Chapter 3 - Intense Game of Tag

"Please use this room." Mama showed Ms. Krone her room which was right in front of the stairs.

"Understood, thank you" Ms. Krone thanked Mama. We observed them from the staircase. I leaned against the wall and sighed.

"She's settling down in a bad spot." Ray mentioned. I nodded, agreeing with his statement.

"The center of the three children rooms." Emma added.

"To make it easier to watch us" Norman said.

"Mama did this on purpose. Pretty much threatening us that we can't escape." I sighed once more and rested my head against the wall. Mama and Sister Krone looked at us and we smiled back at them.

We decided to go speak in the library. Where rarely anyone goes to.

"I was so distracted with the tracking devices that I didn't think we would get another adult." Norman sounded sad.

"Actually, we should be happy about this." Ray said making Emma and Norman looked at him, confused.

"Carol and Sister Krone...we have two more sources of information. That's what Ray is saying, I think." I explained.

"I see..." Norman mumbled.

"First, where did those two come from?" Ray crossed his arms as he leaned against the bookshelves. I, myself sat on one of the table as I sat with my leg on top of the other with my hands on my knees.

"Carol is Conny's replacement. Everytime one disappears, another appears. Coincidence? I think not." I said.

"So what you're saying is that they're replenishing merchandise?" Norman asked as I nodded.

"Yes, if this place is a farm, they must have a site where they prepare one-year-olds for replenishment." I elaborated.

"So did all of us come there originally?" Emma asked.

"Probably. And also that Sister Krone. It's significant that there's another adult other than Mom." Ray answered Emma's question with one word.

"There might be farms just like this one. So I wonder....are adults who obey the demons under the control of demons from birth? Or after they're captured." I said out loud as I removed my hands from my knees and I placed them under my chin.

"After we escape, things will change depending on that. But first we need to figure out how to escape with everyone. And the location of the tracking device." Ray said.

"I searched all over my body, but I didn't find any traces of something implanted." Emma said as she checked all over her body.

"And nothing in our clothes and shoes." Norman mentioned. Where could it be?

"Based on humankind's existing technology, it probably uses radio waves. But that requires batteries. Something really small that wouldn't leave a scar, and with batteries that last over 10 years. That kind of product shouldn't exist in 2015." Ray said. Emma being Emma I could tell she had no idea what Ray just said.

"Meaning?" Emma asked as she tilted her head making me smile. This is where I come in.

"Meaning, It'll be difficult to predict the mechanism, find the location and figure out how to break it." I explained and Emma replied with an "ohhh".

"And we might as well give up if it's technology is originating from he demons." Ray said.

"True..." Norman mumbled.

"Wait! So, checkmate?" Emma gasped as she started to slightly panic.

"Yup" Ray said making Emma panic even more. I sighed and got off the table and walked over to Ray who looked at me confused.

I started to pinch his cheeks with both of my hands and scold him about him being so hopeless.

"Geez, you're hopeless! You give up way too easily. Are you really a genius? Instead of saying 'oh no what now we're dead' think of a way to get around it. If you're lost, make a path to find your destination, don't just sit here and say we're doomed." I scolded him.

"Ouch! Ok, ok! I'll stop giving up so easily! Just let me go." Ray surrendered. I smiled and let go of his cheeks and when I was about to walk away, he grabbed me by wrapping his arms around my waist and pulled me towards him so my back is on his chest. I blushed and I could see Norman whispering something to Emma and Emma started nodding and squeeling which made me blush even more.

"Payback." Ray whispered in my ear which sent chills down my spine but I kinda liked it.

"OOOooOooOooOO" Norman and Emma cooed making the both of us blush.

'Wait. Carol just got sent here right? Doesn't that mean they just recently implanted the tracking device in her somewhere. It has to be somewhere in the body where it's hard to remove.'

"Hey guys, shouldn't we check Carol? She just got sent here and she is Conny's replacement. It should be somewhere in her body. She is one of our sources of information." I pointed out making them gasp.

"You're right! If we check Carol maybe we can find the tracking device and get rid of it. Nice eye, Y/n!" Norman said with a smile.

"The question is how?" Ray said from behind me. Emma raised her hand excitedly and waved it around.

"Leave that to me and Y/n!" Emma said as she proudly placed her hands on her hips with a smirk plastered on her face.

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"The kids really like her." Norman said as he washed the dishes for tomorrow's meal.

"Yeah. How do we outmaneuver the two adults who are liked so much?" Ray said.

"Exactly. The biggest concern is the report to the demons. As soon as we escape, the monsters will come after us." Norman said as he took another plate and washed it.

"There's only one way to stop that. Mom and sister will have to be..." Ray stayed silent and looked at Norman. Norman looked back and noticed that Ray was gesturing to his fork that was doing a stabbing motion and what he meant by that was they both have to be dead.

Norman gasped and out of nowhere sister Krone appeared behind the two of them.

"Norman and Ray, right?" Sister Krone looked at the two of them with a huge and unsettling grin plastered on her face.

"Yes." Ray hesitated but replied anyway. You can tell that he was uncomfortable with the situation.

"I heard you get perfect scores on the tests." Ms. Krone stated as Ray nodded in reply.

"That's amazing. It's nice to meet you. I hope we can get along." they shook hands and her grin became wider which frightened Norman a little. Then Sister Krone left with a huge grin on her face.

"Did she hear us?" Ray whispered towards Norman who was still a bit shocked from the situation a while ago.

"No, we're fine. I don't think sister just came here just to watch us." Norman whispered.

"What do you mean?" Ray asked by what Norman meant.

"The way she looked at us was different. She's probably suspecting us, the oldest among everyone." Norman said.

"Where did she get that information from?" Ray asked.

"Isn't it obvious? From mom. Mom is definitely closing in on us. We have to hurry." Norman said as he continued doing the dishes.

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Emma was dressing Carol up and at the same time searching for where the tracking device could be. Y/n was acting as a distraction and making sure no one suspected what Emma was doing.

Y/n held a baby as she approached Emma who was carrying Carol in her arms.

"Think from the enemy's point of view. Demons won't eat the tracking devices. That means it'd be in a place where it's easily removed. Act natural, Gilda is looking at you." Y/n whispered in Emma's ear. She nodded and smiled like usual and pretended to play with Carol.

"Emma, I....want to ask you something" Gilda called out to Emma making Y/n snap her attention towards her. But Emma didn't seem to hear her.

Emma placed Carol down in her crib and checked her ear. Which shocked Gilda.

"What's that? A bug bite?" Gilda asked. Y/n started to approach the two of them.

"Mom told me a while ago that this was from when blood was drawn to test for diseases. Naila, Phil, Mark and Conny all had it." Emma started to talk out loud again.

'She's making it so obvious.' Y/n thought.

"It was way smaller than I expected." Emma said as she touched behind her ear. (A/N: ehhehe that's what she said)

"Hmm? What was?" Gilda asked which made Emma panic.

'Our cover will be blown.' Y/n panicked internally.

"Oh! I meant, it was such a small scar that it had already disappeared." Emma tried to make an excuse but it made Gilda more suspicious.

"I'll protect these kids." Emma said as Carol held Emma's finger with her small hand.

When it was time for all of them to sleep, Y/n collapsed on her bed and close her eyes.

Somewhere in the middle of the night. She heard silent crying. She woke up and looked around. She saw Gilda shaking and tears were running down her cheeks.

She got off from her bed and tiptoed to Gilda's bed which was across from y/n's bed and she tiptoed to make sure she wouldn't wake up anyone.

"Gilda...what's wrong?" Y/n whispered as she wrapped her arms around Gilda's body.

"Y/n.....its hurts you know.....I know Emma is hiding something from me and she's been very distant ever since Conny left. Did I do something wrong? Is it my fault we're like this?" Gilda immediately spilled all of her worries and her tears flowed like a river.

I started to run my fingers through her hair to calm her down which she did. I started to hum the tune that Ray would hum whenever I was sleepy or if I had a nightmare.

"Dont worry. Maybe Emma has something that is really personal to the point that she can't tell it to anyone. I'm sure she loves all of us and I know she cherishes your friendship like no other. So smile and support her." I whispered as I wiped her tears away. She smiled and hugged me back.

"Thank you for always being there for me Y/n. Thank you for being there for everyone...." Gilda said as she slowly drifted off to sleep.

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"I never knew about the mark from when they took our blood. And it's something that disappeared so quickly?" Norman said as he touched his ear.

"Yeah. I didn't even suspect it at all, this whole time. I'm sorry." Emma apologized.

"No, you did well, Emma." I said to her which seemed to cheer her up since she smiled at me.

"Thanks to you, we now know the locations, shape, and size of the tracking device. We can move to the next step." Norman said.

"After locating it..." Emma paused.

"We break it!" all of us said at the same time which I thought was really interesting.

"What do we do? If we cut it open to inspect it..." Norman paused to think about it.

"If mom combs through our hair, she'll know immediately." I said as they all nodded.

"Yeah. Well, putting aside to see if we can break it easily or not, the tracking device implanted in us isn't that functionally useful." Ray said from beside me.

"What? They aren't?!" Emma yelled in surprise.

"That's because the tracking device can't specify the individual. Without confirming, she can't tell where we are." I said as Ray nodded and he started to unconsciously play with my hair.

"If we get close to the gate or walls, it doesn't notify her." Ray said.

"But it's still implanted" Emma said.

"Yeah. And why?" Ray asked.

"They must be confident they can come after us, as long as the tracking device is intact." I replied making Ray nod.

"Wait. Does that mean if it does notify them, it'd be when the tracking device is destroyed?" Norman asked for confirmation if his prediction is correct.

"That's a possibility too." Ray replied.

"Meaning?" Emma asked as she immediately looked at me since I always explain what Ray says.

"Meaning, they would be notified only when it's broken, like with an alarm or something." I answered Emma.

"So if we destroy it, mama will know immediately?" Emma asked.

"Well, that depends if a notification function even exists." I answered Emma's question once again.

"But thinking that Mom purposely let us know about the existence of the tracking devices. We can't dismiss it easily." Norman said.

"It's risky to mess with it and break it. So we can only destroy it when we escape." Ray said making Emma gasp.

"Ehh?! Then how will we figure it out how to break it?" Emma asked as she panicked a bit.

"Well for that, this shape and size brings something to mind. Can you leave this issue to me?" Ray requested which made me shocked.

"Are you sure?" I asked Ray who stopped playing with my hair when he requested that he will handle the tracking device issue.

"Yeah." Ray nodded at me which made me smile at how independent he is.

"If you're saying so then we'll leave it to you." Emma said a bit concerned but I can tell she was determined.

"The only thing left is taking everyone outside with us. The problem is that everyone completely trusts Mom, and they probably won't be able to handle the truth." Norman stated.

"Do you think we'll have to lie to them to take them outside with us?" Emma asked with worry in her tone.

"There's also the problem of insufficient abilities. In simpler terms, they're a hindrance." Ray said which made me frown.

"Ray!" Emma yelled as she pouted.

"But it's the truth. Some aren't good at physical activities, and we have babies who can hardly walk." Ray said.

"How about playing tag? And for those who can hardly walk, I can try playing with them when we have free time." I suggested.

"Playing tag?" they asked me. I nodded and explained my plan to them which they agreed to.

"Mama won't find out since on the outside we're playing tag but in the inside we're actually training. Emma will teach them how to utilize their bodies. As for how to utilize their brains.." I paused and thought about it.

"Leave it to us" Norman said as I nodded.

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The others should be playing tag with Norman as their 'it'. I stayed with Ray so that I can comfort those who got caught.

I saw Thoma approach us as he looked at us with a frown. I smiled at him and gestured him to come over here.

He did and I told him to lay on my lap. He then started talking about what happened and all of his complains.

"I thought I was doing so good..." Thoma sighed as he looked at me.

"You did well Thoma, you lasted longer than you usually do. But there were some mistakes you committed. Right, Ray?" I asked the guy who was reading a book beside me.

"Yeah. You can't just leave your own footprints. You have to check the opponent's footprints too." Ray adviced Thoma. I smiled and rested my head on Ray's shoulder. He smiled and held my hand.

"Really?" Thoma asked. I nodded.

"Yeah. And Norman is also reading your habits. For example, Thoma, you..." Ray paused when I tightened my grip on his hand. He looked around and saw that Sister Krone was grinning at us. It was very scary.

When Emma and the others got back, Ms. Krone started to approach us with that frightening grin.

"Playing tag looks like fun. I want to get along with everyone. So let's play tag. The match's time limit will be 20 minutes. I'll be 'it'. Everyone, try to run away from me." Sister Krone grinned.

When Sister Krone was about to start counting, I stood up and walked away from Ray who looked shocked.

"You're going to play?" Ray asked as he grabbed my wrist which stopped me from walking away.

"No. I'm going to observe the enemy." I said as I pulled Ray up which almost made him stumble.

"Let's play tag together, Ray." I smiled which made him turn red for some reason.

"Fine, but only because you asked me to." Ray mumbled which made me jump in joy and drag him along.

I helped him climb a tree with me and we stayed there together. I used my hearing ability to check if Sister Krone will approach our tree.

"So how will the enemy move?" Ray asked as he wrapped his arms around my waist while leaning on the tree trunk.

"She'll probably look for us 4. And on the way, she'll capture as many little ones as she can. Something like that." I said as I placed my hands over his larger ones while leaning my back on his chest.

"She's not coming after us at all." I said after a few minutes of waiting. He nodded.

"Did she change her strategy?" he asked and I nodded, replying with 'Probably'. Just then we saw a group of 5 kids under our tree holding leaves with shapes on them.

"What are they doing?!" I whispered as I looked at them, analyzing the situation and the leaves. Suddenly, Sister Krone came out of no where and hugged the 5 of them.

"Too bad! I caught you." Sister Krone laughed as the 5 kids giggled with the leaves with shapes in their hands.

"Why did everyone gather in one spot?" Ray said as he looked at the children with eyes wide open.

"She used the leaves to lure the younger ones." I said as my eyes widened with shock.

"So, she's not stupid, huh?" he said as he waited for them leave. We climbed down the tree and grabbed the leaves.

"I'll report this to Emma. You report it to Norman. Let's meet back here when we're done." I said as I ran towards where Emma was. I can smell her from here.

She was hiding behind a tree. I told her about the situation and she was shocked.

"Emma! Y/n!" Phil and another child shouted. I gasped and me and Emma quickly carried them and ran since I could hear heavy footsteps from behind.

"We should separate. If we stay together she'll get the four of us." I suggested. Emma nodded and we went in separate directions.

"Phil, hold tight ok?" I asked him. He nodded and tightened his legs and arms around me.

I could hear Sister Krone following me. I jumped and climbed a tree branch and I started swinging and jumping from tree branches to tree branches until she lost me. I was already waiting at the tree where we decided to meet up.

I knew she was going to follow me. I don't have the best stamina, so she probably knew that and chased me in hopes of catching up to me.

I soon realized that I was close to a rocky area where I saw Sister Krone chasing Emma. I felt Ray get on and I smiled at him.

"Ray!" Phil gasped. I told him to lower his voice since Sister Krone would find us and he listened.

"How did it go? I didn't expect you to bring a kid with you along the way." Ray chuckled. I giggled and explained the situation to him.

"Hmm...if you both ran in the opposite direction, Emma should end up over there." Ray pointed towards the rocks.

"Running while carrying a kid, you must be tired, Emma. You won't be able to move unless you rest." Sister Krone's voice caught our attention.

I felt Phil hug me tighter as he heard what was happening. I calmed him down and Ray started humming that tune he always hums when he puts me to sleep.

He also was patting Phil's back while humming while I carried him and I ran my fingers through his hair.

I heard some rustling around half a kilometer away from me and looked at the direction of the sound.

"What's wrong?" Ray asked as he scooted closer to me while holding my hand with a pink tint on his face.

"Norman is here. He's in the bushes over there." I pointed toward a specific bush and waved at Norman who waved back.

"Did you know? Norman's weakness is physical strength. I heard he was feeble when he was younger. Ray's weakness is that he's a little quick to give up. He makes a decision fast, but abandons them just as quickly. He's also very clingy when it comes to

Y/n" Sister Krone said before turning around.

"See I told you! You give up easily!" I whisper yelled at Ray who only rolled his eyes and told me to continue listening.

"You, Emma, your weakness is your naivete. Like how naive you are by carrying others when you're being chased. Y/n's weakness is how she carries others' burdens to the point that she forgets to take care of herself. She relies on others for her own happiness and forgets her own beliefs and opinions. She mostly relies on Ray." Sister Krone smirked. I felt my heart ache.

'How did she know? Has she been observing us this whole time? She had her eye on us, the four eldest. Of course she'd suspect us.' I thought.

"Just come out already. I won't do you any wrong. Listen, Emma. If you saw the harvest that day then I'm on your side." Sister Krone said.

Ray tightened his grip on my hand as I saw the worry on his face. Phil looked at me confused, so I told him not to worry.

Don't you dare talk about a damn harvest like it's nothing. Those damn harvests you're talking about were the days when my children were taken away from me. Don't talk about it like it's just nothing to you.

Emma got caught, it's just me, Ray, Phil and Norman left.

"How much time is left?" I asked Ray who looked at his pocket watch.

"Eight minutes and 40 seco-" I placed my finger on Ray's lips. He looked at me shocked.

"She's here." I whispered to Ray who looked shocked.

"Found you!" Sister Krone exclaimed. I gasped and grabbed Ray's wrist and jumped down the tree and we started running.

Norman joined us and we started to run away from Sister Krone. Is this really a game of tag?! I feel like we're actually escaping.

"I'll distract Sister Krone. Norman, go rest somewhere I know you're tired. Ray hide somewhere with Phil." I said as I carefully handed him Phil while running. We all separated and I was right. Sister Krone started chasing me.

She saw how I carried a child and I basically just circled around the forest with Phil in my arms. Norman may be feeble, but he has regained energy. I knew she was coming for me.

I need to go back to the rocky area. That'll be an easier place to lose her.

I ran towards the rocky area and I could tell I was getting tired so I pushed myself.

"Y/n, I heard you also get perfect scores." Sister Krone said as I climbed a huge rock in less than a second.

"I do, along with Ray, Norman and Emma." I said as I sat on the rock with my legs crossed. Norman stood behind me and Ray approached Sister Krone.

"Time's up." Ray said as he held Phil with one arm and a pocket watch in the other.

I smiled and helped Norman get down. Sister Krone looked at us in shock.

"So these are the top scorers..." Sister Krone mumbled as she looked at the three of us.

That was truly an intense game of tag

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(A/N: eyooo, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. This took 4005 words!)