Secrets and the Love? "Ray x Oc"

5

P.O.V. Ayame

We had a problem. Another problem.
And it wasn't exactly small. A new adult.
After we were all allowed to leave again, Emma, Norman, Ray, and I followed unnoticed. We hid on the stairs. We could be seen, but being here wasn't prohibited.
Mother showed Sister Krone her new room.
"It couldn't have come at a worse time," Ray stated the obvious.
"Right between three children's rooms," Emma remarked.
"Yes. Emma's right. This way, they can monitor us more effectively," I said, glancing discreetly at Ray.
Suddenly, Mother and Sister Krone looked at us. We quickly smiled, pretending we were just there by chance. Either way, Mother suspected us.

We went downstairs and outside.
"Meet at the library near sunset," Norman said before disappearing with Emma. I chuckled lightly. I went with Ray to the younger children.
"Are you playing tag?" Phil asked us. I nodded. Everyone was excited. Ray and I were nominated to be the taggers.
Ray and I covered our eyes and started counting.
1,
2,
3,
9,
10,
12,
13,
14,
15,
16,
18,
19,
20,
we counted.
Ray and I ran off in different directions. We wanted to cross paths at least once. He would start tagging from the right side, and I from the left.
After a while, we found all the children. I looked up at the sky.
Oh, it's already sunset. I glanced at Ray. He nodded.

We headed inside towards the library. Inside, Norman and Emma were already waiting, and we immediately began discussing everything.
"I was distracted by the transmitter. I never thought she could get help," Norman said, visibly agitated.
"Let's focus on the positives," Ray suggested.
We looked at him, confused.
"How? Positives?"
"Carol and this Sister Krone... They're two more sources of information," Ray explained. I understood what he was getting at.
"First, where did they come from?" he continued.
"Carol is Conny's replacement. So, they're replenishing the stock," I said. "Yes. If this is a plantation, then there must be a base supplying them with one-year-olds," Ray said.
"Are we and the others also from there?" Emma asked us.
"Probably," I replied.
"And then there's this Sister Krone."
"So, Mother isn't the only adult here. There might be other plantations besides ours. Were the adults already under the monsters' control from birth? Or were they captured? Then there would be a completely different world waiting for us outside," Norman speculated.

"But for now, the question remains, how do we get everyone out of here?" I said.
"And where the transmitters are," Ray added.
"After searching myself, I found no scars or anything," Emma recounted.
"Nothing on the clothes or shoes either," Norman added.
"Given what's scientifically possible, they probably track the transmitter via radio signals," Ray said. I looked at him. He wasn't entirely wrong.
"But wouldn't they need batteries for that?" I said.
"You're right. However, they'd need batteries that last over 10 years and are so small that no scar remains. In 2015, that probably wasn't feasible," Ray said.

"So, what does that mean?" Emma asked.
"Since I don't know the technology behind it, I can't determine exactly where it is or how to destroy it. And if it's a special technology of the monsters, then it's game over," Ray explained.
"True," Norman and I said.
"Huh? Is there no way out?" Emma asked.
"No," Ray said.

"OH NO!" Emma exclaimed, running her hands through her hair. I chuckled lightly. Emma is and will always be Emma.
"No, even if we don't know the technology, we can speculate," Norman said.
"Yeah, let's put ourselves in our enemies' shoes and think like them. What kind of transmitter and where would they deploy it?" Ray suggested. We pondered.
"Carol!" I said. The three looked at me.
"She just arrived, so she might have one," Ray said.
"An operation scar from the transmitter!" Emma exclaimed.
I nodded.
"It's getting late. We should head downstairs. Dinner should be ready soon," I said. The other three nodded.
Together, we went downstairs.
"Emma, you better go check on the little babies, especially Carol," Norman suggested. Emma nodded.
As we entered the dining hall, we saw Sister Krone already playing with the little ones.
"They've already taken a liking to her," I said.
"Yes," the two boys agreed with me.

I briefly went to the little ones playing with Sister Krone, just to greet them. As I approached, the sister immediately took my hand.

"So, you're Ayame. You always scored full marks with the other three. Impressive. Let's become good friends," she said excitedly with a big smile. I nodded quickly.

Ray and Norman were washing dishes. I went to them. I nudged Ray, making him startle.
"Ayame! Don't scare us like that!" Ray said, slightly annoyed, but it quickly dissipated.
"How can we outsmart the two adults that everyone loves so much..." I said.
"Good question," Ray replied.
"The worst would be if they report to the monsters. Then we'll be chased by monsters during our escape," Norman said, and I agreed with him.
"To prevent that, there's only one way. Mother and the sister..." Ray said.
I looked at his hands. He was moving a fork back and forth. Norman and I knew what that meant. Ray looked monotonous. Norman was a bit speechless.
Suddenly, Sister Krone appeared behind us.
"You're Norman and Ray, right? Ayame, I've already met you." The two nodded. The sister smiled broadly.
"The ones with the top scores in the tests!" she exclaimed.
"Yes," Norman said.
"Incredible! Won't we become friends? I'd be delighted," Sister Krone said again.
The two shook hands with Sister Krone. Then she left.

"Did she overhear us?" Ray asked.
"No," I replied.
"She didn't just come here as a supervisor," Norman speculated.
"What do you mean?" Ray asked.
"She looked at us completely differently," I explained for Norman. He nodded.
"She suspects us. Us, the oldest ones here," he added.
"How does she know about that?" Ray asked.
"Mother probably didn't tell her," I said.
"Slowly but surely, Mother's going to get us. We need to hurry," Norman said.
"We must hurry," I said.

~~~~~
Hope you liked the chapter my butterflies 🦋