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Chapter Text

RING…RING…RING

            I woke up to Plant Three's wake-up bell ringing in my ears and leaves and tree branches brushing my face. The date was October twelfth, 2045. Like a small squirrel, I scurried down from my place in the trees near the solid concrete wall that kept the merchandise from escaping. I walked through the forest to the blackberry bushes to restock my rations for the week to come, then to the river to get water. I stared at my wavering reflection on the clear rippling surface. My messy strawberry blonde hair and tired sea-green eyes gave away the fact that I had not been living in great conditions for quite a while. The tattoo across my neck, number 7714, showed that I had once been raised here as well, at Plant Two, just to be food, just merchandise for wealthy demons. My once-white collared shirt was dirt and blood-stained from my struggle to hide away before I was shipped out. I put my hand up to my left ear, where a scar was barely healing from where my tracker was cut out and thrown into the cliff behind the wall. Splashing some cold water on my face, I washed away the memories and continued with my daily routine. Collect any food possible for the week, refill my handmade water basins, and stock up on tree branches and twigs to make tools and traps.

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                                                            Ring…Ring…Ring

            I looked up. That was the lunch bell. The children would be going outside soon. I had to hurry. I rushed back to my hiding spot as quickly as possible and began hiding any evidence that I had been living there. I climbed up into the sturdy branches right as the kids went outside. As usual, I watched as they played tag against Norman. As usual, he got everyone out within the first five minutes of the game. I counted all of the kids he had tagged, one was missing. Emma. Norman trailed after Emma. The two of them were getting closer and closer to the fence. I watched them both from my perch up in the trees. Emma ran up to the tree I was in and began to climb. I climbed higher as quietly as I could and watched as Norman slowed to a walk down below.

He looked around, but then tripped on a loose stone and fell to the ground. Emma leaped down to go help.

"Norman!" she yelped as she kneeled beside him.

            "Just pretending," he sat up and smiled at her, "You're too nice Emma, that’s why I caught you."

            "Aw, man!" Emma cried as Norman patted her shoulder.

            I waited until they had left to go meet the others, then slid down the tree and headed towards the fence.

Back at the House

            "Norman!"

            "Hm?"

            Don was shouting from across the field. "Rematch! This time everyone will be 'it' but you!"

            "Calm down!" Emma yelled. Gilda and Anna shuddered.

            "Don's getting riled up again," said Gilda.

            "Yeah it's kind of scary," Anna replied.

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            I watched in silence as kids wandered throughout the forest looking for Norman. I shook my head and stared at the fence. It was low to the ground, maybe two feet high. It was supposedly keeping danger out, but I always wondered what it was protecting us from when I was younger.

            There was rustling in the undergrowth behind me. I dashed to the side and hid behind some bushes as Norman walked up to the knee-high fence. Emma arrived soon after.

            "'Never go near the gate or fence because it's dangerous','' Emma said behind Norman.

            "She says that but it's obviously a lie," Ray said, "I mean, what part of this is dangerous? It's two feet high and seems flimsy enough to snap in half."

            "Oh, Ray, where'd you come from?" Norman asked.

            "I followed Emma."

            I listened to their conversation. These were the oldest children in the House, all age eleven. I wondered if they knew the secret. I took a step towards the three, but in my carelessness, stepped on a dry twig. A sharp crack echoed into the air.

            "Is someone there?"

            "It's probably just the wind," Ray told Norman, "Anyways, we have to go. Mom will be getting worried."

            I waited until all three kids walked away, then crept out from my spot in the bushes. I headed back towards my tree. I yelped in surprise as I saw three confused faces blocking my way.

            "Who are you?" the three said in unison.

            “I- I- uh,” I stuttered nervously trying to think of a plausible excuse.

            "Why do you have only four numbers?" Emma asked.

            "Why are you hiding in the forest?" Norman questioned.

            "How old are you?" Ray inquired.

            I sighed. There was no getting away from them now. I plopped down onto the soft grass.

"I have four numbers because I'm from a different Plant, err, House. I'm hiding here because I escaped." Ray's eyes narrowed and I turned to face him, "To answer your question, I'm almost thirteen. The oldest product from any House to ever survive." I muttered the last part under my breath so they wouldn’t hear.

            "Guys. We gotta go. Mom's calling everyone back." Ray said to Emma and Norman, "I'll follow you back to your hiding spot."

            As Emma and Norman headed back to the House I heard Emma whisper.

"I didn’t know there were other Houses like ours. I wonder what it's like."

            "I don’t know, Emma."

            Ray and I walked side by side back to the tree near the wall. "So you know the secret?" he asked.

            I nodded, "Do they know yet?"

            He shook his head, "No, but I've made arrangements for them to find out tonight. One of our siblings is getting shipped out."

            "Can't have an omelet without breaking a few eggs."

            He stopped walking and smirked, "How long have you known?"

            "I pieced some of it together on my own, then my caretaker told me I was getting 'adopted' and the rest fell into place. What about you?"

            "Since I was little," he replied, "Anyways, I have to go or else mom will know something's up."

            "Good luck."

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            That night, Ray came to the tree with something wrapped in a white cloth. I climbed down and we sat beside the river. He unwrapped the parcel and handed me a small roll of bread. We ate in silence.

            "Emma and Norman know now."

            "Are they going to escape?"

            "I think so. I have a few plans in mind," he stood up, "Would you come with us?"

            I joined him, "Of course! I've wanted out of this hellhole from the very start."

            He smiled, "Same here. I'll talk to Norman about it. We have to come up with a way to get over the wall."

            "Already on it. I've been collecting branches and reeds to make a ladder. That just leaves the cliff to deal with."

            "What cliff?" he asked.

            "There's a cliff on the other side of the wall. I tried to escape already. Why do you think I've been hiding away in another plant?" I explained.

            He nodded in understanding, "Meet Emma, and Norman beside the fence during our free time tomorrow. They said they'll be discussing plans."

            "Do they know that you know?"

            "Nah, they keep avoiding me to talk but I listen in occasionally," he glanced up, "I think I see mom coming back from the gate. I should go." He helped me up.

            "Thanks for the food, is it that obvious that I don’t get much?"

            "I just figured that there isn’t much to find around here. Anyway, you're welcome." He began to walk towards the house, but then he turned back to me. "I just realized; I don’t even know your name."

            "It's Kai."

            "Well then, I'll see you tomorrow Kai."

            "See you tomorrow."

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            The next day I went to meet up with Emma and Norman. I brought some of my drawings of the wall, plans to get across, and what lay beyond. Emma and Norman were already at the fence sketching a map of the House. As I came closer, they looked up to greet me.

            "Oh! Hey Kai."

            "Hello, Kai."

            Ray must've told them my name, I thought. "Hey, Emma. Hey Norman," I paused, "So what're you planning so far?"

            "We were seeing which way to escape would be safer, over the wall or through the gate."

            "I think the wall." I said, "There are no guards and it's the least patrolled area. The gate's only open during shipping and when it is-"

            "Those demons are there." Norman finished my sentence.

            "Yeah."

            Emma spoke up, "I've been thinking," she paced back and forth, "We should tell Ray. He'd probably be really helpful and he'd probably react calmly."

            "I was thinking that too," added Norman, "But let me talk to him Em-"

            "Talk to me about what?"

            The three of us spun around to see Ray step over the fence.

            "Yo," he waved a hand in greeting, "What's going on here? A secret meeting?"

            I looked at him in confusion. He was the one who told me to be here. That's right, he said that they didn’t know that he knew, I thought.

            He walked over behind us, "Tell me what?" He locked his arms around Norman and Emma's heads. "You know don’t you?!" he sneered, "You said you didn’t make it to Conny in time, yet neither of you was holding little bunny when you came back!" he tightened his grip, but not enough to hurt the two of them.

            "EEP!" Emma yelped from Ray's grasp, "You're perceptive!"

            "So I assume there's an escape plan in play?" he released Emma and Norman, "We need to narrow it down to those who can make it-"

            "No." Emma spoke softly but firmly.

            "But Emma they'll hold us back-"

            "I said no Ray! I won't have any more of our siblings die!"

            "Emma," I tapped her shoulder, "Let's let Norman and Ray talk for a minute."

As Emma and I walked away, Norman and Ray conversed.

"She's being reckless. If we try to take everyone, most of them won't make it! You need to talk some sense into her."

            "No, Ray."

            "But it's like trying to build a boat out of mud! You and all the others will die! I can't lose you guys. Not after watching so many of our siblings die."

            Norman grinned softly, "But we won't die. You see, I do want to build a boat out of mud. It might be insane, but if you bake mud it'll become a vessel. So a boat of mud wouldn't necessarily always sink."

            "It is insane. And what if Emma dies because of it?"

            Norman looked away, "You didn’t see the way she was crying," he paused, "I was scared of dying, but Emma was crying because she was scared to lose her family."

            Ray scoffed, "You're both insane,"

            “Maybe I am insane. We both are. Emma and I have completely lost it.” Norman paused and lowered his voice. “So you can’t let us do it alone can you?”

            Ray scoffed, “You jerk. What kind of friend would I be if I did?”

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            Emma and I walked through the forest and made small talk, which was not my specialty.

"So what's it like at your house?" I asked, trying to spark a conversation.

            "It was hard to believe that anything might be wrong. I would have never guessed." Emma replied solemnly.

            "I'm sorry you had to find out."

            "Don't be. I'm kinda glad I found out! Now we can come up with a way to get everyone out of here. Everyone." She spoke confidently.

            We walked back to join the boys. Like before, Ray walked me back to the wall. We chatted for a bit, then he left to go back to the House.

The next day

            "Kai," a voice spoke softly from below. I woke up with a jump; worried that I'd been caught.

            "Don't worry it's just me." I looked down and saw Ray with another package wrapped in white cloth. "I brought you some breakfast."

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            We sat down at our usual spot next to the river. This time he had brought some fresh fruit and the bread from last time. My muddy brown boots sat beside me on the grass as I dangled my feet in the cold water.

            "So what would you be doing if you were outside the farm?" I asked him.

            "Hm. I don't know. I guess I'd try to just survive. What about you?"

            I stared up at the clouds. "I'd want to really live."

            He laughed, "Wow that’s great~," he said sarcastically.

            I smacked the top of his head lightly. "Great sarcasm. I'm serious though! I want to be able to live without worrying about what's going to happen next."

            "Hey!" he shrunk away from my hand, "That hurt!"

            "Oh I'm sorry," I said as I rolled my eyes and jokingly pushed him off of the bank into the water below.

            He sank below the surface and didn’t come back up. Shock sunk in. I realized that in living at the House, he had probably never learned to swim.

"Ray!?" There was no answer. I leaped down into the cold river and swam below the surface, trying to find him. Suddenly, I was flung up out of the water then pushed back below the surface. I swam up and looked behind me. Ray was laughing. He smiled at me brightly before splashing a wave of water towards me. I swam over to him and dunked him slightly underwater.

            "Alright! Alright! Enough!" he shouted, "You'll catch a cold!" he climbed out of the water and held out his hand to help me up.

            We sat in the bright sunshine to dry off.

            "Hey… Kai?"

            "Hm?"

            "I have to tell you something. You might not like it." He grasped my hand, "I've been working as an informant for mom."

            I stared at him blankly, "What? What do you mean?"

            "I've been giving mom tips about our escape while also trying to gain info from the inside. I've found out where the trackers are and how to disable them, but mom knows about the escape. Mom hired a woman named Sister Krone, and she's been a valuable source of information," he grasped my twitching hand, "Kai? Kai, please say something."

            "So you've been a traitor this whole time? Reporting our every move to escape this awful place? What about me? Does your caretaker know about me?" I asked shakily.

            "No I haven’t told her and I don’t plan on it," he replied.

            "And Emma and Norman? What about them? Do they know you’ve been going behind their back this entire time?!"

            "They don’t know either. Norman is close to finding it out,"

            "Well good for him!" I stood up, "He'll figure out you’ve been lying this whole time! Then so will Emma and then where will you be?"

            "Kai-"

            "No! I trusted you and you lied to me! You wanna know where you'll be? You'll be on a dinner plate being eaten by filthy demons!!" I spat viciously.

            "Kai, please! I did this so that Emma, Norman, and you can all escape safely!" he pleaded.

            "Good choice in leaving yourself out of that sentence."

            "What?"

            "As if we'd ever want a snake like you helping us all leave," I turned around and trekked back to my place in the woods.

At Grace Field House

            "Hey, Ray. Good morning!" Emma said enthusiastically.

            "Yeah…" Ray trailed. He skulked away toward the kitchen.

            Norman walked over to Emma, "What's that about? I've never seen him so depressed."

            "I wonder if something happened between him and Kai. I saw him headed back from the forest early this morning."

            "Let's talk with Kai today. Maybe we can ask her what happened."

            "You go, Emma. I have to take care of the fact that there might be a traitor."

            "What?! You didn't mention that!" Emma looked shocked.

            "Well think about it. There has to be someone on the inside. Someone giving mom tips so that she can always keep us controlled."

            "Someone among the kids?"

            "Most likely," he paused, "You go meet up with Kai. Leave all of this to me." Norman had planned to make a couple of separate fake ropes, and hid them in two different places around the House. He began the test by telling Don and Gilda where each rope was hidden, then checking to see which one would be gone afterwards.

Back in the forest

Later that day

            "Kai?"  There was a voice calling from below. It was Emma. She had a concerned look on her face and was fiddling with the buttons on her white shirt.

            "What's up Emma?" I asked.

            "Did something happen between you and Ray? I know he went to see you this morning, but he came back looking really sad."

            I climbed down to join her below the tree, "We had, a bit of a fight. It's okay though. Don't worry about it," I gave her the best smile I had, "I was wondering, could I join you all for tag this time?"

            "Sure!" she smiled back, "I should get going. Norman wanted to talk."

            "Alright, I'll meet you at the entrance to the forest."

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            "It's you, isn’t it Ray? You're the traitor."

            Norman and Ray had been sitting in the library talking about the aftermath of the traps set for the traitor.             

            Ray looked at his shoes. He chuckled softly.

            “What do you mean Norman? I’ve been working with you for the escape this whole time.”

            Norman sighed. “You’ve realized it now haven’t you.” he slowly raised a hand and held up three fingers. “I set a trap for three people.”

            Ray dropped his expression.

            “I told Gilda the rope was in the ceiling of the second floor bathroom, and I told Don that it was behind my bed. At least, that’s what I told you. I actually told Gilda that it was in the dining room. And I told Don, the library.”

            Ray made no movement from his stance near the closed door.

            “What about the other two locations? Should we go check them now?” he prompted.

            Ray slowly lumbered over and sat down on one of the neatly made beds. He chuckled softly. "Oh darn and I thought I was doing so well," He looked up with a scary smile, "and so what? What are you going to do Norman? I'm a valuable asset. I can get info from mom."

            "Let's make a deal."

            "Hm? Gonna use me as the ace up your sleeve huh?" he lowered his voice into a more menacing and serious tone, "What do you want?"

            "Three things," Norman held up a hand and counted, "One. Gather intel from mom to help us escape. Two. I want you to share all the info you have. Three, flip to our side. And become a spy for my team instead.” Norman smirked, “Isn't it great Ray? You get to hide the mistake you made."

            Ray looked away at the last sentence, "And if I refuse your little 'deal'?"

            Norman stepped closer to Ray, "You don’t get a choice."

            "Whatever," he shrugged and looked at the floor, "Anyway, I've done all I've needed to do for you, Emma, and Kai to escape," he handed Norman a small rectangular tin with two bits of metal on one end.

            "What's this?"

            "It's to disable your tracker. Hold the end up to your ear and press the button on the side."

            "Shouldn't you hold onto it?"

            "Just take it." And with that, Ray left the room.

Norman sat in silence for a moment. He looked over at Ray's neatly made bed. His nightstand was pulled away from the wall by a few inches. "That's odd," he whispered to himself.          

            He walked over and peered behind the desk. The floorboards were pulled up to reveal a secret hiding spot. "Ray, you-"  

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            I met Emma at the entrance to the forest. I smiled and laughed, but inside I was dreading the fact that I'd have to face Ray.

            "So when does the game start?" I asked.

            "Soon I think. Norman had to talk to Ray for a bit," she looked nervous suddenly, "I think I know what happened between you and Ray."

            I sighed.

            "He told you he had been working for mom didn’t he?"

            I fiddled with the cuffs of my shirt, "Yeah. I got mad at him and said a lot of bad things. I guess I was just so angry that he had been going behind our backs."

            "Kai, Norman talked to me a little bit ago. I think Ray is planning to stay here."

            "What? How come?"

            Emma looked down at her shoes, "Norman found a box of lighter fuel under the floorboards behind Ray's bed. He also had pointed out that Ray kept saying he was mom's spy to make it easier for us to escape, yet he never included himself in the numbers."

            "He's- st- staying behind?"

            "There's something else," tears welled up in her eyes, "Norman's getting shipped out tonight."

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            "Goodbye, everyone." Norman was waving to everyone with a smile.

            Ray looked over at Emma. Emma walked over to Norman to exchange goodbyes.

            "Smile Emma," Norman said, "I want to leave having you seeing me off with a smile."

            "Norman,"

            Norman moved closer to Emma and gently put his hand to her face. He hugged her tightly.

"Go out the side entrance and wait for Ray and I," he whispered in her ear, "If you don’t see us within five minutes, run to the wall." He turned to Isabella.

            "Ready to go, Norman?"

            The doors closed with a creak as Norman left. Emma turned to Ray. He nodded and turned in the direction of the library. Emma sighed. It was time to get the rest of the kids.

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            I snuck quickly through the darkness up to the House. It was quiet. I slipped through the side entrance and looked for Ray. I heard voices near the front so I stayed put until they died down. Footsteps echoed down the hallway as Ray walked into a room and shut the door. I crept toward the room and entered silently.

            It was dark. Moonlight filtered into the room through a multicolored stained-glass window and the smell of old books and rotted wood was almost overwhelming. I saw Ray pick up a box and place it on a desk. Then, he grabbed a chair and sat down with a book. I watched him as he finished the last page. I watched as he got up from his seat. I watched as he reached inside the box. I watched him uncap the tin container.

            "Lighter fuel? What are you, a pyromaniac or something?" I said as I finally stepped out of the shadows.

            He jumped at my voice. "Kai?! You shouldn’t be here! What if mom catches you?"

            "Don't play dumb. I know what you're planning. Emma told me everything." I walked closer to the table, "So why? Why would you sacrifice yourself?"

            "It's a necessary distraction so you, Emma, and Norman could've escaped!"

            "Why aren’t you in that sentence?"

            He hesitated, flustered by my question, "You said," he paused, "You said you didn’t want a snake like me helping you escape. Well, here I am! Dying so you can live. You won't have to worry about me any longer." A lonely tear traced a line down his face.

            I scowled and walked over to him, "I won't not worry about you Ray! Ever since I first saw you in the forest, I've liked you. A lot. I'm not about to let you die tonight!" I backhanded him across the face to get my message across, then threw my arms around him in a tight embrace. He stood there silently, stunned by my actions. I looked up and glared into his eyes, trying to stand tall even though he was taller than me by a couple of inches.

            "Kai…" he trailed. His hand covered the growing red mark on his cheek.

            "You hear me?! You won't die tonight. Not if I can help it," I shouted.

            "Kai. Kai!" he gasped, "If you won't let me die then why are you trying to strangle me?" he said jokingly. He put his arms around my waist and returned the embrace gently, "Anyway, I need to tell you something."

            I looked into his forest-green eyes.

            "I like you too. A lot." He rustled my hair and kissed me.

            I fell into his arms and returned the kiss. The moonlight danced in circles around us.

            "Idiot." I teased. I then reached into my pocket to show him a knife. The silver glinted softly in the colored lights of the stained glass window, "Now. Here's my plan."

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            Norman walked slowly. He had to give the others some time. Shouts rang out into the night sky. Followed by billowing smoke. Several of the little kids ran over to Isabella.

            "Ray's in there!"

            "Mom you need to help Ray!"

            Isabella's purple eyes widened in horror as she realized what was going on. She rushed into the building to see the entire house on fire. Norman took the opportunity to run in the direction of the forest.

            "Ray?!" Isabella grabbed her watch. The device that told her where the children were. There was one signal coming from the library, "Did he set himself on fire?!" She opened the door to see hissing and crackling flames, charring the old yellowed books, and licking the dusty bookshelves. She grabbed the fire extinguisher and tried to put out the flames, but they refused such an easy defeat. "Why aren't the sprinklers working?!" Isabella yelled.

She took a deep breath and ran through the flames, her clothes quickly catching fire and blackening along the edges. She winced and cried out in pain as the flames caressed her skin. But she pushed forward. "If anything… I have to save his brain," she gasped.

            The fire grew bigger. Angrier. It no longer gently licked at her clothes and skin but now it began to bite. Isabella fell to the floor, the fumes and smoke filling her lungs. She crawled a little further, then collapsed completely. She twisted her head up and looked through blurry eyes. She gasped.

            In the middle of the flames, was not Ray's body. Only his ear. Severed near the top and lying in a pool of dark crimson blood, already becoming scorched from the fire. Isabella froze. The flames surrounding her body had consumed her. After this, all that would be left would be the bloodstained floorboards and bits of burnt flesh.

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            "Is everyone here?" Norman asked Emma.

            "All the kids who are five and over."

            "Let's go then."

            Norman helped all of the kids one by one disable their tracker then Emma helped set up the ladder.

            Ray and I came crashing through the bushes to join the others.

            "A cliff? How are we supposed to get across that?" several of the kids were peering over the edge into the abyss below.

            "Follow me." I led the group around the wall to a place where the cliff had a closer edge. There was a long piece of rope tied to a tree on the other side.

            "Did you put this here?" Norman asked me.

            "No, I found it while I was exploring for a way out."

            "If you knew this was here then why didn't you leave before?"

            "I don't know. I guess I was scared of what I'd find on the other side," I grabbed a tree branch and swung it over the rope. I leaped off the edge and ziplined over to the other side, "You guys coming or what?" I shouted.

            Ray was next. He helped me set up more ropes so we could get more people across at a time.

            Once everyone was across, we cut the ropes and watched as they flowed in the breeze. We had escaped. This was it. The outside world. There was no telling what would be beyond these trees.

Chapter Text

           We had been on the road for weeks, probably several months by now. All of the escapees of Grace Field Farm walked through the overgrown undergrowth. There were several patches of white hydrangeas in tight buds growing in the shade of the surrounding trees. Norman led the group around until we found a small area to make a camp. Ray and I walked around to find dead tree branches to begin building shelter while Emma played with the younger kids.

            "Here. Let me." Ray came up to me and offered to carry the heavy branches I had collected.

            "Thanks," I replied.

            We gave the branches to Norman and Don, then Ray asked if I wanted to take a walk with him. We wandered back the way that we came and soon were walking along the edge of the cliff.

            "I wonder if there's even a place for humans in this world. What if there are only demons?" Ray stared down into the darkness below.

            "Well, then we'll make one. With Emma and Norman's help, we can find a place for humans." I placed my hand in his.

            "Yeah," he turned to look at me, "Want to head back now?"

            We took a seat next to Emma and Norman by the fire. All of the other kids were asleep. The flames reminded me of the ones that had burned the House, but these seemed calm. They were dancing with the wind and whispering secrets to the blackened wood. Suddenly, I was reminded of the House that I had grown up in. Plant Two. Seemingly beautiful on the outside, but full of hurt on the inside. No one ever trusted anyone. If I had told anyone I would escape, the news was bound to reach the caretaker quickly for the possibility of a delayed shipment in return. Unlike Plant Three, the Plant Two kids knew that they would die before twelve. The secret was not kept secret. If anyone of the Plant Three escapees knew how I had really gotten out, they would certainly hate me. Maybe even leave me behind.

            "Kai? Are you okay?" Ray put his hand on my shoulder and I realized that I had been shivering, despite being right next to the fire.

            "Y-Yeah I'm just a bit cold."

            "Here." he handed me his sweater, "Take this."        

            I tried my best to not blush as I put it on, "Thanks."

            Norman and Emma both watched the scene play out with unconcealed interest. Emma, however, didn’t read the situation well enough.

            "Are you two-" Emma began.

            "Emma." Norman stopped her, "How about we go to sleep. We'll need energy for tomorrow." Emma sighed and followed Norman to one of the makeshift tents we had made, while Ray and I continued to sit by the fire. We sat there for a while, then Ray got up and said he needed to go get more firewood. He didn’t come back after a while so I went out to find him.

            I found him sometime later laying down at the base of a big oak tree. The firewood was in a small pile beside him.

            "Hey. What's up?" I leaned over so he could see me.

            "Oh, hey. Nothing much, just watching the stars." He replied.

            "Mind if I join you?"

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            I woke up with a start sometime late at night from some not-so-pleasant memories of Plant Two. I took a shallow breath. My friends were all dead because of me. I couldn’t shake the thought from my head. All of them, gone. Just so I could escape.

            "Hey, what's wrong?" Ray asked softly.

            I blushed as I realized he was right next to me. "N-nothing. Just a nightmare." I responded quickly.

            He yawned and sat up against the tree. He took a few seconds to wake up, then put his arm around my waist and pulled me closer. Too stunned to speak and too tired to react, I went along with it and rested my head on his shoulder. At that moment, the whole world just melted away. It was just us. No demons, no farm, and no harvest. I could hear his heartbeat. It was calming. Then, just as suddenly as I had woken up, I was fast asleep.

            The next day we spent the whole-time putting distance between us and the farm. There was little resting, only running. We continued trekking through the woods until we came to a wide ravine with a sturdy-looking log bridge running across to the other side.

            "Is it strong enough to walk across?" Emma asked no one in particular.

            "Only one way to find out," Norman replied as he approached the bridge.

            He stepped up onto the log and began walking across. Soon, he was at the other side waving to the others to come to join him.

            I peered down the side of the ravine. It was a long way down with no water or anything at the bottom to break a fall. I wondered if it was worth it.

            After all of the kids had crossed, Ray and I were the last ones left.

            "Just, don’t look down," Ray told me with a smile.

            I mumbled an "Okay," and stepped onto the bridge behind him. We walked along the log bridge in silence, cautiously watching every step we made so as to not fall.

            Ray was stepping off at the other side when I 'slipped'. I managed to grab a small branch to stop me from falling right away.

            "Kai!" Ray ran back along the bridge as fast as he dared. The branch I was holding began to break, bit by bit. I spoke a silent prayer to the ones who had been shipped just for me to escape, knowing that I was about to join them of my own free will, and let go.

            I closed my eyes and waited for the rush of the wind, the speed of falling, and the impact of hitting the ground, but it never came. I opened one eye to see Ray holding onto my wrist with all of his strength. There was fear in his eyes, but also love. He was scared to lose me. I let him pull me back up, to not seem like I had done this all on purpose, and I let him hold his grip on my wrist for the rest of the way across.

            "Are you okay?" he asked me once we were on solid ground.

            "Yeah. I'm fine. Just slipped." I lied with the best smile I could get.

            We caught up to the rest of the group soon after and continued hiking through the forest.

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            A couple of days later, we ran into a group of demons. However, these ones were different. They were stronger. More ferocious. Wild.

            "You guys go around. Make sure that whatever you do they don’t see you," Ray said.

            "Ray what are you-" Norman began.

            "Promise me you'll take care of the others if something happens."

            "Ray-"

            "Promise me."

            "Fine, I promise," Norman spoke reluctantly, "Just-" he paused, "Don’t be reckless okay?"

            Ray nodded and took a step closer to the trees and bushes. In a small clearing ahead, the group of wild demons stomped toward us.

            I walked up to Ray, "Ray don’t be careless with your life."

            "I won't. Keep running away from the farm okay? I'll find you," He leaned over and kissed me. I felt Norman tap my shoulder.

            "Kai, come on we have to go. Ray will be fine. He knows how to handle himself."

            I took a couple of steps backward and watched Ray sneak quietly towards the demons, "Please be safe," I whispered under my breath.

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            It had been two weeks since Ray had left, but we followed his instructions and continued putting distance between us and Grace Field. After a while of walking, we arrived at a small clearing. There was a large pond in the center surrounded by smooth stones here and there.

            "This is odd," Norman said while inspecting the sparkling golden water. The pond seemed to glow from within. Dark shadows darted beneath the surface.

            I crept up to the water's edge and peered down. I saw differing colors and bright lights move and glitch underneath. "Hey, guys? Come look at this." I called the others over.

            Emma was sitting by the younger kids when suddenly a net was thrown down from the trees above, trapping her and pulling her back up into the branches.

            "Emma?! EMMA!" I shouted and ran to the spot where she was taken from.

            Norman and Don rushed over to the group.

"Where'd she go!?" they said simultaneously.

            I looked up at the trees and saw a huge figure with another net, preparing to make another strike. "Everyone! Run for those trees over there!" I yelled to the group as the net came down and crashed heavily over my head. The figure reeled me and the net back up into the trees and leaped from branch to branch, heading away from the camp.

"Emma? Are you there?" I looked around, trying to find her.

            The figure brought a large clawed hand in front of my face and something sharp pierced my neck. Soon after, I fell unconscious.

            I woke up sometime later in what looked like a human village. Emma was next to me and was also beginning to wake up.

            "W-Where are we?" she asked as I helped her to her feet.

            "I don’t know," I replied.

            Someone was standing in the middle of a large alleyway. They had short purple hair and a small slender build. They looked like neither a boy nor a girl, and they wore a white coat with a black tank top underneath along with a simple pair of black jeans.

            "Hey. What is this place?" I called. There was no reply. They simply turned to the right and dashed down a smaller pathway. "Hey!" I ran after her with Emma following close behind.

            We both chased the person into a large courtyard with a brightly colored sign in front of a fountain. It read, 'Music', 'Monsters', and 'Run'. There were possibly around thirty people huddled in the open space, looking just as confused as we were.

            A boy with white hair and a red streak approached the center fountain and the sign. He pointed to it, "Listen up because I'm only saying this once. You all are in a place called Goldy Pond. We are the Goldy Pond Resistance." He gestured to the other kids gathered around the fountain next to him, "Every one of you is here simply as replenishments. The monsters that took you from your plantation are using you here simply as prey in this hunting ground. The rules?" he tapped the sign, "When the music plays, the monsters arrive to hunt. When you hear the music, run. If you manage to survive this hunt, you might not during the next one. Hunts occur every three days. Everyone understand?"

            There was an air about the boy that inclined that he was the leader. However, the other new kids simply shrugged at his words like they were a trick or a prank, but Emma and I exchanged a look of worry. There were demons here. Using this town as a hunting ground for human cattle. I took a breath and approached the person we had followed.

            "What is this place? Why do those demons only come during the music?"

            "You know about Them?' they looked surprised for a moment, then sighed, "My name's Violet. The monsters, 'demons' as you call them, use Goldy Pond as a hunting ground so they can hunt us as ‘free-range’ cattle children. I don’t know how or why-"

            "When was the last hunt?" I interrupted.

            "Yesterday," Violet replied. She looked down at the ground solemnly. "We lost so many. It was the worst hunt of them all. All of our friends, either killed or taken. That’s why they sent in so many replacements."

            Emma and I stood there in silence for a moment.

            "We know what it's like to lose friends. Family," I whispered. Emma gave a small nod. Music faded into the area until it blared at top volume from hidden speakers scattered around us. It kept going for about thirty seconds then stopped.

            "I- I don’t understand. The last hunt was just yesterday. What are they-" she shook her head, "Go find a place to hide till the music plays again. I'll find you."

            There was the sound of thundering footsteps coming from the entrance to the park. Hordes of demons filtered through the gate.

            "Wh-" I turned to find Violet but she was already gone.

            "Kai we have to run!" Emma grabbed my wrist and we ran towards the trees behind the houses. No more than five minutes later, the air was filled with the screams of the children.

            Emma and I dashed into an open door of a house on the outer edge of the grounds. I shut the door behind us and barricaded it with a small bedside desk. We scanned the room. It was cold and drafty. There wasn’t a lot of furniture but there was enough to make a few good hiding spots. There was a staircase leading up to a second level.

            "We need to find a place to hide. Quickly." I said as I began up the stairs. The upper level resembled a bedroom. There was a big wardrobe, a queen-size bed, a bookshelf, and a painting of white and red hydrangeas hanging on the wall. I stepped closer to the painting. There was something odd about it. As if it was trying to hide something.

            "Emma! There's a dial on the frame of this painting."

            She joined me next to the painting. Sure enough, there was a dial with numbers one to fifty. It was a lock. I dashed over to the bookshelf and began looking through books as fast as I could.

            "Kai? What are you doing?" Emma asked as she watched me inspect book after book.

            "Look around for a set of three numbers. It might be the code for the lock." I tossed another book to the floor. I reached for another but found a keyhole instead. It was embedded in the back of the bookshelf and had been hidden behind the books.

            "I got it!" Emma gasped from the other side of the room.

            I joined her back at the painting and followed her hand to the date and signature on the bottom corner of the painting. The signature was the letters 'WM' in fancy calligraphy. The date was 5-20-2031 also signed in fancy writing.

            "Try 5-20-31," Emma said.

            I twisted the dial to five, then twenty, then thirty-one. Nothing happened. I did it again. Still nothing. I took a breath and tried once more, very carefully this time, and heard a click. The painting swung open silently to reveal a hidden space behind it. In the space was a small key. I grabbed the key and walked over to the bookshelf to try the other lock. It worked perfectly. With a series of mechanical clicks, the bookshelf slid backward into the wall, then to the left to show a hidden room.

            I heard approaching footsteps from outside. Loud voices followed. I pushed Emma inside and quickly closed the door behind us right as the footsteps passed by the door. Voices boomed out from the street. As I listened carefully to the voices, I double-checked the room to see if there were any sort of weapons. There were none.

            The footsteps finally moved on from the house and I breathed a sigh of relief. Only then, was there was a sudden crash at the door. Sounds of splintering wood could be heard from outside. The door was torn off its hinges and thudding footsteps entered the house. The heavy footsteps came closer and closer to the bookshelf until they stopped. The voices fell silent.

            Emma clasped her hand on mine in fear as a clawed hand punched through the bookshelf, breaking the silence. The hand peeled away the pieces of splintering wood.

            "Found some!" the deep voice of the demon called to the others. It reached toward Emma and yanked her into the air. Carefully, it used a single claw to peel back the edge of her shirt collar. Its eyes widened in surprise. "This one is one of those premium plantation escapees." It looked over at me, "So is this one!"

            One more demon found its way over to the bookshelf and I was the next to be caught. I struggled to escape, but the demon had a tight grip and was not going to give up easily.

            "How much time should we give you?" The demon asked, not intending a response.

            "How about ten minutes?" the other replied.

            The demons dropped both me and Emma to the ground and began to count. I franticly grasped Emma's hand and ran for the forest.

            "What do we do? I don’t think the hunt's going to be over anytime soon." Emma asked through shallow breaths.

            "We need to run." I replied. We ran through the streets until they became dirt and stone beneath our feet. Not once did I look back to see if anyone was following. There were pounding footsteps behind us. "Emma! Split up!" I called as I let go of her hand and dashed to the right. She nodded and branched off to the left. I snuck a glance behind me.

            The demons from before had caught up and were gaining speed fast. One took after Emma and one continued chasing me. I had figured they weren't going to actually give us ten minutes but this was like nothing. It was no more than a few feet away when it reached out with a long claw. I stumbled over a loose stone and lost my footing for a second, but a second was all that it needed. The claw pierced through the back of my coat and broke the skin below. I grimaced in pain but didn’t stop running. I ran around a blind corner and tumbled into something. I got up as quickly as possible. Not something, it was someone.

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            "Kai!"

            "Ray!" I hugged him tightly. "How did you find me?"

            "I followed the demon's tracks."

            Music began playing from a hidden speaker somewhere. We both looked up as there was crashing behind us. The demon had stopped chasing me and was tumbling back the way it had come.

            "We have to go." Ray grasped my hand. "Where's Emma?"

            "We split up a little bit ago. She should be that way." I pointed to the way that she took off.

            Ray nodded and we began running to find Emma.

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            Emma was huddled behind a large tree when we got to her. She didn’t look good.

            "Emma! Are you okay?" Ray and I asked simultaneously.

            She responded with shaky breaths and a simple turn of her head. Half of her face was dripping with blood. A long scratch ran down the middle of her left eye, which was beginning to turn black and blue. Ray knelt to help her.

            I took a look around to see if anyone was nearby. Suddenly, my vision dimmed and I fell to my knees.

            "Kai? Kai what's wrong?!" Ray had just begun to clean Emma's wound and set the bandages down to help me.

            The mark that the claw left between my shoulder blades was steadily growing a dark purple-red. I collapsed, trying my best to stay awake.

Ray caught me before my head hit the ground. "Kai! What happened?" he touched the base of my neck gently and was shocked to see a copious amount of blood. He looked around for anyone nearby.

            Violet was standing beside one of the giant trees. She stared at Ray, clearly intrigued by whatever he would do next like someone eagerly watching a movie.

            "Why are you just standing there?!" Ray shouted to her.

            She approached Emma and helped her to her feet. "Can you manage that one?" she pointed to me, half-unconscious in Ray's arms.

He nodded and picked me up.

            Violet turned around and began walking back towards the village while helping Emma stumble forward. "The hunt's over so there's no need to worry about Them anymore." She called to Ray behind her. "The medics are out and about now."

            I strained my eyes to see up ahead. Several people were helping those who had been injured by the demons. Some were carefully cleaning the bloodstained cobblestones.

            We turned a corner and walked into a small building. Ray followed Violet to a place near the back and sat me down on one of the small beds. By now the back of my shirt was a bright red. I inspected my surroundings through half-closed eyes. The setting seemed to be that of a makeshift hospital. Several older kids were running around with bundles of medicine and bandages to help others who had been injured from the hunt. I saw Violet help Emma to the bed next to mine.

            Violet went back out to find others while a boy, with several bandages of his own, brought over a canister of water, handed it to Ray, then rushed back over to help someone else. Ray handed the water to me, but I shook my head. I felt too sick to drink anything. My head pounded. The pain was too much to handle and I passed out.  

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            I woke up sometime later in the same room. Ray was sitting on the floor next to the bed reading a book. He set the book down when he saw I was awake, "Hey, you feel any better?"

            I shrugged, too tired to respond. I sat up slowly and winced from the not quite healed wound on my back.

            Ray handed me the water canister from before, "You should try and drink something."

            This time, I grabbed the water canister and took a few sips.

            Later that day, I was feeling much better, so Ray helped me outside for a short walk to explore the village.

            "Wait, where are the younger kids? Where are Don and Gilda? Where's Norman?" I realized I hadn’t seen any of the other children since I found Ray in the forest.

            "They're safe. Gilda, Norman, and Don are fine and taking care of the younger ones." He turned around to make sure no one was following us. "We need to find a way out of here though. I don’t trust Violet and those kids."

            "But Ray they helped us."

            "I know," he replied, "But something's off. Those kids seemed off. Like they weren't telling us the whole story."

            I contemplated his words for a minute. He did have a point. Violet seemed like she had a secret side to her personality.

            "And anyway, the others are still waiting for us outside of this place."

            I nodded in understanding. We both grew silent and just continued walking.

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            When we got back to the hospital it was already sunset. The place was nearly empty, except for a few kids cleaning and organizing the supplies.

            Emma was waiting for us alongside Violet.  

            "There's an empty house that you all can stay in. At least until we blow this place sky-high," she paused, "We had three extra weapons for you all just in case." Those were the only words Violet spoke before leading the way outside.

            We followed Violet a little way down the road until we came to a house that looked like all the others around it. She handed us three sleeping bags and pillows each, then she reached for a black bag that was slung over her shoulder. She handed the bag to Ray, who distributed a pistol to Emma, a submachine gun to me, then took the assault rifle for himself.

            "I trust you know how to use them properly?" she gestured to the weapons.

            "I'll teach them," Ray said sternly. His eyes glanced to Violet's left hand hovering over the clasp of her rifle holster that was hung around her back.

            "Emma. Kai. Go inside," Ray spoke sternly. Emma complied but I hung in the doorway.

            Violet sneered and took a few steps back; her hand undid the clasp and she reached over her shoulder to brandish her own rifle, "No matter what the others say," she spoke softly, almost to herself, "I don’t trust you," she said while inching back a bit more.

            Now it was Ray's turn to smirk. He walked backward slowly, "Well I guess the feeling's mutual."

            Violet lifted her rifle with one arm, aiming for Ray's head, "I'll put so many bullets through that thick skull of yours that god won't even recognize you."

            Ray chuckled softly, "I'm an atheist," he paused as he raised his own rifle, "Fire at will."

            As I realized what they were about to do, I rushed out to stop them, "Ray! What the hell are you thinking?!" I yelled as I ran out of the doorway.

            "Kai I told you to get inside!"

            I looked over at Violet, "Hold fire!" I yelled. I turned my attention back to Ray and scowled.

            "Kai-"

            "No. I won't let you constantly be risking your life for your damn death wish. You need to let it go because I'm not letting you die anytime soon."

            He sighed and lowered his rifle. "I don't trust her. Just look! She's hiding something. I know it."

            "That’s not an excuse to go and try to kill her!" I backhanded him to help me get my message across. He dropped the rifle to the ground and covered the fresh red mark on his face. I turned around to face Violet.

"Leave."

            She scoffed. "This isn’t your fight-"

            "Uh hell yes it is," I interrupted her, "I know Ray, and he'd take any chance to endanger himself for stupid and reckless reasons. Do you realize I stopped him from burning himself to death back at our farm?"

            Violet's face softened slightly.

            I scoffed, "Yeah. Of course you didn’t." I turned to Ray again. "Inside."

            "But-" he began.

            "Now."

            He sighed and walked inside dejectedly.

            "Oh shit, I think your girlfriend's angry. Better follow orders little puppy," Violet taunted.

            I began to follow him but Violet muttered something under her breath.

            "Damn. I guess you're the muscle and the brains of your little trio. I bet your momma never taught you manners. Too bad you wouldn’t survive out in the real world."

            But I heard every single word.

            I stopped dead in my tracks. I turned around slowly and tried my best to look intimidating as I turned to face her with a glare that could’ve started the Grace Field fire, "Wanna say that to my face instead of mumbling it behind my back?"

            Clearly, I had genuinely scared her. But she just didn’t let most of it show through. She simply sighed, put away her rifle, and walked away back towards the hospital.

            I walked inside and shut the door behind me. I jumped with fear as I saw Ray standing right behind the door.

            "Ray! You scared me!"

            "I heard all that," he smirked and moved closer to me till we were just a foot apart, "I never knew you could be so intimidating," he held my chin and angled my face upwards. Doing nothing besides reminding me of the height difference between us, "I never knew you had that side of you," he spoke softly. His eyes flickered between my lips and my eyes.

            I was silent for a moment as I stared into his dark green eyes, then said blatantly, "Someone has to be the sensible one around here," and walked away from him.

            His eyes trailed after me as I left the room.   

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            Emma had already set up all three of the beds in the loft. She looked up as I walked in and gave me a smile.

            "You can pick whichever one you want," she said cheerfully.

            I chose the middle one.

            Ray came in a few minutes later and laid down next to me.  

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            Late that night, everyone except Ray had fallen into a soft slumber. He stared at the ceiling, thinking about the events that had just happened. He sighed and shifted to face me.

            I didn’t notice because I was asleep, but had I not been, I would’ve seen Ray reach toward me and brush my face softly.

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            I woke up early that morning. Ray and Emma weren't awake yet so I took a look around the place. Once I got bored of looking around the house, I opened the door and walked outside. The sun was just beginning to rise.

            Suddenly I heard shouts coming from the forest. Violet rushed into view along with a few others following close behind. They were carrying a limp figure but I couldn’t get a good look. As they dashed past me I saw who it was. White hair, pale skin, and the familiar crescent moon tuft of hair on the side of his head.

            Norman.

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            I ran back into the house and shouted for Emma and Ray to wake up. They yawned as I explained what I had seen. Emma's eyes widened in horror and she got to her feet and bolted out the door with immense speed. I helped Ray to his feet and we ran to follow her.

            We got to the hospital after Emma and found her crumpled and kneeling at the foot of one of the hospital beds. Norman looked terrible and was barely breathing.

            "Norman!" Emma was practically begging. "You can't die now! Please!"

            Norman groaned softly and twisted his head to see Emma.

            "What happened to you?" Ray asked. He edged closer to the bed.

            "They're all gone," Norman gasped weakly, "All of them," He paused and faced me and Ray, "They found us while we were waiting for you to get back."

            "Who?"

            "The poachers. They had left this place and were heading to god knows where when they found our camp at the edge of the pond," Norman coughed.

            I noticed the copious amounts of bandages growing a deep crimson color. I began preparing myself for the worst that was undoubtedly inevitable. I looked down at Emma.

            Norman's body tensed up suddenly, and he began coughing to the point that he was coughing up blood. Norman turned on his side while I started calling for Violet and the others. I reached for Emma's hand and turned to Ray.

            "I'll meet you guys outside."

            Ray nodded and led Emma out, all while Emma was crying out to stay beside Norman.

            I ran over to the small table beside the bed, trying to find anything to help him. Norman continued to cough. His blood began to stain the snow-white bed sheets. Norman reached out and held onto my wrist. He looked up at me with tears in his eyes, "I-I don't want to go-" he spoke quietly. "I-I need to tell…Emma." He stuttered and tried to get up. "Tell Emma…"            He trailed off and began coughing again. I handed him a handkerchief. He took it with shaking hands but then set it aside and tried to stand.

            "Norman! You need to rest. Sit down!" I begged him but he didn’t listen.

            He got to his feet before collapsing onto the hospital floor just moments later. I sank to the ground and tried to help him up. He stopped trying to stand.

            "Please tell Emma," he paused for breath, "Tell her that I've always loved her. Tell her that I'll see her again someday."

            I nodded. Tears tracing lines down my face.

            He smiled sadly and took one last breath.

            Violet had heard the commotion and rushed over to help. Upon seeing both of us on the floor beside the bed and Norman's still body, she understood the situation. She helped me to my feet and called for the others to help carry Norman's body away.

I couldn’t help but sob as I watched them take Norman to a room in the back; Norman's limp hand dragged along the cold tile floor.

            Ray was waiting with Emma outside of the hospital. They looked up hopefully as I joined them.

            "He-He's-" I stuttered, trying to find a way to tell them. But Emma and Ray knew.

            Emma clasped a hand over her mouth and tried to hold back tears. She shuddered and fell to her knees. Ray looked deeply troubled. After all, Norman was one of his longest and oldest friends besides Emma. He slowly sat down next to Emma and put a comforting arm around her shoulder.

            "We're on our own now aren’t we?" Emma spoke.

            Ray and I nodded in unison.

            "It's up to us to get to the human world."

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            Later that day, we held a funeral for Norman. Emma and I both wore matching black dresses that we had found in the wardrobe of the place we were staying, while one of Violet's friends, Oliver, lent Ray a black jacket and tie. It wasn’t the best, but at least it was something. It was held in the forest near where Violet's team had first found Norman.

            After it was over, Ray began walking back to the house but paused when he noticed me and Emma not moving from our spots.

            "Head on back I'll join you later," I said softly.

When Ray had gone, I sighed. Emma continued to stare at the carvings we had marked into the tree as a headstone.

Norman

A loving friend and fellow

escapee of Grace Field

            I frowned slightly at the markings and reached for my pocketknife. I edged closer to the tree and worked at carving the bark.

            Emma gazed blankly forward.

            When I was finished, there was a new sentence below the previous ones.

"I will see you again."

            "'I will see you again…' " I spoke, "Those were the last words he had said." I edged backward a bit to join Emma. "When he- before he, well, you know," I struggled to find the words, "Norman wanted to tell you that he had always loved you."

            Emma flinched. Tears began to flow down her face. Her hands balled into fists.

            "Soon. We will meet again soon Norman." She spoke under a hushed breath so I wouldn’t hear, then stood up. She dusted herself off and retreated to the house.

            I followed close behind.

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            It had been a week and a half since Norman's death and Emma was strangely silent. Ray and I would bring her food but she barely ate anything. Most times, I would check on her and find her blankly staring at either the wall or the window. None of us really went outside at all for a while. Ray had his books, I had Ray, and well, Emma, had her thoughts.

            I walked over to the ladder leading to the loft bed and climbed up, where I found Ray with his nose in a book like usual.

            "Ray, shouldn't we talk about what we're going to do next? You know we can't stay here forever." I asked him.

            Ray continued to read his book and without looking up, he said, "I don’t care. It is just us three left after all. Why not just stay here?"

            I contemplated his words. He looked up from the page and watched me carefully. A few seconds later he rolled his eyes, set down his book, and patted the empty spot next to him. I clambered over from the ladder and sat beside him.

            "Hey," he spoke softly as he wrapped an arm around my waist. "We'll figure it out. Okay?"

            I nodded and rested my head on his shoulder.

            "I think we're all a bit depressed from," he paused, "Recent events."

            I didn’t respond.

            Ray said nothing more and just pulled me closer. I tried my best not to blush and watched as he reached over toward my face. He gently tucked a lock of hair behind my ear. He stared into my eyes and smiled softly.

            "Kai, you're..." he trailed off.

            I noticed a faint blush creeping onto his cheeks. Suddenly, he leaned forward and kissed me. I closed my eyes. It was like a scene from a movie. I fell into his embrace and kissed him back. We stayed there in that moment for a while.

            One time, we paused for a minute and when he pulled away from me, I saw that his lock of hair that usually covered half of his face had shifted to the side and both of his eyes were visible. I smiled as I looked at him. He looked even more handsome with his hair like that. Suddenly, I was wondering what he would look like with eyeliner, blush, and his hair pinned to the side with a few brightly colored pins. I laughed at the thought.

            He looked at me with a puzzled expression.

            "What's so funny?" he asked.

            "Oh, nothing. I was just thinking about what you'd look like with eyeliner and your hair pinned to the side." I replied truthfully.

            "What?" he sounded surprised but also amused, "Oh you mean like this?" he took his hand and pulled his hair further back to tuck it behind his ear.

            I blushed.

            He laughed at my reaction, "Maybe I'll let you do my eyeliner sometime too." he ran his fingers through my hair, then leaned forward and kissed me again.

            After a bit, he drew away from me but still held my face with his right hand while looking deeply into my eyes. I stared back at him while trying to not absolutely lose it. His eyes were like emeralds, and they shone brightly, despite looking slightly tired.

            "Your eyes are beautiful," he whispered.

            "M-mine?" I asked. I'd never really liked my eyes. I always thought they were plain.

            "Yes, yours. Who else would I be talking to?" he replied. He sat up a bit, readjusted the pillows and blankets, then leaned back against the wall.

            I took the open spot right next to him and nuzzled my head against his neck. He wrapped an arm around my waist and put his chin on top of my head.

            We cuddled for a bit, just enjoying each other's company when Emma's little antenna poked up from the ladder. If it was still early in our relationship, we might've rushed to make it look like we hadn't just cuddled and made out, but we stayed where we were and watched Emma climb up into the loft.

            "Finally. I was wondering how long I'd have to silently ship the two of you until it would happen." She said as she crawled over to the other side of me.

            This statement took Ray and I by surprise.

            "'Ship us'?"

            "What does that mean?"

            Emma laughed cheerfully and plopped down right next to me, looking at the two of us with curious puppy eyes.

            "You two are adorable," She laid back against me in a friendly and platonic way. Ray gave me a teasing glance.

            "Oh, what's this? Kai are you over me that quickly?" he said jokingly as he gestured to me and Emma.

            "Oh shut up," I leaned over and gave him a quick kiss on his cheek, "It's called having friends. You should try it sometime." I teased.

            Ray gave me a pout and he tussled my hair while Emma cracked up at my remark.

            "Oh, yeah. Emma," I began, "Wouldn't Ray look hot with eyeliner?"

            Emma burst out laughing and couldn’t stop. I joined her. Ray, however, rolled his eyes and socked both of us square in the face with a pillow. Emma and I blinked a couple of times, then exchanged a glance. This was war.

            Emma and I both grabbed pillows and proceeded to attack Ray.

            "Hey! Okay, I'm sorry!" he yelped as we both confronted him relentlessly; feathers flying everywhere. Ray finally grabbed ahold of my pillow and snatched it from my grasp, getting Emma's shortly after.

            We all sat in the loft and watched the sunset from the tall window across from us. The golden light filled the room and feathers littered the room. Ray and I were snuggling together while Emma rested her head on my lap.

Suddenly, I heard soft snoring coming from Emma. She was already asleep. It made sense. She was probably exhausted.

            "She's cute hm?" Ray glanced over at Emma lying peacefully on my thigh, "Well," he sighed, "I think I'm going to go find another book to read." He got up and headed towards the ladder.

            "I'll go with you," I gently lifted Emma's head and replaced myself with a nearby pillow. I crawled over to the ladder and began to climb down, but suddenly, my foot slipped on one of the rungs. I fell off the ladder but instead of hitting the ground, I felt someone catch me.

            Ray leaned over me with a smug smile on his face.

            "Did you just…" he chuckled, "Fall for me?"

            "Put. Me. Down," I said in the most serious tone I could muster.

            "Oh, you sound so serious~," Ray began.

            "I am," I interrupted him.

            "Your face says otherwise," he teased.

            My cheeks were both as red as roses as I stared up at him. We both looked up at the top of the ladder as Emma poked her head out to watch the both of us.

            "I have to give it to Ray that was pretty adorable Kai," She said with a playful tone.

            I rolled my eyes, "Hey, I thought you were asleep!!"

            Ray and Emma just laughed.

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            The next day, we had finally chosen to leave Goldy Pond. As tempting as it was to stay, we still had to get to the human world somehow. We had to make sure that Norman's death wouldn't have been in vain.

            The three of us gathered at the square to say our goodbyes. Violet, Oliver, and the kid from the hospital were all there, plus a few others that we didn't know very well.

            After we had all said our farewells, we headed into the forest. Ray led the group as he was the one who knew where the exit was.

            On our way, we passed by the tree marking Norman's grave. We all sat down and said our goodbyes to Norman, hoping that he might be listening somehow. Emma was teary-eyed as I helped her up. She cast a backward glance at the tree as we began walking. Ray led us through the forest until we came to a stop at a tall concrete wall. He turned to the left, running his hand along the side of the barrier. Emma and I both shivered as we were suddenly reminded of the treacherous escape from Grace Field. We exchanged a look then went to catch up with Ray.

            Ray suddenly stopped at a blank piece of the wall.

            "Here," he said while pointing to nothing. Emma and I looked at him like he was insane.

            "Um. There's nothing there." I pointed out. Ray rolled his eyes and traced a very faint seam in the concrete. He then pulled a black and white checkered pen out of his coat pocket.

            "What's a pen going to do?" Emma asked.

            "Shh. Just watch." Ray uncapped the pen and a projection of an owl was displayed onto the concrete. He held out a hand and tapped the owl twice. It then changed to a list of different number and letter combinations. He scrolled down until he found one that read 'A08-63'. Ray clicked it and another name showed up. 'Goldy Pond'.

            "How'd you find this Ray?" I asked him while still watching the screen.

            "Sister Krone had it. She left it in my desk drawer before mom," he paused, "dismissed her. At first, I had no idea what it was, but after you and Emma got taken I followed that demon here and it had the same pen. That’s how I figured out."

            There was a click and the faint seam in the concrete wall grew more visible. With more clanks of hidden gears, the rectangle fell backward into the wall, revealing a path behind it. Ray gazed down the seemingly endless tunnel for a moment.

            "Alright, let's go."

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            The tunnel was long, but after what seemed like a mile of walking, we finally came to the end. A dead end.

            "Hold on," Ray said as he took out the pen again. He did the same thing as before and there was a flash of light as a rectangular opening slid into the wall.

            We all took a few steps into the soft sunlight on the outside. Emma looked conflicted. With Norman's death and all that had happened at Goldy Pond, she was at a loss of words more often than usual. Her regular cheery self was gone, never to return.            Ray was also troubled, but he didn’t show it. I suppose he was trying to be the 'big brother' that we could all lean on for support and comfort.

            I broke the silence.

            "So how are we going to get to the Human World?" I asked.

            "I don’t know Kai, but we have to figure it out," Ray replied. He pulled out the pen and uncapped it, the screen popping up and hovering in the air. "Let's start here." He said as he pointed to one of the options on the screen.

            It read B06-32. He tapped it once and a second name showed up. Underground survival shelter.

            "How do we know where it is? How are we going to get there?"

            "Calm down. The pen is also a map." He clicked the screen twice and the code A08-63 popped up. "This is where we are now. A08-63. Think of this whole area as a square divided into four smaller squares, A, B, C, and D," He took a step to the left and the screen changed to A08-62. One step forward from there and it was A07-62. "See?" he recapped the pen and the screen disappeared. "Hopefully, there will be some clues in the shelter to lead us from there."

            "Oh, Violet gave me a compass we can use!" Emma spoke as she came up behind Ray and me. She reached into her coat pocket and pulled out a small compass, which she handed to Ray.

            It was only for a moment, but when Emma handed the compass to Ray, the sleeve of her coat slid backward to reveal her forearm. It didn’t seem like that big of a deal until I saw the barely healing scars decorating the top of her forearm. I said nothing but I gave Emma a look. She returned my look with one that said to keep quiet.

            Ray began walking west, looking at the compass to make sure he was correct.

            Emma held her gaze for a second longer, then turned away and went to follow Ray.

            And thus began the long journey to B06-32.

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            Branches snapped underfoot as three kids tramped through the last of the woods, emerging into a vast desert. Emma trailed at the back of the group, watching each and every passing rock, twig, or piece of grass.   I walked in front of Emma, trying my best to ignore the pain from the blisters on my heels.

            "Hey, guys?" Ray shouted from up ahead.

            Emma and I looked up to see what was happening. There was no more forest. Only an expansive desert that seemed to go on forever. Ray was standing in the full heat of the sun, staring down at the sand with the pen in his hand. I jogged through the sand as quickly as I could with Emma close behind me.

            There was a faint line tracing a square in the sand. The screen of the pen read B06-32. This was it. Ray tapped the screen and the list of locations showed up again. He scrolled until he found B06-32, then pressed it. An option popped up to open underground shelter. He clicked it. There was the clank of clockwork from beneath the ground. The square in the sand sank back into the earth, and moved to the left, revealing a passageway below it.

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            "Geez, this place looks abandoned," Ray spoke as he waved away a cobweb.

            I flinched as I saw a spider crawl across the cracked bricks of the wall. I reached forward and grasped Ray's hand.

            He looked back at me, "It's okay. Just keep looking ahead," he spoke comfortingly.

            We all jumped as there was the thud of something hitting the ground. Ray quickened his pace and reached into his coat pocket for a weapon. He rounded the last corner as more clattering sounded through the shelter.

            "Gilda?"

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            "Gilda?" Ray asked in disbelief.

            Gilda met his eyes with a matching expression of disbelief.

            "Eig- Ray? Emma? How are you guys alive? I thought- Emma," She stuttered. She gazed at us with tears in her eyes. "I thought you all were dead!" She ran over and embraced Emma.

            Ray narrowed his eyes, "How did you get here?" he asked.

            But Gilda didn’t respond to him. Instead, she gestured for all of us to follow her. She led us down the hall and to a room on the left.

            As we were walking, I saw a half-open door. It was only for a second, but I saw words scrawled across the back wall.

            Help.

       Harvest.

       Death.

       Poachers.

       Hunters.

            And finally,    

            Demons.

                        I broke away from the group and rushed back to the room. the door creaked open on a half-broken hinge. Blood was splattered across the walls and pooled in the cracks of the tile flooring. There was a black and slumped-over mass in the center of the room.

            "Kai? Where'd you go?" Ray called from down the hallway.

            I walked backward slowly and turned to look at Ray. I looked at him with a horrified expression. He looked very concerned now. He took cautious steps over to the doorway and gasped when he saw the scene. I took his hand and held onto it tightly.

            In the room, was Gilda.

            Her eyes were dead and glazed over. There were bloodstains all over her previously white clothes. Her glasses were gone. All over her face, there were deep scratches and as I looked closer, I noticed that half of her skull was broken in. I took shallow breaths and tried to not throw up at the sight of her discarded limbs laying on the tiles. All of them, missing chunks and covered in bite marks.

            Ray and I realized that Emma was still following the other Gilda down the hall. We dashed out of the room to try to find Emma.

            "Emma? Emma?! Where are you?! Emma?!" we both screamed as we ran down the hallway. Our footsteps echoed and splashed in little puddles of water.

            I got a glimpse of Emma's unmistakable orange antenna and took the lead.

            "Emma!"

            She turned at my voice.

            "Hey, guys! I was wondering where you had gone." She smiled.

            "Where's the other Gilda?" Ray asked urgently once noticing that she was nowhere to be seen.

            "'The other Gilda'? What's that supposed to mean? She went to go get the others."

            Several thuds sounded from up ahead. Thundering growls and hideous snarling echoed in the shelter. Ray and I both drew our weapons.

            "Emma, get behind me," I spoke quickly.

            "What's going on? What did you guys find?" she asked.

            "We found-" I began.

            "You don’t want to know," Ray interrupted, "But I can tell you that that’s not Gilda."

            Gilda rounded the corner and came back to join us. She had a bright smile on her face.

            "They're all waiting for you in the dining hall." She said as she began to lead us further.

            "Is it really them?" Ray asked, "Or just their bodies? Or maybe you’ve brought some friends to the reunion?"

            Gilda stopped walking. She sighed, "Alright. I guess you caught us."

            Ray and I prepared for an attack. She turned and paced toward us.

            I watched as her hands began to elongate and blacken. Her fingers turned into claws, her slender figure growing into that of a monster's. The demon took off Gilda's glasses and tossed them to the ground. There was a sickening crunch as the lenses shattered underfoot.

            "Give us Six-Three-One-Nine-Four and we will let you both escape," It spoke as two more demons emerged from the dining hall.

            "Me? Why me?" Emma asked as she recognized her farm identifier number. Her hand went to cover the tattoo across her neck.

            "If you want Emma you'll have to kill me," Ray said threateningly.

            I looked at him with a terrified look. He couldn’t possibly go up against a demon and win. Not by himself. And so, I walked forward to join him.

            "As with me," I spoke firmly. I put my hand in his, and together we blocked the demon's path to Emma.

            "Foolish cattle. You'll all die today. But not to worry, it won't be to waste. You three are all premium quality meat from Grace Field Plantation. I'm sure that the cursed blood child will enjoy a good meal such as you three." The demon rushed towards Emma.

            Ray was the first to attack and hit the demon with a vicious blow with his simple pocket knife. The other two demons ran in to join the fight, one turned its attention to me, the other to Emma. Three versus three. One for each of us. It would’ve been a fair fight had they been humans, but we all knew it would be a nearly impossible win against three demons.

            As Ray and I were busy fighting, Emma dashed down the hall with the demon trailing in her footsteps. Since she didn’t have a weapon, she looked around frantically for either something to fight with or a suitable hiding spot. She found no weapon, so she ran around a tight corner and into one of the bedrooms.

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            I stabbed at the demon's mask, figuring that its eyes might be a weak spot. The demon shrunk away from my blade as soon as I came close to the mask. I gasped in realization. I dodged a claw attack from the demon and stabbed my knife through the hole in the mask. The demon froze. Its fragile mask split in two and fell to the ground. Blackened blood dripped from its eye and it slumped to the floor.

            "Ray!" I called to him.

            He seemed too occupied with fighting the demon to offer any reply.

            "It's the eye! That's their weak spot!" I yelled to him.

            "Got it!" was his only answer as he began focusing his attacks on the demon's eye.

            I looked around for Emma and the third demon but I couldn’t find her. Dread crept up the back of my neck. What if she had been hurt, or worse? I took no time in wondering and dashed down the maze of hallways to find her.

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            Emma shivered as the demon's footsteps passed by the room. She clasped a hand over her mouth and tried to gain control of her breathing.

            The footsteps stopped.

            Emma watched the door in fear as the demon shattered it to a million splinters.

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            I heard a crash from down the hall so I headed in that direction.

            "Emma? Emma where are you?!" I shouted as I ran.

            Suddenly, I heard a scream. I rounded the corner to see the demon enter the room. I followed but was careful to keep my presence hidden. I watched as the demon lumbered over to one of the beds, lifted it up, and tossed it into the wall. Tiles shattered and revealed the dirt on the other side. Emma raised her head up slowly. She yelled and tried to fight back best she could, but the demon picked her up like a pretty little orange wildflower along a mountain trail.

            I couldn’t sit and watch any longer. I dashed into the room and ran right up to the demon, slashing a deep gash in its arm. The demon barely even flinched and swatted me away with its other arm. I flew backward and slid into the wall. My head pounded and I struggled to get back up. The demon held Emma in one hand and reached into the pocket of its cloak with the other. It retrieved a strange-looking crystal. I had just barely got to my feet and I ran towards the demon. It turned to look at me as I rushed forward with my remaining bits of strength.

            My eyes shifted to meet Emma's. She had tears in her eyes. Her scar from the demon at Goldy Pond was merely a faint pink line tracing across her left eye. There was blood spotting her jacket collar and my eyes traveled down to the demon's hand.

            The clawed hand that held her waist was piercing through the outer layer of her jacket. I noticed blood beginning to spread and stain her white shirt beneath. She gasped softly.

            "E-Emma?"

            "Kai-"

            The demon crushed the crystal with one single hand. Suddenly, the room was filled with blue lights. The lights became more and more condensed until they looked like millions of fireflies. The fireflies flew in a frenzied motion toward Emma and the demon. I covered my eyes as the lights grew brighter. The lights dimmed and I slowly opened my eyes. Emma and the demon were gone.

            "Emma? Emma?!" I gasped and ran to the now-fading lights that had surrounded them just moments before. Ray ran into the room soon after. He scanned the room until his eyes fell on me.

            "No," he whispered as he realized what had happened, "No, no, no. K-Kai? Wh-what happened?" He asked as he helped me slowly to my feet.

            "They took her," I spoke with a shiver, "They took her-" I sobbed.

            First Norman, now Emma.

I grimaced as I set my left foot down. I must've sprained it in my fight with the demon. Ray noticed and held a hand on my waist as support while I put my hand on his shoulder. I felt his other hand holding onto mine tightly as if he was protecting me from harm.

            "What do we do now?" I asked.

            "We have to keep going," he paused, "Emma, Norman, and all the others are still counting on us. On the other side."

            We began walking, hobbling really, back to one of the other bedrooms. Ray held me close. I held onto him tightly. Ray walked me over to one of the beds and I sat down carefully.

            "Wait here, I'm going to go find some medicine for your leg," Ray said.

            "It's not like I'll run away," I winced as I took off my shoes and set them on the floor beside me.

            He smiled and ran his hand through my hair, then he headed to the door to find the infirmary.

            I sighed. My leg hurt like hell. I propped myself up on the numerous pillows and inspected the bruise. There were no signs of an open wound and no blood so that was at least a small plus, but the skin was red and raw and it was surrounded by fresh purple and blue bruises.             Disregarding Ray's instructions to stay put, I swung my legs over the edge of the bed and slowly got to my feet. I was still wearing my uniform shirt and skirt from Grace Field and they were incredibly dirty and bloodstained. There was a small dresser on the far side of the room that looked promising so I headed in that direction. Slowly and steadily, I got to the dresser. I opened the first drawer. There were clean button-down shirts just like the one I was wearing neatly folded in perfect squares. I picked out one and set it on top of the dresser. I opened the next drawer and found some simple black pants. I grabbed a pair and looked around for a place to change. There wasn’t any. I sighed and quickly changed from my skirt to the black pants, but as I was putting on the new shirt, I heard the latch of the door click.

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            Ray walked down the hallway back to the room with some medicine and bandages. He rounded the corner in silence. He reached for the door handle and opened it.

            I froze and looked over my shoulder at Ray's shocked figure standing in the doorway. Luckily, I was facing away from him and I clutched the shirt close to my chest to cover up as best I could.

            Ray showed absolutely no expression but his eyes fell downward slightly. I glared daggers at him and he quickly unfroze and stepped out into the hall, closing the door behind him. Ray stood in the hallway completely frozen again. He faced the door, staring at the handle. His hand hovered above it.

            I slipped the white shirt over my head quickly and inched over to the door. Damn this is awkward, I thought to myself. I watched the door handle apprehensively. Slowly, I reached forward and opened it. The door swung inward and as I stepped out into the hallway, I looked up to find my face barely inches from Ray's. We stood there for about ten solid seconds, both of us frozen in our places, then Ray blinked out of his strange trance and pushed his way into the room. He walked over to the bed and sat down the medicine and bandages on the small table beside it. I hobbled over to join him and sat down on the edge of the bed.

            "I- uh," he hesitated, "I found some stuff for your leg."

            At least the awkward feeling was mutual.

            I began to start rolling up the cuff of the new black pants on my left leg. The bruise hurt less now than it did before, but it was still an angry reddish-purple color. I used the rest of my strength to shift over until I was sitting against the pillows again. Ray picked up the roll of bandages and sat down at the foot of the bed. Slowly and carefully, he began to wrap the gauze around my ankle.

            I winced with the sudden pressure of the bandages.

            Ray looked up with a concerned glance, but he continued until my ankle was completely wrapped. Once he was done, he reached down for his water canister and handed it to me along with a couple of pills that he had found in the infirmary. I took them and drank a few small sips of water. I closed my eyes and took a couple of deep breaths.

            Ray picked out a book from his backpack and moved to sit next to me. I leaned against him and soon fell asleep to the soft beat of his heart.  

            When Ray noticed I had been completely asleep, he carefully set his book down on the table, softly wrapped his arms around me in a gentle embrace, and nuzzled his face into my neck. Tomorrow, he thought. Tomorrow we will continue our journey to the Human World. Even though it's just the two of us now. He played with my hair for a bit, curling up the locks into points that resembled Emma's crazy hairstyle, then drifted off to sleep soon after.

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            When I woke up the next day, Ray was gone and the door was cracked open and there was a sweet smell coming from the dining hall. I blinked a couple of times and sat up. My leg felt better, but it still had that lingering feeling of pain every now and then.

            Ray peeked his head through the half-open door and gave me a small grin.

            "Hey, happy birthday," he said as he walked into the room carrying a tray of breakfast, "I know it's not much but I used what I could find. This place seems like it was abandoned, but there's a room behind the kitchen that’s like an entire underground garden." He handed me the plate. It was an arrangement of various vegetables and fruits along with a small roll of bread and a flower garnish. I was suddenly reminded of the first meal he had brought me when we were back at Grace Field Plant One. Then to the first time we had kissed. Under the moonlight in the library of the House.

            "Something wrong?" Ray asked as he noticed the small tears welling up in my eyes as I reminisced.

            "Oh," I wiped the tears away, "It's nothing, I'm just-" I paused, "Nothing," I smiled at him. Not a fake smile, but a true and genuine one. For the first time in a while, I felt okay.

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            Once I was finished eating, Ray asked me if I was up for exploring the place and looking for any clues about the human world. I agreed since my leg was feeling much better. We began with the library. So far, we had found nothing of interest. Ray searched one bookshelf while I scanned another.

            "Find anything yet?" I asked Ray from the other end of the shelf.

            "Nope. Nothing yet- wait," he paused and pulled out a book. He examined some of the pages before placing the book back on the shelf, "Nothing." He concluded.

            "Same here," I replied.

            We both sighed as we left the library, having found nothing special or of relevance to our investigation. We walked down the hallway that led to the dining hall. As we passed the room that I had found the real Gilda in, I noticed that the mess was cleaned up and the room tidy, as if nothing had ever happened there. I looked over at Ray for an explanation.

            He looked into the room solemnly, "I cleaned it up while you were sleeping in this morning. I-" he paused, "I buried her outside the shelter."

            I tried my best to shake the gruesome image of poor Gilda lying dead in the room. Killed by the demons and stuffed in there like just some random junk. I shivered at my own thoughts. We continued past the room and into the dining hall. Ray searched through the cookbooks for any clues while I moved towards the farm.

            I walked through the kitchen to the old wooden door. The kitchen itself was quite clean, but around the doorframe, there were gaps in the plaster and I could see some small plants and weeds growing from the other side. Though it was quite faint, I could barely make out bits of blue light that filtered in through the cracks of the wood.

            "Find anything yet?" Ray asked from the dining hall.

            "Not yet," I answered, "But there is this weird light from the garden."

            "Hang on," Ray turned the corner and walked into the kitchen to join me. He looked at the door, "Wait, what blue light?"

            I looked at him in confusion then at the door. It was glowing even brighter now.

            "Wh- Can you not see it?"

            He walked over to me and put a hand on my forehead. He frowned.

            "I swear I'm not hallucinating Ray. It's right there!" I pointed at the door. I scowled and went to open it. The door swung open and I stepped carefully over the threshold. Ray followed.

            As soon as I entered the garden, the blue light became nearly blinding. I squinted back at Ray but he looked back at me as if nothing was there.

            What is going on? I thought to myself. Why can't he see it? I shook my head and tried to find the source of the lights. It was coming from a mass of overgrown and dead vines in the center of the room. The blue fireflies like the ones that surrounded Emma and the demon were flying this way and that all around the vines. I moved closer to the glowing lights carefully. There was a crystal, exactly like the one that the demon had, nestled in a pile of vines. To the right of the crystal, there was a note. I picked it up. The entire paper was old and yellowed as if it had been here for decades. The message was written in either red ink or blood, and it was nearly impossible to tell which. The message itself seemed to be that of a journal entry.

            Day 709

            They've found the shelter. We tried to keep them out but our defenses are failing faster than we thought. I expect only a few more days before they break through and kill us all. At night I can hear them outside. Their growls keep all of us awake. I've chosen to hide this from the others, but I am going to hide the last Tel Crystal in the garden. That way, when Grace Field finds my messages and the pen, I'll be ready to help them when they get to the Human World.

            The next passage was a list of instructions.

            To use the crystal, hold said crystal and think of the place you want to travel to. However, with an ordinary Tel Crystal, you need to have seen the place or been there at least once. For Grace Field, you will not have seen the Human World and would not be able to use the crystal, but there is another way. Crush the crystal, say the words Area 01. A portal should then appear leading to a coastal city with tall buildings. I will be waiting for you all there.

            Signed, William Minerva. May 23rd, 2031

            I looked over at Ray, "This was written seventeen years ago; it isn’t that long but things could have still changed."

            "I don’t know, there's only one way to really find out," he looked at the crystal and the piece of paper that I held.

            "Area 01," I scanned through the paper again, "Doesn’t sound familiar at all."

            "It's because it’s the Human World. It exists, but it's like it’s a whole other universe that overlaps the Demon World, which we're in right now," He replied.

            I sighed. My eyes shifted between the crystal and the paper then back again. "Well," I held the crystal at my eye level, "Here goes nothing."

            Ray entwined his hand with mine. I threw the crystal to the floor and it shattered instantly. The blue fireflies flew around in dizzying circles until they grew together to form a circular portal.

            "Area 01," I spoke softly.

            The portal fizzed and crackled. Slowly but surely, an image of a big coastal city came into view. And, with a quick glance at Ray, we walked through the portal. It closed soon after with sparks flying everywhere and the fireflies zipping around until the lights faded and fell to the ground of the farm.

Chapter Text

            I woke up with sand on my face and a dizzying headache. Slowly, I sat up and took in my new surroundings.

            "Excuse me," a voice spoke from behind me.

            I jumped and scrambled around to face a couple that was standing barefoot in the sand. One was a woman that could’ve been around thirty years old, and the other was a man who seemed to be maybe a few years older.

            "Are you alright?" the woman asked gently. She was wearing a long white dress that was slightly see-through, a big sun hat, and a pair of sandals dangled from her right hand.

            "Miss?" the man extended a hand to help me up from the sand.

            I took his hand shakily and got to my feet. Glancing around, I saw many other people hovering nearby. They all watched with worried interest. I noticed another group circling another figure that was passed out in the sand. I got a glimpse of familiar black hair.

            Not taking another second, I ran over as quickly as I could; my feet slipping and sinking into the soft golden sand.

            "R-Ray?! Ray!" I spoke breathlessly as I pushed my way through the horde of people and kneeled down next to him. The sand coated his face and speckled his black hair with flecks of ivory. I tapped him gently on the shoulder.

            The crowd of people grew denser by the second. Some were using cell phones to take photographs, some were simply watching and whispering to others. I looked around nervously then looked back down at Ray, who had still not moved an inch.

            "Ray!" I spoke louder and tapped him again. He groaned softly and spat out a mouthful of sand. I breathed a sigh of relief and so did the surrounding audience.

            "K-Kai?" he whispered.

            "I'm here, I'm right here," I helped him sit up and held his hand tightly.

            His breath quickened as he noticed all the people watching us. His eyes flickered from one face to another. I felt tears in my eyes and I hugged him.

            "We did it," I whispered in his ear, "We really did it."

            He returned the hug while keeping his eyes trained on the faces of the people watching.

            Suddenly, there was a loud chattering coming from behind the mass of people and I watched as a woman pushed her way through, followed by a man holding a large camera. The woman turned to face the camera and began speaking.

"A couple of hours ago, we received a call from an anonymous citizen at the Santa Monica State Beach, informing us of two teenagers, passed out on the coast. Witnesses say that they hadn’t noticed the kids before and that it seemed as though they appeared out of thin air. One witness claims to have seen the children fall through a ‘portal’ in the sky only to hit the ground and pass out," she continued chattering.

            I helped Ray to his feet, "Are you okay? Nothing broken?" I asked nervously.

            "Yes I'm fine," he smiled at me, "What about you? Is your ankle still alright?"

            I hadn’t really noticed the now growing pain from my sprained ankle, but now that I had calmed down a bit it was starting to hurt.

            "It hurts a little bit but I'll live."

            He was about to reply when the woman walked over and held a microphone out to Ray.

            "What happened here? What's your name? How come you were passed out on the beach for hours? Was it drugs? Or maybe something more supernatural?" the woman continued to bombard Ray with questions.

            He looked at the woman then towards the man holding the camera. He scoffed and turned back to me which earned him a cacophony of sounds from the crowd.

            "Let's get out of here," he said, glancing back at the crowd and the persistent woman, "I have no idea what's going on and I don’t like it."

            I nodded and followed close behind as he pushed his way through the audience. Ray held on tight to my hand as the crowd barely moved as we tried to walk through.

            "What do all these people want? Do you think they're with Minerva?" I asked Ray under a hushed breath.

            "I don’t know but I don’t like that they're asking us questions," he lowered his voice even more, "They might be with the demons and could be waiting to bring us back. Let's just get away from them then we'll figure things out."

            The woman tapped my shoulder and began asking me questions.

            "What were-" she began, but she was interrupted by the couple I saw earlier.

            "Excuse me, but can you all give them some space, please? Clearly, they're overwhelmed and don’t feel like being interrogated right now," the woman said as she motioned for everyone to back up. Then she turned her attention back to Ray and I, "I'm Evelyn Stevens, this is my husband Ethan. If you'd like, you can come with us and we can leave the reporters and crowd."

            I glanced up to Ray.

            He shrugged, "I'm too tired to deal with anything right now, besides, it'll be good to get a chance to catch our breath."

            Evelyn smiled. I noticed that Ray still had his guard up. I held onto his hand tightly as we followed Evelyn away from the crowds and up onto the boardwalk. Ethan however tailed at the back of the group and waved away the reporter and the cameraman.

            Evelyn led us along the boardwalk a little way, the crowd and reporter still in tow yet still keeping their distance, then turned left and headed towards a group of buildings, "We bought a penthouse apartment right along the coastline because we both love the ocean." She approached a fancy-looking marbled building and opened the big glass door.

            Ray and I both walked through and took in the sight. It was stunning. There were crystal chandeliers and high ceilings with carvings and gold embellishments everywhere. The floors were so clean and polished that we could see our reflections.

            "This way," Evelyn smiled as she saw us admiring the surroundings.

            We walked over to join her and Ethan standing in front of a pair of sleek metal doors. Evelyn pushed a button with an upwards pointing arrow and the doors opened smoothly to reveal a small, but spacious room. I followed Ray cautiously. Evelyn walked over to a set of buttons and pressed the very top one. As the doors closed, I gasped and held onto Ray as the entire room lurched upwards. He smirked and put his arm around my waist in a reassuring manner. I looked up at him with a soft smile. Evelyn snuck a glance at the two of us staring dreamily into each other's eyes.

The room stopped moving and the doors opened once again. Evelyn and Ethan led us out into the new room. I looked around, absolutely stunned. The room was ginormous and looked incredibly fancy.

            "Now, Kay you seem like you've been through a lot today. Rai you too," she said as she tried to remember our names from the events at the beach.

            "It's Kai and Ray actually, but you were close," Ray said with a polite smile.

            Evelyn chuckled, "I'm sorry, there wasn’t a great opportunity to ask." she smiled back at Ray, "Anyways, If you'll follow me please," she said as she turned a corner and walked down a spacious hallway.

            Ray and I both exchanged a look but we followed her. She opened a door on the right wall and gestured for me to come closer, "Kai, from what I understand, you've had quite the ordeal today."

            I nodded slightly.

            She gave me a warm smile and continued, "If you'd like to, you can use the guest shower to freshen up. I can even bring you some new clothes to wear and make some tea."

            I didn’t want to lie, it sounded quite nice to clean off all the sand from the beach. I nodded again and turned my attention to the open doorway. Evelyn closed the door behind me as I walked inside and Ray tensed up a bit.

            I was stunned by the size of the bathroom. On one end, there was a large vanity with several boxes neatly piled on top, and on the other, a large opaque sheet of glass that enclosed the shower. I took off my shoes and tucked them next to the door. I looked up at it and made sure it was closed before turning the dial for the water. I let the water warm up a bit and inspected my reflection in the mirror. Sand was absolutely everywhere and my clothes were stained with dirt.

            I noticed the steam beginning to fog up the mirror, so I quickly undressed and stepped into the hot water. It was like a gentle waterfall, and the perfect temperature as well. I took a deep breath and felt my worries melt away and drip down the drain. Then, I felt the stab of burning memories pierce through my lungs like a dagger aiming for my heart. The fire of Grace Field House. The cliff. Our fight at Goldy Pond. Norman. Gilda. Emma.

            I let out a sob as I remembered her tear-stained face. The look she gave me when the demon took her. The blood that stained her jacket. How it plinked softly when it dripped onto the tiles. I sank to my knees. The steam whirled around me and created a wall that locked me inside with my memories. Much like the Grace Field Wall. I wept, my tears mixing with and becoming indistinguishable from the water.

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            Once I got my act together and shut off the tap, I stepped out of the shower, grabbed one of the towels hanging nearby, wrapped it around my body, then grabbed another one to dry my hair. Walking over to the mirror, I saw a fresh pile of clothes folded neatly on the marble countertop. I inspected the white flowy fabric and discovered that it was a simple halter-neck knee-length dress. The fabric was incredibly soft and silky and it felt nice against my calloused fingertips. I set it down to wrap the towel around my head and I hung the other one back up on the hook. Then, I picked up the dress again and slipped it over my head. It fit perfectly. The dress was designed to simply tie around the back of the neck, but it left too much fabric and looked plain so I wrapped it once more around my neck loosely then tied it in a bow on the side.

            Walking over to the door, I noticed a small pair of house slippers waiting patiently for me. I put them on and walked out of the bathroom. I closed the door quietly behind me and when I turned around, I saw Ray just heading out of an adjacent room that had seemingly appeared from nowhere.

            He gave me a smile, "You look nice," he spoke softly as he inspected the dress.

            I noticed that he was wearing a brand-new white T-shirt and a pair of dark blue pants with an identical pair of house slippers.

            "You too," I replied.

            We both turned our heads as a small clatter sounded from down the hallway. I shivered as I remembered the encounter with Gilda. Ray tensed up and readied for a fight. Evelyn passed by the hallway with a tea kettle and a few cups on a silver tray. It seemed like she hadn’t noticed the both of us standing there like two deer in the headlights.

I turned back to look at Ray. He shrugged. Our hands intertwined and we walked out to follow where Evelyn had gone. Walking out into the bright room, we got a chance to get a closer look at the details. It was quite modern in style, and there were windows everywhere letting in the golden light of the sunset. To the right of the hallway, there was a spacious kitchen with white marble countertops and white cabinets. Even the floors sparkled with cleanliness and were polished so much that you could see your reflection. To the left, was a staircase leading down to a living room with an ornate window that faced the sea. There was one big couch then a smaller couch  with a fuzzy blanket hung over the back.

            Evelyn and Ethan sat on the big couch talking quietly to each other. Ray and I edged closer to listen in.

            "That was quite the scene out at the beach today," Evelyn spoke.

            "Yes, I just hope that those two aren’t criminals that we've welcomed and invited into our house,"

            "Ethan."

            "What? Just think about it. They showed up on the beach out of absolutely nowhere, plus, have you seen the numbers tattooed on their necks?"

            "Numbers?"

            "You didn’t see them?"

            Evelyn turned her head as we approached the living room.

            "Oh, you're right on time. I just made some tea," she said enthusiastically and gestured to the couch.

            Ray and I sat down slowly. It was silent. We all were awkwardly looking around the room.

            "If you think we're dangerous then why did you invite us in?" Ray broke the silence. Both Ethan's and Evelyn's faces fell.

            "So you heard that," Ethan began, "I-"

            "I'm so sorry," Evelyn cut him off, "With everything that happened, plus-" she paused and her eyes fell to our farm identification numbers, "It's just-"

            "You wanna know the story, I get it," I cut her off, "We show up out of nowhere and aren’t even from the same world. Plus our farm ID numbers which are definitely a popular topic of conversation," I played with the hem of my dress as I saw both Evelyn and Ethan's faces contort with confusion.

            "'The same world'? 'Farm ID numbers'?" Ethan asked, "What does that mean?"

            I stole a glance at Ray for some help to explain.

            "Despite what you may believe, there are two worlds that coexist within each other. The Human World, which we are in right now, and the Demon World, which we just came from. Any questions so far?" Ray asked.

            Ethan slowly raised his hand.

            "Good. I'll continue," Ray said, "The Demon World is, surprise surprise, full of demons. And the demon's staple food is us, humans. That’s where the numbers come in. As far as we know, the most popular farm for human cattle is Grace Field Farm. These numbers are our farm identification numbers. Grace Field Farm is divided into five adjacent farms, Plants 1,2,3,4, and 5. I'm from Plant Three, but Kai is from Plant Two. Hence why she has four numbers and I have five. Long story short we didn’t want to be eaten so we did as anyone would do and planned to revolt against the caretaker and escape…" Ray continued on, telling the complete story from the very beginning.

            I had zoned out about halfway through. Part of it was completely unintentional, but the other part was because I didn’t want to go through every single terrible flashback. So, I busied myself with watching the waves crash against the shore. I began wondering what we would do now that we actually made it. I heard a muffled voice from beside me, but it was quickly covered with the sound of the crashing waves. The voice spoke again, barely to a whisper this time.

            "Kai? Are you okay?" Ray placed his hand gently on my thigh and gazed at me with tender concern.

            I looked blankly over to his hand then up at his eyes. I blinked a couple of times to shake off the sleepy feeling, then nodded softly at him.

            "I'm guessing you two aren’t siblings," Evelyn said as her eyes flickered to Ray's hand on my thigh. We both blushed at her statement. I looked at Ray to help me explain.

            "We are- I'm-," he struggled to find the words.

            I sighed, "We're together. What is it now? Two-"

            "What's the date?" Ray asked Evelyn suddenly.

            "June seventh, 2078. Why, is everything alright?" she asked in confusion.

            "Kai, the last day we spent in the demon world, wasn’t it-" Ray began.

            "My birthday. January fifth, 2048." I finished. We both exchanged a look. My hand began to shake slightly. Ray's eyes flicked around nervously.

            "I thought this would happen. Kai, time passed by differently here. It's been thirty years."

            "What do you mean?"            

            "Time went by quicker in the Human World. That’s why everything we saw from the beach was so advanced from the things we read in the books."

            "Ray,"

            He held my hand tightly.

            "What are we going to do? How are we supposed to survive here in a world that we know nothing about?" I spoke.

            He shook his head slightly, "I don’t know," he turned to face Evelyn and Ethan, "I know it’s a lot to ask, but could we stay with you guys? Or would you be able to at least help us get back on our feet?"

            Evelyn and Ethan both exchanged a look. Now that they knew the full story and seemingly believed it, they nodded to each other in silent understanding.

            "Of course," Evelyn spoke up, "We have a guest room that you can stay in and lots of recently published books that might help you learn more. Plus, I will help you both until you are ready to grow and leave your own mark on this world."

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            After Evelyn and Ethan finished with their various questions on the Demon World and the farms, Evelyn led us to the guest room. We walked down the same hallway as before, but walked past the showers, to a room at the end of the hall. There was one other room across from the guest room though, and as we approached the cracked open door, I saw the soft pink glow of a little girl's bedroom. The lights were off and it was hard to see most details of the room, but I could tell that everything was covered in a thin layer of dust. This room hasn’t been used for quite a while.

            "That was Lucy's room," Evelyn spoke solemnly.

            "She died of cancer three years ago." Ethan finished.

            "I'm so sorry," Ray and I said simultaneously.

            Evelyn sighed, "It's alright," she paused, "Anyways, your room is this one," she gestured to the room on the other side of the hall. She walked inside and flicked the light switch.

            The room was modest and comfortable, yet still extremely modern and fancy like the rest of the apartment. There was a king-size bed against the back wall, and there was an entire patio on the left side that faced the beach. On the right wall, there was a walk-in wardrobe and a small desk with a few books. Both Ray and I gasped at the crystal chandelier that hung over the middle of the carpeted room.

            "I assume that you didn’t bring any of your things from the other world, so for now, Kai you can borrow some of my clothes until I can take you shopping."

            "Same for you, Ray," Ethan spoke up.

            It was getting late so both Evelyn and Ethan brought a set of pajamas for us then retired to their own room. After I had finished changing, I came out to find Ray standing at the glass door to the patio, staring intensely at the waves. I smiled and moved over to join him. His eyes flickered to each new and building wave. It seemed like he didn’t even notice me standing next to him. I wondered what he might be thinking about. I brushed my hand against his softly. He jumped and nearly lost his balance.

            I laughed, "Are you okay? Geez, I didn’t know you were so graceful,"

            He rolled his eyes and smiled, "Yeah I'm fine. I was just so zoned out that I didn’t notice you standing there."

            I turned to look at the ocean, "I miss them too."

            Ray's face fell slightly.

            "I know that I wasn’t as close to them as you were but it really hurt when they-" I paused. Tears slipped from my eyes and traced lines down my cheeks, "They- They were still so-" I moved over and sat down on the edge of the bed.

            Ray went to join me. He put an arm around my shoulder and I leaned into his soft embrace.

            "I miss them too," he whispered, "I miss them so much." Ray paused. Then he chuckled. "I remember when Norman got sick one time during the winter. Emma kept sneaking into the infirmary even though we weren't allowed. But every time Mom dragged her out, she kept sneaking back in."

            "It sounds like you all were really close," I said.

            "Oh yeah. Emma and Norman especially. Those two always had something special between them." he hesitated slightly, “I was usually the one that was on my own most of the time.” He took a breath. “I always preferred to read rather than to play with the others. You know, back at Grace Field, that book I was reading when you walked in on me in the library had been the last book in the entire House.” He then fell silent. He turned his attention to playing with my hair, his usual activity when he didn’t want to talk.

            I slowed my breathing and heartbeat to match his and soon began to feel tired. I yawned. My eyelids grew heavier and heavier until they fluttered shut and I fell asleep. Ray smiled softly at my sleeping figure, then carefully slipped an arm under me, and gently carried me onto the bed.

It was almost strange. Ray was always this tough, seemingly emotionless guy, but underneath all that, he was just a kid. He was tender, caring, and gentle. He keeps his feelings hidden, but lets them out when no one else is around. He grabbed one of the books from the desk, then crawled into the bed beside me.

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            I woke up the next morning with Ray's arms wrapped around me in a protecting embrace. His soft breathing and slow heartbeat were calming, and I noticed his hand twitch slightly and brush against my skin which gave me a sudden rush of butterflies for some reason.

The morning sunlight drifted in lazily through the wide windows of the patio, squeezing through the cracks and diving under the edges of the curtains. I sat up, careful to not wake Ray. He looked so peaceful.

            We've gone through so much together, he must be so tired, I thought as I watched the steady rise and fall of his chest. I wondered what he might be dreaming about. I gently brushed his hair off of his face. Sighing and shrugging off the sleep, I got out of the bed and headed out to the kitchen. I could hear hushed voices echoing down the hall as I closed the door behind me. Tiptoeing forward, I tried to listen in on what Evelyn and Ethan were saying.

            "Have you checked the Missing Person files on the police department website?"

            "I have, there's nothing. Everything they said lines up, but it just sounds so hard to believe."

            Evelyn sighed, "I've checked all the orphanage websites and nothing about two teens with numbered necks showed up, the daily news, however," there was the rustling of papers as a news article was passed across the table.

            "There's going to be hordes of reporters on our doorstep. How are we going to deal with this?"

            "You forget we deal with the press on a near-daily basis," Evelyn spoke, "I was thinking of taking them to the mall today to get them some new clothing. If we need to, I might be able to convince the store owners to close the doors for at least an hour or two."

            I sighed; they still didn’t believe us. It made sense of course but still, we did just appear out of seemingly nowhere and were crashed out on the beach for quite a while.

            "If their story is true though, they wouldn’t know about how things work here, would they?" Ethan asked.

            "We don’t," I interrupted their conversation, "We really don't. Even the encounter at the beach, there were so many things that we didn’t know about."

            "Kai, how much did you hear-" Evelyn began.

            "Enough," I spoke in a chilled tone, "If you think we’re lying just turn us over to the higher-ups. You don’t need to offer us a place to stay, yet you did and you still don’t trust us." I shivered slightly as a hand came down on my shoulder from behind.

            Ray stood beside me with a guarded expression on his face, "Trust is earned, it's not given," he began, "And it's mutual as well."

            "Years to build and seconds to break," Evelyn spoke quietly.

            The air was tense. Everyone was exchanging looks and the silence was deafening.

            Finally, Evelyn sighed and broke the silence, "Are you two hungry?"

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            Ray and I sat across from Ethan at the kitchen table, and we watched as he carefully studied the newspaper. It was a strange thing, the newspaper. It wasn’t a book, just a bunch of loose papers with small print all over. Some pages had small pictures crammed between the lines of words.

            Ethan glanced up as he noticed us watching the strange papers, "Here," he folded it and passed it over to Ray, who took it carefully.

            Ray opened it and placed it down on the table so I could see it. The articles were completely random and never held the same topic for more than a few sentences. Before we could really read it, Evelyn walked over with breakfast. She sat the plates down in front of us then went to get the other two.

            My mouth watered at the smell of food and I realized how hungry I really was. There were fluffy eggs and crispy bacon with fresh lettuce and toasty bread. It looked absolutely delicious. Ray was tense though. I could see in his eyes that he was on guard for both himself and me. I rolled my eyes at him and sampled the food. It was delicious. The eggs were soft and perfectly fluffy and the bacon was cooked just right.

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            Later that day, Ray and I both sat in the living room reading book after book. So far, Ray had read the ones on history and government and I had read a few on fashion and design. The books were very interesting, at least the ones that I read. There were so many chapters on different styles of dresses and clothing, different fabrics, and the different people who designed them all.

            Ray seemed to be bored out of his mind and was nearly falling asleep. He tiredly flipped the page and half-heartedly scanned it before turning to the next one. He sighed and glanced over at me. He smirked slightly, "I've never seen you so into a book before, should I be worried? Am I going to be replaced?" he inquired in a joking manner. I rolled my eyes and continued reading.

            "What's it about?" Ray persisted.

            "Wow, you must be really bored to be skipping reading," I said through the pages, "But anyway, it's about fashion and design."

            "Sounds interesting, can I see?"

            Without warning, he got up from his place and moved over to sit right beside me. He put his arms around me and scanned through the page I was on. He seemed to just be joking and trying to get out of his own reading, but a few seconds later he leaned forward to study the page further.

            "Don’t tell me you're really interested in this," I began.

            "No, no it's actually really cool," Ray spoke. He pointed at one of the pictures, "I wonder how they get those patterns onto the fabric like that. Whether they print it or just weave it."

            "Wait, are you serious?"

            "Completely."

            "I thought it was super cool too!" I flipped the page and looked at some of the photos of dresses, "Kinda makes me want to make my own."

            Ray nodded, "Yeah it does."

            "I actually have a degree in fashion and design," Evelyn spoke as she walked down the stairs with some tea. She set the cups on the coffee table in front of us.

            "Really?" Ray asked her.

            I didn’t hear Evelyn's reply. Instead, all I could hear was wave after wave of deafening silence with a slight ringing in the background wash past my ears. Blackness spread across my vision and I felt myself fall against the back of the couch.

            I heard footsteps. Soft laughter in the distance. My eyes fluttered open to be greeted by the soft light filtering in through the leaves of a big oak tree. The voices grew louder as they neared. Shifting my head to the left, I could see the faint outline of a house. The house. Plant Two. I bolted upright, hoping that that would snap me out of whatever trance I was in, but nothing happened. I saw the same scenery in front of me no matter how many times I blinked. The same trees sat in the distance. The same grass dappled with small clover and wildflowers.

            "Kai? What's wrong? You seem down," a voice sounded behind me.

            I flinched and slowly twisted around to meet a pair of eyes as colorful yet as gray as the sky. Those familiar eyes. Those pale eyes with that beautiful dark grey rim.

            "R-Robin," I blinked, tears pooling in my eyes and trailing lines down my cheeks. This couldn’t be real, was I even alive anymore?

            "Kai? Are you okay? Do you need me to get Mom?"

            I coughed and my eyes widened at the mention of the caretaker. "No," I coughed again, "I-I'm fine,"

            Something was seriously off. For some reason, I was back at Grace Field. Back at Plant Two. I slowly got to my feet. Everything was exactly the same. All of my siblings were alive and happy like they were before I had escaped. Was it just a dream? It looked so realistic.

            I suddenly felt a tap on my left shoulder, but when I turned to see who it was, there was nothing but the thin air around me.

            Robin gave me a side glance that was filled with concern, "If you're sure," she began walking toward the house, "Come on, we should go pack your suitcase."

            I hesitantly followed her. Everyone was still here. Everyone was smiling.

            "Hey Robin, what's today's date?" I asked.

            "January fifth, 2045. Why? Even you should be able to remember your own birthday," she laughed, but there was no enthusiasm on her face. She knew exactly what today was as well. My eyes widened. January fifth. 2045. The day before I was supposed to be shipped. I felt a slight pressure fall onto my shoulder and something brushed against my hand. I shivered and the pressure went away.

            "What, you weren't thinking about escaping were you?" Robin continued.

            "No, not at all. Besides, how can I?" I responded despondently. I wondered if everything that I had prepared was still where I had left it. "You go ahead, I want to say my goodbyes while I still have time."

            She nodded, "I think Haley's still playing in the forest."

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            I tromped through the bushes and ducked under the low-hanging branches, picking up my pace with every step. I had to see if my rope and knife were still where I'd left them. I heard voices to my left. Whispers blew past my ear. Something brushed my face. The air grew cold and goosebumps appeared on the back of my neck. I shook them off with a violent shiver and continued with my mission.

            Turn left.

            Then right.

            Then straight.

            My eyes fell upon a girl with dark skin inspecting a hole in a tree. I gasped. The girl turned around sharply. In her hands, were a thin coil of rope and a silver knife.

            "Haley it's not what you think-" I started.

            "This- this is yours?" she asked.

            My eyes fell to the ground. I stared at my weathered brown boots. I flinched as something buzzed in the back of my head. A memory. A feeling.

            "You know what this means. I have to tell Mom."

            It buzzed again. Louder this time.

            "Haley, come with me. I'm leaving tonight. Before she can realize I've left."

            "Kai I can't-"

            "Yes you can," I encouraged, "We can both escape this awful place. We can live," I gestured to the wall in the far distance, "Out there."

            Haley sighed. She considered my offer.

            "Please," I begged her.

            She nodded, "Fine," tears formed in her eyes, "Let's survive."

            I walked forward to join her next to the tree.

            "So what's the plan?" she inquired.

            I told her my plan detail by detail.

            Something else in my mind whispered. Suddenly, I remembered that I was technically back in the Human World. My eyes narrowed; this wasn’t how my memories went. I never talked to Haley. Instead, I had dashed towards her and stole back my knife and rope, pushing her to the ground. She had threatened to tell Mom; to get me shipped out right then and there. I walked back toward her with the knife in hand. Haley tried to get to her feet, but I shoved her back down. She pleaded to me with tears in her eyes. There was a sickening slice as I drove the knife through her chest. My oldest friend. Killed by my own hand. I remember Robin had walked in on me standing up from Haley's body. I remember her eyes flickering from the knife to the rope to the body. I remember her running to get the caretaker. I had escaped then and there. The cliff was supposed to keep me from escaping and it stood its ground with no intention of making it easy for me. After that, I had jumped into the closest adjacent Plant. And as for the tracker, I used the knife to cut it clean off and I threw it into the depths of the cliff below.

            I blinked out of the vision of my previous memory and found myself back in the forest walking back towards the house with Haley. Again, I felt a weird feathery touch brush against my hand. There was a whisper of a breeze that blew past my face, but it was odd because there was no wind affecting the trees around me.

            "You okay?" Haley asked.

            I nodded and shivered again. There was another thought in my mind about whether or not I could take Robin. I wondered how she might respond if I told her. Shaking off the questions, I walked faster to catch up to Haley.

            "Hey, Haley?"

            "Hm?"

            "Do you think we could take Robin?"

            She hesitated, "I don’t know. There's no telling how she'd react to even just finding out."

            I sighed. She was right.

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            As we walked through the big doors that marked the entrance to the House, I was hit with the scent of a thousand memories. The daily tests. The delicious meals. My old room. I could barely breathe when my eyes fell upon the caretaker. She returned my gaze with a chilled look of her own, then continued with her tasks. I blinked and followed Haley back to our shared room.

            Robin was there waiting for us. She looked conflicted. I automatically assumed the worst that she had found us out already and snitched, but then she pulled out a piece of paper and placed it on one of the beds.

            "Today's your last day."

            I gave no response, and instead simply looked down at the floorboards.

            "Listen," Robin began, "Let's run. Tonight. When everyone else is asleep we'll hop the wall and run away."

            "'Hop the wall'? You make it sound easy and that it's not a twelve-foot tall concrete wall that was specifically designed to stop escapees," Haley interjected.

            "I know, but we can find a rope. Or even make one out of the spare tablecloths in the supply room," she looked deeply into my eyes, "I don’t want to lose you. Either of you. I know I don’t say it that often but I truly do care about both of you."

            Her words brought forth tears that stung my eyes. I took a step towards her. She gave me a small smile.

            "So is there a plan?" she asked, "Because if not I have a few in mind."

            I smiled and told her my plan.

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            The three of us stared up at the menacing concrete structure before us. It loomed high up in the night sky. Taunting us. Telling us that we wouldn’t make it. But we weren't ones to give up so easily. I tied the rope to the high branches of the closest tree, then began to run towards the wall with all of my strength. I scaled the side of the wall effortlessly. Once I was at the top, I tossed the rope down to Robin and Haley. Not long after the three of us stared down at the massive cliff in front of us.

            "Now for the trackers," I spoke as I pulled out the silver knife, "Who wants to go first?" I asked.

            Both of them stared at me with a slight twinge of fear in their eyes.

            "Okay then, I guess I am," taking the knife in my right hand, I held it up to my left ear. I bit my tongue and sliced through my own flesh. Wincing, I cut the tip of my ear clean off and threw it into the abyss that stood before us. Blood dripped onto the stone. I saw Haley and Robin staring at the crimson droplets.

            As I waited for one of them to step forward, sirens sounded behind us. They knew we were gone. I looked back at the House to see bright lights flooding towards the forest.

            "We have to hurry," I spoke as I took a step towards Haley.

            She sighed and twisted her head so I could reach her ear. Her hands quivered in anticipation of the pain. Carefully, I took out her tracker and gave her a piece of fabric to cover the cut with. I turned to Robin. I took hers out quickly as well.

            Voices grew closer and there was a rustling from the bushes below the wall.

            "How do we get past the cliff?"

            "There's no way to get across."

            Haley and Robin's gaze traveled from the cliff to the forest on the other side. They looked worried.

            "Let's hide in one of the other Plants," I spoke, "We can hide there while we can make something to help get across.

            They both nodded in understanding and agreement. Looking back down at the lights traveling quickly towards us, I began to run across the top of the wall to the next plant over. Haley and Robin followed close behind me.

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            We soon reached a split in the walls, one angled slightly and continuing along the cliff, and one branching off inwards perpendicular to the outside wall. On both sides of the inside wall, there was the exact same scenery. I looked back at where we had come and saw soldiers and guards climbing onto the top of the wall. It was now or never.

            Something brushed against the back of my neck. I shivered and turned around to see what it was. Like before, there was nothing there but the empty cold night air. I studied the darkness, waiting for something to show its face. Then, there it was staring back at me. A pair of forest green eyes. Familiar eyes.

            "R-Ray?"

            "Kai! We have to go come on!" Robin shouted.

            Haley was already climbing down the wall into the other Plant.

            I took one last look at the fading eyes then ran to catch up with Haley and Robin. Again, I felt an otherworldly pressure on my shoulders. Haley and Robin were already at the bottom of the wall and waited there staring upwards at me. Both seemed to be waiting for me to jump.

            "Come on! Just jump! We'll catch you!" Robin spoke in a harsh whisper.

            I took a deep breath to prepare myself. The guards were searching around the top of the wall back where we had come from. I looked back down at Haley and Robin's outstretched arms, and jumped. Suddenly, my vision began to darken until there was nothing more than empty blackness.

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            I woke up with a start back in Evelyn's apartment. Gasping and panting, I scanned the room. I was back in the room that Ray and I shared. Bright colored flowers adorned the desk and the nightstand. I looked up as I heard the door latch click open.

            Ray walked into the room with his head held low. He looked troubled. His gaze traveled to me and his face brightened a bit.

            "Ray," I began, "What happened? You look sad."

            "You happened Kai," he started, "One minute you were fine then the next you passed out and wouldn’t wake up. I-," he paused, " I didn’t know if you were going to wake up again," he looked up at me with tears in his eyes, "I thought I had lost you."

            Part of me wondered if this was the first time I had ever seen him this emotional. "Wait, how long have I been out?"

            "Three weeks," Ray spoke in a hushed voice.

            His statement hit me with a wave of shock. Had I really been asleep for three solid weeks?

            Ray made his way over to the bed and crawled over to sit behind me. I smiled softly as he wrapped both his arms around me and nuzzled his face into the crook of my neck.

            "I missed you, Kai," he whispered, "Promise me you won't do that to me again. Please."

            "Why all this emotion?" I joked, "What happened to my 'strong and silent' boyfriend?"

            "I just," he hesitated; his embrace tightened, "I can't lose you. For god's sake, not you," he shivered and as I put a hand up to caress his face gently I felt small tears across his cheeks. "We've both lost so many people, and I can't-," he paused, "I won't let you become one of them. No matter what, I will keep you safe. Just, promise me I won't lose you."

            "Ray," my voice wavered, "Just promise me I won't lose you in the process." I shifted positions so that I could stare longingly into his forest green eyes. I could feel one of his hands brush against the back of my neck. Both of our eyes flickered between each other's eyes and lips. I leaned forward.

            Suddenly, the door opened and two people walked in. Ray and I both looked up at the door with wide eyes.

            "Were we interrupting something?" A girl with shoulder-length blonde hair with bangs spoke with a smirk. Another girl with dark skin and thick braided hair stood behind her.

            "R-Robin? Haley? But- Hang on," I paused as I remembered the weird 'dream' that I had.

            "Why are you so surprised?" Ray asked.

            "How long have they been here?"     

            "The whole time Kai. They escaped with us, remember? You three were all hiding in Plant Three together."

            Slowly but surely, the lines began to connect. The weird dream that I had that was nothing like what had happened before, then suddenly Haley and Robin were alive and here with us in the Human World.

            "You guys are going to think I'm crazy, but I think when I was out I somehow went back in time and saved both of you guys," I gestured to Haley and Robin. They both stared at me, then exchanged a glance between themselves, then burst out laughing.

            "Kai are you sure you didn’t hit your head or something?" Haley asked.

            "Yeah, how would something like that even be possible?" Robin added.

            I looked at both of them, then at Ray. Even he was looking at me skeptically. I sighed, "Not you too, Ray. I swear I'm not making this up!" I paused and looked back over at Haley and Robin, "You two- Both of you, d-died. The first time, you," I pointed at Robin, "You reported me to the caretaker. You were hoping for a delayed shipment but you ended up getting shipped out in my place. And you," I pointed at Haley, "I- You- you found out so I- I had to-," I stuttered, remembering how I had single-handedly killed her the first time. Tears slipped from my eyes and ran down my blotched cheeks.

            "Kai-" Ray started.

            "I promise I'm not lying! Why would I have any reason to be making this up? I have absolutely nothing to gain from this, so why would I lie to all of you?" I shouted.

            Ray put his hand on my shoulder but I brushed it off briskly. My head was so full of thoughts. I moved to the edge of the bed and got up, "I'm going to go for a walk," I spoke before pushing my way past Haley and Robin who were both staring with equally shocked expressions.

            "Kai, please. At least let me come with you. You don’t know your way around yet-"

            "I'll manage. I don’t need you for everything you know. I'm not just a dependent little girl who needs her big strong boyfriend to do everything for her. In fact," I turned around and hung in the doorway, "You would’ve been dead without me. At Goldy Pond, I saved you from dying. I saved you from getting shot because you just had to get into a fight with Violet. Even at the very beginning, I saved you. I saved you from burning yourself to fucking death. And it was because I loved you. Without me, you'd be dead. Who's dependent on who now?"

            "Please Kai I didn’t mean-"

            "Save it. I will admit, you saved me a few times, but I could’ve easily gotten out alive without your help."

            Ray sighed. His expression hardened, "What about that time you tried to jump off that bridge? Hm? Yeah, I guess you forgot about that. You didn’t 'just slip'. I notice things, Kai. I'm not as dumb as you think. I'm not just a guy who hides his feelings because he doesn’t even have them in the first place. I hide my feelings because I don’t want to push them onto the people I love who are already dealing with so fucking much. It's not that hard to tell what someone is thinking."

            I fell silent.

            "Yeah, that’s what I thought. You might be good at hiding your feelings but I'm good at finding those feelings," he paused. His voice grew colder, "You know, if it wasn’t for you, Norman and Emma would still be alive."

            There was a gasp from both Haley and Robin.

            "Low blow, Ray. You know damn well that it wasn’t my fault. We live in such a shitty world that every fucking thing is dangerous. I thought you would’ve expected at least something to happen."

            "Oh really? If you and Emma hadn’t gotten kidnapped by those Goldy Pond demons, I wouldn’t have had to go after you and leave Norman and everyone else defenseless. And if you hadn’t let Emma run away in the Shelter she wouldn’t be dead. She would be here. Norman would be here," he paused, "You know what Kai?"

            I crossed my arms and glared at him, "What's that?" I spat.

            "I should’ve let you fall off that bridge."

            "You know what Ray?"

            He stared back at me.

            "I should’ve left you in that damn library. I should’ve let you burn."

            And with that, I turned around and walked briskly down the hallway. I walked all the way past the living room and past the kitchen where Evelyn was baking something.

            "Kai sweetie is everything okay?"

            "Just. Fine." I spoke quickly, "I'll be out for a walk is there anything you need?"

            Evelyn looked concerned, "You haven’t had a chance to explore outside. At least take Ethan with you I don’t want you to get lost."

            "I'll be fine, I'm good with navigation," I lied, "Is there anything we need?" I repeated.

            Evelyn sighed. She dusted her hands off and walked around the counter to dig through her purse. She grabbed her phone and some cash out of her wallet then handed them to me, "Here. I don’t think we really need anything but there's a nice café down the street. You can get yourself something," she looked at me with a knowing glance, "I heard what he said. If you need to talk I'm here."

            I tried my best to hold my feelings and tears inside, "Thanks," I said before heading for the elevator.

            "Kai?" Evelyn called.

            I turned around.

            "You might want to change first."

            I looked down and realized I was wearing a T-shirt and sweatpants that I had worn the night before. I sighed and walked back to the room.

            Ray was sitting on the edge of the bed facing the balcony with his head in his hands. Haley sat next to him with a hand on his shoulder. Platonically, of course. Robin stood leaning against the wall and watched as I walked back in to get something to wear. She glanced at me, but it wasn’t intended meanly. She met my eyes and gave me a small sympathetic smile. I half-heartedly smiled back and continued to walk into the closet to find an outfit. I ended up deciding on a pair of ripped jeans and a black sleeveless turtleneck. When I came back out, Ray was standing out on the balcony with Robin. Haley must've walked out of the room. I watched the two of them for a bit.

            Ray was talking about something and Robin stared at him and patiently listened. One moment, I saw Ray's shoulders twitch and I saw him wipe a hand across his face. He sobbed.

            I watched Robin gently bring her hand up to the side of his face. He looked up at her. She tilted her head and leaned forward. Ray stared at her.

            I watched with interest. Part of me wanted to know if he would really go for it. Part of me already wanting to throw his bones in a ditch somewhere.

            Suddenly, Ray pulled away from Robin and he brushed her hand away. I raised my eyebrows and scoffed. So he wasn’t completely a bitch. He said something to Robin, well, shouted really. Robin looked him up and down and yelled something back. Ray retorted quickly, paused, then looked to the side. His eyes met with mine and he stared at me with a mix of fear and sadness. I simply held his gaze for a matter of seconds, letting him know that I had seen him, then walked out of the room.

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Ray's POV

            I sat on the edge of the bed, slowly realizing what exactly I had said. This was the first time I didn't hide my feelings. I was hurt, but I had also hurt Kai as well. I dropped my head and ran a hand through my hair.

            I felt a dip in the mattress next to me and I looked up to see Haley. She put a reassuring hand on my shoulder and I felt my emotions tip over the edge. Tears slipped from my eyes. Haley then exchanged a glance with Robin, then stood up and left the room. Robin walked over to me and held out her hand. I took it and got up to join her. She spared a glance at the closet and then led me over to the sliding glass door leading out to the balcony.

            "I fucked up, didn't I?" I spoke quietly once we were out on the balcony.

            Robin looked up at me with a concerned expression, "Hey, she did too. It's not your fault. She started-"

            "But it is my fault. I just fanned the flame."

            "Ray," Robin said at a near whisper. She hesitated.

            I noticed a tear lingering on my cheek so I brushed it away with the back of my hand. I glanced up as I saw Robin move her own hand to the side of my face. She brushed away the thick curtain that usually hides my left eye. I could see her eyes flickering up and down.

            "Are you serious right now?" I spoke in a harsh tone as I grabbed her wrist and pushed her away, "Are you fuckingserious?!"

            "What? Ray what's wrong?" she said.

            "I just get into a small fight with my girlfriend and you're already trying to move in. We didn’t even say anything about breaking up! I knew you liked me but I never knew you'd go this low."

            "I'm only trying to help," her tone changed, "She hurt you. She started this shit by telling stupid lies. Why are you trying to defend her? You heard what she said. 'I should've left you in that damn library'. Perhaps you've forgotten who your fucking friends are."

            I scowled, "Oh, I know who my friends are," I paused so I could look her dead in the eyes, "And they certainly aren’t you," I glanced back at the room as I saw a flash of movement. Kai stood in the doorway of the closet.
            She gave me an intense glare. She must've seen Robin try to make a move on me. I held her gaze for a matter of seconds before she scoffed and walked out of the room.

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Kai's POV

            I walked out of the building and took a deep breath of the late summer air. All I could smell was the saltiness of the ocean breeze. Nothing else. Tears stung my eyes but I pushed them down and headed toward the café.

As I was walking, I felt like everyone was watching me. I felt like they were watching me like they knew what I had said. They all knew. They all stared. I glanced at the people passing by and they looked back with disapproving glares. I blinked a few times and quickened my pace. The surrounding people looked up with looks of tender concern as I passed them. My heartbeat quickened and grew heavy in my chest. I tried to slow it by controlling my breathing but it didn’t work. I turned the corner and went left. Then right. Then straight. I was so focused on getting to the café that I didn’t notice I was heading straight for a person walking toward me.

            It all happened so fast. One moment I was walking and the next I was tangled up with this stranger. Both of us sitting on the cobblestone sidewalk. My head pounded and I winced as I noticed the position that my wrist was in. Then I noticed the person across from me frantically picking up papers that had fallen out of their hands as I had run into them. I rushed to help.

            "T-Thanks," they stuttered as I handed them a stack of papers.

            "I'm so sorry are you okay? I wasn’t watching where I was going," I quickly apologized.

            "It's fine, I get like that too sometimes," they replied as they looked up to meet my eyes.

            My heart skipped a beat.

            They had the clearest grey-blue eyes behind circular glasses. Their hair was dark brown and short and it was slightly messy but in a good way. They wore an oversized black hoodie over a pale green turtleneck with a pair of black jeans. They also wore a black beanie with a small red mushroom embroidered on the front.  

            "Hey- are you okay? You look like something's wrong," they spoke in a concerned tone.

            "How does everyone suddenly know how to read feelings?" I asked no one in particular.

            They laughed softly, "You want to talk about it? It might help to rant to someone."

            I sighed and nodded, barely managing to keep my tears inside, "I'm actually looking for this café. It's supposed to be around here I think."

            "Oh yeah, I know what you're talking about. It's just around the corner, I was just leaving from there actually."

            "I'm Kai, by the way," I spoke quietly.

            "That’s a pretty name," they replied, "I'm Cain."

            "That’s a cool name as well," I spoke.

            Cain smiled, "Yeah I guess. Anyways, the café is just over there," they pointed to a small building behind them.

            I ran a hand through my hair and noticed that it was becoming increasingly staticky, so I put it half up in a messy ponytail.

            "So what's going on?" Cain asked softly as we began walking towards the café.

            Their question barely registered. I was too busy staring at their eyes, "Oh sorry, I swear I zone out at the worst times," I tried to make up a quick lie. I began to answer their question but I realized that I couldn’t tell the full story without them becoming confused, "Well, I just woke up from a coma apparently so I guess that’s nice."

            Their eyes widened but they said nothing and continued to listen.

            "It was really weird because, during the time that I was out, I had this strange dream that two of my old friends had surviv- stayed instead of moving away. Then, I woke up and they were there in the room. But the weird thing was that I swear they weren't there before I had passed out."

            "That sounds pretty overwhelming. I don't want to pressure you but it seems like that’s not the full story," Cain said in a friendly and joking tone, "You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to though."

            "No, it's fine. It's actually kind of nice you know. To talk to someone that you don’t know."

            "Yeah, I understand that. I'm sure that’s how most people in therapy feel."

            We both chuckled. Suddenly, Cain came to a stop in front of a small and cozy-looking place. They gestured to the door.

            "T-This is the café," they stuttered.

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            Cain chose a small table in the back corner and we both sat down.

            "So, what else happened?" they asked.

            I sighed, debating whether or not to start from the very beginning with the farm and the demons. It would make my story much easier.

            "When I had woken up from that weird coma, my boyfriend Ray was there. I tried telling him what had happened in my dream but he didn’t believe me. It- It didn’t end well. We both said some really mean things to each other."

            "If you don't mind me asking, what did he say?"

            "We've been through a lot together," I struggled to find the words. I sighed, there was no way I could explain what had happened without explaining the things we had gone through in the Demon World, "You'll probably think I'm crazy," I began, "But I'm not actually from here."

            "Oh I get that, we get tourists here all the time," they replied.

            "No, I mean, I'm not from this world."

            Cain's eyes widened, then narrowed and scanned the room to make sure no one else was listening, "So you must be Grace Field too then," they whispered.

            "Wait, you know- Sorry," I shook my head, "I think I misheard you."

            Cain didn’t respond. Instead, they brought their hand up to the edge of their turtleneck and pulled it down to reveal a set of six numbers. 771940.

            "Hey hey, nearly same ID numbers," I said as I pulled down the edge of my own turtleneck.

            "7714, huh. I'm guessing you were from a different Plant then right?"

            "Yeah. Plant Two," I replied, "Were you from Plant Three?"

            "Plant Four actually."

            "Ah."

            At that moment, a waitress walked over to our table with a couple of small paper menus of the drinks and fresh pastries. The conversation between Cain and I faded as we both switched over to ordering something. When the waitress left, I tried to spark up the conversation again.

            "When did you escape?" I asked.

            "I escaped on my twelfth birthday. January eleventh. 2044. Thirty-four years in Human World time. What about you?"

            "January fifth, 2045," I replied. My hands fiddled with the edge of my shirt.

            The air around us grew silent. Even the café itself seemed to quiet down.

            "So, you were telling me about what happened with your boyfriend?" they tried to spark the conversation up again.

            I sighed, "Long story short, he's always been super," I lowered my voice, "suicidal. He tried to burn himself to death at the House at Plant Three, then also got into a fight at this place called Goldy Pond that nearly got him shot and killed. I won't deny that I also have suicidal thoughts here and there, but it's not nearly as much as him. He's tried to get himself killed maybe three or four times. I've only tried once. Pretty much, I tried to fake a fall off of this old log bridge in the Demon Forest outside Grace Field. Ray caught me and saved me, but what he said really hurt."

            "What did he say?" Cain pressed.

            "At the end of our argument, he said, 'I should’ve let you fall off that bridge'. I also think I hurt him pretty bad too though."

            "Why's that?"

            "After he said that, I responded with, 'I should’ve left you in that library. I should’ve let you burn.'" Tears threatened to fall from my eyes.

            Suddenly, the door to the café swung open. Evelyn rushed in and frantically scanned the faces staring at her. She found my eyes in the crowd and dashed over to the table.

            "Evelyn? What's wrong?" I asked.

            "You know her?" Cain whispered to me.

            "Yeah, she's giving me and Ray a place to stay here in the Human World," I replied.

            Evelyn looked over at Cain skeptically then back to me, "It's Ray. I think he's going to get himself hurt, or worse, killed." She lowered her voice at the last part.

            I rolled my eyes, "Did he say where he was going?" I asked.

            "I don’t think you understand Kai. He says he's going back to the Demon World."

            "And how's he going to manage that?"

            "Kai, please," Evelyn was practically begging, "I don’t know how or when but he found a book. A book that was written by the demons themselves. There's a spell or something to create a portal like the one you used to get here."

            Now I was getting worried. Knowing Ray, he'd definitely find a way to get back if he really wanted to. I got up from my seat, "Did he give any indication of where he was going? Anything at all?"

            "He said something about the forest on Fay Island. He left maybe twenty minutes ago."

            "I know that place. I've been there before," Cain stood up, "I can take you there."

            "How soon can you be ready to go?" I asked urgently.

            Cain checked their watch, "Right now I guess. If we hurry we can catch the next ferry headed that way."

            I gathered my things from the table and bolted out the door. Cain followed close behind. Evelyn, however, hung back.

            "Bring him back safely," she whispered to herself as she watched the two of us run towards the docks.

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            Cain and I had begun to approach the ferry just as it was moving away from the dock. I began to slow down. We were too late.

            "Keep running!" Cain shouted.

            I complied in confusion, then realized. Cain was planning to jump onto the side of the boat. I ran faster to make up for the speed I had lost.

            Cain bolted through the crowd of people that had gotten off the ferry previously.

            I ran close behind them.

            Cain reached the edge of the dock and effortlessly jumped towards the retreating boat. They caught the edge of the top deck and quickly gained a footing on the edge of the lower windows. After steadying themselves, they climbed up over the railing and fell out of sight.

            I took a breath and picked up speed. I jumped over the edge, catching the deck with a single hand, my legs dangling and kicking at the side of the sleek ferry. I looked down at the ferocious water below me. Slowly, I felt my hand slipping from the railing. Cain suddenly took my hand and began to pull me up over the railing right before I was about to fall.

            "Thanks," I said while trying to catch my breath.

            "No problem," Cain replied.

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            After about fifteen minutes, the ferry neared a small forested island. The boat came to a stop and Cain and I practically ran off the deck.

            "She said the Fay Island forest, right? Cliffrock Wood?" Cain asked.

            "I don’t know, all she said was the forest on Fay Island," I answered.

            Cain took a sharp left onto a trail leading into the woods, "It's probably safe to say it's Cliffrock. That’s one of the main forests on the island."

            I said nothing and walked slightly faster. Up ahead of us, I caught a glimpse of familiar black hair fall behind a small hill. I dashed in front of Cain and began to run towards the figure. I reached the top of the hill and looked down at Ray standing in front of a flickering blue sphere. So, he really had found a Demon book. I continued down the hill.

            "Ray!" I called.

            He looked up at me. His face was dark and determined.

            "How'd you find me?" he asked.

            "Evelyn told me. What the hell are you trying to do Ray? You can't possibly be wanting to go back to that place."

            "Why would you care?"

            I walked up to him so I could look directly into his eyes, "I care because I love you."

            He looked away.

            "What? I do. You do realize that one stupid argument isn’t going to make me not love you anymore. I'm not that much of a bitch."

            Still, Ray said nothing.

            "Please answer me, Ray. Say something."

            He took a step closer and then kissed me softly. I closed my eyes and kissed him back.

            "I love you too," he whispered.

            I looked back up at the hill to see Cain watching the whole scene, although they seemed to be paying particular attention to the glowing blue orb hovering next to us.

            "So, uh, lovebirds. Care to tell me what that is?" they nodded towards the orb.

            "It was a portal back to the Demon World. I was going to try to find someone," Ray explained.

            I understood what he was saying, "Ray, Emma is gone," I said gently.

            "You don’t know that though. We never saw her die."

            "She was taken by the demons! What do you think could’ve happened?"

            "We still never saw her die."

            Suddenly, the orb fizzled and cracked. It slowly expanded, casting blue sparks into the air.

            I saw Ray staring at the orb with a troubled expression. I held his hand tightly, "You can't possibly be still thinking about going back. It's too dangerous!"

            He contemplated my words. It truly was a suicide mission if he chose to go back. And there would be no telling if Emma was actually alive or not. I turned my head as I heard a crashing to the left of us.

            Robin and Haley tumbled out into the small clearing. They both took one look at Ray and I, then to the fizzling orb that continued to grow.

            "What the hell is that?!" Robin exclaimed. She walked cautiously over to us.

            "It's another portal to the Demon World. Ray," I gave him a small glance, "tried to go back."

            Ray sighed, "I'm sorry. It was a stupid idea. Of course, Emma is probably dead. You're right."

            "I'm sorry Ray, but it's impossible that she could’ve survived."

            "Sorry but none of your sad little chit-chat is helping this thing go away," Robin butted in. Suddenly, she took a step towards the orb and picked up the thick leather book that Ray had dropped. She studied it for a moment, then reached a slow hand out towards the sphere. Robin took a breath then flinched when it sparked at her touch.

            "Robin what are you doing-" I began.

            Rapidly, the orb began to swirl and surround Robin. She looked at the blue lights flying faster and faster around her.

            "Robin!" Haley ran over to try and help. She reached for the book but then yelped in pain when one of the blue lights brushed against her forearm. A gruesome sizzle sounded as her flesh burned. The blue light exploded and covered the clearing. The orb itself expanded and completely surrounded both Robin. I squinted my eyes as the light grew brighter.

            There was a slice.

            Then a thud.

            The lights dimmed.

            When I looked up, I gasped as I saw a pool of blood spreading from where Robin had just been. One single outstretched arm, severed just above the elbow, lay in the center. Reaching out towards us. Tears slipped from my eyes and I turned away. Ray wrapped his arms around me in a comforting hug. Even Cain, who had been watching the whole scene from the hill above, lowered their head. Haley let out a sob.

            There was something that lingered in Ray's expression. He looked down at Robin's severed arm lying on the forest floor and scowled. As if he thought that she had earned her fate. I began to go back through all of the memories from Plant Two. Of both Robin and Haley. All the times we played tag in the forest. All the times we stayed up late together. Every single year, filled to the brim with happy events so as to distract us from our inevitable fate. I took a shaky breath and came to a sudden realization. Robin never meant any of the nice things she had said to me before. Looking closer at our relationship, she had been manipulative and a liar. I wiped the tears off of my face. Robin didn’t deserve any of the tears I had shed. She even tried to kiss Ray five minutes after our fight. She had told the caretaker about my escape plan and nearly got me caught, the first time. I slowly drew away from Ray.

            "Let's go back home," I spoke in a hushed voice.

            Ray glanced around then quickly at the crimson leaves. He nodded.

            Haley took a moment to stare at the spot where Robin used to be, hoping that it might have been a dream. The bloody patch of ground and Robin’s severed arm remained unmoving. Haley shed a few more tears over her dead friend, then turned to follow Ray and me.

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            We reached Evelyn's apartment late at night. The stars watched our every move as we walked up the steps to the glass doors. Cain had spoken a hushed excuse and darted off into the night.

            The entire rest of the night, I barely talked at all. I had simply locked myself in my room the second we got up to the penthouse. One more friend. Dead. Just like that.

            Later that night, I heard a quiet knock on the door.

            "Hey, it's me," Ray spoke softly from the other side.

            I hurriedly wiped my eyes and walked over to open the door.

            Ray stood there solemnly and fidgeted with the edge of his shirt, "Are you okay?" he asked in a concerned tone.

            I tried to think of an excuse.

            "Yeah I'm fine. It's just-" I paused and took a breath. Something was trying to come out. All the years of my built-up emotions were beginning to tip over the edge. I didn’t have a reason to be sad right now, yet for some reason I looked back into Ray's eyes with tears in my own. I wasn’t even the slightest bit distressed from watching Robin die back in Cliffrock Forest. It simply was the years and years of shut-in tears, screams, and emotions. Each one like a penny, filling up a jar one by one till no more would fit. I had officially met my breaking point.

            "I can't do this anymore," I sobbed.

            Ray gently put his arms around me.

Suddenly, there was a small cough from Ray. Then a second. Then a third. Then it got to the point where he couldn’t stop. He took a step away from me and collapsed against the doorframe.

            "Ray?! Ray what's wrong?!"

            He gave no other answer than a few more coughs. There was a thud as he sank to the floor.

            "Ray!" I rushed to his side, "Evelyn? Anyone?!"

            Ray continued to cough. Each one slowly getting even worse and worse. He tried to take a couple of deep breaths but nothing was working.

            At one point, I could swear I saw splotches of blood on the dark blue sleeves of his sweater.

            I heard hurried footsteps down the hallway and Evelyn ran over to help. Ethan kept his distance.

            "What's going on?" Evelyn spoke worriedly.

            "He just started coughing and he won't stop!" I replied while not taking my eyes off of Ray.

            "Ethan, call an ambulance," Evelyn urged as she knelt down beside Ray and I.

            The sounds of sirens and shouts soon filled the air around us and I was torn away from Ray by two people dressed like medics.

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            I bit at my nails anxiously as I waited in the white-washed room of what Evelyn had called the 'waiting room' of the hospital. Haley had insisted on staying behind since she had some ‘irrational fear of hospitals’. What a great excuse.

            "He'll be okay," Evelyn whispered.

            I gave a half-hearted nod but didn’t stop tearing up my own cuticles.

            The door swung open and a girl in a long white coat walked out holding a clipboard.

            I leapt up from my seat hopefully.

            She glanced over then walked calmly over to Evelyn and I. Her hair was in a slicked-back ponytail that looked very professional and she tapped a pencil softly on the clipboard.

            "Evelyn and Kai?" she asked.

            We both nodded apprehensively.

            She sighed, "He just woke back up. We moved him to the level two rooms. You can go back and see him if you like," she turned and began to walk us up to Ray's room.

            We walked the entire way in dead silence.

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            When we got up to Ray's room, the girl opened the door and walked inside. Not really bothering to make sure we were following her.

            Ray looked terrible. His skin was pale and there were tubes and cords surrounding the hospital bed. A soft beeping sounded from the machine on the left side of the room.

            "We ran some tests and found large amounts of unsanctioned drugs and unknown poisons. There are several scars and markings believed to be the results of either, fighting, self-harm, or some sort of illegal experimentation," the girl spoke professionally, reading whatever was scrawled on the papers she held, "The tattoo on the left side of his neck and his left forearm raised suspicions of a possible government testing, and there were traces of unknown metals on his left ear," she lowered her voice, "From what was left of it at least," she turned to Evelyn and handed over a thick stack of papers, "He wouldn’t answer any questions so the paperwork is mostly blank. I'd appreciate it if you could fill that out, then put it in the hanging bin outside the door when you leave."

            And with that, the girl quickly left the room.

            I slowly approached Ray's bed. I saw his chest rising and falling steadily. Part of me wanted to run. Part of me wondered if he really would be okay. I flinched slightly as he shifted and his head fell to the right. There was an oxygen mask over his face and I could see his even breathing fogging up the inside.

            His eyes fluttered slightly, and he slowly raised his head to see who was beside him.

            "M-Mom?" he asked, barely whispering, "Where-" he glanced around, "I lost them all. Where am I? Mom I want to go back to the House."

            I could barely hold back a sob, he thought I was his caretaker. I looked at him. In this moment, he seemed like no more than a scared little boy.

            "Ray," I whispered in a shaky voice. I touched his hand gently, "Ray it's me. I'm here, I'm right here."

            He looked up at me, "K-Kai?"

            I sat down on the edge of the bed, "I'm right here Ray."

            Something changed in his demeanor. He quickly blinked a few times, then sat up against the headboard, quickly recovering from his previous state a few seconds ago. He glanced around at the machines surrounding the bed, tracing the multiple tubes and wires that lead into his arms. He raised his hands to take off the bulky mask then looked back over at me and sighed, "Kai I need to tell you something."

            I sat up a bit taller, trying to brace myself for whatever he was going to say.

            "You remember back when we ran into the wild demons?"

            I nodded.

            "Well, I took care of those ones pretty easily, but in the process, I ended up drawing in some Demon Guards from Grace Field. They had tracked me wherever I went. I knew I couldn’t go back to you because they would’ve followed me. I tried for days to get them off my tail but they found me. The only strange thing was they didn’t take me back to Grace Field. They took me to a new, smaller farm. An experimental plant called LAMBDA 7214. They gave me this," He showed his left forearm.

            There was a tattoo mark of a few strange symbols, then Ray's original farm identification number. Multiple scars also littered his skin.

            I touched his arm tenderly, "Ray why didn’t you tell me about this earlier?"

            "I didn’t want you to worry about me. I know your history with anxiety and I didn’t was to make it worse," he put his hand on top of mine comfortingly then continued with his story.

            "They were trying to find a way to produce high-quality merchandise without the years of waiting. They did several drug trials. Each one inducing severe side effects and even death for some."

            "Your cough-"

            "Is a side effect from the medicines. And it’s not the only one. I’ve also been having fevers that won’t go away. Several muscle spasms that last for up to ten minutes. Even coughing up blood…" he trailed.

            I could see faint tears in his eyes.      

            "I managed to escape but," he hesitated, "I don’t think there's any cure to the side effects."

            At that moment, Evelyn walked back into the room, making sure to close the door behind her. “Alright, I just talked to the doctor outside, they’re going to start a few different treatments. Kinda like weekly therapy sessions by the looks of it.” She held up a few pieces of paper. One had a list of dates and times on it and the other two had other random bits of information.

            I glanced at Ray.

            He looked just as confused as I did. “W-what do you mean ‘treatments’?” he asked unsteadily.

            “Well that’s what these are for,” Evelyn waved the two other pieces of paper, “Pretty much just weekly check-ins. Other than that, just scheduled dates for certain tests and medicines.”

            Ray was shaking.

            I could see his hands twitching from out of the corner of my eye.

            “Weekly tests…”

            “Treatment…”

            “LAMBDA…”

            “Medicines…”

            So many flashbacks were going through Ray’s head. He could feel the needles up against his skin. He could hear the sounds of the machines in the background. Every time he blinked he could see the faces of the demons and humans alike who ran the LAMBDA plant.

            “Ray? Are you alright?” Evelyn asked.

            The door opened unexpectedly and a few doctors accompanied by several nurses carrying trays walked in.

            “I’m sorry to interrupt but we need to start the treatments now. You’ll be able to visit him tomorrow.” One of the doctors spoke.

            I sat up from my spot on the edge of the bed and moved over to join Evelyn. We began to make our way out of the room, but I couldn’t help but steal a glance back towards Ray. My eyes widened. Ray was struggling against the two nurses who had been trying to start an IV. He would tear his arm away from them while also trying to avoid the other doctors and nurse on the other side of the bed. One of the nurses on the right had rushed out of the room, only to come back later with two security guards.

            Ray was not going down without a fight. He landed a weak punch on one of the security guards and attempted to land a hit on the other, however, not being so successful. The guard on the left caught Ray’s hand quite easily, and held onto it like a vice.

            “Damn you! No! Please! I can’t do this!” Ray was nearly begging.

            The guards both finally managed to grab hold of Ray’s wrists, trying to hold them as still as possible while one of the doctors administered an anesthetic. Slowly but surely, Ray’s movements began to die down. His eyes flickered like dimming lights as he looked at me. “K-kai, please…” he whispered.

            It was too much to bear.

            Evelyn gently tapped my shoulder, “Come on, let’s just go.” She spoke quietly. Her expression was pitiful and it seemed like she too couldn’t watch any more.

            I nodded and tried to push away the tears in my eyes as we left Ray’s room.

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            That night, I got no sleep. Not once did Ray’s terrified expression leave my mind and I would always flinch at the slightest sound, hoping that somehow it was him just walking around.

            The morning had been slightly better. Evelyn had stopped by one of the markets on our way to the hospital and we both picked out some flowers to ‘decorate that pale room’ as Evelyn put it. Ray was already up and staring out the window as we walked in.

            “Hey Kai!” he said enthusiastically. It was almost hard to believe. He looked so different from when I last saw him yesterday. Bright, cheery, even happy. It was such a contrast from his usual self.

            “What’s up?” I asked him.

            “What do you mean?” he shot back.

            “You aren’t usually this perky-” I began. “What sort of drugs did they give you last night?”

            Ray visibly shivered. Clearly he didn’t want to bring up yesterday. Evelyn busied herself with arranging the flowers on the desk.

            Ray sighed and looked down, “I can’t do this Kai. At this point I would welcome death. It’s not even about the treatments really, I just-” he paused. “It’s just, every single thing, brings me back to that horrible place.”

            “Hey, it’s going to be okay.” I said as I pulled him into a hug. “Would it help if I was there with you? During the treatments?”

            “You don’t understand, Kai. That place- That place was a graveyard of living experiments. I barely even saw anyone else but sometimes when they moved me into the testing rooms I could see other kids. None of them, looked anywhere near normal.”

            “We’ve both experienced things, Ray. But what’s important is we got through them together.”

            He sighed. “I think the next sets of the ‘starter treatments,’ whatever those are, are later today. Around this evening.”

            “Do you want me to bring anything?” I asked.

            “Just yourself,” he smiled, “And maybe a couple new books?” he added.

            “Okay. I think Evelyn was going to go back to the market today, want anything from there?”

            Ray thought for a moment, “I think I’m alright for now, I guess maybe if you find anything you think I’d like.”

            “Alright,” I gave him one last hug. “Try not to die.” I spoke.

            “No promises,” Ray replied with a soft smile.

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            The market had actually been closer to what I was expecting. Several stalls and tables with all kinds of assortments of things. Some were selling food, some were selling handmade items, some were selling herbs and plants, and other things. Evelyn picked out various vegetables, fruits, spices and more. I scanned each table carefully, trying to find something to bring Ray for later. I finally settled on some lavender oils for myself and some caramels for Ray.  

            After the markets was the bookstore, and I picked out a variety of different books I thought Ray might like.

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            As Evelyn and I walked back through the parking lot, I noticed some scattered car pieces surrounding where our car had originally been parked.

            Strange. I thought.

            A flash of light ensued from behind other parked cars. Blue light. The same one from the portal which took Ray and me here and the same one from when Ray tried to open the portal a second time to go back. Evelyn instinctively put herself in front of me, but I didn’t want her to end up like Emma, Robin, or Haley, so I walked around her protective stance and put myself between her and the lights.

            Slowly but surely, I moved around the cars. On the asphalt was a pistol and a ripped piece of paper.

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