"Okay, I think everything we got is packed." Lana said.
The three roommates were still awake in the dead of the night. Lisa and Lana were finishing packing up their things, the latter making sure that all of the spots were clear of their belongings, while the former finished improvising backpacks with the blankets they had and some well done knots, so stuff wouldn't fall off and their hands would be clear. Meanwhile, Sophie was sitting alone in the bottom bunk bed, reading the files about her that she found in the teacher's lounge.
"Elder sibling, is your colleague ready to go?" Lisa asked, as she finished the last backpack. "She seems a bit… distracted."
"Come on Lis, She's our friend, not a colleague." Lana replied. "But I guess I should check her out." She reached out and tapped Sophie on the shoulder, making her turn around. "Hey, you alright?" She started, sitting by her side.
"I… well, I don't know. This is all a lot to take in, I-" Sophie was staring at the files. Instead of her usual stone-cold gaze, or what one might call a 'resting bitch face,' it was softer. "I- to think that after all these years of having no hope, I finally know what it's like to be looking forward to the future."
"That's great!" Lana exclaimed. "It's good to see you excited. But… you still seem a bit bothered by something."
"Lana… this thing… it has my parents' name in this thing."
"It does?!" Lisa turned her head, exclaiming. "Huh, you'd think most parents that abandon their kids in religious centers would never ident- oof!" Lisa grunted, as she saw Lana throwing a pillow at her, making her fall in the bed with the backpacks.
"Lisa, let her be happy for once and don't rain on her parade." Lana chided. "We don't need any of that, what we need to do is get out of here with the others as soon as we can."
"Excuse me for stating the obvious." Lisa complained, turning around. "Many cases of abandonment or adoption happen without identification of the parents. It's almost like they want to be findable."
"They'd want me to find them?" Sophie asked.
"That's not what I sai-"
"M-Maybe I should go after them. I-I mean, what do I have to lose?"
"A lot, actu-"
"I mean, these are confidential files, though. As in, nobody but the staff is meant to see them. I doubt they expected any students to come in and obtain one of 'em." Lana suggested, trying to keep a reassuring tone. She kind of agreed with Lisa, though she didn't want to say that out loud. Not with Sophie there being the happiest she'd seen her in a while. Even though Lana only knew her for a few months. "Maybe that's why they didn't bother keeping them anonymous."
"Still, if they have their names, that means they didn't just try to get rid of me… m-maybe they had no choice!"
"If they had no choice back then they'd come back from now." Lisa said. "It's a shot in the dark going after them now. You might want to get used to the outside world first."
"Hey, this whole escape plan is a shot in the dark too! What if we fail?" Sophie questioned.
"This plan was given meticulous detail with observations, paths, and methods of escape. Yes, it is not guaranteed to work, but it has a better chance of success than going after some people that left you here several years ago." Lisa explained.
"Speaking of the plan, shouldn't we be putting it into action? We want to get out of here and back to Royal Woods as quick as we can." Lana asked, not tired in the slightest.
"I agree that the sooner we leave the better, but it's very late and in just 6 hours or so we will have been up for 24 full hours." Lisa stated.
"So what? Wouldn't it be easier to sneak out with the cover of the night? We'd have to be really quiet though."
"It would also be interesting for us to be awake." Lisa said. "So, is everyone ready?"
"Ready to leave this ironic hellhole? Definitely!" Lana said with a sense of vigor.
"I guess there's nothing holding us back." Sophie concluded, holding her papers. "Okay, I'm ready."
"Then all of you grab grab your bags. We still must make a stop at the pet club before proceeding out of this place." Lisa clarified. "It will be one less thing to do when we wake up, so it's best to get it done while we're still awake."
The other two nodded and headed out the door, quiet as a mouse. They weren't able to move as quickly as they'd normally be able to, in fear of accidentally stepping on a squeaky floorboard or walking too loudly and waking someone up. Lisa and Lana had experience with that in their old house, so it wasn't too difficult. Sophie, however, didn't and needed to put in extra concentration to stay just as quiet.
The dark halls made it all a bit more difficult to navigate, as all the corridors just felt like the same and that they were wandering in circles. Fortunately they weren't spotted by the couple Sisters who were wandering around. A bit curious since they didn't remember seeing a lot of movement of the institution's staff at that time, but they didn't have the time to wonder why.
Eventually, the three girls arrived at the staircase that led towards the pet club. Going extra slowly to avoid any sort of sound, they went up and arrived on the door, with a small beam of light shining from the slot under the door. And before they had the chance to knock on the door, the door opened by itself, revealing a familiar face behind it.
"So, you made it this far. Not bad." Mary said.
"Wait, how are you here?" Lana asked, a bit confused. "How did you know-"
"How about you get inside before the whole plan gets discovered?!" Mary quietly whispered, as she signaled for them all to come inside.
They did, and the place was nearly empty aside from them, Mary and Julie, and a bunch of snoring pets all across the floor. Charlies and Cliff were already prepared nearby for them to take, both asleep near the corner. Lana reached out and held Charlies, while Lisa held Cliff. They held them as carefully as possible, not wanting to wake them up and complicate their plan any further.
"I didn't expect you two to be here." Lisa said, as she placed Cliff carefully inside her improvised bag, making sure he was comfortable. "But at the same time, I shouldn't be surprised."
"We knew you'd want your friends ready quickly, so we got you some help." Julie explained. "Consider it a thanks for what you've done. Our sales of the escape were very profitable, as you know."
"Hope it was." Lana replied, as she saw Charles slightly open his eyes, and she began cuddling him so he wouldn't wake up. "Now we're meeting the others out in the field. You sure you two won't come?"
"Like we said, we're good." Mary said. "Besides, we still have to take care of the rest of the pets. You don't want everyone to go crazy and lose them."
"You two are very good people. Thank you." Lana complimented, slightly bowing her head as a sign of respect.
"We're not exactly good… we share a common interest." Mary explained.
"Can't disagree with that." Julie said, as she approached the three girls. "It was nice knowing you all. Hope we get to see each other again. But with that being said said… good luck to you three."
"And Sophie…" Mary continued. "You've been a cool girl to us. Thanks for everything. Hope you enjoy the other side."
"Alright, can we wrap it up already?" Lisa asked. "We don't exactly have all the time in the world, you know. Thank you both, but we must be on our way now."
"Jeez Lis, calm down." Lana complained. "Sorry, she's just a bit like that."
"Out there, it may pay more for all of you to be like her." Julie commented, as she went for the door. Opening it, she signed the way out. "Once again, good luck on your journey, and see you on the other side."
Lisa and Lana both left the room, as Sophie followed behind, but before she left she stood in front of Julie, giving her an awkward goodbye hug, which left Lisa, Mary, and Julie herself a bit weirded out. Lana just saw it with a bit of joy. Soon, they both began going downstairs, Lisa in front, Lana and Sophie on back.
"So, you ready for this?" Lana asked Sophie.
"I guess so… I'll miss them." Sophie confessed. "They were the closest thing I had for friends before you and four eyes."
"You know friends actually remember each others' names, right?" Lisa complained, quietly.
"Shut up, Lisa." Lana complained.
"Why is it always me-"
"Let's just be quiet, alright?" Lana shushed her, as they reached the bottom stairs.
It took longer for them to get back to their dorm room on the way back, in an effort to not wake the pets. They slunk in and softly closed the door. They set the pets on the foot of Lana's bed and tucked themselves in.
"Tomorrow, or well, later today, shit is going down." Lana declared.
"What's sh-" Sophie was about to ask, only for Lana to cut her off.
"It means poo, okay? Alright? We good? I'll teach you what other swears mean later so you won't be confused anymore."
"Uh… okay? Alright then. Goodnight."
"Night." Lana said, as she closed her eyes.
The alarm rang through the room, stirring the three occupants awake. It was set to go off at an earlier time than it normally would, right at the crack of dawn. They barely got enough sleep, but that can wait when there's places to go and shit to do.
Lana was the first to hop out of bed, strange for someone who usually liked to sleep in as much as possible. Still clad in her uniform from the day before, she put her cap which never left her side on and turned it backwards before looking up and facing Lisa and Sophie who were still asleep.
"C'mon you two, rise and shine…" Lana tapped on the frame of Sophie's bed, waking her up, as she slowly sit on the top bunk. She went over to Lisa's and did the same thing, though she didn't move a muscle. Frustrated, she got closer to the point of looming over her. "Wake up!" She barked sharply.
Lisa jumped out of bed with a petrified look on her face. "Gaaagh! I'm up, I'm up!"
Lana's facial expression softened into a small smile and she moved back. "Mornin' Lis. Ready for the big day?"
"Ugh, I guess" Lisa mumbled, as she rubbed her eyes and reached for her glasses. "What time is it?"
"6:47 in the morning. Also known as dawn, just as we agreed on. I don't wanna be up right now any more than you do, but here we are."
"Sigh, guess this is it…" Lisa said, as she sat down on her bed.
"Yep. We're gonna stick it to those pretentious assholes and get outta this place. And hopefully find our family as quickly as I can. Honestly, I even miss Luan's bad puns."
"Wow… that's something I never thought I'd hear you say." Lisa confessed. "Or anyone, for that matter."
"Yeah, everything's just been taking a toll on me. If you would've asked me about her puns last year before everything happened, there's probably no way I'd say that." Lana mused. "But they weren't all that bad, actually. I mean, they got better."
"At least her pranks got less lethal." Lisa agreed. "She improved a lot… we all did, I guess…"
"She sounds like a fun person." Sophie joined the conversation.
"She was. Well, 364 days a year anyway, and 365 during leap years."
"Every April Fool's day was a nightmare for the whole family, though." Lisa added. "Regardless, we really shouldn't stall for too long."
Lana nodded in agreement. With a grin that made her canine teeth jut out and showed she meant business, all she had to say were two words - "It's showtime."
"I never like that smile. That means she'll do something really stupid."
The smile only grew even wider.
The three of them opened their dorm room, Lana carrying the luggage, Lisa with the pets, and Sophie with what they swiped from the teacher's lounge. They made their way outside of their room, only to meet the other girls that would go with them out of that place. They seemed a bit nervous to still be out there at that time.
"Err, sorry to keep you guys waiting." Lana sheepishly apologized, only to be met with varying looks and grunts of disapproval.
"For the leaders of this whole thing, you aren't very quick!" Jennifer complained, quietly. "We gotta get out now! The teachers are almost hunting us."
"Wait, what? What do you mean by that?" Lisa asked, raising an eyebrow.
"I don't know what happened, but apparently some prankster went inside the teacher's lounge and changed the background of their computer." One of the girls said. "They were out looking for who did it. They caught Emily while searching. I think she opened her mouth."
Lana's face then went white as a sheet as her breath hitched in her throat. She knew it was only a matter of time before her little surprise was discovered, but she didn't expect it to be so soon. "A-and wh.. what was the background changed to?" She asked in a strained voice.
"I don't know. We just listened at the door of the teacher's lounge. But we can't stay here-"
"Look. They're coming!" Ashley said, as she noticed a bright beam of a flashlight coming around one of the corners.
"Everyone, come inside!" Lisa exclaimed, as she made space for everyone to dash inside their bedroom, and quietly close the door. Lisa still stood near the door and peeked through the keyhole.
"What was that? Sounded like a door closing…" A voice sounded from the other side as the footsteps got closer and closer, louder and louder. It belonged to Sister Lucerna.
"Damm, what are we gonna do?!" Ashley said, panicking.
"Everyone, get inside the closet!" Lana whispered, as she opened it up. Lisa looked towards her and she could tell she wanted to say something, but suppressed it. "Sophie, Lis, get in the beds. Now!"
The girls quickly dashed into the double door closet and managed to all fit in, since it was quite spacious and all four of them were relatively thin. Sophie quickly climbed the ladder of her bed, and Lisa dashed into her sheets. Lana got on the bottom bunk of her bed after tossing her cap under the whole thing, and the three immediately closed their eyes.
The door flung open and several teachers poured into the room, only to find nothing suspicious. Their heads turned from side to side, necks craned, and eyes darting around as they inspected the room.
"Lucerna, I didn't get a chance to ask before but I heard the ruler in your classroom the other day…" One of the teachers mentioned. "Who was it this time?"
"This is not our main concern now." Lucerna said, as she turned around. The group of teachers followed her as they left the room, and closed the door. "There's still others trying to get out, according to that girl."
"You know, I may not support the nature of those two girls but you didn't have to use the ruler." Sister Taeda remarked with concern, the last thing everyone in the room heard before the teachers were all out of earshot.
"Are we good?" Lana whispered towards Lisa, opening her eyes so slightly.
"Yeah, were good." Lisa said, as she lifted her head out of her bed.
The three of them got out of their beds while everyone else stepped out of the closet. They reassembled back into a group, now more on edge than before and more hesitant to make a move.
"What do we do now?!" One of the girls mumbled. "I don't wanna get caught."
"Me neither! You know how bad it will be for us." Ashley added.
"Does anyone here have a plan?" Another girl asked.
"Well the plan was to sneak out of here without anyone noticing, but now it looks like we're going to have to improvise a bit." Lana said, narrowing her eyes. "We've got a rat here, and not the cute kind. And when I find her I'm gonna-"
"Now is not the time to find culprits." Lisa interrupted. "She might not even be here. I'm actually counting one person short from our meeting with the twins."
"Wait, really? Alright, everyone get together, we're doing a head count." Lana counted the people in the room in her head, pointing a finger at each person there as she went along. Indeed, they really were one person short. "Wait, where's Miss Red?"
"You mean Emily?"
"Not now, Miss Orange." Lana interrupted. "Great, we're one off… and don't call each other by our real names! They can't figure out who's in this, and I haven't spent all that time thinking of colors for nothing."
"I thought you only did that so you could call Jennifer a piece of-"
"Li- Miss Green, not now! And I'm serious about these aliases, people. Now more than ever, we need to make sure everything else goes according to plan and we can't have anything else compromised."
"Uh… what exactly is the plan?" Ashley asked.
Sophie cleared her throat and stepped up to face the rest of them. "Are you all aware of the walls that surround the softball field?"
"Yeah, but why?" One of the girls asked.
"Climbing them is our best bet to make it to the other side. Is everyone able to climb?"
Most of them raised their hands, though a few either didn't or had their hands up halfway, not quite sure.
"Okay, whoever can climb will help up the people that can't. We're all in this together."
"You think we'll have enough time to climb? The teachers will be frantically after us, and I don't know if we can even reach it." One of the girls asked.
"We have to try. If not, we'll go for the trucks that stop by every once in a while to deliver food and water. I kept track of their schedule and going by that, they will be here today."
"Well… okay I guess… but won't we be too easy to find all together? Maybe we should split up?"
"Hmm… true. Alright, then. Let's split up, gang!" Lana announced. And so, one after one, some alone and others in pairs, slowly left the room, until only Lisa, Lana and Sophie remained.
"So, are you two ready to get out of here?" Sophie asked.
"You bet. We just make it out there, and climb our way out. We can then figure our paths outside." Lana assured.
"Let's just hope that our supplies last long enough for such a trip." Lisa pointed out. "Perhaps we could get some aid from public transportation or maybe even ask for help in a local police station to return home."
"Yeah, when we get there anyway. Say… do you think they would know that we're gone? I mean, there was stuff going on with the hospital visits and calls, and stuff like that."
"They may as well be in search of us." Lisa theorized. "Let's just try and make things easier for them and try to go back."
"How?"
"By not needing to be found. If we get off here and in contact with the outside world, it's much easier to make whoever is looking for us to track us down."
"You've got a point. Well then, let's go!"
And so they left their bedroom as quietly as possible, making sure no teachers were in sight, and closed the door for the last time. With their supplies and pets on their backs, Lisa and Lana crouch-walked down the walls of the long and seemingly endless hallways, as Sophie led their way through the somewhat dark area. The sky began to change from its black color to an orange tone, as they realized it wouldn't take long for the sun to show up on the horizon.
By the time they got to the softball field, there were already a few people attempting to climb over them. A few managed to get over, and one slipped and fell over on the other side.
"Come on, let's help them out. And then get ourselves out." Lana said, as she began dashing through the field near the walls that she's close to.
Lisa and Sophie soon followed behind, and helped the fallen girl back on her knees. Lisa and Lana gave her a boost up, as Sophie herself tried to climb over the wall. Just then, they heard more footsteps behind them. Turning around, they saw that the teachers had gotten there.
"On second thought, let's go with the backup plan. RUN!" Lana yelled and made a break for it back into the building.
Sophie hopped onto the ground while Lisa didn't have time to before Lana started running and just stayed on her back instead. As she dashed past the teachers they both ducked. Good thing most of them were elderly people. She continued running on all fours through the halls, somehow running just as well as she would have bipedally and even faster.
"How are you even able to do that?" Sophie asked, running bipedally at her side.
"I was a weird kid." Lana simply replied.
"Technically, you still are." Lisa scoffed while holding onto her older sister's shoulders for dear life. She could tell that the school staff were hot on their trail, even if they probably had a bit of an advantage. However, they weren't quite there yet. She dearly hoped to keep it that way. "Hey Sophie, know of any hiding spots?!"
"Here, take the left turn!" Sophie screamed, as she herself made the turn. Lana and Lisa followed right behind as she opened one of the doors of the many in the hallway, and the two sisters ran inside. Sophie closes them all inside and they were left in clear darkness.
"Okay, I think we're safe." Sophie claimed. "For now, at least."
"What is this location?" Lisa asked, as she slowly slid off of Lana's back. "And why does it smell worse than mystery meat?"
"Because we're in the janitor's closet." She explained. "And he only comes here during the afternoon, so we're clear."
"Huh, this room is pretty neat." Lana said. She lightly tapped a large bucket in the corner that was filled with cleaning fluid and mildew. "And if this bucket wasn't so big, we could've used it as a weapon."
"Focus, now." Lisa said. "How are we going to leave now? They are hunting us out there, and it won't take long until the five of us are found."
"Maybe we could go through there." Lana said, looking up at what seemed to be an air vent. "Seems big enough for all of us to crawl inside. Kinda like Lucy used to do, and sometimes I did too."
"You mean before she made our vent system collapse and she fell with part of it through the roof?"
"That's not the point." Lana said. "Sophie, you know where this thing will lead?"
"Huh, not really…" she confessed. "Do you think it is safe?"
"No-"
"Of course it is." Lana interrupted. "I mean, what could go wrong?"
"Why do they even continue to ask that?" Lisa thought.
Despite Lisa not being very willing, she climbed up into the vent with Lana and Sophie helping her before they followed suit. She removed the grate, and crawled inside, sending her backpack first, so she could keep pushing. Lana followed suit, and Sophie went from behind, making sure the lights were off. It was much more cramped than Lana remembered it to be back at home, though to be fair she was much younger back then. It was also dark, barely illuminated by a dim light in the distance. There were cobwebs and dust bunnies sprinkled through nearly every corner, and it had a musky scent.
"No wonder this establishment's air is, for lack of a better word, stuffy." Lisa mumbled as she crawled through the rather claustrophobic space. "You really believe there's anything out of here?"
"Just keep crawling, Lisa. Every path leads somewhere." Lana said, as she pushed her backpack with the pets in it, at this point already awake and wondering what was going on. After crawling for a bit and struggling to make a curve to the right, Lisa stopped in her tracks once she saw a beam of light coming from the end of the vent.
"Hey, I found an opening." Lisa announced, as she sped up her crawling, not being able to wait more than necessary to get some fresh air. Lana and Sophie still right behind. She managed to get near the exit, and unfortunately it was closed by a grate.
"So, what's on the other side?" Lana asked.
"It seems that this leads to out of the boundaries of the institution." She theorized. "But the exit is closed by a grate."
"Just knock it off, then." Lana said, as she began moving besides Lisa until she made space in front of her. She then struggled to spin around so she was laying on her back and her feet were pointing towards the grate.
"It's a steel gate, Lana. How are we going to do-" Lisa was interrupted by the sound of Lana kicking it down with a few swings of her heel. A loud metal clang was heard as it clattered onto the asphalt below. "...that."
"Job's done. Let's get out now." Lana said, as she adjusted her position back to how she originally was. "Now let's get out of he- ohh…"
"What? What's going on in there?" Sophie asked from behind.
"There seems to be quite some… height from where we are from." Lana said.
"Great. So it means we can't make it down without getting ourselves hurt?" Lisa asked, rolling her eyes. "Well, I guess we should go back and-"
"No, absolutely not! We made it this far, and this is the first time in years that I've been able to see the outside world that isn't at the softball court." Sophie protested.
"Wait, wait!" Lana said with new excitement. "I think I have an idea. There's a garbage disposal right under us, and the thing is filled up."
"And how exactly is that supposed to help us-"
"Wheeeee!" Both Lisa and Sophie heard a scream, as the light that was partially blocked by Lana's body managed to fully get into their eyes, and there was no sign of her.
"Did she… did she just take a leap of faith?!" Lisa asked, perplexed.
"Are you okay?!" Sophie called from above, cupping a hand to her mouth like a makeshift megaphone. She crawled a bit forward, taking the bag where the pets should be, but at this point they left it and were crawling near Lisa.
"I'm alright!" Lana shouted back, giving them a thumbs up. She was waist-deep in the trash. "Now let's get moving. Send Charles and Cliff!"
"Uhh, so how are we going to do this with your animals? I mean, cats always land on their feet, but…"
"Not 100 percent of the time, Sophie." Lisa corrected. "And, well, we should probably put them back in the bag first." She led them back into it as quickly as she could, with some difficulty as they weren't too keen on going back into an even smaller space than the vent.
"When you're done there, just throw them down, and I'll catch 'em!" Lana exclaimed.
"But what if I miss?!" Lisa replied worriedly.
"You won't, this thing is pretty big and I'm right here!"
"Are you sure?!"
"JUST DO IT ALREADY!"
"FINE!"
Lisa took a deep breath and dropped them one at a time, Cliff first and Charles following suit. She held that breath as she heard them bark and meow in protest, her nerves tensed and eyes watching with apprehension.
"Got them!" Lana shouted, Cliff draped over her right shoulder while Charles was held in her arms like a baby.
Lisa let out a sigh of relief and wiped the sweat off her forehead. "Well, I'm still not completely sold on the idea of jumping down from here, but it's now or never!" She jumped down and landed in the trash next to Lana. A few pieces of trash clung to her clothes, which she brushed off with a look of disgust.
"Ugh, if only there was some scientific reason behind exploring garbage." She muttered. She made her way out of the dumpster as soon as possible, and looked up to the wall with a hole in it.
"I'll be right there with you two!" Sophie jumped down as well and managed to hit the intended target as well. She didn't seem to mind the trash as much as Lisa, but wasn't as fond of it as Lana, soon getting out as well. "Woah, that was cool… wait… are we… are we outside?"
"I… I think we are… we did-"
"Pardon me for interrupting celebration, but could we make some distance from this building?"
"Hey… where are those trucks you were talking about, Sophie?" Lana asked, looking around but unable to see any people or vehicles in the area.
"I don't think they park here." Sophie claimed. "Should we go after them?"
"Of course not. Let's just run before they find us."
And so they ran away from the desert road in which they found themselves away from the building. They ran to the end of the road and turned right, then left, then right again, stumbling across a couple cars and a few people that didn't bother with their existence. They stopped only when they reached a small hill hear the end of the road, to which they climbed and took cover on the other side.
"Okay…" Lisa said, as she placed both her hands on her knees, trying to catch her breath. "I...think we made it."
"Yeah… we did it!" Lana cheered. "I thought we were done for, but we did… uh, Sophie, you alright?"
Lana and Lisa both faced the teen, who walked a bit forward down the hill, watching the sight of a small park filled with trees and flowers typical of the middle of spring. They couldn't see her face expression, but she did seem quite shocked, or surprised.
"So… this… this is the outside?" She asked herself. The sun was shining in the sky close to the horizon, giving her a warm feeling on her skin.
"Sophie?" Lana called again, this time approaching her, a bit concerned. "Are you doing okay?"
"Lana…" Lisa whispered, and held Lana's hand, not letting her go too close, but had a small smile on her face. "Just let her enjoy this."
Lana nodded, and took a moment to take in her surroundings as well. She smiled contently and sat down on the grass. "You know, I've missed being outside. 'Tis a shame there's no mud to roll around in, though."
"I don't know why I expected anything different from you." Lisa said. "Seems it's been ages since we've been out here… it feels good to see the outside again."
"Hey, Lana, Four Eyes!" Sophie exclaimed, going back towards them.
"It's Lisa!" Lisa exclaimed back angrily.
"Whatever." Sophie said, with a smile. "Look, uh… I was never really good with words, and, well… I'm not sure how to say this…"
"Come on, Sophie, just spit it out." Lana said.
Sophie then leaped forward, warping both of the girls in her arms. Lana returned the hug, while Lisa was in an uncomfortable position she couldn't really move her arms. "Thank you for getting me out of that place. I don't know what I'd have done without you two."
"You'd most likely spend your life there until you reach the age of 18, and afterwards work there since you have no real world ex- ouch!"
"What's with the 'let her enjoy the moment'" Lana said, as she gave Lisa a gentle punch on her side, before turning towards Sophie. "We're happy we made it out."
They laid down on their backs on the grass, basking in the sunlight. Lana curled up like a cat would and closed her eyes. Having to stay so much time awake did make all of the girls feel tired, so Lana quickly began snoring. The pets curled up alongside her, enjoying the heat of the sun, which wasn't as strong as the summer, but enough to keep em warmed up.
"So, this is what it feels to lay on the grass…" Sophie said to herself.
"Uncomfortable?" Lisa asked.
"No, it's just… it feels weird, but at the same time… I-it feels nice. A-and this heat… I can't remember a time I felt this… relaxed."
"Lots of things are there to help you relax. The sun, the trees, flowers… even if the world unfortunately isn't perfect, there's lots to discover."
"Really… I guess there is no heaven in here… maybe just on the other side." Sophie sighed. "Still… thanks for everything, Lisa."
"So you don't have a case of specific information amnesias!" Lisa exclaimed, ironically.
"Hey, don't force it." Sophie said, with a smile, even if Lisa couldn't see it since none of the girls bothered to lift their heads. "I guess I just owe you this after getting me out."
"Well… as simple as it may sound, I appreciate it." Lisa admitted.
Lana opened her eyes and sat back up. "So… what now?"
"I don't know…" Sophie confessed.
"Why don't we just enjoy the moment a bit more and think about what to do later?" Lisa said. "I think we all deserve a bit of a rest."
And so they stayed laid down in the grass, enjoying the warmth of the sun. While they didn't know what the future showed for them, it did seem that it would be looking brighter from now on.