Failure is Not Fatal

Summary: Isabella had failed. Fifteen of her children, ages five to eleven-Ray was twelve her mind whispered-had escaped.

Isabella had failed. Fifteen of her children, ages five to eleven-Ray was twelve her mind whispered-had escaped. But that didn't matter right now. So she whispered to Phil that his older siblings had escaped and comforted the remainder of her children. The forest was dark and a bit cold, but she grabbed blankets for everyone and sang them to sleep.

She stared at the starry sky and thought of her children's futures.

She wished for her children's lives to be long. She wished that they would not be caught.

She wished that Don would learn to make better judgment. She wished that Gilda would gain some more confidence. She wished that the little ones with them could grow up, with a childhood a bit less idealistic then Gracefield, but one they would survive.

She knew Emma would look out for them. She hoped Emma would lean on them, that the rest would share the burden.

She wished Ray...would be able to read lots of books and learn to appreciate himself more. Perhaps a bit sentimental, but she was a mother, she was allowed to be.

She wished that Norman would find a way out of the Lambda plantation and back to his siblings. And, she knew not to doubt Norman's persistence and cleverness, it was likely he would. He had already beaten her once, she knew it was his help that allowed fifteen of her children to escape. She would not bet against him again.

...And for herself, she hoped she survived the fallout.

XXX

The Grandmother was furious. Of course, the old lady hid it well. But Isabella could read it in the slight downturn of her lips and the furrowing of her brow.

The most gut wrenching thing Isabella did in her life was lie to the face of the woman who raised her. How did her children escape? She had no idea. It was like they just teleported over the chasm between the wall and the forest.

The demons couldn't find the children's route outside, but had started following their tracks. They hadn't found any of the children yet, all of them had survived so far.

The punishment was obvious-death.

"You'll be stripped of your position as a Mama," the Grandmother decided.

Isabella almost stopped breathing. She clenched her jaw slightly. Was this a trick?

"What am I to do with you?" The older woman wondered. How was she to use Isabella's potential and also keep an eye on her? "I will be demoting you to an Elder Sister. You will be in charge of final training starting next week," she decided.

Isabella nodded. "If that is what you wish," she politely replied.

XXX

Day 1.

Usually the house held many sisters in training. The rule was you had to survive at least until age eighteen.

At sometime when there was females eighteen to twenty, there was a culling. This was called "final training". Usually, more then half of those qualifying for the higher level were eliminated from the program. The remaining would become Sisters.

Right now, there was five in that age category. Isabella swept her eyes over their files. The five recently were moved into a room. They would all be living together during the training.

Their files were extensive, as it was for all the girls who went through the program.

From plant one, was 75784, Ella. She acted very innocent all the time. However, her past rather ruined the idea of her being innocent. She had figured out her siblings were being killed when she was eleven and made a deal with her Mama for survival.