Dandelions | Emma x Fem!Reader

Chapter 34 | Execution - Part 2

January 14th, 2046
11:45 PM

"Tomorrow will finally be the day of Ray's harvest. It's "already" been 12 years. Or shall I say...that it's "finally" been 12 years? I wonder, how many years has it been since the last time I've shipped out a product at its peak frame? Not only that, but a special-ordered product made specifically to offer to Him at the Tifari! There's no way I can screw this up."

Isabella opened the door from her bedroom and walked into her office, sitting down at her desk.

"These past two months...Ray, Emma, (Y/n), and Maiko truly haven't done a single thing. Even Don and Gilda don't seem to be doing anything too outrageous. Those children don't have a single move left up their sleeve. As long as tomorrow ends... No, that's precisely why I can allow myself to let my guard down until then."

Isabella stood up and picked up the lantern she had set down on her desk and exited her office.

"I'll just pull an all-nighter tonight. And just to be safe, I should probably walk around the house too-"

"RAAAAAYYYYYYYYY!"

Isabella immediately bolted down the hall towards where the scream had come from. She got to the dining hall doors, the screams of Ray's name just kept getting louder. She threw the doors and a gust of smoke and embers came flying at her. She had to cover her mouth and squint her eyes.

"This stench..." Isabella cringed.

Once she looked up her eyes widened at the sight of the large flames engulfing the room. Emma was down on her knees, as was Maiko. (Y/n) was kneeling as well, on Emma's right side, a hand on Emma's back as she stared at the flames with a horrified look on her face. Both (Y/n) and Maiko were holding their hands over one of their ears.

"RAY! RAY!!" Emma continued to shout.

"R...ay...?" Isabella murmured.

She then walked up to the girls and pulled their shoulders back.

"Emma! (Y/n)! Maiko!"

Emma frantically grabbed Isabella's wrist.

"MAMA...Help...Ray... RAY'S IN THERE!!" She shouted.

Isabella looked back at the flames, her eyes widening.

"What? Is this...a trap? A plan to run while a fire distracts... No! This stench... The girl's reactions... The transmitters!"

Isabella immediately pulled out her receiver and sure enough, she saw four single dots on the grid, three near hers and one coming from the area where the fire was burning. A signal was coming from inside the flames.

"There's a signal coming from inside!! This is no plan or trap. Ray truly is in there right now...burning in this fire! Unbelievable..."

Isabella tightly clutched the receiver in her hand.

"This is his revenge!! That boy actually set himself on fire...so that I wouldn't be able to ship him out tomorrow night! How foolish of me! To think that he would execute his last form of resistance like this... What now?! What about tomorrow's harvest? The Tifari! My Plantation is the only one ready to harvest right now! I can't screw this up! I'll put out the fire! I cannot abandon Ray. I need an extinguisher! And I also need to make sure the other children make it out safely!"