Let's Escape Together *BOOK 1*

|22194| Norman {Pt. 4}

"What the hell do you think you're playing at, you idiot?!" yelled Ray, "if you stay here, you're going to die! Run away now, disappear!"

"No, I have no intention of running away," he stated calmly, the trio's eyes widening, "we don't have much time, I want you to listen to me. I'm gonna report what I saw from inspecting the escape route." He sighed deeply, closing his eyes. "It was a cliff."

"Huh?"

"It was a cliff, past the wall," he reinforced, "and it wasn't... a height that we can jump down from, I couldn't even see the bottom."

"You're... joking..." murmured Emma, "a-a cliff?"

"Sister Krone wasn't lying, and the Demons didn't take us lightly," the boy stated, stealing a glance at the quiet Ray and Azalea, "so I ran to the edge of the wall, and it split in two... I need paper and a pen..."

The girl handed it to him.

"The wall split in two, it was about a 60-degree angle," he stated, drawing it onto the page as the other three peered over his shoulder, "one side was still a cliff, but the sections inside the two walls were identical; they were both forests."

"Thanks to Ray, I wasn't confused... it meant this," he continued drawing lines, connecting them to form a hexagon, divided into six equal parts, a larger hexagon surrounding it, "the Plants are next to each other on each side of the walls, and there are six lots, and we're at Plant 3, so the area directly east from us-" he tapped the section with the pen, "is probably the Headquarters..."

He frowned.

"I can deduce that... because even though we're surrounded by cliffs..." he drew two dashed lines on the edge of the headquarters-sector, "only that lot had a bridge. If you're going to escape, cross the bridge."

There was a knock on the door.

"Norman!" Phil poked his head through the door, "Mom's calling for you!"

"Let her know I'm on my way," the albino beamed, putting his jacket on and gazing at the crestfallen faces of his friends. He closed his suitcase, handing the device to Ray. "I'll give this back to you, I didn't use it, so you still can. Use it when you three escape."

"You didn't..." he echoed, aghast, about to start yelling but to their surprise, it wasn't him who began yelling.

"So you were planning to come back here from the beginning?! You didn't return just to tell us about the cliff..." panted Azalea, her black hair falling over her face, "you could have just easily reported that to us while you were in hiding! So... so... why?! You said we were going to escape together... you promised us, Norman!"

The said boy stared with his mouth slightly ajar.

"You said... you promised..." she whispered, her voice cracking, "and yet... you... you were already planning to..."

"Yeah, I did," he agreed, smiling gently, "sorry... I lied... but I can't risk making a mistake, because I can't let anyone die. If I ran away, the plan might have been ruined, making it harder to escape... Even if it's just by a little, it's a problem for me. I can't lose, no matter what."

Their lips trembled.

"It's pointless to argue, I've made my decision," he concluded, "I did what I could today, I'm leaving the rest to you... so make sure the escape is successful."

Without warning, he embraced the trio.

"You guys are so warm... thanks for everything, I mean it," he smiled into their necks, "because of you three, I had a good life. I had fun. I was happy. I was fortunate."

"Damnit... damn it all..." Ray whispered, squeezing his eyes tightly in a futile attempt to stop the tears from overflowing.

"C'mon Norman..." whimpered Emma, "it's not too late... run and hide in the forest. You can do that, right?"

"Like I said, Emma," he separated from them, "I've made my decision..."

"Norman... you don't have to do this..." pleaded Azalea.

"I'm sorry, Aza," he smiled gently, Ray and the said girl falling onto the bed with their hair covering their eyes.

The door closed shut.

"I can't take this, we can't let him go!" Emma suddenly whirled on them, "if we don't stop this now, Norman's really gonna die!"

"It's impossible, we can't stop it anymore," murmured Ray, dejected.

"It's too late, anyway," she agreed, "the Demons are already at the gate, and Mom will be with him... not to mention that he's completely prepared to die."

"I'm sure he doesn't want to die... I'm sure he's terrified..." the boy gritted his teeth

"Then that's even more reason to-"

"No! If we do something stupid and get caught, our plan could be leaked to the Demons!" argued Ray, "that'll make his death meaningless!" He buried his head into his hands. "We..."

The words couldn't come out.

"We... can't do anything," confessed Azalea, avoiding their gazes, "we... we just can't..."

There was silence between the pair as Emma sent them one final, desperate glance

"Should we at least... see him off?" the girl murmured. Ray didn't respond, though he stood and went outside into the corridor, not bothering to spare the girl another glance. She hesitantly followed suit, going into the entrance hall to see the boy gazing at her.

"Aza..." he embraced the girl, though she didn't return it, "thanks..."

"Yeah..."

"Take care of yourself, 'kay?"

"'Kay..."

"Don't overwork yourself, 'kay?"

"Will do..."

"Make sure Ray and Emma don't get into too much trouble, 'kay?"

"Sure..."

He smiled into her neck, stroking her hair as she began whimpering.

"It's okay, Aza," he whispered, "don't you ever give up, you hear me?"

"Y-yeah..."

She numbly returned to the room after reluctantly letting him go.

Ray didn't look into her pink orbs.

The door opened again, the pair gazing up at Emma through their fingers.

"Is he..." she couldn't bring herself to say it; the word was stuck in her throat, no matter how much she wanted.

"Yeah," Emma's voice was low.

She didn't hear the door open.

She didn't hear the children asking if they were okay.

She didn't hear Gilda and Don enter the room.

She didn't know what happened that night.

She didn't know what they'd do now.

She didn't know who was the first to start crying.

All she knew was that Norman was never coming back.