My Muse || READER X RAY || The Promised Neverland

🔒 My Muse || Chapter Forty

Freedom is so beautiful, yet so cruel.

The forest was dark, silent. Except for the heavy panting of a group of sixteen children and the raging screeching demon behind us. It's thunderous footsteps were the equivalent to lighting a beacon. Don, Gilda and Emma led the pack while Ray and I took care of the back. 

"Jump!" Emma cried from the front of the group. The crunching of leaves underneath our feet were silent for a split second as we gracefully hopped over a protruding tree root. Well, all except one. Jemima tumbled to the ground. I cursed under my breath, scooping her up in my arms. I placed her head on my shoulder. "Don't look at it!" I yelled. "Just pretend it's a game of tag!" 

How did we get there? 

Oh, I remember. 

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"Norman would be so proud of all of you." 

I looked around at everyone's smiling faces, nearly forgetting the gash on the left side of my head. A sudden wave of dizziness fell over me. The world started to spin as I fell to my knees, trying to stay awake. "Shit, shit, shit," I muttered, finally grasping ahold of myself. A hand immediately grabbed my shoulders, helping me back up. "Are you okay? y/n?" The nauseous feeling in my throat didn't subside, but I had to be okay for everyone else. "Y-Yeah." I smiled reassuringly at Anna's worried face. "I'm just a little tired." 

No one was convinced. I could tell at their concerned faces. I laughed it off, turning to Gilda. "Do you have the compass?" I asked. She pulled it out of her pocket, nodding. "South West is that way." She pointed to our left and we all headed on our way. 

The trees grew in meters for every step we took. About an hour into our journey, the forest around us was nothing like the forest we entered. "They're huge." Don muttered, staring in awe at the gargantuan jungle surrounding us. I glanced at Ray, whos eyes were also sparkling in the new world we stepped into. He scratched his chin curiously, gazing at the foot of the trees. "Is something wrong?" I called out to him. "No, no." He directed his attention back to the group. "I just thought I saw something." 

We entered a clearing in between a grove of trees. "Let's rest here." Emma said, setting down her backpack. "Breakfast, anyone?"  The kids swarmed around her, taking seats and opening their snacks. 

I watched them silently, climbing onto a gnarled tree root. Dominic and Chris rubbed their eyes sleepily, yawning. I clicked my tongue in frustration. Our pace is starting to slow down. The deeper into the forest we went, the harder it was to traverse. The smaller kids were tired and hungry, the ground becoming so jagged and uneven they needed help to climb. 

Regardless, it made me happy. Our first breakfast outside, in freedom. 

But we can't relax. Not only will pursuers come from the house, there must be some wild animal that would want to feast on us as much as the demons do. 

There's no telling where danger could come from. 

Underneath our feet? I glanced at the branch I sat on. 

Or maybe the skies? I looked upwards, meeting a plastic jar to the face. "Ow!" I hissed. "Ray!" He laughed at my shock. "Your face is too scrunched up." He placed the water filled jar in my hands, a concerned smile on his face. "You can relax. There's no enemies nearby. I've already canvassed the area for scratch marks, droppings, and footprints." He plopped down by my side. "And I'm sorry." "Hmm?" I asked, taking a sip from the jar. "If I had cooperated from the start, instead of keeping my plans a secret. Maybe we could have escaped earlier, with Norman. Maybe you wouldn't have had to lose your ear." I scoffed, playfully punching his shoulder. "As long as you're happy and alive, I'd cut off any limb. Even my soul!" I joked. "Everyone... Is giving me so much..." His voice started to break. I turned to him, noticing his trembling hands. "I apologized to Anna, about her hair. And she replied with 'It's nothing, Ray! More importantly, happy birthday!'" His brows furrowed. "I can't believe I was ready to let them die." I shoved the jar into my backpack, holding his hands. "I'm going to live, y/n. I'm going to live for you, for Emma, Don and Gilda. I'll protect this family with my life, like you did. I will never cut them off again." He raised right hand in the air. "I promise." 

We hopped back down the group, cleaning up their wrappers and getting back up. The kids looked energized and ready to trek. "What's the plan, y/n?" Don asked, dusting off his shirt. I pulled the silver pen out of my pocket "We go to B06-32." 

I twisted the cap, similar to when we opened it at Grace Field. "B01-14?" Gilda read aloud. "That's different from when we were at home." Emma nodded, when suddenly a soft ominous crackling was hear underneath us. The floor beneath Emma started to rumble, vines starting to fall around us. 

This wasn't a clear picnic grove in between a circle of trees. 

It was a trap. 

The vines underneath Emma and Gilda's feet started to break as they plunged downwards.