I know it's been a few months since I last updated this, but in my defense, I am a full-time student with a labor-intensive part-time job that, for some reason, is seen as "Essential work." I may only be able to write this story during breaks, such as winter and spring.
If you got this far, you don't care about how terrible my grammar and spelling are (Grammarly can only do so much). I don't have anyone to prof my work, and I am generally just bad at it. Enjoy!
"Words" Speaking
'words' Thoughts
"Words" Demon Speech
"Spencer, Norman, congratulations! You are both getting shipped out tomorrow!" Mama says with excitement.
All the children stood in silence after hearing Mama say that, the realization slowly creeping into their minds. Looking at the orange head on the ground, Ray speaks up.
"Mama… what happened to Emma's leg?" Ray asks.
"It's completely broken. In fact, I was the one to do it." She says, getting up from Spencer and walking to Emma. The four kids looked at the Mama with faces of rage and horror as Spencer got up from the ground, still in shock over what Mama just told them.
"Don't worry; I broke it very cleanly not to cause permanent damage. It will heal completely in about two months," She tells them, taking Emma into her arms, who started to look pale. "Hopefully, she will be able to stand by your birthday, Ray," Mama says, smiling at Ray.
Ray's face contorted in rage and hatred, 'This bitch, she's taunting us!' Ray thought.
"Spencer is sure to give me that bag when we get back," Mama says, glancing back at Spencer and the bag on the ground. "Now, children, let us return to the house," Mama said as she started to walk back to the house, leaving the five kids to follow her as they absorbed what just happened slowly.
The other kids started to swarm around Mama and Emma, worried for their big sister. Ray, Gilda, and Don went to the well to discuss the matter at hand.
"Shit, Shit! She took all the ropes, and both Spencer and Norman are getting shipped. Emma's got a broken leg, our plan to investigate the wall and learn about the outside has failed! What now!?" Don said angrily with his face in his hands.
"We will make sure Emma's leg heals as fast as possible, and we will make new ropes. We will escape! And I'll make sure of it." Ray stated in defiance. "But first, we need to deal with Spencer and Norman's shipment."
"Why? Why Norman and Spencer? Two people leaving at the same time has never happened. They couldn't have found out about our plan." Gilda asked.
"Yea, plus if higher scores equal higher quality, shouldn't Mama be saving Norman for last?" Don questioned.
"Exactly, this whole situation doesn't make any sense. If they wanted to stop our escape, they'd get rid of all of us at once. If they wanted high-quality goods, they'd wait or send only one of us. Sending out two of us at one time has never happened. Getting rid of Krone, taking our ropes before we see outside, cutting all ties with me, and breaking Emma's leg, all this just to send Spencer and Norman out." Ray tried to wrap his head around it.
Meanwhile, Spencer and Norman sat next to Emma as she was lying in bed. As the two boys waited for Emma to wake up, neither of them said a word, much more concerned with Emma's well being than their own futures.
Soon the orange-haired girl started to open her eyes, seeing the two boys on either side of her bed. Still a little woozy from the painkillers, it took a second for her to remember everything that happened.
Weakly, Emma reaches out to the boys, who each took a hand of hers into their own.
"Don't worry, Emma, Mama, only took the ropes. Everything else is still safe," Norman said in a quiet and calm voice.
"Yeah, she doesn't know everything. Your leg will heal soon, and the true escape plan will succeed." Spencer adds on and a happy but calm voice.
Emma's hands started to hold tighter. She didn't care about the escape plans, not now when both Spencer and Norman were going to be shipped tomorrow night.
"You look like you could use some water. I'll go get some," Norman said while looking at Emma. As he got up, he let go of Emma tried to grab it, but he was already up.
As Norman left, some of the other children came into the room, wanting to see how she was. While the other children surrounded her bed, Spencer stayed sitting next to her, holding her hand.
Spencer didn't want to let go of her hand. She was holding him down from snapping. After a few minutes, Ray entered the room and told the kids to leave so he could talk with Emma and Spencer.
Ray sat with the two kids in silence, who both knew why he was waiting to talk. Norman soon entered with a cup of water.
"Hey Emma, I got a-," Norman started before stopping as he saw Ray stand up.
"Norman, Spencer. You are not dying tomorrow. Instead, you two will escape before you get shipped." Ray explains, using a tone that made it seem like it was an order.
Spencer and Norman look at him with confusion, as they thought they'd all have to escape together for them to have a chance.
"Well, more specifically, I want you to pretend to escape. We'll disable your trackers and pretend like you left when in actuality, you will be hiding inside the forest until Emma is all healed up. Then we can all leave." Ray explains to the two boys. "That way, you can investigate without any restrictions and won't have to worry about not meeting back up with us."
"But if we do try and escape, the security around the house will-" Norman tries to interject before being cut off by Ray.
"That is unlikely, from the way this house works. The state of the meat both physically and mentally is a top priority along with keeping the secret, so the demons will never enter the house grounds to keep the secret and the mental health of the children." Ray explains.
"That may be so, but they can still send in more Sister's or Mama's to search the grounds or beyond the grounds. Remember what Krone said about the last escape. While security inside was high, the outside was monitored and searched for the escapees." Spencer tells him.
"So what! We can handle that! An extra two months of training will make every kid hear able to run for much longer!" Ray responds, getting more irritated.
"What if they raised the heights of the wall?" Norman asks.
"Then we'll build a ladder!" Ray tells him.
"What if they implant more trackers into us?" Spencer questions.
"We would know where it is then and could remove it properly! That one is obvious! You guys don't need to die! Accepting your fate is not the only option! We can get you food, we can monitor Mama and anyone else that comes in, and I have a trump card that will defeat Mama, so Live! And pretend to escape! Then we-" Ray ranted with frustration before Norman cut him off.
"We can't, Ray," Norman said simply. "The chances of security increasing are too high. Trust me in saying we cannot outrun a demon if we are found out. Furthermore, if we escaped, then you or Emma would be shipped instead. And I'll be damned if I'll let that happen."
"I agree with Norman. We have to think of the bigger picture here. If Norman and I were to pretend to escape, the entire group's chances of escaping decrease exponentially. I was expecting that sacrifices were going to have to be made if all of us were to leave, and if it's my life that needs sacrificing, then I'll give it up so that everyone else can leave and live." Spencer says, looking at Ray and Emma.
"I think both of us have thought this threw, and of all possibilities, and have decided to go tomorrow. Us not going with Mama leads do chances we are not willing to take. Above all else is the escape, and our living puts that into jeopardy." Norman says with a smile, and Spencer nodded in agreement.
Ray's face contorted. An overwhelming amount of feeling washed over him, the majority being rage. "Shut up, with what's going on… What were all the years we've spent together!? All the time and effort I put into this escape?! Was it all for nothing?!" Ray said, clenching his fists.
"I'm sorry." Norman simply says, causing Ray to move closer to him and bring his hand up about to punch him.
Raising her hand, Emma chimes in before any violence starts. "How about we break your leg, Ray?"
The three boys look at Emma in confusion, who starts to explain. "Cuz I'm injured, they probably don't want to ship me until I'm fully healed. When Spencer ran to my aid, Mama said she did not want to injure him cuz he's getting shipped out. They want us at our best, so if Spencer and Norman run and hide while Ray and I are bedridden, then they can't send us out!" Emma says with a smile.
There was a moment of silence as the boys took in this information.
"He, hehe, Bwhahahahahaha!" Ray started to laugh so hard he held his stomach, "You're Right! Okay, what do you think, should I break my arm too?" Ray asks Emma.
"Oh, Yea! That's a good idea!" she replies.
"No, wait! There is no guarantee being injured will keep you safe!" Norman interjects.
"Then we can just get really sick!" Emma rebuttals, shocking Spencer and Norman. "It may hurt to break our bones, and being sick would suck, but anything is better than having you two die!"
"You guys are nuts!" Spencer exclaimed.
"Maybe so, but I won't just sit and watch you die!" Emma says with a pained look. "You said that we all need to escape, but that "all" includes the both of you! Things may look bleak, but we will get through them as long as we plan for the best! We will all escape this place." Emma says, putting her left hand on Norman's shoulder and right hand on Spencer's.
The two boys' composure starts to break down, and their eyes water up. The fear of impending death and love from their friends comes crashing down on them. Spencer states, hugging Emma as tears come down his face and Norman buries his face into his hands.
"Yeah, we will," Spencer says.
"It's settled then, tomorrow morning; you guys will go over the wall and escape," Ray says.
The two boys regain their composure and nod. "We can also be able to finish our investigations," Spencer says, to which Norman nods too.
"Going off-topic for a sec, I've meant to ask you something Ray," Norman says, looking at the black-haired boy.
"Hmm? What is it?" Ray askes.
"How did you find out the truth? It's kept well enough that the only way to find out is by accident, so how did you know?" Norman asks.
"Oh, that's easy, I've always known, from the second I was born," Ray replies, shocking the other three.
"Huh?!" Emma exclaimed.
"Do you guys know about 'Childhood amnesia?" Ray asks, to which the three kids shake their heads. "Hmm… what is the earliest memory you can remember?" Ray asks.
"Gosh, it must be when I was four or five," Spencer states, scratching his head.
"Yea, about four or five for me too," Norman says.
"Me too," Emme tells them.
"Well, that is caused by childhood amnesia. People naturally forget when they were infants or toddlers. However, there is a rare condition where a person doesn't have childhood amnesia, like me." Ray tells his friends, much to their shock. "My first memory is being in darkness, wrapped in a warm liquid. I remember hearing my mother's voice and the lullaby she sang to me." Ray explains.
"I never saw my parents. But I did see the monsters and the people who took care of the newborns. Eventually, 5 children were selected and separated. It was then when we got our tattoos and trackers. Then being taken through a dark tunnel before ending up in Mama's arms and brought her to the house." Ray tells the others.
"So, the gate doesn't lead outside?" Norman asks.
"No, it leads directly to headquarters." Ray answers. "Over the first few years, I was bothered by my memories, and as soon as I could read, I studied as much as possible. Until I realized that the orphanage I lived in wasn't what it appeared to be." Ray said as he gets up from the chair and starts to pace back and forth.
"When I turned six, I confronted Mama, and by simply looking at her shocked expression, I knew it was all true. It was then the deal was made," Ray tells them as we stopped pacing. "I decided I was going to betray her and tell you guys when the time was right."
"I noticed something in your story. You said you and four others were taken, and the gate led directly to the HQ. I would suspect that means there are four other farms connected to HQ as well as ours. We can't escape through the gate then." Spencer concludes.
"You are correct, but we were not going to escape through there anyway. But to get back on topic, you guys have nothing to worry about. They will not increase security. They underestimate us too much. Just disable your trackers and hide in the forest, or better yet, go over the wall and wait out there. Here." Ray tells them as he tosses something to Norman.
The small box Ray tossed to Norman was about his palm's size, two needle-like things poking out of it.
"Put that up to your ear and push the button," Ray tells him, pointing at his ear. "It will disable the tracker without setting off the alarm. On another note, I have Don and Gilda tying the sheets together to make the ropes. We have about two months till Emma's leg heels up, which means you two will have to survive alone for that time. Can you do that?"
"Yea," Spencer says with a smile.
Emma reaches out and grabs Norman and Spencer's hands, and Ray grabs their other hands, forming a circle.
"We won't let Norman or Ray die tomorrow. We will all escape together!" Emma says with determination. The three boys smile, Emma's hope spreads throughout their bodies, filling them with positivity. "Yea!" they all cry out.
Later that night.
Mama walks into the dining hall with Norman and Spencer on either side of her. Most of the children are there getting ready for dinner and don't notice them enter.
"Children! I've got some fantastic news!" Mama announces as all the kids look towards her. "We found a lovely couple who wants both Norman and Spencer to go live with them! I know it's a little sudden, but they will be leaving tomorrow night," she says, placing her hands on both of their shoulders.
All the children in the room stopped to process what Mama just said. Slowly the children started to react to the information and express their emotions.
"...What?.."
"Tomorrow?!"
"Congratulations!"
"Congratulations, Guys!"
Phil and Mary are setting the table and look at the two older boys.
"They're both leaving?" Phil questions out loud.
Mary's faces distorted into one of horror as she dropped her plate.
"Whaaaat?!" she screamed out.
The children surrounded the two boys, giving saddened congratulations and hugs, to which the boys graciously accepted.
Later that night, Norman went to his room and opened his drawer to get out his notebook. However, inside, there were two extra items that he did not recognize: a pen and something wrapped in cloth.
"What is this?" Norman questioned, picking up the items.
Meanwhile, Spencer looks inside his own drawer to find a folded up piece of paper.
"Who put this here?" He wonders, opening it up.
The next morning goes as expected. The children get dressed, eat breakfast, and take the test. It was a typical day until after lunch when Norman and Spencer disappeared, for all intents and purposes.
The two ran through the forest, Spencer holding some ropes that Mama did not confiscate and Norman holding Ray's disabling device.
The two approached the wall in silence. With no time to waist, Spencer climbed a tree that is close to the wall, tying the makeshift rope tightly to the trunk and jumping down.
Spencer grabs the other end of the rope before looking at Norman. The two exchange a nod before Spencer starts running toward the wall at an angle. Using the rope as the support, he reaches the top of the wall and tosses the rope down to Norman. Norman grabs the rope and prepares to do the same thing as Spencer, but as he reaches the top, his foot slips, and he begins to fall. Spencer quickly reacted and reached for the rope, grabbing it and helping Norman up the wall. Laying on their backs for a moment of rest after that stressful experience, the two remain silent, anxious of the world beyond their own.
Norman is the first to get up and start moving to the edge of the wall, quickly followed by Spencer.
As both boys look outside, their situation's grim reality creeps into their minds, the realization that they felt from the beginning.
'Neither of us can escape…'
Back at the orphanage, the children gather to Mama, who is ringing her bell.
"Where are Norman and Spencer?" One of the children asked.
Mama opens her "watch," looking at it in shock, all the while Ray and Emma smirk in victory.
'That's right, you can't find them, cuz they're gone,' Emma thinks to herself.
However, that satisfaction starts to waver, and Mama's shocked face warps to a smile. The two eleven-year-olds begin to worry as she looks up to the tree line.
As the two of them look up, their bodies freeze in place, Emma's blood runs cold, and Ray drops his book.
'No… what? What are they Doing?!' Ray thinks to himself.
'Why are they still here?... Why are they coming back?!' Emma thinks in shock.
Spencer and Norman walk towards Mama, their faces plastered with a fake smile. Emma looked into their eyes, noticing a voided gaze, a feeling of despair radiating off of them.
Mama then asks everyone to get ready for dinner, the Last dinner with Norman and Spencer.
Once everyone had eaten, and everyone was cleaning up, Spencer brought in his piano.
"Hey, everyone! Because this is my last evening here, I wrote a song for everyone to remember me by." Spencer announced.
The children who weren't working on the clean up quickly surrounded the boy as he sat down. The children who were cleaning stopped for a moment to hear the tune he would play.
"I call this, 'S and N's Farewell.' I hope you all enjoy it." Spencer then started to play his song.
{if you want to know how it sounds, it's like N's Farewell from Pokemon Black and White watch?v=JPg_pxCRO7Y}
Ray was cleaning the dishes as Spencer played, while Norman whipped down the tables. Upon hearing the song, Ray's rage and sadness started to overflow.
'What the hell is wrong with him, 'Farewell?' Why did he name it that? He isn't going to die! Not as long as I am breathing!' Ray thought as he scraped the dishes harder.
Norman was listening to the song as he cleaned. Most of the other children started to tear up hearing the beautiful music.
'S and N's Farewell' huh, good name Spence. I hope Emma can hear it from upstairs.'
Meanwhile, Emma was listening to Spencer's song. She couldn't hear what he called it, but she had a feeling it was something akin to a goodbye.
"Spencer? What are you doing? Why, why don't you run away?" Emma said to herself, tears welling up in her eyes.
After cleaning up, Mama asks the boys to go to their room and get packed. As Spencer and Norman go upstairs to Emma, Ray quickly follows.
"You bastards! What the hell are you thinking!?" Ray shouted, grabbing their shirts. "If you stay here, you're going to die! Get the hell out of here now and hide!" Ray orders.
"No, we will not be leaving," Norman states in a defiant tone.
"Yea, we have some stuff to tell you, things that change everything," Spencer says, sitting next to Emma.
Norman's serious face darkens as his eyes drift towards the window. "Beyond the wall is a cliff."
"What?" Ray questioned in shock.
"A cliff, we couldn't tell how deep, but it was deep enough we could not see the bottom. We estimated the width to be about the same as the height of the wall, so about 20 meters." Spencer explained.
"Instead of trying to get across, we split up going along each side," Spencer told the other two. "Norman and I found the same thing, a corner of the wall that met with another, forming two spaces that were about 60 degrees, looking like this." He explained as he drew a diagram of what they found, which looked like two V's where they share a line in the middle.
"The cliff continued, of course," Norman explained. "And standing in between the two sides, they look almost the same, and thanks to Ray, I was not surprised. Here is what I think the entire facility looks like." He says, taking the diagram from Spencer and adding on to it, turning it into a hexagon.
"I went a little further beyond the corner, and using the binoculars was able to see a bridge, about here," Spencer said, making a line on the side triangle opposite of the one that contains their home.
"When the time comes, escape here, as far away from the bridge as possible," Norman said, pointing to a line near the corner of the triangle that represented their plantation.
Just then, a knocking came from the door, and it opened to show Phil.
"Norman, Spencer, Mama is calling for you!" Phil tells them.
The boys smile, and Norman replies, "Tell her we'll be down in a moment."
As the two boys put their suits on, Norman put his hand into his pants pocket and took out the disabling device, thrusting it towards Ray.
"We haven't used it yet. Please use it when you escape." Norman said.
"Wha- you haven't used it. Did you mean to bring it back from the beginning then?! Yes, that must be it! The Cliff just gave you an excuse! You could have just used it and hid in the forest! So why? Why didn't you keep your promise and get the hell out of here!?" Ray shouted out.
"We lied," Norman said with a smile. "We can afford mistakes when everyone's lives are at stake. If Spencer and I ran first, the plan we crafted would fall apart, and the chance that security would increase is far too great. Even a little more extra security would escape much harder." He told the two melancholy children.
"Leaving things to chance is too risky. Norman and I talked last night and agreed to this. No matter what you say, our decision is final. We have done everything we can. It's up to you two now." Spencer told them, grabbing something from under his pillow and placing it into his suit inside the chest pocket.
Suddenly, Spencer and Norman jumped and embraced Ray and Emma.
"You mean more to us than words can describe," Spencer told them.
"We can't thank you enough for giving us a truly wonderful life," Norman said.
"God-God Dammit!" Ray said as tears started to fall.
"You know, you still have time… you can run and hide in the forest and escape with us!" Emma said, her voice wavering.
"No, we won't change our minds. We told you already." Norman says, and he and Spencer separate from the hug.
"I guess it's time. Come on, Spence, we have to go now." Norman said as he walked to the door.
"Bye guys, please live and escape with everyone," Spencer said and walked out the door behind Norman.
The two boys walked up to the front door where Mama was waiting for them, two hats in her hands.
"Sorry to keep you waiting, Mama. We were just saying our final goodbyes." Spencer told her.
With a smile, she handed the hats to the boys, "No problem, boys, now let's get going." Mama said.
"Wait!" a voice called out from behind the crowd of children. Looking at the voice revealed Emma, hobbling over to the two boys using her crutches. Stopping just a couple feet in front of them, she just stared at them, eyes filled with emotion.
Spencer looked at her as she stared, having a feeling of what she was about to try. He approaches her with a smile and hugs her, making sure to hold her left hand, which contains the disabling device.
Laying his head on her shoulder, he began to whisper. "Don't do it, Em. If she finds out about the device, it's all over. There is no way you could disable both our chips without her seeing it. I know you hate this, I know we promised that everyone would leave together, but they beat us for this battle. Win this war, Emma; you have to… the next thing you're gonna say is, "But, I know you want to live," right?"
Squeezing his hand and back, she started to cry. Not caring if his prediction was right. "But, I know you want to live, so why, why are you willing to go so easily?" she asked.
Keeping his composure Spencer smiled. "Because of a feeling I have. Norman and I stayed up last night to discuss this, and we felt that this option is the one where most of us escape with certainty. I would ask you to respect our design but knowing you would refuse to. Never lose hope, and don't do anything stupid, and when you escape with everyone, do it knowing no matter what, we love you."
With Spencer's last word, Emma lost all energy and started to sink to the ground. On her hands and legs, she stared up at Spencer, tears so thick she could barely see him, but she knew he was tearing up as well.
"Well, Spencer, It's time to go," Mama said, reaching her hand out to him.
As the three of them walked out the door, Spencer took one last look at all the children waving and yelling goodbye. With Emma still on the floor, looking at them with an expression that could only be described as despair.
Walking towards the gate, Mama stared at the two boys to her left, noticing how light their cases were.
"Your suitcases, they're empty, aren't they?" Mama guessed.
"Well, of course, it's not like we really need anything," Norman told her.
"Yea, it's not like I can bring my piano. I'm sure the others will have more use with it than wherever it ends up." Spencer said.
After a few moments of silence Mama spoke up once again. "I knew you two wouldn't run away. I knew from the start because I know how loving and smart you two are. You've both made me proud. Because of you, I will be able to ship Emma and Ray when they reach their full potential."
"Living for as long as possible, filled with love and happiness. Am I right?" Spencer questioned.
"Yes, nothing but the best life is worthy for them." She replied.
After another moment, Norman looked up at her and spoke. "Are you happy? Mama." He asked.
After a moment of shock Mama composed herself and replied. "Yes, I am very happy, cuz I get to meet people like you two."
Once the three of them reached the gate, Norman saw the same truck when he and Emma gave Little Bunny to Conny. That single event felt so long ago.
"Spencer, go into the truck. Norman, please come with me in this room to wait." Mama ordered.
As Norman and Spencer reached the point in between the two places Mama told them to go, they looked into each other, both filled with mortal fear. In one swift motion, they dropped their suitcases and hugged each other, a final hug goodbye.
"This is it, don't you dare show them fear Spence, they don't deserve it," Norman ordered, trying his hardest to keep his composure.
"Same to you, Norm. Whatever comes next, let's face it with strength. I have a feeling we will see each other again." Spencer said in a brave voice.
The two separate, Spencer reaching out his hand to be shaken.
"It's been an honor to live with you, Norman," Spencer said, regaining his composure.
"Same here, brother," Norman replied, shaking his hand.
The two separate, walking to their respective places as Mama ordered them two. As Norman walks through the door Mama opened, he takes one last glance to see Spencer entering the truck.
Finally, what felt like the longest chapter is done. The next chapter will be the end of the jailbreak arc and the beginning of the forest arc. I hope to get two more chapters done before the end of winter break, but if not, then I will continue in spring.