The Lifeless Beauty of Gracefield [ray x f! reader]

Blaze of Glory

3rd pov

Ray turned to the clock; all he had to do was wait 'till the end of the day, and then it'll be his birthday.

The day went on just as it had the past two months that [y/n] and Norman were gone, Emma and Ray stayed separated from each other and sat in silence.

Throughout the day, he wasn't planning anything, simply just telling himself, 'i'm gonna see you again, [y/n]..'

He had finally understood what was really going in [y/n]'s mind when she had told them she'd given up.

He hung is head low, as he had any other day. Today seemed normal, in fact. Nothing different, just two out of the four eldest, sitting around being sad.

Ray hummed the melody he had been born and raised in, as he flipped pages in a book, observing the words carefully, as if he were hoping that some could help him in the situation he was in.

Emma limped throughout the house, following the soft melody, to lead her into the dinning area.

"Ray." She called out to him. He stopped humming and looked up to her, as she closed the door behind her, "What are you doing here at this hour?"

"It's my last night, so I'm saying goodbye to the house." He answered promptly, as if he already knew she was going to ask him that question.

"Ray, its your birthday tomorrow, right?" She asked, though she knew just as well as him, the answer.

"Yeah, tonight's my last night. Tomorrow, it's goodbye." He answered hopelessly.

Emma walked, well more limped, towards Ray, and stoped in front of him.

"Hey, Emma. Did you really give up?" He asked, his eyes still glued to the floorboards under his shoes.

He quickly closed the book before finally turning his head to interrogate her, "You haven't actually given up, have you? Emma."

She gave him a tired smirk, "I've been thinking this whole time. What should I do for [y/n] and Norman's sake?"

"The answer is, to do nothing. Mama told me to give up and free myself of the pain. But, I will never, ever give up." Emma some as Ray watched her carefully.

"I won't let them die in vain. And you, Ray?"

He chuckled at that remark, "So we're always thinking the same thing in the end."

"Let's run away, Ray. I came here to talk about that."

"I wanted to talk to you, too." Ray stood up, "The past two months, we couldn't really talk, since we were worried about Mama watching us."

"Yeah. I didn't want Mama to figure out our true intentions." She agreed.

"True intentions?"

"Yeah. Mama is really cautious. Even thought he two of us weren't doing anything, Mama never stopped watching us. But we can use that against her. As long as she's watching me, I can keep her eyes away from someone else."

Ray began to understand what Emma's 'true intentions' really meant.

"Don and Gilda, huh?"

"Yeah. I left everything to them. Training for the escape, and all the other preparations." Emma replied, further explaining what the other kids have been doing these last two months.

"How far along are you?" Ray asked.

"Everything is ready." Emma answered, determination laced through her words, "Supplies, food, and warm clothing. We can escape anytime."