𝓣𝓪𝓴𝓮 𝓶𝔂 𝓱𝓪𝓷𝓭

Chapter 6

Ryoko hummed as she finished cleaning the kitchen. She had put all the children in their rooms and Alice remained on her back. She looked around the empty room. It was so quiet. It made Ryoko feel unnerved.

"When did it become so quiet...?" She mumbled as she walked around the house.

"Why is it so gloomy?" She asked herself as she made her way back to the main room. Everything began to feel colder. And lonelier. Ryoko shook off her nerves and went to check on the children. But when she got to the hallway, the doors were all blank. Ryoko's eyes widened.

"No..." She gasped. In a frenzy, she looked through all the doors. But all the rooms were empty.

"No, no! They can't be gone! Not yet!" Ryoko cried. She then remembered that Alice was on her back. She reached back to feel nothing. Not even the baby carrier. Ryoko's whole world stopped. She heard the voices. The whispers. The lies. She turned her head down the hall. At the very end was a single door. It was just as dark and gloomy as the hallway around her. All the whispers were coming from that room. Ryoko's body relaxed as she carefully walked toward the door. Her body felt slow and sluggish the closer she got. Even closer she began to feel nauseous. Like she needed to get out of there now. Just as she was about to touch the handle, she heard a voice. Ryoko gasped and pulled away from the door.

"Miss Ryoko?" Ryoko opened her eyes to see Cody sitting next to her on the couch. Ryoko stared at him a bit before carefully reaching out and caressing his cheek. As her hand made contact with his face, Ryoko relaxed and released a breath she didn't even realize she was holding.

"Yes Cody? What is it?" She asked softly. Cody looked at Ryoko worriedly.

"You looked like you were having a bad dream," Cody said softly. Ryoko watched the ten-year-old boy a little more. She smiled and kissed his forehead.

"I'm alright Cody. Thank you for worrying about me." Ryoko said as she stretched. As she looked around, she saw that all the kids were awake. Even Alice who seemed to be doing better than she was a while ago. Ryoko watched as they watched Wall-e. She smiled, remembering how she used to love watching that movie as well. Ryoko glanced over at the clock. She had been out for about an hour. Sighing once again, Ryoko stood up and went to her room. She sat at her desk and tapped on it rhythmically. A secret panel opened up and Ryoko pulled out a journal. She opened it up and started writing. She wrote everything she could remember. Once she was done, She closed the book and sighed. Her thoughts danced across her mind in blurs. Her mind was becoming overcrowded.

"Miss Ryoko?" Ryoko turned her head toward the door. Eri stood there shyly with an apple in her hands.

"Can you cut this for me?" She asked quietly. Ryoko smiled.

"Of course. Just give me a second." Ryoko said as she tapped the desk again. The compartment opened up again and she carefully slid the book in. She stood and walked over to Eri.

"Let's go." She said as she closed the door behind her. Eri smiled softly and nodded. Ryoko and Eri held hands as they made their way back to the main room. When they got there, the movie had finished playing. And all the kids had gone to do their own things. Mokuba was teaching Alice how to play patty cake. Cody and Brad were playing video games and Kuriboh was putting dried dishes into their places. Ryoko and Eri walked over to the kitchen. Kuriboh trilled and nuzzled the sapphire-eyed woman. Ryoko chuckled and pet him.

"Hey Kuriboh." Ryoko said as she carefully grabbed a knife. Eri placed the apple on the table and sat on a chair. Ryoko carefully took the apple and rinsed it.

"Would you like it with or without the skin?" Ryoko asked as she began to dry the fruit.

"I don't mind either one." Eri said. Ryoko hummed and sat at the table across from Eri. Kuriboh placed a bowl and a plate in front of Ryoko.