10 Chapter 10 - Dusk ti'll Dawn

"A cliff?" Emma gasped as she sat up from her bed.

"Sister wasn't lying. The demons didn't underestimate us. With that cliff, security won't be necessary." Norman said.

"When we first went to the wall. I smelled dirt beyond that and not the forest. I thought I was just getting a cold but when I saw it..." I stopped talking as I looked down.

"Wait, so that means we can't escape from the wall?!" Emma asked.

"There is a way." Norman said and he started sketching and explaining his plan on a piece of paper.

"Someone is approaching" I said and we all looked at the door and we heard a knock. The door opened and revealed Phil.

"Y/n, Norman, Mom is calling you." Phil said.

"Tell her we'll be there!" I said as I smiled at him. He nodded and left, closing the door on the way.

"Anyways, we should get going." I said as I stood up and held a hand for Norman.

"W-wait a minute!" Emma stuttered. Norman grabbed my hand and I pulled him up.

"We'll give this back. We didn't use it." Norman said as he showed the two devices that Ray made.

"You.." Ray started to glare at us. He grabbed my shoulders and pushed me slightly.

"So, you were planning to return from the start, huh?! You said so yourself, right? That we'll stay alive together! But you were planning to.." Ray had a scowl on his face.

"Sorry Ray, but you lied when you said we'll escape with everyone. I heard you talk with Norman that time. If you were planning to leave everybody, I'd rather die." I said sternly.

"I can't be a failure again, I won't let anybody else die. If we ran away, the plan will deviate. If it deviates a little, it'll be problematic." I said.

"I don't even want a chance of losing. It's pointless to argue. We won't change our mind." Norman said. Ray started to step backwards and he sat on the bed and placed his hand on his head.

"We did what we can today. We're leaving the rest you. Make sure the escape succeeds." I said as I sat on the bed, in between Ray and Emma.

"W-wait you can't be serious!" Emma got cut off with a hug from Norman. I was surprised too but I loosened up.

"Thank you for everything. Because of you three I had a good life. I had fun. I was happy. I was fortunate." Norman said. I could feel Ray shaking and he started tearing up.

"Hey Y/n, Norman, it's not too late to run away. Run away and hide in the forest." Emma cried as Norman released from the hug.

"Like Norman said, we aren't gonna change our mind." I said as I stood up and walked towards the door.

"See you." Norman said.

"Bye bye" I waved and we left.

≿━━━━༺❀༻━━━━≾

I was done packing and right now I'm waiting for Norman. I laid on his bed with my suitcase on his bed.

Norman started opening his drawers until he stopped and grabbed something. I sat up and smiled as I saw the string telephones.

"Y/n, remember this?" Norman asked as he showed me the string telephones.

"Indeed. It sure does bring back such lovely memories." I said as I placed my hand on my cheek.

(A/N: Eyo! So flashback will always be in 3rd Person and when you guys are sleeping or unconscious it will automatically go to 3rd Person POV. Hope you don't get confused!)

༻✦༺ ༻ 𝐅𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐡𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 ༺ ༻✦༺

A young boy coughed as he laid on a bed in the infirmary. Mama looked worriedly at the boy.

"You've caught a cold again. No more snowball fights, okay?" Mama sighed as she looked at the thermometer. The boy nodded.

Mama placed a 'Do not Enter!' sign outside the door as she was about to leave, some kids started approaching.

"We can't play with Norman?" Y/n asked as she looked at the Do not Enter sign hanging from the door knob.

"Not until he gets better. So listen everyone, don't enter the infirmary for a while, alright?" Mama said. Everyone groaned and said okay.

The boy laying on the infirmary bed frowned until he saw something rise from beside him and a girl stood up and grinned at him.

"E-Emma?!" the boy got shocked. Emma smiled.

"I came to visit!" Emma said as she laid on the boy's blanket.

"Why? You can't come in here." the boy started to cough and turned his body away from the orange head.

"But Norman, you always feel lonely every time you get sick. I didn't want you to feel sad." Emma stubbornly said which made Norman's cheek turn pink.

"I'll talk so you don't have to, let's hang out!" Emma backed up as she sat on the wooden stool.

"No, we can't. You'll catch my cold." Norman tried to argue with the stubborn girl.

"No, I won't. I was told that I don't get sick!" Emma proudly smirked as she pointed to herself.

"Oh, Emma! When did you sneak in?" Mama asked, surprised which startled Emma.

"What would you do if you got sick too?" Mama asked as she approached them.

"But Ray and Y/n said that I'll be fine!" Emma argued.

"Ray and Y/n?" Mama asked and the two appeared behind their mother who took care of the House.

"Y/n showed me this book and it said that idiots don't get sick." Ray said which made Mama turn her head. The h/c-nette girl showed the book with a smile making Mama sigh.

"In any case, you can't be in here. Don't go near the infirmary anymore. Understood, Emma?" Mama said as she grabbed the Emma's wrist and pulled her out of the room.

"Okay.." Emma replied with a sad tone. Seeing Emma leave made Norman frown as he was once again lonely.

Mama started placing 'Keep out' tape on the infirmary door. Norman sighed and just laid on the bed until he caught a glimpse of orange hair.

"I'm back!" Emma announced which made Norman shocked and he started to panic.

"Emma, you can't." Norman started to cough again.

"Here, this is for you." Emma said as she placed a cup with a string under it which made Norman confused.

"A cup?" Norman asked as he looked at the cup with the string at the end of it.

"Ray thought me how to do it and Y/n helped me make it." Emma cheerfully said as she showed him her cup.

"Emma!" they heard Mama's voice call her which startled the orange head.

"Geez, you really don't give up, do you?" Mama lifted Emma up as Emma continued to struggle.

"Y/n and Ray said we can talk by using these!" Emma said as she got pulled away from the sick boy. Norman placed the opening of the cup in his ear and waited.

"Hello? Norman, can you hear me?" he heard Emma's voice ask which surprised him. He placed his mouth close to the opening of the cup.

"Yeah, I can hear you." Norman smiled and outside the door was an over excited Emma.

"Y/n! Ray! Amazing! Now we can talk even though I'm out here! Yay!" Emma screamed with joy.

"Emma, if you yell like that..." Ray sweat dropped.

"...you don't even need the string phones." Y/n sweat dropped as she sat beside Ray.

"There you go again continuing each others' sentences!" Emma yelled and they all started laughing.

༻✦༺ ༻ 𝐄𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐅𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐡𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 ༺ ༻✦༺

"It sure brings back those memories, when we were carefree. When we didn't know anything. When we only experienced happiness." I sighed as I stood up and dusted my skirt.

I heard the door open to reveal Don and Gilda. I looked at Norman and he placed the string telephones in his suit case.

He then dressed up in another room and when he was done we nodded at each other and went downs.

"Thanks for wait, Mom." Norman thanked Mama who held two hats in her hands.

"Sure, let's go, Norman, Y/n. Everyone's waiting." Mama said and we went downstairs.

When we were about to leave, everyone was saying 'goodbye', 'be careful' or 'don't get sick'.

Sherry started crying and hugging Norman's pants. I giggled and he looked at me for help.

"Sherry, please don't cry. Instead of crying, how about sending us off with that adorable smile of yours?" I politely asked and she gave us a smile.

"Y/n. Norman." I heard Phil call and he started approaching us with teary eyes.

"Phil, can I count on you to help Emma in my place?" Norman requested as I wiped Phil's eyes.

"Yes." Phil replied.

"Emma, Where's Ray?" Mama asked Emma who looked at the wooden floor.

"He's in his room. He said he didn't want to see Y/n and Norman leave." Emma answered. I frowned.

"Don, Gilda. Take care of Emma and Ray, okay?" asked and they nodded.

I looked at Thoma, Lannion, Nat and Anna and see them looked at me with worried eyes.

"Mama, can I say goodbye to Ray?" I asked. Mama looked at me suspiciously but she nodded.

I walked to where he was and hesitated before knocking on the door.

"Go. Away" I heard Ray's harsh words. I sighed and opened the door anyway.

I saw him laying on the bed with a pillow over his face. I slowly approached him and sat on his bed.

"Ra-"

"Get. Out." Ray coldly said which made me frown even more.

"Ray, I'll come back to you. No matter what. I'm not going to die." I confidently said.

"Shut up" Ray harshly said as he looked away from me.

"Ray...I know I'll come back" I whispered.

"How do you know that?! If it's one of your hunches again you can just leave and be food to the demons." he sat up and glared at me.

"Ray, I'll come back to you. I promise." I said as I held his hand.

"Stop lying!" Ray yelled as he smacked my hand away and he started tearing up.

"Ray...have I ever lied to you? I hate liars so why should I become one?" I asked and he remained silent.

"Ray, we'll see each other again. I promise. When we meet again, I want you to return this to me." I said as I showed him my favorite pin.

"Th-that's, I can't. What if it gets damaged? What if it breaks? What if I lose it? What if there will be no Y/n to return this to?!" he asked worriedly.

"You won't, I trust you. And I won't die. I know it. Promise me you'll return it." I ordered.

"I promise" he said and I placed my favorite pin on his palm, it was a flower pin that I had received from him when it was my 9th birthday. We stayed silent for a while.

"Can you sing me that song?" he requested, I smiled and nodded and he rested his head on my lap and I ran my fingers through his hair.

𝑩𝒖𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖'𝒍𝒍 𝒏𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒃𝒆 𝒂𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒆,

𝑰'𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒅𝒖𝒔𝒌 𝒕𝒊'𝒍𝒍 𝒅𝒂𝒘𝒏,

𝑰'𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒅𝒖𝒔𝒌 𝒕𝒊'𝒍𝒍 𝒅𝒂𝒘𝒏.

𝑩𝒂𝒃𝒚, 𝑰'𝒎 𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆

~

𝑰'𝒍𝒍 𝒉𝒐𝒍𝒅 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝒈𝒐 𝒘𝒓𝒐𝒏𝒈,

𝑰'𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒅𝒖𝒔𝒌 𝒕𝒊'𝒍𝒍 𝒅𝒂𝒘𝒏,

𝑰'𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒅𝒖𝒔𝒌 𝒕𝒊'𝒍𝒍 𝒅𝒂𝒘𝒏.

𝑩𝒂𝒃𝒚, 𝑰'𝒎 𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆~

𝑰'𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒅𝒖𝒔𝒌 𝒕𝒊'𝒍𝒍 𝒅𝒂𝒘𝒏,

𝑩𝒂𝒃𝒚, 𝑰'𝒎 𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆

(A/N: Eyo! The vid above can be used as a reference. Starts from 1:03. Not mine btw)

After singing, I heard light snoring and smiled. I slowly placed his pillow under his head and stood up. Just as I was about to leave, I felt a hand grab my hand.

I turned around and saw Ray half asleep. He looked at me with those soft eyes that I love so much.

"Y/n.." Ray called.

"What is it, Ray?" I intertwined my fingers with his and approached his half-asleep figure.

"Please don't leave me. I-I.." Ray tried to say something but I saw tears escaping his eye.

"Ray..." I placed my hand on his face and wiped his tears away with my thumb.

"Stay. I need you more than you think. Please. I love you..." Ray confessed as he held my hand that was on his cheek. I could see that he was struggling to keep his eyes open.

"You should've said that earlier, it's too late now. Don't worry, Ray. Everything will be alright. I love you too." I said as I kissed his cheek and he closed his eyes.

"I'll be with you from dusk ti'll dawn." I whispered in his ear and stood up. I placed a flower next to him and left. I walked back to where the others were.

'That dummy...making me feel weird again'

"Y/n...are you ok? You're crying." Mama looked at me shocked. I touched my face and felt something watery, I quickly wiped them and said my farewells to everyone.

We turn around and..

"Y/n! Norman!" I heard Emma called and she hugged us, dropping her leg clutches on the floor.

"I'll distract Mom, run away." Emma begged and I heard the sound of Ray's device.

My reflexes kicked in and I pushed Emma off. I quickly grabbed the device and hid it.

"Idiot! I know you're reckless, but this is too far, Emma! This isn't what you should be doing right now!" Norman yelled at Emma.

"Shut up! I won't let you guys go!" Emma yelled back. I heard the children whispering.

"Emma, why can't you understand? We're not wishing for any of that. We just want you to send us off with a smile. Please respect our feelings." I said.

"I can't respect those feelings! Especially if you don't even want to go!" Emma yelled as she grabbed my wrist along with Norman's.

"You're crazy, Emma. Reckless and unreasonable. Naive and immature. But honest...that's why..I" Norman reached out for Emma's cheek.

But Mama being the coc- I mean, she told Norman and I that it was time. I sighed and leaned towards Emma's ear and whispered in it before leaning back. She nodded and I stood up.

"Y/n.." I heard Thoma call for me and I looked at him and smiled. I patted his head.

"Help Emma and Ray get through this. Escape with everyone, understood? If you feel troubled, ask Gilda or Don for help. I'll miss you all" I whispered and stood up.

We left and started making our way to the gate. Mama started humming a tune. I hummed along with her.

"Y/n, how do you know that song?" Mama asked.

"Ray hums it to me when I have nightmares or when I can't sleep." I answered.

"Your suitcase is empty, Norman." Mama said.

"Yeah, almost. Because no matter what I put in, I can't take it with me." Norman replied.

"I knew you two weren't going to run away. I knew it from the beginning. It's praiseworthy. You're doing the right thing. Now I can ship out Ray and Emma when they're mature." Mama said, carefree.

"Until the end of time that was decided, happily inside home, right?" Norman asked.

"Yes. Spending a happy lifetime." Mama replied.

"Hey mama..." I called. She hummed in reply as she looked at me.

"Are you happy?" I asked and she seemed surprised that she almost dropped the lantern but she regained her composure.

"Yes. I am happy. Because I got to meet someone like you two." Mama said and I started to see the gate.

"When I was young, I've always wondered why this place smelled like blood. Now I know the truth." I said. Norman stayed silent as he looked at the ground.

"Ne, Mama, take care of everyone for us. Please take care of Ray for me. Knowing him, he'll lock himself in the library." I giggled and Mama smiled and nodded.

≿━━━━༺❀༻━━━━≾

"Good morning, my dear children. Remembering to appreciate that all 36 of you are able to live here happily. Thank you for the food." Mama said.

After a while, it was finally their free time where all children go out to play together.

"Emma looks so sad. I've never seen her look like that before." Phil said as he looked at Emma while frowning.

"Yeah" Don agreed as he stopped hanging the bed sheets and so did Gilda.

"It's not just Emma." Lannion said as he approached the three.

"Ray too." Thoma added as he carried an object that will soon be used for future events.

"He's been really depressed. He's not even reading his book anymore." Lannion said as he remembered what Ray looked like.

"He's just looking at some kind of picture and he keeps hugging it." Thoma added.

"They both must be so lonely." Phil said which made Don and Gilda frown.

"Well, the four of them were good friends." Thoma informed which made him frown.

≿━━━━༺❀༻━━━━≾

"What kind of flower is this?" Ray mumbled as he looked through the pages of the book Y/n loved to read when she was still in Grace Field.

As he flipped through the pages of the book, he stumbled upon a flower that looked similar to the one Y/n had left for him.

He looked back and forth at the flower and at the book before realizing that they were both the same.

"Astilbe. The flower is also known as false spirea, false goat's beard, or feather flower and they are said to have the meaning of 'I will be waiting for you' or 'I'll still be waiting', symbolizing patience and dedication to a loved one." Ray muttered.

"That idiot..." Ray mumbled as a tear escaped his eye. He brought the book closer to his chest and gazed at the flower.

≿━━━━༺❀༻━━━━≾

"So what did you want to talk about?" Ray asked as he sat on the chair. His tone obviously sounding dead.

"We have to decide what to do, right? From this point on.." Don got cut off. From the window, you could tell that it was dusk.

"I don't care." Ray said as he looked at the wooden floor that Y/n used to look at whenever she would get nervous, sad, embarrassed, angry, or shy. The three gasped

"I don't care. Let's die here. It's impossible. We're surrounded by a cliff. And the only bridge going out is in the Headquarters." Ray explained.

"Besides, I'm tired. I'm really tired." Ray confessed. Emma started to walk towards Ray with the help of her handicap clutches.

"Then what about this?" Emma asked as she showed him the device that he had prepared.

"I don't need it. You can have it. If you want to run away, then run. I'm dropping out. Sorry, Emma." Ray finally looked at Emma. Emma turned around and started to walk away.

"Emma..." Gilda mumbled as she looked at Emma's figure exiting through the door.

"Ray, come on!" Don yelled as he clenched his fists.

"Sorry. I'm sorry, Don. Gilda." Ray apologize which surprised the both of them.

≿━━━━༺❀༻━━━━≾

Emma laid on the infirmary bed and dropped her leg clutches. She gripped the blankets and started crying silently.

She felt a presence and looked at the figure to see her Mama.

"I did knock." Mama looked at Emma with such a scary look that she would never show to others.

"You didn't hear?" Mama asked and Emma had a scowl on her face as she sat up.

"You poor thing. You're in pain. You're suffering. Norman is dead. Y/n is dead. Ray's a mess." Mama wrapped her arms around Emma.

"You can't do anything on your own. You must be extremely despaired. Now you will never be able to escape." Mama said as Emma's eyes widened.

"Just give up. The best way to not suffer from despair is to give up. You suffer because you resist. Simply concede. You'll feel much better. It's easy." Mama placed her hands on Emma's cheek.

"Listen, Emma. If you desire it, I'd like to recommend you as the candidate to be Mom of this farm." Mama sat down beside Emma and pulled her towards her.

"A candidate to be a Mom?" Emma asked, her voice shaky.

"Yes. Become an adult, have a child, and if they approve your abilities, you can come back to this House as a Mom or Sister. You have the qualifications for it. If you desire it, I'd be happy to recommend you." Mama offered. Emma got angry and pushed Mama away.

" 'Who would become such a thing?'. Is that what you thought?" Mama took the words right out of Emma's mouth.

"But then, what can you do? You can't do anything. You can't save anyone. You can only curse death. A cycle of suffering. Live and strive to become a Mom. Accept the despair and free yourself from the pain." Mama said as she placed her hands on Emma's face.

"No. I can't do that. No matter what." Emma declined Mama's offer. Mama removed her hands from Emma's face.

"Fine. Then you can write in agony as you await your death. You all cannot escape. Think about that as much as you want." Mama stood up and started walking towards the door.

Before Mama left, she turned around and looked at Emma's crying figure with soft eyes, as she too, felt that kind of pain.

She twisted the door knob and opened the door. She left and closed the door behind her, leaving Emma to cry alone.

≿━━━━༺❀༻━━━━≾

The children played once again. Don and Gilda ran around until they saw Emma under the tree, lifeless.

"Emma." Phil cried as he hugged Emma. Anna and Nat behind the two.

Meanwhile, Ray was on top of a pile of books, looking at the picture he had taken of Y/n and Norman.

Mama carried Carol as she looked at Ray's lifeless figure. It's true that Y/n told Mama to take care of him, but Ray didn't want to listen to Mama.

≿━━━━༺❀༻━━━━≾

Days passed by, to a month passing by and soon January had arrived. Today is the day before Ray's 12th birthday.

It was night time as Emma approached the dining hall, still supported by her leg clutches.

Ray hummed the tune that Mama always hummed as he thought about all the fun times he had with Y/n.

"Ray. What are you doing at this hour?" Emma asked as she looked at Ray, despite the moon serving as their only source of light.

"It's my last night, so I'm saying goodbye to this House." Ray replied as he looked up at the ceiling.

"Ray, it's your birthday tomorrow, right?" Emma asked. Suddenly, she remembered the times Y/n almost answered Emma's question and how Norman always encouraged her but she shook her head to avoid remembering it.

"Yeah, tonight's the last night. Tomorrow, it's goodbye." Ray replied as he now looked at the ground.

Emma started approaching Ray. Her leg clutches making sounds that echoed within the room.

"Hey Emma. Did you really give up? You actually haven't given up, have you?" Ray glared at Emma as he closed his book.

≿━━━━༺❀༻━━━━≾

(Eyoo! I'll fill you in on what happened to you after chapter 12. After Chapter 12, there will be some manga spoilers so I want to avoid that until Chapter 12. I'll be giving a few scenes with you but I'll try not to spoil it too much. Anyways that's 3853 words for you. Peace out!)

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