vines.
"Please, tell us what happened to humanity 30 years ago." Emma pleaded, after that, I look at them again.
"Nothing." Sung-Joo answered, my eyes widened.
"What do you mean nothing? Are we in a different dimension or are we in a different place?" I asked, it seems that my answer caught his interest as he turn his head to me.
"You're interesting, protect that brain of yours in the future. Well, there's nothing really going on before, the world has been like this for a long time." Sung-Joo said.
"So, Lorraine might be right, are we still on Earth?" Ray quickly asked, still standing.
"Huh?" Both Emma and I looked at him.
"If this planet isn't Earth then that would explain the weird biology around us." Ray said, sweating a bit.
"Nay."
"The calendar? Are they also a lie?" Ray asked, he's currently being overwhelmed with these information, I guess.
"Nay, Were on the planet Earth and I am very sure that year 2046 is not a lie, the dates aren't a lie, well according to a certain human, at least." Sung-Joo replied.
"Huh? How? Why...?" Emma asked, leaning closer to him with curiosity.
"I'll tell you a story, the stories of the old, when the world was so much bigger than it is now." Sung-Joo answered, clasping his hands.
He told us that there weren't any plantations or the farms before, the world was great before, the demons are free and they could hunt any humans. Other humans feared the demons and worshipped them, offering different things while some of them grew vengeful and became the hunters. Human hunting the demons for a revenge. Those humans are scared to be eaten, they ended up killing a large group of demons and the demons too, begrudge the human race.
"We shall make a treaty as follows: No human can hunt demon and no demon can hunt a human, this world must be divided in to two." He quoted.
Sung-Joo told us that everything started with a promise, an old ancient contract between humans and demons.
"We live in the other side, the demon side back then, in other words, this place never belonged to humans and you children from the plantations are a parting gift from your ancestors before they go to the other side." Sung-Joo explained, I gulped and sniff.
It feels like humanity has thrown us in a garbage can, what have we done to be thrown here!?
"Left...behind...here.." Ray spoke, almost in a whisper.
"They've been keeping you all as a livestock and those plantations are responsible for controlling and managing the cattle. Above all, Grace Field House is the top ranking plantation among the others, they serve the best. It's been a thousand years since they sealed the contact so there's nothing wrong with the world." Sung-Joo said.
It's really making me feel so sad, angry and disappointed. There's a lot of us here, were suffering because of a promise, were a gift just to keep those humans alive from the other side. If the this world is not for us humans then maybe, just maybe, we can break the promise and go to the other side, not only us but also the other kids from the other plantations.
"Ray." Emma called the raven haired boy.
"Yes?" Ray answered, looking at Emma.
Suddenly, Emma jumped from her seat, saying different things. She's so energetic, Ray also smiled, saying that they will make and find a way to go to the other side. I also smiled before standing up and giving the cup to Sung-Joo, I use my hands to dust my pants before looking at my two friends.
"Well, I must say that it's already late, go sleep and have some rest." Sung-Joo said, waving a hand to us.
"Yes!" Emma replied.
"Starting tomorrow, we'll teach you all how to walk through this forest safely." Sung-Joo said, well that's really helpful!
"Thank you so much, Sung-Joo, may you have a wonderful night." Emma said before we turn our backs, walking back to our siblings.
"We need to find Mr. Minerva." Emma said while were walking back.
"Liberation, we'll bring everyone with us to the other side, we'll escape from here too." Ray replied, I shifted my eyes to the ground.
I also want to go to the other side, I have a lot of doubt about going to the other side of the world but I can't hide my excitement, those humans who threw us here can hate us but I won't let them hurt us, I won't let them send us back here. If I am right, we still have a lot of cards in our hands, I still have the trump card and it will be a huge gamble.
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(A/N)
Sorry for my grammatical errors and typos!
Whew~ I just finished our exam this week and I don't feel so great, it feels like I didn't give my best, lol.
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