2 Chapter 2 - Carol and Sister Krone

I got another nightmare...

Conny...I miss you so much...

I felt a tear run down my cheek, it's 4 in the morning right now. No one should be awake, it's okay. I can let it all out.

Another tear ran down my cheek, I tried to wipe it away but it just kept running, so I just cried silently as I hugged my pillow. I made sure not to let out a single noise.

Hyperventilating

Someone's hyperventilating. I wiped my tears and quickly stood up and looked around the room to see who could be having trouble breathing.

That's when I passed by Emma's bed, she was gasping for air. I ran to her making sure I don't wake the other children up. I sat on her bed and ran my fingers through her hair and it seemed to calm her down and she started sleeping peacefully.

'Emma rarely has any nightmares, wait she doesn't even get nightmares. How weird. Did she see something at the gate last night?' I thought as I looked at Emma's peaceful state. I stood up and went back to sleep.

'Comfort everyone, it doesn't matter if you're hurting, as long as they're happy, you're happy too.' I thought as I went back to sleep.

I woke up quite early and decided to help mama make breakfast since I know that around this time she should be preparing breakfast.

I saw her in the kitchen cooking, I went up behind her and watched as she mixed and cut the food.

"Mama" I called out. She gasped and jumped a little before turning around and sighing, realizing it was just me.

"My gosh Y/n, don't do that! You scared me." Mama placed her hand on her heart.

"O-oh sorry about that mama. I was wondering if you wanted any help. I woke up early and since no one's awake but you, I have nothing to really do." I confessed. Mama smiled and told me to help her make breakfast. (A/N: That rhyme was on purpose ;>)

When finally, everyone has awoken, they started setting up the table while the younger children played around.

Mama told me to watch them for a while, while she handled the dangerous part of cooking.

I realized how Emma looked at mama with eyes with fear in them. Emma sure is acting weird ever since she got back from the gate.

"Y/n! Would you please help me with this?" mama called for me. I smiled and went to her and helped her.

"Y/N?!" I heard a loud voice yell my name. Mama looked at me in shock and went out.

"Ray? What's wrong?" I heard Mama asked Ray. Why is Ray calling for me? Does he need me? Did something happen?

After about a minute, mama went back to me and told me that Ray is looking for me.

"Ray? What's the matter?" I asked as I wiped my hands with a towel. Ray looked at me and quickly hugged me out of the blue.

"R-Ray?!" I gasped. He hugged me even tighter and leaned towards my ear.

"Idiot, I couldn't find you so I looked around and turns out you were just helping mama." Ray whispered in my ear.

"Well, you looked so peaceful when you sleep. I didn't want to ruin it by telling you where I am, silly." I said as I hugged him back.

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"Good morning, my dear children. Today is a special day because Y/n helped me cook breakfast! So I'm sure it will be delicious!" Mama smiled at me and we began to eat.

After eating we did our daily routine, Ray and I decided to chill at our favorite tree. We sat down beside each other in silence until we saw Emma and Norman walk towards the forest together. That's odd.

"Y/n!!!" I heard someone call my name. I stood up and realized that it was Mark. He came to me and started to hug me tightly.

"What happened?" Ray asked as he stood up as well. I lifted Mark and carried him in my arms and he started crying. I looked at Ray with worried eyes and he looked at me with concerned eyes.

"Shhhh, Mark, did something happen?" I asked as he looked at me and Ray with tears in his eyes.

"I don't know what to do! I got separated from Naila in the forest! I tried looking, but I couldn't find her!" Mark sobbed. I decided to tell mama about it and in the corner of my eye, I saw Emma and Norman panting, as if they had just run here.

Soon, mama took out her 'pocket watch' and told Mark that it'll be fine. After about 5 minutes, she came back with Naila in mama's arms. That didn't take long. I hope Naila is ok...

'I knew it....it's a tracking device. Mama has always been great at finding us no matter where we are. I should tell it to Ray.' I thought. Looking at Norman and Emma, I saw that they had wide eyes. They sure are acting strange.

I ran to mama as I followed the other children. Naila was sleeping and snoring lightly in mama's arms.

"She got tired and fell asleep. Look, not a scratch on her." I sighed in relief and Mama handed me Naila. I started to walk back to the house and noticed that Emma and Norman were saying something to each other. I walked past them but stayed and decided to listen to what they were saying.

"It was like Mom knew exactly where Naila was." Norman said.

"Come to think of it, Mom has always been good at finding us. No matter where we hid, she found us quickly." Emma mentioned.

"That's not a pocket watch..." Norman realized.

"It's a tracking device." I interrupted. They shrieked but then looked at me confused.

"How did you know?" Norman asked.

"I could've just searched Naila myself. After all, everyone has their own kind of smell and I could easily detect who's who but I wanted to confirm my theory of Mama having a tracking device." I explained. They looked at me in shock.

"Tracking devices....they could be implanted somewhere in our bodies." Norman added. I looked at them and stayed silent.

"You know, you've been acting strange ever since you came back from the gate. I know you saw something there, but you're not good at hiding it. You said you didn't make it when you come back empty-handed. If you wanna hide it from me, that's fine. But at least try to hide it properly. If you wanna hide something, hide it. Act normal, if you want to tell me then you have to tell Ray too. Anyways, I need to go put Naila in bed, bye-bye." I said as I walked off.

"She's so sharp.." Emma said.

"And scary!" Norman added.

While I was walking, I looked at Ray who was watching from the windows and gave him a wave. He looked at me in shock but waved back.

After a while, I explained about my theory being correct that Mama has a tracking device to Ray, and while we were walking around to tell Mama that it was time for dinner, we saw that Emma was talking to Mama but Ray didn't care so he rang the bell.

"Mama, Emma, dinner preparations are ready." I said as the children busted through the door and dragged me along on their destination to the dining hall.

"Y-y/n?! Sorry but I gotta go!" Ray said as he ran after me and we walked together to the dining room. Walking, hyperventilating, and fear....2 people are experiencing this right now. Everyone is here except Emma and Norman. Why are they hiding something from me?

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I noticed that whenever we go outside to play, Norman and Emma will run towards the forest and when I told Ray about it he suggested that we should follow them.

"Ray, are you sure about this? What if it's something really private?" I asked, he smiled and held my hand, reassuring me. We continued to walk towards where Emma and Norman are, hand in hand, and with the help of my strong sense of smell and great hearing, we immediately found them.

"Hey Norman, I think it would be fine if we told Y/n and Ray about this." Emma said to Norman. About what?

"I was thinking that too. Ray most likely wouldn't panic. And because of his extensive knowledge, he's good with machines too. We can depend on him. Y/n is smart and can spot very little things. Remember yesterday? She noticed a lot of things that others didn't, which could help a lot. But she seems very close to Mama so I'm not sure how she'll react. I'll talk to them myself. Why don't you go back to the house and-" Norman got interrupted by Ray talking.

"Why?" Ray asked as he continued to hold my hand, the two of them jumped as we got out of our hiding spot. I knew they were hiding something from us.

"Y/n! Ray!" Emma gasped as she looked at us in shock.

"Yo" Ray greeted as he raised his left hand since he was holding my hand with his right hand. I also greeted them with a smile.

"Sorry, we followed you guys. It's been bugging Y/n a lot so I couldn't take it anymore. So I thought, we should ask you."

"Emma, Norman, what really happened when you went to the gate? When you delivered Little Bunny to Conny." I asked.

"You were both acting really weird and Y/n said that you were empty-handed even though you said you didn't make it. Y/n started to worry a lot too! She was wondering if she did something wrong since you weren't telling her. Now explain!" Ray said as he smacked both of them in the head making them explain.

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"Demons...a farm...Mom is an enemy? This is bad." I said as I felt a headache forming. My heart started racing and I could barely stand. I was having trouble breathing too. No, stay strong! Don't worry them.

"You catch on fast!" Emma exclaimed making me giggle.

"So you're saying that we were preciously taken care of to become demon food?" I asked as I played with my hair. It's a bad habit of mine when I get nervous or when I'm thinking.

"W-wait! I-I'm surprised you guys are believing us so easily." Emma pointed a finger at us with her mouth slightly agape.

"Of course. Norman wouldn't make up such a stupid lie. It'd be different for you Emma." Ray harshly said making Emma sigh in defeat.

"I believe it because it proves all of my theories and it answers all of my questions. Why is our life so perfect? Why is one suddenly appearing when another leaves to become demon food? Why does Mama find us so easily? Why did I have such a horrible feeling when Conny left? Why does the gate smell like blood? Basically, I believe you." I said. Norman and Emma had both of their mouths wide open as I told them the truth.

"So, if we're really going to escape, there are various issues. First, the number of kids. We'll narrow it down to who can make it and-" Ray got interrupted.

"Wait! I want to escape with everyone." Emma said making me smile. I do too. I can't leave anyone behind.

"Lend us your strength, Y/n, Ray!" Emma pleaded with her green orbs.

"Everyone? You're kidding, right? There are 39 of us. And the majority are under six years old. Mama. Demons. Tracking devices. These factors make an already difficult escape even more challenging." Ray started spilling facts.

"I know that! But it's not impossible-" Emma got cut off.

"No, it's impossible. Emma, you haven't noticed, have you?" Ray was about to continue until Norman realized what he was going to say so he stopped him.

"I see. That's why you said you'll talk to us yourself. You have to be blunt about these kinds of things." Ray said. I felt my heartache at the thought of the children, whom I love so much, being left behind here.

Unconsciously, I held Ray's hand tighter and my hands were shaking but I couldn't stop it no matter how hard I try to.

He started using his thumb to rub circles on my hand making me relax and he started to approach Emma.

"Emma, it won't be enough just to escape from here." Ray said making Emma tilt her head.

"What do you mean?" Emma asked. I want to escape with everyone, I know it's possible but no I shouldn't say anything.

"We don't know what it's like on the outside, but there's a place we're getting shipped to. Because there's a farm, that should give you an idea." Ray said. He's right but....

"What waits outside is a demon society. There is no place for humans to live. So it's impossible, if we take everyone we'll all die. We leave them behind, that's the best option." Ray placed his left hand on Emma's shoulder.

'Spinning, everything is spinning. I can't take it. I feel like I'm about to faint. What will happen to the children? We can't leave them. Spinning...spinning...no don't make them worry'

"No way. Even if it's impossible, I want to escape with everyone. Let's figure it out. I don't want all of us to die. But there's no option to leave them behind." Emma looked down.

"I want Conny to be the last...I don't want anyone to end up like what they did to Conny." I mumbled. They looked at me in shock as I looked away trying to hold back my tears.

"Y/n..." Emma whispered as she gave me a tight hug. Stop crying, you idiot! How are you going to be a crying shoulder when you can't even hold back your tears!

I wiped my eyes and smiled at Emma. Reassuring her that I was alright and that she shouldn't worry. I saw Ray look at me with worry and guilt and Norman looked sad too.

"If there isn't one, then let's make a place for humans to live outside. Let's change the world!" Emma said. My heart started to race at the thought of changing the world.

"I understand now, thanks to you, Ray. That's the kind of prison break we have to do. I'm not giving up on this. Because I've decided." Emma said before grabbing Ray's arm and shaking him.

"So, Ray, you're the one who has to give up. Stop jabbering around and help us!" Emma pleaded. Ray got Emma off with a scowl on his face. Norman then started laughing making me smile.

"Hey Guardian, how can-" Ray got cut off.

"We'll escape with everyone, no matter what. Or else...I won't do it! I won't! I won't!" Emma started flailing her arms around.

"Norman! Y/n! Do something about that idiot! She's unreasonable." Ray pointed at the raging Emma.

"I know, right? But I'm glad she's so cheerful!" Norman smiled as he closed his eyes with his arms crossed.

"I wanted for you to stop her! Or you're all going to die. You knew that from the very start, huh?" Ray asked. Norman looked down as I tried to calm the raging Emma.

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"Emma was crying. That night, I thought she was crying because she was scared. But I was wrong. I was scared of dying. But Emma was crying because she was scared of her family dying. Y/n was also crying. When everyone was asleep, she finally let out all of her emotions and cried. She didn't know that I was awake. She kept mumbling and thinking of her family instead of herself and I know she wants to get everyone out too. Isn't that amazing? They think of protecting others in that situation. " Norman said.

"But it's not the correct thing! It's a boat made of mud! And it's just us four, right? If it's just us, we can escape. You're correct and shouldn't feel ashamed. Don't distort your decision based on emotions, Norman!" Ray gripped on his book as he yelled at Norman.

"It's not that Ray. I also want to make a boat out of mud!" Norman raised his hands sideways as Ray looked at him like he was some psychopath.

"Why? Aren't you different? You're more cool-headed, and you always take the best option. So why?" Ray grabbed Norman's collar but Norman just smirked.

"Because I like her. I like Emma, so that's why I want her to be smiling." Norman grinned making Ray let go of his collar.

"You're crazy and what if Emma dies because of it?" Ray asked.

"I won't let her die. That's why I'm going to utilize myself. Luckily, I've always managed to accomplish what I set out to do. And if you bake mud, it'll become a vessel. A boat made out of mud won't necessarily sink." Norman said.

"You're nuts" Ray said as he clenched his fists.

"Maybe. Both Emma and I are insane. We've completely lost it. But you can't let us do this on our own, right? Especially when Y/n is crying, every single night. How her chest hurts when she sees one of them go and how she has to stay strong for others." Norman used his trump card against Ray.

"Tsk, using Y/n like that...Fine, I'll help you." Ray sighed in defeat but his mind started thinking of how you cry every night. It made him feel guilty.

"I know you secretly like Y/n. The way you look at her. The way you act around her. You hog Y/n a lot and you need to know where she is at all times. You cling to her a lot." Norman said making Ray flustered. He pushed Norman and covered his red face.

"I get it! I get it! I'll help you now be quiet or she'll hear about it!" Ray was red from his face to his ears making Norman chuckle.

"See, you look like a tomato" Norman pointed out making Ray blush even more.

"Ara ara~ Ray you're red. Let's bring you to the infirmary. You might be sick." I grabbed his hand but he pulled my hand and placed it on his face.

"Why do you have to be this way?" Ray averted his eyes from me making me blush slightly. Just then the bell rang. That's earlier than we anticipated.

We ran back and saw a lady with darker skin and a huge grin on her face as she carries a baby with orange hair and blue eyes.

"Let me introduce them. This is your newest little sister, Carol. And this is sister Krone. She's here to help me." Mama introduced the two of them.

I looked at Ray to see that he seems unaffected but I could see that there was worry in his eyes. I looked at Norman and Emma who looked shocked. They're being way too obvious. I'll show them how it's done.

"Hello, sister Krone! I'm Y/n! All of us will help you feel welcomed here. I hope we can get along!" I greeted as I showed her my hand as we shook hands.

Tsk, another obstacle in the way? Damn it.

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(A/N: eyooo! Next chapter is coming out tomorrow. This took 3253 words!)