TPN Oneshots and Twoshots

Blood Runs Thicker Than Water

When Ray was younger, he was different. He never cried and was usually solemn and grave. Nobody thought anything of it, not even Isabella. She thought he was just another high scoring, crazily smart kid with an absurdly good memory, nightly terrors and a penchant for reading. But she lived to regret her decision when her alarm blared and she heard a familiar song being hummed that only the dead should know. When she looked away from the wall with a horrified expression on her face, she saw a young 6 year old with a bleeding ear reading under the shade of a tree and a bloody knife next to him. How he got a hold of the knife was a mystery to be solved but for now, she was focusing on him. The little boy had turned when she heard her footsteps and she could clearly see the half of his face he chose to show.

"Ray. How do you know that song?"

The little boy opened his mouth and Isabella was horrified, knowing it but still waiting for him to answer. 

"Hey Mama."

Nonononono-

"Why did you give birth to me?"

No. This couldn't be. This was all just a bad dream. But Ray was looking at her with a big dark green eye, his inky black hair covering the other half of his face and his facial features similar to a young girl who swung down tree branches and listened to mandolin being played and she realized that this child was hers. The only one who knew that song other than the ones who lost their lives thanks to her. She quickly calmed herself down, smoothed out all her features and looked at Ray with an impassive face. What could she say? He was born to be raised as demon food? No, that would be a lie. Because she wanted a kid? That would be stupid. Why would she want to bear a kid to just die in the future. She would save a lot of pain and heartbreak if she just chose not to. So that she could be a better Mama since bearing a child changes your body system and your brain so that you can better provide for that child? Too lengthy. It may be the truth, but the bigger picture was something else. 

"Well Ray, it was for survival. Longer than anyone."

Ray looked at her for a few seconds and then turned back to the book he was reading. He raised his finger up and Isabella could see a droplet of blood forming at the tip, but not because of his cut ear. Instead of screaming or crying, the 6 year old just watched the blood fall down, his face neutral. 

"I know the truth about this place. It's a farm, isn't it?"

Nonononono! Why did he have to find out? Now she would have to take him to the demons. But well, why not answer his questions beforehand? 

"It is."

"And we have trackers implemented behind our ears. Your "pocket watch"," he used quotation marks, "is to track us. The trackers are small and the best place to put it was behind our ears, wasn't it? Also, the things eating us are demons. They want our brain. That's why you ship us out from 6-12. 6 is when the brain is 90% developed, 12 is when it's fully developed. The smarter ones go when the brain is fully developed and the dumber ones go when its 90% developed because there is not much hope for them."

Isabella was impressed. Was he really only 6? But well, it was truly a shame about what was going to happen. How she wanted it to be false and just a dream. She didn't want Ray to die, she didn't want her son to die. His brain and memory was all for nothing. 

"Correct. But Ray, you will be shipped out tomorrow, you do realize that. Now that you've found out..."

Ray turned to her. 

"I want to make a deal."

Isabella raised an eyebrow. Well this was a turn of events.

"Oh?"