"You're so bright, I swear you swallowed the Sun. And I am so in awe, just basking in your light. But I am just the one who swallowed the moon. The only light that I have's just a reflection of you. And the only thing I know is I wanna know what it'...
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***
It was once again time for the daily chores. Instead of being put on laundry duty, the older kids had to fill up some buckets with the water spout. This gave them some time to talk about their upcoming plans while they worked. They currently stood by the water spout with the empty buckets in their hands. Ray was the first one to speak up, "I'm going to review everything," The boy definitely knew how to take on a leadership role. "After lunch, when it's free time, I will keep Mama occupied. Norman, Alex, and Emma will climb the wall and carry out the investigation."
Alex gave him a thumbs up, "Got it."
"Don and Gilda will be stationed outside," Ray continued. "In a place where they can see the south-facing windows of the second floor," He pointed to Don and Gilda, "If by some chance I am unable to distract Mama, I will signal you. You will inform Norman, Alex, and Emma to cease the investigation and return to grounds immediately. It is likely that Mama is suspicious. It didn't seem like she had figured it out yet, but we can't be too optimistic either. There's always the possibility that she won't take my bait."
This was really thrilling. Although... Thrilling didn't even seem to be the right word to use. It was the only way that Alex could use to describe this situation. Sure, she was terrified about the plan not working. There was no way that she wouldn't be scared. But she was also filled with this weird excitement. It was probably because they were so close to finally escaping. She was worried about what the outside world would hold, as well as interested.
"And if that happens, we have to give up on the investigation?" Don asked.
"Correct," Ray confirmed, "For the time being anyway. Everyone understands, right? If we appear too out of control, then it's all over. Mama's goal is an on-time shipment. Particularly the four of us with full marks. She's spent this long nurturing us. Us escaping before the process is complete is not something she will accept. As long as it's something that's possible for her to control, then she'd like to keep it under her absolute rule. And she is confident in her capability of doing so. That's just who Isabella the Mama is," They all started to finally continue with their chores. They filled up the buckets with water, "We can appear untrustworthy or suspicious, but it's also best to appear easily controllable to her at the same time. Fortunately, there is no scheduled shipment date next month."
"So act like we normally have," Alex stated. That's what she was getting from this whole speech. It shouldn't be that hard to act like they normally did. They've been faking it for a while anyway. Emma handed Don a bucket that she and Ray had filled up.
Ray nodded in response, "There are six days until our planned escape, but ultimately we have two and a half more months until our actual deadline in January. If something happens, we have to abort the investigation for the time being. Even if it's just an act, we must pretend that we can be controlled. Got it?" Don and Gilda nodded.
"Ray, can we talk?" Norman chimed in. Alex almost let out a sigh. They had yet to tell Ray about what happened last night with Sister Krone. This was finally the time to tell him and she was not ready for the lecture that they were probably going to get.
The four of them, Emma, Ray, Norman, and Alex, all went inside to talk. They stopped in one of the bedrooms. Norman was the one to explain to Ray what had happened last night when they went to see Sister Krone. Ray was obviously not happy, "What?! Sister Krone figured out we can destroy the transmitters?!"
"We tried being careful and she found us out anyway," Alex told him. They should've tried harder. They should've at least thought out a detailed plan instead of deciding to go in there and ask questions.
"We did get information out of her, but we slipped up," Norman stated, "I would like to move up our escape date. When will you be able to destroy the transmitters?"
Instead of answering the question, Ray turned away. Alex narrowed her eyes in confusion while she continued to watch him. Ray moved one of the bedside tables, bent down, and grabbed something. Upon closer inspection, Alex could see that it was a black box. He placed the box on top of the bedside table, "Last night while you guys were in Sister Krone's room, I got this from Mama. My compensation for selling you three out."
The ones to open the box and check it out were Norman and Emma. Emma pulled something out of the box which Alex could see saw a camera. Her eyes widened in amazement, "That's so cool!" She exclaimed. She ran over and started to examine it. Norman watched the girl with a small smile on his face.
"An instant camera?" Emma questioned.
"This is the first time I'm seeing one in real life." Alex was bouncing on the balls of her feet. She had only seen cameras in books so to see one in real life was amazing. She had always thought they were so cool and was really interesting in photography even though she wasn't able to take pictures. She couldn't take pictures without a camera.
"I've been waiting for it," Ray replied, "With that, I've gathered the last of my parts. I can destroy the transmitters anytime now," Emma smiled brightly at hearing this. Alex was a little sad that they would have to destroy the beautiful camera, but she knew it was necessary. Maybe she could find another one in the outside world. "Let's move up the escape date depending on the results of the investigation."
Alex nodded, "That sounds like a good plan."
"It's troublesome that she was able to figure out the card we had up our sleeve," Ray said.
"Hard evidence is the one thing we mustn't let them have!" Norman exclaimed. Them getting their hands on hard evidence meant that it was game over for them. Their whole escape plan would be over before it even started. They had to make sure that Isabella and Sister Krone didn't get their hands on any kind of evidence.
Emma had a determined expression on her face, "Let's hurry up and do our investigation and escape before we get caught."
"Agreed. But our plan to deal with Mama won't change." Ray declared.
"I know." Emma nodded.
"Regarding Sister Krone, let's go ahead and make a deal with her," Ray suddenly went back behind the bedside table that he had yet to move back. He motioned for them to come over so they did. They could see that some of the floorboards had been taken out. Underneath the floor was a compartment of some kind, "I have always hidden my gifts in here," Ray moved the bedside table back, "This is currently Alicia's area. This spot won't be easy to locate quickly. On top of that, I left a juicy morsel for Sister Krone to find..."
"Huh?" Alex inquired. Emma and Norman were giving him questioning looks as well. Even as the day had continued on, none of them quite knew what he was talking about. Just what did he leave behind for Sister Krone to find? Maybe they would find out at some point later on. They had other things to worry about now... The main thing being the upcoming inspection.
