Joining Forces

"You know, I feel better now that we told them the truth." Emma said as she, Penny, and Norman hung up the clothes on the clothes lines the next day.

"Me, too." Penny smiled, picking up a white cloth. "It feels as though a heavy weight has been lifted off my shoulders."

Norman nodded, his eyes never leaving the sheet he was hanging. "One week until we escape..." he muttered. "The preparations are going well. But...how do we get out with all of our siblings?"

"I've been worried about that myself." Penny said, turning to the two, clutching the white sheet in her hands. "What now?"

Emma smiled determinedly. "Oh, yeah! I should probably tell you two."

"What is it?" Penny said. "The look on your face tells me you have an idea."

"I sure do!" Emma grinned. "And I think it's a great way...a way we can use to escape with everyone!"

Norman and Penny turned to Emma and listened to the whole thing. When she was done, she glanced at the two with an anxious look. "Is it...reckless?"

Norman sighed. "I'm afraid so..."

"The very thought makes me feel sick..." Penny muttered, hugging herself. "I mean, who knows if this would work...I'm with Norman on this plan being reckless."

Emma narrowed her eyes. "Norman, Penny, we can catch Mom off guard with this plan! It's the only way to actually escape with everyone!"

Penny winced. "I'm still not fully trusting this plan..." she glanced at Norman. "What do you think about it, Norman?"

Norman thought for a moment, and glanced at Emma with a smile. Penny's eyes widened. "Wait. Seriously?!"

The two smiled at her reassuringly, and Penny sighed in defeat. "Okay, if you say so..." she turned her attention back to the laundry, picking up another sheet. "What would Ray say? Should we tell him?"

Norman shook his head as he hung up another shirt. "No."

"Do you think he would really escape with all of us?" Emma asked.

Norman nodded, bending down to the basket of clothes and picking up a clothes hanger and a shirt. "Of course he would," he murmured, hanging the shirt on the rack. "Everything Ray has done up to this point has been for our sake. All of it. For you, Penny, even me and Emma..." he whispered the last part.

"Huh?" Penny asked. "Could you repeat that?"

Norman chuckled softly, shaking his head. "Nothing."

Penny humphed, crossing her arms. "It was something."

Norman chuckled and turned to the girls with a slightly serious expression. "Anyway, don't worry, I'll bring it up to Ray soon."

After the chores were done, Norman calmly walked towards their bedroom and up to Ray's bed, shifting the furniture to the side and crawling to a spot behind Ray's bed. He carefully took the boards off and put them aside, and his eyes widened at what he found.

"All of this..." he murmured, remembering what Ray said. "Just to make sure you don't die..."

The white haired boy smiled, closing his eyes. "I see. Amazing, Ray."

He pulled everything back into its normal position and walked downstairs, meeting Don and Gilda along the way. Don smiled as he held certain tools out to Norman. "I stole those things you wanted, Norman." Don said, putting them in Norman's hands. "Some detergent and herbicide." He glanced at Norman curiously. "What are you going to use these for?"

Norman smiled. "They'll help out with our investigation."

"We're going past the fence to climb the wall so that we can expect the outside, right?" Gilda asked as she, Norman, Don, Emma, and Penny walked through the woods during free time later that day. She glanced at Emma worriedly. "What about the tracking devices?"

Emma grinned. "Well, we make sure they don't look at them!"

"It'll be easy." Norman smiled. "All we need is a distraction. We'll create a situation where they can't check the trackers."

"But how do we do that?" Don asked.

"Oh, Norman, I was looking for Ray earlier. Do you know where he went?" Penny asked the white-haired boy curiously.

Norman smiled at his little sister. "Ray's working on stalling Mom now." He smirked. "He's giving her false info to throw her off."

"So, you and Norman got into a fight?" Isabella asked her son as she put the medical equipment away.

Ray nodded, narrowing his eyes. "It was over something we didn't agree about."

"Now, what is it you came here to tell me?" Isabella asked, closing the lid to the med box.

"Norman's working on trying to kill you."

Isabella narrowed her eyes. She closed them, a thin smile tracing her lips. "Of course he would go that far to escape with everyone."

"And he's collecting items." Ray continued. "A hammer, detergent, herbicide, anything he thinks he can use to get it done."

"Including that rope from before?" Isabella chuckled.

"Yup." Ray raised his hands in frustration. "I tried to stop him, I told him it was a stupid idea!"

"And he gave you that bruise." Isabella shut the cabinet door with a frown. "Death by poison. That might be troublesome..."

"Yeah." Ray sighed, leaning in his seat. "But don't ship them out because of this. Let them live in this house peacefully, until they're old enough to age out. That's all I want, okay?" He turned to his mother, trying not to sound hesitant. "Now, then. Here's the plan. We just...replace the chemicals."

"Do you know where he hid them?"

"Yeah."

"Then let's deal with this tomorrow. Is that all?"

"Yeah. Why, is there something else bothering you?"

"Not really."

Isabella walked up to Ray and turned to him. "Oh. I'll let you in on this early."

Ray glanced up at her.

Isabella continued. "I received word from HQ during yesterday's check in. They say that the next shipment is set." She smiled at Ray's startled reaction. "There won't be one in December."

The raven haired boy smiled, leaning back in his seat. "January's next, then." He leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes. "It'll happen on my twelfth birthday."

Isabella smiled sweetly at him.

Ray opened his eyes, smiling. "So the next shipment...is finally me, huh?"

"Even if Ray manages to keep Mom busy, what about Sister Krona?" Don asked as they trudged through the woods.

"Shoot." Penny cringed, glancing at Norman worriedly. "I forgot about her."

"Yeah." Gilda nodded, her eyes wide. "If she finds out, then we'll be shipped out immediately, right?"

"What now, Norman?" Penny asked, her eyes wide.

Norman smiled at her. "Don't worry, I have an idea!"

They walked past a tree, and Penny glanced up ahead and her eyes widened.

Sister Krona.

She was standing there, watching, listening, a really creepy delighted smile etched on her face. The five friends immediately moved closer to each other, a little frightened by her sudden appearance. Norman noticed the terrified look in Penny's eyes and gently grabbed her arm, pulling his younger sister behind him, glaring at the older woman as she emerged from the bushes.

A few silent moments passed, and Norman finally spoke. "Did you need something?"

Sister Krona grinned widely. "I saw it, you know!"

Emma gasped.

"That's right, children!" Sister Krona exclaimed obnoxiously, twirling around as she spoke. "I saw everything!" She cupped her hands in a circle, imitating a telescope, pointing at each children. "All of you were talking last night, in, the, dining, hall!" she sang, making a heart with her hands. Her gaze drifted towards Penny, and the ten year old shuddered, hiding behind Norman.

"The ones who know the secret about this house are Norman, Emma, Penny, Ray, Gilda, and Don. Six of you total." She grinned, giggling victoriously as she twirled obnoxiously towards the anxious group, giving them an offer they weren't expecting. "So." She leaned towards Emma, who immediately tensed and held Gilda protectively. Sister Krona grinned as she continued. "You wanna join forces?"

Penny's eyes shrunk as she clutched Norman's shoulders, scared out of her wits. Gilda shared the same amount of fear as she glanced up at the older woman. "Join...forces?"

Norman smiled, walking towards Krona. "It's fine, guys. No need to worry." He turned to Sister Krona with a smile. "We'll hear you out."

Sister Krona looked surprised, and grinned. "Excellent. It's best if we cooperate so we can each achieve our goals!" She pointed at the five kids. "You all want to break out of here." She pointed to herself with a wide grin. "And I want to eventually become Mom of this house. The plan is to drag Isabella from her position. And then seize it for myself."

"You want to become a mom?" Don asked incredulously.

"To prove that I mean it," Sister Krona started unbuttoning her collar. "You kids aren't the only ones who wanna break free from this." She pulled down her dress collar, and Penny's eyes widened and she let out a gasp along with the rest of her siblings at the sight of the numbers on the older woman's necks. So Sister Krona was an orphan just like they were. Penny's thoughts drifted to Isabella. Was her former mother an orphan as well? Why didn't she think of that?

Sister Krona smiled, pleased at the group's reaction.

011145

"Are you aware of the management system here?" Sister Krona asked, buttoning up her collar. "Girls who meet certain conditions and live until the age of twelve are usually presented with two different paths before they're about to be shipped out. Continue and die, or aim to become a mom."

"What conditions?" Don asked.

"High test scores of the mom's recommendation." Sister Krona explained as she walked around them. "Meet those two requirements, and it's possible to survive without escaping. If you're a girl."

"Only girls?" Gilda asked.

"Although, I don't recommend it." Sister Krona continued as she unbuttoned her dress shirt. "They make it so you're never allowed to leave the premises." She lifted her dress, and Penny let out a terrified gasp at the sight of a scary looking scar going down Krona's chest.

"What...is that?!" Emma squeaked out, narrowing her eyes.

"There's a chip inside. And with it, if you step one foot outside the farm, an electric current triggers, and causes your heart to stop. But at the same time, if your heart stops for some other reason, it acts as a transmitter that notifies the higher ups."

Norman narrowed his eyes. "You were right about not being able to kill them."

"Because of this chip, I can only live on the farm." Krona said, buttoning her shirt up. "That's why I wanna live in the best way this place has to offer!"

Emma gritted her teeth.

"Even if it's fake, being a mom means you get to feel human." Krona continued. "But to achieve that, I have to remove Isabella. If all of you escape, she'll be the one who's blamed for it. Trust me. I won't stop you if you make a run for it, it actually benefits me."

"You won't ship us out?" Penny squeaked out from behind Norman.

"Of course not."

Don and Gilda gasped.

Sister Krona grinned, raising her arms. "So let's cooperate!"

Norman, Emma, and Don narrowed their eyes at Sister Krona. Penny and Gilda shared the same anxious expression, not sure if they should trust Krona.

After a moment, Norman smiled.

Krona smiled in return and held out her hand. "How about it?"

Norman was about to reach out his hand....

"Norman."

The white haired boy turned to Emma, who walked up to him with a suspicious expression. "Wait a sec. I wanna make sure of something."

"What is it?" Krona asked, glancing down at Emma.

The ginger haired girl glared at the older woman. "How can we be sure you're not going to betray us in the end?!"

"Are you saying you don't trust me?"

"ANSWER!"

Krona chuckled. "All right, if Ray goes and tattles on me to Mom, you can destroy me. Meanwhile, if I tell Mom that Ray's acting as a double agent, then all of you will go down with him. So you see, neither of us will snitch. Because we can't." She leaned forward to meet Emma's eye level. "Do you trust me now?"

Emma sighed inwardly, giving the woman a determined glare. "Yeah, sure."

"Emma..." Penny muttered from behind Norman.

"I guess we have a deal, then." Krona grinned, standing up. She held out her hand, and she and Norman shook on it. When they let go, Krona grinned at the kids, jogging in her spot. "I know a lot of info on this place that may be helpful for you to know, and I'm willing to share it with you all! It's proof of my goodwill! If you're interested, why don't you drop by my room tonight!" She sent them a "friendly" wave and walked off.

"She was one of us, and yet this is just so she could have a better life." Emma growled. "What a monster. She doesn't care if any of the kids here live or die at all!"

"She said she won't ship us, though." Gilda pointed out.

Norman turned to them. "What she meant, is that she can't." He turned to Don, Ray, and Penny. "If she really wanted us to escape, then she would've quietly helped us. The only reason she's showing us her cards is to try to gain our trust."

"But what's the point of doing that?" Don asked.

"It's all so she can get solid evidence of our rebellion." Norman explained. "In other words, she's in a position where the higher ups won't trust her, unless...she has proof. She doesn't have the power to ship us out, but Mom does."

"Evidence..." Gilda's eyes widened.

"Wait!" Don yelped. "What happens if she finds the rope we hid in the tree?!"

"It's fine." Norman said reassuringly. "Explaining the rope is easy. We can say we're using it in a game. But if she-"

"If she finds the tools to break the trackers, then we're done for." Ray interrupted, a serious expression on his face.

Norman nodded in the raven haired boy's direction. "That kind of evidence...would be hard to explain."

Penny, Don, and Gilda's eyes widened in fear.

"No need to worry." Ray said. "I'm not gonna let that happen. I'm not finished making it yet anyway."

"That won't be an issue if we can convince her if we don't know were they are." Norman continued. "Or how to break them. I'm sure Sister Krona would believe us if we play our cards right."

"You're going to her room?" Gilda whispered. The gang turned to her. "You're dealing with Sister Krona here. It's nice she offered to give us information, but..."

"Hang on." Don said. "Why are we cooperating her? Does it give us an advantage?"

"I think what Norman is trying to say, is that if we use her effectively, we might learn something useful." Penny said slowly, speaking for the first time.

Norman smiled at his little sister. "That's right, Penny. Additionally, it'll keep her out of the way so we can focus on the exception."

Silence.

"We'll be fine!" Emma grinned. She stood up and faced Gilda and Penny. "We need to use every opportunity that we can!"

Penny, Emma, and Gilda smiled.

Norman chuckled softly and walked up to Don, putting a hand on the boy's shoulders. Don smiled back, and Norman walked up to Ray. "Ray, can I talk to you? I wanna discuss the investigation."

"Okay." Ray nodded, and followed the white haired boy out the door.

"See you guys later." Penny called.

Ray smiled at his little sister with a nod, and closed the door behind him. Emma turned to the remaining people in the room. "Penny and I have a favor we wanna ask of you guys."