𝘢 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘦 - 𝘯𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘱𝘯

𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘐𝘝

𝐉𝐀𝐈𝐋𝐁𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐊 𝐀𝐑𝐂

𝐅𝐎𝐔𝐑
___________

"I'm not going to play," you said with a hint of reluctance, turning your head away from them.

Emma leans in, flanked by Norman and Ray, and asks, "Why not? We were all having so much fun yesterday!"

You take a moment to gather your thoughts before responding, "Honestly, it made me feel sick afterwards."

Emma's face falls with disappointment as she says, "Oh, I was really looking forward to playing with you."

Not responding to her, you walk away from the group and find a spot beside Mom, watching the children eagerly gather around, ready to dive into the unknown training session.

-

"Hey, can we do that again? And this time I want to be the leader!"

"Maybe we should take a break first."

All the kids plop down, forming their own little cliques, taking a breather and recharging after all that running.

You glance over your shoulder and catch sight of those three by the water table. Their expressions makes It obvious that they're engrossed in a deep conversation, discussing something crucial.

"They're onto something." you confide in Mom, turning your attention back ahead.

"I know." she replies, her voice filled with seriousness.

"Hey, Y/n." Ray's voice calls out from behind you just moments later. You turn your head and catch sight of Emma and Norman strolling past, clearly geared up for another round.

"Let's meet up at the library later today," Ray suggests, walking past you to join the rest of the group.

Your eyebrows knit together in curiosity as you observe him depart, wondering what he has in store.

-

The library is enveloped in a soft, muted glow as the dim lights cast a tranquil ambiance. As you enter, you realize that you weren't the only one who was called to be here. Don and Gilda sat there, looking at you with surprise.

The silence is profound, broken only by the steady ticking of the clock and the restless movements of Don, who seems unable to sit still.

"Did Emma tell you to meet here, too?" Gilda asks you as you take a seat next to another table.

"No." You say. "Ray did." The revelation catches you off guard, and you can't help but feel a surge of surprise at the sight of Don and Gilda being called in as well. It seems that they have finally mustered the courage to step forward and reveal the truth about the house to you.

The doors to the library opened, and Emma, Norman, and Ray walked, making sure to close the door behind them as they did.

"Hey, Emma. What's up?" Don asks.

-

As you expected, they did confess, but they twisted the story and lied about certain things. Instead of mentioning demons, they referred to them as "bad guys" and claimed that we were being sold to them.

You turned to Ray and, from the expression on his face, something seemed oddly off. Why are they lying to us?

"Human trafficking? Are you sure?" Don asks.

"Yeah. All of our sibling were sold off to some really bad people." Emma says.

Don let out a slight gasp, seemingly convinced by everything they said. But then, he burst into laughter, catching everyone off guard with his sudden change in expression. "There's no way! Come on!" He waved his hand in the air with his other arm over his stomach as he continues laughing.

"It explains the walls and gate. And also why the kids who get adopted never send us any letters." Norman says, trying to get Don to realize the truth.

"So what the punch line? You guys had me there for a second?" Don says, looking back and forth between Emma and Norman.

"It's true." Ray says from above.

"What?" Dons smile fades as he finally reads the room. "Wait... but mom-"

"She's the one who sells us to people." Emma looks away, not being able to maintain eye contact with him for long.

"Huh?! There's no way mom would ever do that to us!" Dons voice rises in denial. His arms latch on to her shoulders harshly. "Take it back, Emma!"

"Don. Emma loves mom and this house just as much as the rest of us. Why would she make this up?" Gilda says. Don let's go of Emma's shoulders as realization finally settles in.

"To tell the truth, I did think it was weird. The night that Conny left, Emma and Norman both went down to the gate. I'm most cases, even if you broke the rules you'd eventually come clean about it and things would go back to normal. But you haven't done that yet." Gildas words made Emma gaps.

"Emma, I wanted to ask you about it but I alway got to scared to bring it up." Gilda says as her voice shakes. "Did you see it happen? Did you guys see Conny being sold off to the bad people?" She asks, bursting into tears.

"Yeah. But we didn't make it in time." Norman says.

"Don, Gila, Y/n... let's all escape so that we can help everyone. We can do it if we work together! Please, help us." Emma asks.

As all eyes turned towards you. Your hand tightened into a fist beneath the table, a silent battle raging within your mind. The weight of the situation hung heavy in the air, and you couldn't help but acknowledge the false sense of hope that seemed to permeate the room.

You realized that perhaps this was the only way to gather crucial information for Mom, to give away their plans. With a heavy heart, you finally gave a reluctant nod, your decision etching a bittersweet smile on Emma's face.