Okay, so I'm going to try to extend this chapter for the character development of the supporting cast. I feel like the Goldy Pond Resistance didn't get enough time to develop, and I will fix that. The majority of this chapter will be establishing the characters' personalities and backgrounds.
ALSO, OMORI SPOILERS IN THIS CHAPTER.
I REPEAT.
OMORI SPOILERS IN THIS CHAPTER.
Have a nice day.
"Words" Speaking.
'words' Thoughts.
"Words" Demon Speech.
The duo gasped in shock at the voice coming through the phone. The voice was that of a young American adult, possibly in his mid-thirties. It was calm and collected, like a father talking to their child.
"I want to briefly convey some information to you who picked up the phone hoping to hear an actual person, but I'm afraid this is a simple recording. My hope is that you listening to this is an escapee. I may not be able to answer the hundreds of questions you have, but I will do my best based on what a close friend told me you were thinking. But first, I must give my sincere apologies. I am sorry. That elevator was a 'path' that can cross over to the human world. However, it can no longer be used." Mr. Minerva said through the phone.
'A recording, shoot. I was hoping it was actually him.' Emma thought in disappointment.
'Then it's true, this elevator was a 'path.' right before my eyes, it is the gate to the human world. If only it worked…' Lucas thought.
"I don't know what year or month you are living in, but the elevator will not be working as it once was. It is my fault. I placed my trust in the wrong person. I couldn't foresee my confidant's betrayal." Mr. Minerva said. Emma could hear the pain in the man's voice, 'his confidant must have been close to him…' she thought.
'Betrayal… so there are humans out there who want us farm children to stay.' Lucas thought in anger.
"The village I made in A 08-63 is probably no longer safe as well. Because the betrayer ruined it. You'll probably find it was not as it was supposed to be."
'So Minerva did build the village, and it wasn't supposed to be a hunting ground,' Lucas thought. 'But then… what was its true purpose?'
"I wanted to atone for my sins. My real name is James Ratri. A descendant of the man that made the' Promise' 1000 years ago."
'James Ratri… he's William Minerva? And the descendant of the 'Promise' maker?' Emma thought.
"I am the 35th head of the family. Generation after generation, our family's duty was to act as the mediator between the two worlds. However, due to recent events in the human world, my clan moved here to this world." The man on the other side of the phone said with a tinge of sorrow.
'What? 'Recent events in the human world?' What happened that caused him to move here?' Lucas thought in worry.
"Since the beginning 1000 years ago, our family has upheld the 'Promise' by raising you children as lambs to the slaughter. We had to do this to keep the other humans safe. I couldn't abandon my duty for the safety of the human world. At the same time, however, I couldn't endure it, the murdering of happy children living a lie, the inhuman factories, it ignited a burning rage within my broken heart. So, I figured at the very least, I could give you children your own choice. Therefore, I delivered the books to the farms under the name of William Minerva." James explained.
'He really cared for us, all of us…' Emma thought, practically feeling the man's passion.
"It was fairly simple to do. but you children who noticed, at least you could live in one of the safe Rhizome Shelters to live, and a chance to travel through the secret 'path.'... Maybe in another timeline, that goal came true…" The man said.
'Rhizome Shelter?' Is that what the shelter at B06-32 is called? Wait, hold on, one of!?' Lucas thought in shock.
"But the path is closed, and the village most likely unusable. My family is now coming after my own life as I speak. It is currently May 20th, 2031, in the human world. By the time you are listening to this, I am most certainly gone for good." the man explained somberly.
"Wha-!" Emma exclaimed in shock. 'He- Mr. Minerva, I mean James, is dead!?' She thought.
"I am so sorry… But do not despair. I have no intention of being killed so easily. There are true allies of mine in both this world and the human world. There are multiple paths into the human world, six in total. They are in Grace Field house, Glory Bell, Grand Valley, Goodwill Ridge, Lambda 7214, and Sigma labs." James lists.
'In the farms… was a 'path'? This whole time! And what are Lambda 7214 and Sigma labs? There weren't any books on those…' Emma thought.
"Inside each of these places lies a 'path' for you to take. Realize the future that you desire. If you want to escape into the human world, I'll direct several of my allies towards you. Or not… if you want to change this crooked world and the Promise… then break it." He tells them.
"Break the Promise…?" Emma repeated breathlessly.
"War would break out, and the cycle would go back to being the hunter or being the hunted. I myself would not suggest it, but if that is what you desire, neither I nor my allies will hinder you from that. If the future you seek is not either of those options, then search for the Seven Walls. You must use the FLOW to get there. You can find that within the Clover bookmarks and the children at Sigma Labs." The man on the phone explains.
'Seven Walls? Flow? Clover bookmark?' Lucas thought in confusion.
'That's what Mujika told me!' Emma thought in excitement. 'and this Clover Bookmark does have a use!. Wait, does that mean… Mujika and Sonju are the allies of James Ratri!?' She theorized.
"I'm sorry, there's not much time left. I left the rest of the details in 'Marvin's bed.' You all worked so hard. I bet you have many painful memories. Yet you're still here. I would have loved to meet you. There is light. Grasp it with your hands. I want you all to know that even if we have never met face-to-face, I am proud of you. For all the work you've done and the challenges you've overcome, I am proud to have helped you. I wish you all the best of luck." James finishes before the sound of the phone disconnecting ends the call.
Emma had tears in her eyes as she looked at Lucas. "Mr. Minerva was an ally! Isn't that great? But…" Emma wiped the tears from her eyes and adopted a more serious expression. "There are more paths to the human world. And they are in the place where we were held as cattle… as well as those other two places."
Emma thought about the whole situation, 'He was betrayed. And died for what he did. This place became a hunting ground. And what happened to the human world that caused him to move to this world?' the girl contemplated.
"But now we know where these paths are and that there are supporters we can contact," Lucas pointed out, smiling.
"Thank god, After we leave here, we can get our comrades and begin our escape," the man said said. "With this, we've gotten rid of the final obstacle to ending this hunting ground."
"So let's obtain the future we desire, the future Mr. Minerva gave his life for! But for that, we need the details in Marvin's bed!" Emma says with determination.
'Marvin's bed' Is a hint only escapees will understand. In Mr. Minerva's adventure novel "Ugo's adventure diary." Ugo's partner Marvin the Lemur had a favorite sleeping spot in Ugos' desk drawer.
"There are drawers in the desk the phone is on top of," Emma said, pointing to the desk.
'Inside is all the details needed to cross over to the human world. It must also hold the secrets of the Seven Walls, the Flow, and other mysteries.' Emma said, grasping hold of the drawer handles.
"I'm going to open it now," Emma says to Lucas, who gives a nod.
With one movement, Emma opened both drawers to reveal nothing inside.
'It's empty.' Lucas thought.
"As expected, Minerva is smart enough to not hide the thing right in the drawer when the traitor can just take it. Let's start searching," Emma said.
They took the drawer out and searched for any secret bottoms or anything else that can hide something.
Emma reached towards the place where the drawer was. She felt a groove and pulled on it. "Woah! An extra board!" She exclaimed as she fell on her butt.
Two things flew out of the drawer onto the ground. Emma picked them up to examine them. "It's a pen cap and a Clover bookmark." She stated. The pen cap was white and about the same size as the head of the pen. The Clover bookmark looked identical to the one she held in her pocket. However, instead of the word 'HOPE,' it said 'FAITH.'
Emma took out the bookmark in her pocket and looked at both of them. She felt a pull between them, like a magnetic attraction. She overlapped the two with the 'HOPE' bookmark over the 'FAITH' bookmark.
Almost immediately, the two bookmarks snapped together, the word 'FAITH' manifested on the leaf next to 'HOPE,' in the same golden color.
"Huh…" Emma said, confused by the occurrence.
Emma then handed the now single bookmark to Lucas to examine it himself and took out the pen. Emma then looked at the end of the pen and matched it to the pen cap. She attached it.
After a moment, she opened the pen as if to check the coordinates, and the small light screen expanded to several feet across filled with files and files of information.
'As I thought, the cap is a memory chip!' Lucas thought.
"This part explains where to cross between worlds," Emma pointed to one. "And this one seems to be how to contact our allies. And this one's… the layout of Goldy Pond? Where do we even start with all of this?"
"The Seven Walls, and the FLOW…" Emma read out loud as she looked at another file.
The next file Emma noticed was labeled Rhizome Shelter. Touching it revealed what it was.
"Rhizome Shelter, modeled after the Rhizome research facilities on the human world's moon, were built for long-term survival for escaped children. There are four in total scattered across the world relatively close to the premium farms." Emma read.
'I'll have to remember that if we ever need to leave the B06-32 shelter, we can go to one. Furthermore, are there these shelters on the moon of the human world? Is there a disparity in the technology of both worlds? And what kind of research do they need to do on the moon?' The girl wondered.
The two looked through as many of the files Minerva had left for them as they could. Finally, after some time, there were only two left. Labeled 'Project: Lambda 7214,' and 'Sigma Labs.'
"Let's look at Project: Lambda 7214 first," Emma said, tapping the file.
It had a letter in it, which she read out loud. "'Located in the western-most end of the world... began operation on April 6th, 2008… Lambda is a brand new… trial plantation. "
"Why did Minerva think this was important information to tell us? other than the fact it holds a 'path'..." Lucas thought out loud.
"We can worry about that later, for now; let's read the last file," Emma said, tapping Sigma Labs.
"... Sigma Labs is a research facility in the southeast end of the world dedicated to the research and containment of children from plantations with Extra Sensory Perception or ESP. ESPers are extraordinarily rare. Less than .01% of children in the four premium farms are born ESPers…" Emma read. She looked to Lucas, who was silently reading the rest of the text, encapsulated by Sigma Lab's explanation. Emma turned back and continued to read out loud.
"The facility has both humans and Them as researchers and guards. The most important figure is Dr. Sigma Klim, a scientist from the human world and an expert in ESPers, genetic engineering, and robotics. He does not reside in the facility. He works from the human world, sending and receiving information through a 'path.' He is also [ENTER PASSWORD OF B06-32 TO PROCEED]." Emma looked at the prompt, trying to remember what they entered to open the shelter. She touched the file again and entered 'HISTORY.'
The redacted information was then filled in.
"He is also an ally of mine. He and his assistant Akane Kurashiki are sympathetic to the farm children and, if you reach the human world, they will aid you in any way they can," Emma said with excitement. "An ally in the human world! Once we get there, we will have to meet him." She said, looking at Lucas.
"Right, is that everything?" He asked, looking through the hologram once again.
"I think so, we will have to go through this again to find any secrets or go more in-depth on the information, but for now, we should return to the others," Emma said. She paused for a moment before looking at him again with a worried look. "Um… Lucas?" Emma asked him shyly, "The human villages that Oliver mentioned… there's no such thing, is there?"
Lucas took a deep breath. "No, there isn't."
Looking guilty, he continued, "I didn't want to deceive those children, but if you tell them right off the bat, chances are they'll take the gun in their hands and just shoot themselves. I've seen it happen. I didn't want to end up killing them," he said. "But now, we don't need to lie anymore. We can bring them with us, and that's for real."
He looked at Emma and placed a hand on her shoulder, smiling.
"Thank you, Emma," Lucas said gratefully. "If you hadn't come here with that pen…"
"I-it's no problem!" Emma replied hastily. "Let's go back." She said, quickly walking outside back to the pond.
When the two of them returned to the group, they told them everything they learned, as well as the truth of the world.
Even so, the other nine look at each other before yelling as one.
"To the human world!" All of them cheered.
Emma breathed a sigh of relief.
"What's the matter?" Aubrey asked Emma.
Emma became flustered. "Oh! I was just thinking, phew! Well… to be honest, I was scared that you guys wouldn't take it well, and you'd…"
"Get pissed," Aubrey said. "Don't get me wrong, I'm livid right now and want to punch Lucas in the face, but that won't get us anywhere." She said,
"To tell you the truth, I was also a bit angry," Pepe admitted, frowning. "That I was lied to."
"Same," Nigel agreed.
"But the thing is," Basil turned to her, "we trust Lucas. And if he did tell us, some might have lost hope."
Emma smiled fondly at them. 'We all want to escape from this place with all the family and friends we have left. But the choice that I… that we want… we must go to the Seven Walls. We need to show this information to Ray as soon as we can!'
"The time has come," Oliver announced. "Next hunt, we're putting an end to all of this."
"We lost forward this time. If they followed the normal schedule, they should come again after two or three days. We must get everything ready before then." Lucas explained.
"I've adjusted the plan to include Emma. Let's go over it again. Follow me." Sonia said, holding a clipboard. As most of the children followed her, Emma noticed a giant who opened the door, walking back to the front door.
"Aubrey, what about that other boy over there?" Emma asked, pointing to the huge boy.
"Oh, you mean Adam? He's good. He keeps a lookout for the rest of us cause he can't talk very well. We'll explain to him in simple words later." Aubrey told her.
"He can't talk?" Emma asked.
"Yeah, he doesn't talk at all. We don't even know where he came from. Every once in a while, he appears to talk, but he just repeats the same number, over and over again." Aubrey explained.
"He usually says it when he's alone, so none of us really know what he's talking about. We hear it under his breath. Can't remember what it is, though…" Aubrey said, scratching her head as she walked back to the others.
Emma took one more glance to Adam before running to catch up with the others.
Inside the conference room, Sonia and Oliver explained the new plan while some food was handed out. The ten of them would split up and target one of the demons while Lucas and the younger children hid inside the windmill's secret basement.
Oliver and Emma would lure Leuvis around, keeping him away from the other demons for about fifteen minutes. During this time, everyone else would target and kill his companions.
Gillian and Kel would target Luce, the short demon with the most attendance.
Sonia and Nigel would go after Nous and Nouma, the entirely black demon duo.
Aubrey and Basil would assist Sonia and Nigel in taking down the two ebony demons.
Zack and Pepe would take Bayon, the leader of the poachers.
Once Gillian and Kel finish off Luce, they will assist Zack and Pepe in their fight with Bayon.
After all the demons except Leuvis were taken down, everyone would converge were Emma and Oliver were keeping Leuvis distracted and take him down with overwhelming force.
With the meeting done, it was long past nightfall. Aubrey, Gillian, and Sonia led Emma to the houses that the girls slept in. Walking in, Emma saw about twenty girls of various ages from six to mid-teens. Many were still awake, either getting ready for bed or sitting in the beds or chairs, unable to fall asleep.
Emma noticed a girl crying in the corner of the living room. She looked to be about nine and had very dark blue hair that went down to her waist.
Emma approached the girl slowly and sat next to her.
Emma waited for a moment, hoping the girl would notice her presents. However, the young girl was too caught up in her sobbing. Without a word, Emma slowly placed a hand on her shoulder.
The girl quickly turned to her, startled by the sudden physical contact. Her face was still round with baby fat, red marks under her eyes and on her cheeks indicated she'd been crying for hours now.
"Hi there…" Emma said in a soft and caring voice. "What's your name?" She asked.
"..*hic*...*Sniff*.. Salem…*Hic*...Hic*…" Salem sobbed out.
"Salem… that's a nice name… I'm Emma." Emma said.
"...*Sniff*.. Hi…" Salem said, tears still fallen down her face.
Emma moved closer to Salem, now only inches apart.
"I know what you're feeling right now, and I can take a guess as to why you're crying. But it will be better for you if you talk about it." Emma told Salem.
"...I miss them… *Sniff*...My big brothers and sisters at home...Mama… I want to wake up from this bad dream… but I can't… *Hic* Why can't I wake up?" Salem asked, looking into Emma's eyes.
Emma put an arm around the younger girl bringing her close to her. "Yea, I miss my family too, and I miss the Mama I had. Sometimes I think this is just a nightmare, but it's not." Emma said.
"I want the monsters to go away, *gasp* this can't be real. Monsters aren't real! Mama told me so!" Salem said, leaning into the older girl's hug.
"This is real Salem, I know it's really scary. I'm scared too. But you have to face the situation we're in. But don't worry, I will protect you. I will never let any of the monsters get close to you. I will keep you and the others safe, I promise." Emma told Salem, bring her other arm around her, putting her into a tight hug.
'I want to tell her the truth, that the outside world is full of monsters, that her Mama was nothing more than a lying caretaker who raised her like a lamb for the slaughter. But that will do more harm than good right now. Salem will figure it out soon, though, and when she does, I will be there.' Emma thought as she looked at the girl staring back at her, more tears starting to form in her eyes.
"*Sniff* *Sniff*... Ma-*hic*Ma. Mama! Waaaaaaa." Salem cried, burying her face into Emma's chest.
Emma continued the hug, slowly rubbing Salem's back, letting her cry it all out. She suddenly remembered a song Spencer would play to calm down children who were upset or get them ready for bed. While she didn't know how to play it on the piano, she knew how to hum it.
[Oracion from Rise of Darkrai but is Emma Humming it]
The soft hum of a lullaby filled the room. Those who were awake to hear it stopped what they were doing to listen to the melody.
A calm washed over the entire household, like a warm blanket wrapped around each person, filling them with calm and comfort after the stressful day.
Slowly, Salem's weeps began to fade as she listened to the song, drifting to a calm sleep.
Hearing the soft hum from the other room, Aubrey came into the living room to see what was going on, only to see Emma holding on to a little girl, slowly rocking back and forth as she hummed a soft lullaby. The scene before her reminded her of something from her past. Emma was replaced by a girl with long black hair holding onto a small boy with black hair as she hummed a lullaby.
"Ma-Mari?" Aubrey said in shock. Shaking her head and rubbing her eyes changed the scene back to reality, just as Emma's song came to an end.
Quietly, Aubrey approached the orange-haired girl and placed a hand on her shoulder, causing the younger girl to slowly look behind her to see who it was.
"Mari, I mean Emma. You should probably put that girl to bed and go to sleep yourself. Tomorrow, you will be training with some of the others to prepare for the hunt." Aubrey said quietly, trying to not wake up the sleeping girl.
"Right…" Emma said softly, slowly picking up the young girl into her arms. 'Did she just call me Mari? Who is that? Well, I can ask Kel tomorrow. He did mention that he, Aubrey, Basil, and Gillian came from the same house.' Emma thought as she lay the sleeping girl into an empty bed, tucking her in like she used to do with the young kids back at Grace Field.
Emma climbed into the empty bed next to Salem and thought about her day. 'Being dropped off in this hunting ground, meeting the others, meeting Lucas, hearing Mr. Minerva's message, all that data he gave us, and the plan to take down the poachers. So much has happened today, and I did it without Ray or the others. Spencer would be proud of me.' She thought as she fell asleep with a smile.
The following day, Emma woke up along with many of the other kids bright and early. She looked to her left to see Salem awake and looking around confused before she adopts a saddened face, remembering the past days' events.
Emma got up and walked to the young girl, sitting on the side of the bed.
"Good morning Salem, did you sleep well?" Emma asked.
"Good morning, Emma… yea, I slept fine, no bad dreams… I still want to go home, though…" Salem answered, still a little sad.
"I know, but for now, we have to live with what we have, now let's get dressed and ready for breakfast!" Emma said, standing up.
"Okay," Salem replied, getting up from the bed.
Emma was outfitted with new clothes, a red long sleeve shirt with a tan tactical jacket, and blue jeans. She rolled up the jacket's sleeves past her elbow to increase her movement capabilities with them.
Salem was given a clean white hoodie and a green skirt.
Breakfast went off without a hitch. People ate the fruit, scrambled eggs, and vegetables provided with no complaints. Most sat in groups and talked about their night.
Once breakfast was over, a group of kids were tasked with cleaning up. When Emma handed her plate and utensils to Basil, Kel walked up to the girl.
"Hey Emma, you ready for training!?" the boy said with excitement.
Caught a little off guard, she turned to face him with a bit of shock. 'I didn't even hear him approach…' she thought.
"Oh yeah, I'm ready. You're gonna help me with shooting and shooting while running, right?" Emma asked.
"Righty-O! Let's get going!" He said, grabbing her arm and bolting down the street.
Emma almost fell over by the sudden burst of speed but quickly regained her footing and was able to run. Kel let go of her as he sprinted to the forest edge.
When they got to the edge of the forest, Emma noticed Zack and Sonia waiting for them, along with lots of guns.
"Took you long enough. You left almost five minutes ago Kel, your slowing down." Zack taunted.
"Nope, first Oliver stopped me and told me the plan for today after we get Emma her choice in guns, then I had to wait for about a minute while Emma was in line at the drop-off. Then I slowed myself down so Emma could keep up." Kel explained.
"Whatever you say," Zack said with a smirk. Shrugging his shoulder.
Emma walked up to Sonia, holding a light rifle like the one Ray grabbed from the shelter.
"Here, Emma, try this. We have lots of ammo but try to use only a couple bullets a gun until you find one you like," Sonia said, handing the rifle to the younger girl.
"Right!" Emma answered.
"The target is right over there," Zack said, pointing to a tree with a target paper nailed on. "Try to shoot it from about thirty feet away," he said, pointing to a box filled with guns that were about thirty feet from the tree.
After about an hour of shooting, Emma found two guns to aim with near-perfect accuracy. A light rifle and a small machine gun. Shooting the gun one more time yielded a perfect bullseye.
"*whistle* Nice shot Emma!" Kel complimented. "Now it's my turn." He said, picking up a shoulder bag on the ground.
Emma looked on in confusion as the tan-skinned boy took out a right-hand leather glove. The glove had some shiny metal inside it, so it wasn't for punching, obviously. He then took out a baseball-sized metal ball with long metal spikes protruding from it.
Kel windup the left side of his body back and his left leg up into the air before throwing the ball at incredible speed. Emma couldn't even see the ball move through the air as it hit the bullseye of the target, a metal spike embedding itself deeply into the tree.
"*whistle* Nice shot me! Haha!" Kell laughed at his accomplishment.
Emma stood there stunned at what she just saw, walking up to the tree. She carefully pulled the ball out, almost dropping it at the shock of its weight.
'This must weigh at least a whole pound! And he threw it with enough force to embed it at least an inch into the tree! How strong is this guy!' Emma thought.
"Kel, what did I say about showing off?" The voice of Sonia said in a disapproving tone.
"I can't help it! It's fun seeing new friends in shock and awe at my awesomeness! Kel said, placing both arms on his waist.
With a sigh, Sonia walked towards them, Zack following quickly behind.
Zack reported, "We're done with our part of the preparations."
"What about you, Emma?" Sonia asked her.
"I think I can handle these two guns." Emma held them out.
"…" Emma looked uncomfortable. "You already know how to… kill them, right?"
"Yeah," Zack grinned slightly. "But they have no idea that we do."
"As far as they can tell, we're just small game running around helplessly," Sonia scowled. "And we'd made sure they'd think that way. We only fight in self-defense… Look only after yourself... and get as much information as possible no matter the cost."
Taking a breath, Sonia continued, "All this time, we've been preparing for our counterattack. And yes, we've lost some of our comrades in the pursuit of this goal. Lucas's experience and improvements are both earned. They're what we have left from our friends and families. From those he lost and those we did. It all comes down to this. We know how powerful our enemy is, but still, we will win." Sonia said, her eyes bright with fury.
"Righty-O. Though we can't underestimate them, 'specially that one guy, Archduke Leuvis." Zack pointed out.
"Do you know what happened to Lucas's group?" Sonia asked.
"He said they were slaughtered in one hunt by Leuvis," Emma replied. Sonia nodded.
"That's right, Lucas's best friend was chosen as their leader until they got here. He did an excellent job. They handled all their weapons with great efficiency. They were super strategic. They could've survived in this hunting park if it weren't for Leuvis." Sonia explained.
'Could Lucas's friend have been…' Emma thought, imagining Mister.
"Lucas and his friend caught Leuvis's attention for their skill and ability, so he targeted the rest of the group. Toying with them as he killed all of them. All to fan the flames of rage within Lucas and his friend. He wanted a battle where his life was on the line." Sonia said. "So over the weeks following the slaughter, he toyed with them, torturing other children right in front of them where they could do nothing. All to get a thrill out of the hunt."
"Out of all of them, he is without a doubt the most dangerous. A complete manic that is unpredictable." Zack explained.
"If our plan fails, it will be because of him," Kel said grimly.
'He… he killed them to make the game more fun?' Emma thought. 'And he saw through me too… and went after Theo's group. To fan the flames of rage?' She felt anger coursing through her body. 'Leuvis!'
"Let's get off this depressing topic and work on your shooting while moving, Emma," Kel said with a grin as if the past few minutes of discussion never happened.
"Oh uhh okay," Emma said, unsure of how he switched so fast from grim to happy.
For the next half an hour, Kel helped Emma learn to aim while moving or with a moving target. Using a log on a string tight to a tree, Kel simulated a moving enemy while Emma had to run and shoot the mark on the trunk.
As Emma ran, she slowed her breathing, trying to not move her upper body and keep the gun steady as she aimed. Taking the shot yielded another bullseye.
"Man Emma, you are one sharpshooter! You sure you never shot a gun before? Kel asked.
"No, never. I used a bow and arrow for the most part." Emma explained.
"Man Aubrey would be jealous. She was never one for guns, rather good at hitting things with her bat but not shooting," Kel said
With the mention of Aubrey, Emma remembered the question she wanted to ask from last night, sheepishly she looked up to Kel to ask. "Umm, Kel, can I ask you something about Aubrey?" She asked.
"Oh yeah, sure," Kel answered.
"Umm, last night, she called me Mari by accident. Who is that?" Emma asked.
Almost immediately, Kel's wide grin became somber. He looked down at Emma, seemingly thinking about how he would answer her.
"It's okay if you don't want to answer! I was just curious...:" Emma said, waving her hand in front of her.
"No, no. It's okay. I can see why she would call you that. You are a lot like Mari…" He said, walking to a tree and leaning his back onto it.
"Mari… was one of the older kids at our house. Like I said, Aubrey, Basil, Gillian, and I came from the same house. But our group wasn't just us. There were three others, a boy my age named Sunny, my older brother by blood Henry, or Hero as he liked to be called, and Sunnys older sister by blood Mari. Our caretaker told us that Hero and I had the same mother, and Sunny and Mari shared a mother as well." He said, remembering back to when he was ignorant of the world.
"The seven of us were thick as thieves. Always hanging out. Hero and Mari were the oldest, about three years older than me and Sunny, so they took the roles of leaders in our group. Sunny was very quiet and monotone. I can count on two hands when I saw him smile or cry. Hero was super chill and acted as a mediator of sorts, intervening when disputes happened and trying his best to keep things calm. Mari, on the other hand, was, like I said, very much like you. She was very caring for the young ones, providing help to those in need, overprotective and willing to do whatever it takes to make them happy, as well as teasing and joking around, trying to get anyone she could to laugh. Mari loved playing the piano. She even made a song called "By Your Side." Sunny wanted to be like her, so he started playing the violin to accompany her... Mari and Hero were closer than anyone I'd seen before, constantly teasing one another and holding hands. Mari often said that once they get adopted, she'd do everything in her power to find him and marry him." Kel said, smiling at the memories. Then his face fell, seemingly remembering something he didn't want to. "Then… the night before she left… something happened…"
Kel shook his head, regaining his composure and smile. "That's All I can say. I don't want to get depressed. You can ask Aubrey about what happened to the three of them. You better get to her for your strength testing. She should be at the fields. Let's go!. Kel said as he started running to the edge of the forest.
"Wait!" Emma shouted out, causing the boy to stop and look back. "I'm sorry for reminding you of something painful," Emma said sincerely.
"Don't worry about it. You're part of this team, and you deserve to know. Everyone else does!" Kel said as he started running again.
Emma jogged to the backpack Sonia left her to put the guns she chose to pick, thinking about Kel's explanation of his friends for his orphanage.
'What happened to Mari to make him so depressed, and why aren't Sunny and Hero here with them? well, I guess I'll ask Aubrey when I'm finished with her test.' She thought as she picked up the backpack and jogged to the field.
Aubrey was sitting on a large barrel when she got there, her bat leaning on the side.
"Sup, Emma?" The pinkette greeted.
"Just finished my target practice with Kel," Emma replied.
"Alright, first, I'm going to see how much you can lift while standing," Aubrey said while standing up from the barrel. "I have rocks of various weights, and it's your job to lift the heaviest you can. From there, we can find out how much you can help with building the traps. How much have you been able to lift in the past?" She Asked.
Emma nodded her head. "Okay. I can lift about a hundred pounds. I lifted two of my younger brothers, who each weighed about fifty pounds, and was able to sprint with them." Emma explained.
"Nice, that's a good place to start," Aubrey said.
Over the next hour, Emma lifted rocks of different weights until she couldn't, figuring out she could deadlift 175 pounds. When it was all said and done, Emma was on the ground out of exhaustion.
"Good job, for your age, you can lift a lot." Aubrey praised, handing the girl on the ground a bottle of water.
"*pant*... speaking of age…*huff*... how old are you?" Emma asked, taking the water and chugging it down.
"I'm fourteen, the same age as Kel, Basil is thirteen, and Gillian is fifteen," Aubrey said.
"Ohh… cool...so Kel told me about the place you guys grew up at," Emma said, causing Aubrey to stiffen.
"Is that so…" She replied. "Then, he told you about...them, about her?" She asked.
"Well, about what they were like, but not what happened to them… I can take a guess." Emma said.
"You would guess wrong… of course, he wouldn't tell you what happened. He hates talkin about it," Aubrey complained, sitting next to Emma.
"...sigh, FYI, this is not a happy story, and I get pissed sometimes when talking about it, so be warned. And don't try to back out now, I'm telling you." Aubrey continued,
Emma, who was about to say, "It's okay if you don't want to talk about it." Just sat there in silence, looking at the older girl next to her.
"It all began a day before Mari was to be sent to her "New home." Of course, now we know what that really meant. Everyone was outside after dinner, just hanging out until bedtime. Mari and Sunny were inside, practicing for the next day, where they would perform together before Mari left. Basil went inside to see if they were done. About five minutes later, Basil and Sunny came out saying Mari went to bed early. When I went to our room, I saw her in bed, not moving. I thought she was just asleep… I should have checked her…" Aubrey said, gripping the water bottle in her hand.
Emma sat in silence, allowing the older girl to take a breath before continuing.
"The next morning… I woke up to Hero screaming from downstairs… Kel, Gillian, Sunny, Basil, and I ran down as fast as we could. Mama was already there, frozen at the doorway with Hero sitting on the ground as he looked out to the tree next to our house… When... When we walked over to see… Ga Fuck" Aubrey swore, wiping her eyes as tears started to form.
"S-She-She was hanging… From a-a jump rope... by h-her neck… Her long hair draped around her…" She continued, tears streaming down her face.
Emma was speechless. She'd seen someone close to her die before with Conny. She had seen horrors and monsters that could kill her in seconds. When saying goodbye to Spencer and Norman, at least she didn't see their corpses. Part of her still believed Spencer was alive, though she would never tell anyone. Emma couldn't imagine a scene like Aubrey saw…
Shaking her head to get out of her stupor, Emma placed an arm around Aubrey in a gesture of comfort, trying to calm the crying girl down.
Aubrey's eyes slowly stopped producing tears and continued the story. "Mama told us to not let anyone else see, ushering us back inside while she tried to resuscitate her… it didn't work," Aubrey said. After taking a couple deep breaths to compose herself, she stopped looking down and looked out at the town.
"Mama didn't want the kids to know what happened, so she lied and said Mari had to leave late at night to her new family… It honestly freaked me how easily she lied to everyone, still smiling after seeing Mari hanging from a tree, and even more how fast she got rid of her body... Somehow we got through it, and the day went on like any other. The six of us went deep into the forest to grieve alone…" Aubrey explained.
Suddenly, the atmosphere around her changed from someone explaining a traumatic event to an angry person ranting. "Then, While we were all crying, Basil spoke up, saying he had to tell us something…"
Aubrey's hand clenched, and she ground her teeth. "He said that our home was nothing more than a farm for children to be raised to be eaten by monsters. At first, I thought it was a sick joke and was about to slap in when Sunny got in between us and took out some photos. Basil liked to take photos and had a camera; apparently, he took some pictures of one of our siblings, Rupert, getting stabbed in the heart by a flower, two monsters looming over him. It took a moment for us to realize he was telling the truth. He then said that he and Sunny tried to tell Mari last night, urging her to escape. She said he knew and had a plan for us to escape. She said the instructions were under her bed…"
After a moment, her figure relaxed, and she looked to Emma. "That's what they said... But it was all a lie. Not the monsters, but what happened to Mari… If you want to know what really happened, ask Basil…. I, I need to go and help Nigel make some traps. And don't apologize for making me remember something like that. You needed to know eventually." Aubrey said as she stood up and walked to the forest with her bat in hand.
Emma was speechless as Aubrey explained what happened; images of her looking into a hanging Spencer filled her head. 'If... if he did that, I don't know how I would react. She said it was a lie? But it kinda made sense, like how Ray was going to burn himself the night before his shipment… What happened to you guys?' She thought as she sat there, still absorbing the tragic events explained to her.
After several minutes, Emma heard a bell ringing from town, the lunch bell. She was starving, and since Basil was cleaning up, it gave her a chance to talk to him. Slowly she made her way to the center of town.
When Emma got there, most everyone was there enjoying some fruits and sandwiches. The forest was restocked with animals like rabbits and wild pigs once a month to have plenty of meat for food. Everyone seemed to be enjoying the food and company. Children were laughing, the older kids were discussing the progress with the jobs.
Emma got her food from Pepe and walked to Oliver and Nigel, discussing the various traps required to be finished by the end of the day.
"-But we still need to get the tree pendulum ready,*munch* we're gonna need Aubrey to help lift it up," Nigel said with a half-eaten apple in his hand.
"Okay good, what about the gun traps for Leuvis?" Oliver asked, holding on to a sandwich.
"Sorry to interrupt guys, do you mind if I sit with you?" Emma asked.
"Oh yea, no problem Emma. we could use some of your input." Nigel said. "To answer your question Oliver, we have about half of the guns all wired up. I guess they will be all ready to be loaded before dinner tonight." He answered.
"Good, and the arrow traps?" Oliver asked.
"Done, all they need to do is to be loaded and sprung," Nigel answered with a grin.
"Perfect. Emma, do you have any questions?" Oliver asked, looking at the girl.
Emma swallowed the sandwich in her mouth before answering." I had an idea for a surprise trap, something that doesn't need much set up." She said.
Oliver nodded, gesturing for the continuation of her idea.
"What if we use the electrical grid? If we can't keep him in one place, we could use a grenade or explosive to destroy the ground, then someone could use a rubber glove to pick it up and shock him. It should give us some moments to run or prepare the next trap," Emma explained.
"I like it," Nigel said, grinning. "But we would have to do it away from the base. We don't want to cut off power to the medical area," he said.
"Right, I will tell the others the contingency plan. Paralyzing him with electricity is a good backup. Excellent thinking, Emma." Oliver praised.
Emma smiled at the praise and nodded.
For the rest of their meal, the three went over the plan to take down leuvis once more and checking on the status of the traps and preparations.
After they finished, Emma walked to the cleaning station seeing Basil hard at work.
"Hey Basil, do you mind if I help? I don't have anything to do for the next two hours?" Emma asked.
"Ohh. uhh, S-sure Emma, Thank you." The shy boy replied.
For the next few Minutes, Emma helped the overall-wearing boy clean the dishes the children brought to them. Soon the number of kids in the plaza dwindled to just the two of them finishing up the last of the dishes.
Once done, Emma gained enough courage to finally ask the boy the burning question.
"Hey, uhh, Basil? Can I ask you something?" Emma asked.
The boy with the flower hair clip looked at the girl with a smile. "Of course, Emma, what is it?"
"Well, I don't want to pressure you into it or anything, but I was talking to Kel and Aubrey about your orphanage…" At the mention of his two friends and home, the blonde boy stiffened.
"Ahh, I see, so you want to know what really happened? Kel never liked to talk about the incident, and Aubrey gets mad when she talks about what I did. I mean what Sunny and I did…" The boy said, looking down and poking his pointer figures together. Basil then walked to one of the steps of the nearest house and sat down.
"It's not a happy story… but I've accepted what I did, and everyone else knows, so you should too…" He said with a sigh.
Emma walks up and sits next to him. For a moment, neither of them said anything, then Basil broke the silence.
"I went inside to see if Mari and Sunny were done with practicing their instruments, Mari played the piano, and Sunny played the violin. I was approaching the stairs, and I heard yelling from both Mari and Sunny. Sunny had never yelled in all the eight years I knew him, so I was shocked. I seemed to have arrived nearing the end of the conversation." Basil said, rubbing his knees.
"Sunny was saying that she was going to die if she went with Mama. Mari said he would die if she escaped. They were saying how they couldn't let the other one die. Then Sunny said he would take care of Mama so Mari wouldn't leave…" the boy explained.
Emma understood the implications of "take care of Mama."
"I peeked into the stairwell to see Sunny trying to go downstairs, then Mari jumped in front of him saying she wouldn't let him…" Basil stopped for a moment and took a deep breath.
"T-then she fell… I… I don't know how it happened. Did Sunny push her? Did she trip? She had a bad knee ever since she broke it when she was eight, so it was possible… all I saw was...Something...behind her. Not Sunny, just, Something…" Basil explained, trying really hard to find the words.
"When she finally stopped tumbling, at the bottom of the stairs, she… she just stopped. She stopped moving." Basil's eyes started to water as he explained the scene. "There was a moment where no one moved. Sunny was at the top of the stairs, just looking down at her. He looked scared, angry, sad, confused. So many emotions… I just was still trying to process what had happened."
Emma was shocked at what the boy was telling her; even though it was clearly only half the story, she was still in shock at what happened.
"... Sunny came downstairs and started shaking her and calling her. Trying... Trying to wake her up. But she wouldn't. She was just… motionless, not breathing or moving. That's when it hit me. What had just happened? I don't know why it was the first thing that came to mind, but all I could think was, "how do I keep Sunny from getting in trouble?" I thought that if Mama figured out what happened, she'd ship Sunny instead of Mari. So I went up to him and grabbed his shoulders. I told him, "everything is going to be okay," and I told him to help me get Mari into her bed." Basil explained, his face now wet with tears.
"I told him I'd wake him up later at night to do the next part of my plan. We went outside and told everyone Mari went to bed… then, after everyone was asleep, I woke up Sunny, and we took Mari's body outside." He said, starting to shake.
At this point, Emma knew what they did. Many thoughts flew through her head as the pieces finally came together to the mystery behind Mari's death. She was saddened that her new friends went through such an ordeal. She was angry that Basil and Sunny would hide was happened to flee from the responsibility. She was confused as to what really happened between Mari and Sunny. However, Basil wasn't done.
"As I prepared her body, Sunny tied the jump rope, and then. Then we wrapped it around her neck… and hoisted her up. Tithing the rope to the tree." Tears fell more and more. "I took Sunny's hand and walked back inside, and before we closed the door, we took one last look at her… I *gasp* we saw *hic* saw an ey-eye staring back *Sniff* staring back at us. Through her hair. *hic*...*hic* she woke up *gasp*, after all, that time,*whimper* just to watch us looking back at her hanging body…" the boy was barely coherent. The depiction of the scene is too much for him.
Emma was stunned. She figured that's what the boys did, but to have Mari staring back at them? That was a whole new level of haunting.
"I'm *hic*, sorry you have to *sniff* see me like this *hic* I understand if you don't want to be friends... I'm a murderer, after all. No different than the monsters… even worse…" Basil said, burying his face in his arms.
Emma suddenly wrapped her arms around the older boy, hugging him tightly.
"No… I'm sorry, I was too curious and ended up hurting you, Aubrey, and Kel…" Emma said softly, trying her best to hold back the tears in her eyes. Even if she only knew these people for a day, they were dear friends, and she hurt them.
"You shouldn't be sorry for something like me…" Basil replied.
"Stop that!" Emma exclaimed, tightening her hug. "you are not a thing. You are human. Humans make mistakes… sometimes traumatic mistakes… you and Sunny were just kids, kids who learned the truth and were scared. What happened to Mari was an accident, an accident that turned into a tragic mistake." she said.
"..." Basil remained quiet, not believing her answer.
"You know, Aubrey called me Mari last night, and Kel says I'm a lot like her, so you know what I would say if I were Mari and I could talk to you and Sunny? I'd say I forgive you." Emma said to the boy.
Basil looked at her in shock. His eyes stopped producing tears.
"If one of my siblings did what you and Sunny did, I would be sad, but not cuz I died, but cuz I couldn't be there for you, cuz such an event would be incredibly traumatic. You must have suffered for so long. Even after your friends forgave you, you still haven't forgiven yourself… I know it's hard, you may think it's impossible, but it's not." Emma said she released Basil from the hug, grabbed his shoulders, and moved him to look at her. "A close friend of mine used to say, "The impossible is possible. All you have to do is make it so." I'm not saying it will be instantaneous, but forgiving yourself is the first step to living and not surviving. And that's what I strive for, for everyone of us farm children to live. I forgive you, Basil."
Basil was stunned. The others said they forgave him, but he didn't believe them. How could he? He killed one of the most important people in their lives. How could he forgive himself for killing his big sister figure? But Emma, who was so much like Mari, forgave him almost instantly, not because she didn't know Mari, but because she believed in him.
Basil gave a soft smile. The reassurance, the sincerity, and forgiveness radiating from Emma filled his entire being with hope. Maybe there was a chance he could be forgiven…
"Thank you, Emma, thank you so much," Basil said.
"No problem! That's enough crying for now. We still have a lot to do before the next hunt. I'm going to help Gillian get the supplies ready. If you need me, I'll be there." Emma said, standing up and offering a hand to the boy with the flower hair clip.
Basil accepted her hand and stood up, "Thanks, I would love to go, but I'm helping Zack with the medical supplies. We will definitely need them for the hunt."
"Cool, see you later, Basil!" Emma said, running to the forest, where Gillian and Sonia were getting up the fireworks.
The boy just stood there and waved at the energetic girl, 'She really is like Mari…' Basil thought.
Emma was quick to arrive at the forest edge, where Gillian carefully loaded the fireworks into a wheelbarrow.
"Gillian! Sorry I'm late! I was talking to Basil." Emma shouted as she quickly arrived next to the older girl.
"No problem, Emma! We still have more supplies to move around. Could you walk with the wheelbarrow?" Gillian asked.
"Sure!" Emma replied.
Emma walked up to the wheelbarrow and started to steer it towards the direction Gillian walked.
Emma and Gillian slowly walked through the forest in silence. Then Emma remembered that Gillian came from the same house as Aubrey, Kel, and Basil.
"Hey, Gillian?" Emma asked.
"Hmm?" Gillian sounded as she looked at the younger girl.
"I've been talking to Kel, Aubrey, and Basil about where you grew up and about what happened there… I know what really happened, but none of them talked about how everyone reacted to both the event and the truth… I was wondering if you could tell me?" Emma asked, in her head, she was cursing herself, 'why do I keep digging? Why am I allowing my friends to re-live such a painful memory?' She thought.
"..." Gillian remained silent, turning to Emma; she took a deep breath and spoke.
"After Basil and Sunny told us the truth of the farm… Basil and I tried to find a way to escape, finding Mari's plan and slowly getting the supplies; however, everyone else seemed complacent with the situation. Sunny shut himself in. He never left the house until the day he was shipped out, barely leaving his room, only eating, going to the bathroom, and taking the test. Basil tried his hardest to get through to him, but Sunny just gave up. Hero was much the same, except he was a lot more visibly depressed. He blamed himself for not knowing the truth sooner and helping Mari. he was shipped a month later, and he was somehow happy… I guess he was glad he would see Mari again. That boy did truly love her." Gillian explained.
The two continued to stroll as Gillian explained. Emma was wondering why Hero was so complacent with his death, 'did he want to die? When Spencer and Norman left, all I could think about was how to survive…' Emma thought.
"Basil didn't change much outwardly, I guess. He became a lot more isolophobic, fearing being alone, and would become a little unhinged if someone left him alone. It wasn't until later did I find out how internally he was tortured. Aubrey changed a lot. She got angry easily and would lash out. She kinda became a bully. She stopped hanging out with the rest of us and made a new group of friends who would harass the others if they "Stepped up on their turf," as they put it. Kel… kinda just pushed through it. He was sad but eventually smiled through the pain. And I, well, I went through all the stages of grief, denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. However, once we started getting shipped, that changed. First was Hero, then Sunny, then Basil, Then me, then Aubrey, and Kel. Basil, Aubrey, Kel, and I ended up here, but Hero and Sunny never arrived… We don't know where they are, but I still have hope." Gillian said, slowly stopping in place as her fists clenched.
Emma stopped with her, putting the wheelbarrow down and approaching her.
"The first hunt where we were all together nearly killed us. We ran from Luce, Basil tripped and fell, and looked at the oncoming demons. He didn't move. At the time, I thought it was just his fear, then I noticed the smile on his face...he was happy to die. Kel threw a flash bang and grabbed him, we got away, somehow. When it was all finally over, Aubrey started yelling at Basil, asking why he gave up and why he was so eager to die. Basil broke down. He started apologizing profusely, saying it was all his fault. We were confused and asked him to clarify…" Tears started to fall as she paused.
Emma placed a hand on her shoulder, trying to calm her down. Gillian started to take deep breaths and calmed down.
"Basil then confessed. He told us what really happened that night and what he and Sunny did to Mari. We were stunned. in a world where monsters hunt and eat humans. It never occurred to us that a human could die by another human's hand. There was a moment of silence before Aubrey made the first move. She picked him up and then punched him in the face, which broke me out of the stupor, and I rushed to Basil, but Aubrey was faster. However, instead of hitting him again, she hugged him. She started calling him an idiot for not telling us sooner. Kel joined in the hug, saying that it was all an accident and that Basil must have been suffering so much in his head, all alone. I then joined in. I said I forgive him and Sunny, that we should be apologizing to him for not being there for him when he needed us most. We all just hugged and cried for a few hours." Gillian explained.
Emma rubbed her arm in a calming manner, trying to let Gillian feel comfortable.
"We then told the rest of the group what happened. Some accepted it, some forgave him, and some avoided him. But overall, it was good, since then, we have gotten a lot closer, and Basil looks a lot better. My only wish is that Hero and Sunny could be here with us, so we can heal and be together again." Gillian said with a sad smile.
Emma moved in for a hug, trying to comfort the older girl. Gillian accepted the hug and started to feel a warmth inside her as if all the pain and sadness faded away.
"Thank you for listening to me Emma, I feel better now that you know as well," Gillian said with a genuine smile.
"No, thank you, and I'm sorry. I now know more about you and the others. I will help you heal more, I promise. I'm sorry you had to remember such pain. Can you forgive me?" Emma asked.
"Of course, Emma! You did nothing wrong. You just wanted to get to know us better. Nothing wrong with that!" Gillian replied. "Well, we should get to Sonia and finish the fireworks, then I have to go make dinner."
"Right!" Emma replied.
The two hurried to the location with the fireworks. Sonia was there setting up the area the fireworks would go.
After an hour of preparation, the distraction was ready. Now, all that needs to happen is for the activation button to be pressed.
Emma and the two other girls walked to the town to prepare dinner with Pepe, making soup and bread for everyone.
When it was all done, the dinner bell rang, signaling everyone to return.
"Come on, everyone! Dinners ready!" Gillian announced, holding a box of silverware.
The soup and bread were handed out with smiles all around. It reminded Emma of dinner back at Grace Field. Emma got two servings and walked down an alley where a familiar figure sat. It was Theo.
"Let's eat together, Theo!" Emma said, causing the boy to turn to see her.
"Emma…" The boy said softly.
As Emma handed the boy one of the bowls, she sat down next to him.
"You manage to get to sleep last night?" Emma asked.
"...kinda." the boy replied slowly.
'He hasn't changed clothes…' Emma observed.
"Aubrey came to visit me last night… she was… aggressive." The boy explained.
Theo then told Emma what Aubrey said to him. That he should quit his whining and eat, change clothes, and sleep.
The way Aubrey aggressively talked to Theo made Emma a little worried, but that vanished when Theo told her Aubrey apologized for wanting to leave him and his family for dead. He said that Aubrey promised to avenge them and kill the monsters.
"That's when I realized it's not just me. Everyone's like me. Everyone lost someone close to them. They all have feelings of anger, regret, and sadness." Theo said, holding onto his slice of bread.
Theos hands started to shake as he continued.
"I'm-I'm just so angry! Cause of Monica and Jake! Cause I got the ax and couldn't do anything! Cause that monster was laughing at them!" Theo said, tears starting to fall.
"We can do this. I want it to be over. I want to end this nightmare. I'm scared, but no matter how scary the enemy is, even if we're so tiny compared to them, even if they trample over us and throw us into hell. We will rise. We will overcome anything in our way! Humanity isn't weak!" Emma said, looking into Theos eyes.
"I'm not pulling your leg here. We're going to end this next hunt, and then it'll all be over." Emma continued.
"The next hunt…" Theo repeated.
"Right, That's why you have to eat and rest, so you have the strength you need!" Emma said, smiling.
Theo looked down at his food and took a large bite out of his bread.
Over the next half an hour, Emma and Theo ate in silence. Emma tried her best to give him feelings of security and hope.
Then Oliver stood up and cleared his throat.
"Hahem. Everyone! Please listen. We have a plan!" He announced.
But before he could explain, a distorted sound came from the megaphone around town. The same disturbing music filled the town, filling everyone with dread.
"No… no way! The music?!" Oliver said in disbelief.
"Why is this happening! It's only been one day!" Basil said in fear.
Some of the younger children started to panic, hyperventilating, and screaming.
'This is bad. It's way too soon! Our preparations are basically finished, but we haven't confirmed the final strategy or even practiced what now? What should we do?' Oliver thought, trying to find a way to proceed.
Out of instinct, Oliver exclaims. "Don't be scared, everyone! It's all right! We'll be fine. Calm down, calm down my friends, yes they've come a bit early, but we're ready! Let's follow the plan and end this tonight!" He announced in a solid and calming voice.
'It's the real deal. I need to pull myself together.' Oliver thought.
"Don't worry, we are as prepared as we can get. I want you to imagine it with me, okay? By this time tomorrow, we will all be free! We will be able to escape and go somewhere truly safe!" Oliver continued. By this point, all the panicking stopped to listen to him.
"Our freedom is within our grasp! A day before we thought! Sounds great, right?" Oliver said with a smile.
The kids started to smile with him, wiping their tears and calming down.
"This playground of nightmares ends today! Humankind will win. All we have to do is stay sharp and stay calm!" He yelled. "This is it! Everyone get into your units, get your weapons, and assume positions!" Oliver ordered.
In an instant, everyone began their sprint, getting into their groups and getting ready for the final hunt.
Chapter 11 ends.
Holy shit, lots of work went into this one. Trying to present the OMORI story in the Promised Neverland Universe was difficult. I hope I got the character interactions and emotions correct. How did you like it? So the next chapter will be the final hunt, and then we begin my OG Arc. AS I'VE SAID BEFORE, the OG arc will take much longer, but I have an outline of what I want and have made the OC characters in it.
Stay healthy and stay safe.