𝐢𝐝𝐲𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐜 | 𝐫𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐩𝐧

𝟐𝟑| 𝟏𝟓𝟎𝟏𝟒𝟔: 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝𝐛𝐲𝐞, 𝐦𝐚𝐦𝐚. 𝐰𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐰𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐠𝐨.

   𝐑𝐚𝐲 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐝 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐚𝐬 𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝, "where are the kids five and under?"

   "We decided it was best to leave them here. What you said before..." Y/n said, holding the rope the children were climbing.

   "So far so good, I've got everyone down to age five on our side," Don said.

   Gilda chimed in, "they were surprised but I think they'll be okay."

   "We already started training them."

   "Thanks, you guys," Y/n smiled.

   "So what do we do next? Should we tell the kids under five?"

   "Do you think they'll believe us?"

   "It's more like, 'can they keep it a secret?'"

   "It's not just that either," Gilda added, "is it really possible to bring them with us? Don't get me wrong, it's not like I don't believe in Norman's plan... However we are dealing with a cliff in the middle of winter and Norman isn't here. Once we escape, we don't know what's out there. I'm starting to see Ray's point. If we take them, they could get killed."

   "Gilda, if they stay here they're gonna get shipped out!"

   "I know! I know, but..."

   "I can't bring myself to leave them," Y/n said, "but Ray and Gilda's right too. I don't want anyone else to get shipped out. I want to take the whole family... We'll all run away..."

   "What about the kids in the other plants? Is it okay if we're the only ones who escape? We've never seen them before. But there's a family just like us in the next plant over, right? Living life as if everything's normal."

   "What now, Y/n?" Don asked.

   "Good question, afterall..." Y/n looked at the pen Norman left them, Emma gave it to her for safe keeping, "can you get Phil?"

   Don left the room to retrieve the little boy. Once he got to the infirmary, he looked at her, "what's up?"

   "We need to talk about the house." Y/n told Phil everything, not leaving out any details. She learned from their mistakes with Don and Gilda. Y/n knew her siblings were smarter than originally believed, especially Phil.

   "I knew it, it's just like I thought," Phil said. The teenagers' eyes widened. He knew? "When we were playing tag, sister said stuff about a harvest and I wondered what she meant. One time I saw her looking under Ray's bed and when Norman left the house I could tell you were really scared of Mom. It was all weird and I didn't know why. So then... Norman got harvested. Conny too, and the others. That's why you guys..."

   The boy cried and Y/n hugged him tightly, "Phil..."

   "I won't take them yet. Only Phil knows the truth. The others don't know about the house or fire. So I'm leaving it to Phil."

   "Alright, hear me out," Y/n held Phil's shoulders, "I don't know which option I should go with. Do I take everyone, including the babies? Or should I leave everyone under five? We only get harvested starting at age six, and even with Marnya's birthday being the earliest, that'll give us at least a year and a half. Fifteen of the older kids will be gone and since this house focuses on quality over quantity, the pace of harvesting should be slowed. If they want to raise high quality kids again, they can't kill those with potential. That said, you and the other four year olds have good grades, so it's best to let you develop. If I had to guess... I'd say we have about two years."