Ray's POV:
Emma finished removing the tracker from my ear; currently, she's inside the dining hall, ready to set this entire House on fire. I know I'm supposed to be leaving, but as much as I hate to, I still have to stay here.
The fire starts in 3...
2...
1...
The temperature rises, and Emma's scream could be heard inside. I hide behind a wall as Mama rushes inside the burning room. As soon as she does that, I run up the stairs and search for the person I... honestly never expected to chase after. That white-haired, purple-eyed girl...
"Sistine!?" I instantly react, flinching. "Are you serious!?"
"We need you to get her, Ray," Emma pouts.
"How do you even know about h-!"
"Gilda told me," Emma interrupts, readying the rest of my replacement. "She told me that Sistine helped out during those two months that we've been faking. Norman also told me before he left that she helped with making the plan a bit more solid.
"He said she was the first to know about your fire suicide."
That little... "She talked to him...?"
"Yep, she confirmed Norman's theory," Emma rephrases. "Turns out, you already told her years ago."
"She's going to be useless, why do we have to bring her?"
The orange-haired girl turns to glare at me, saying with a darker voice, "Do you want me to slam your head against the wall until you take that back?"
"Whatever..."
"Just get her."
"And what if she doesn't want to?"
"Then do it by force." She tosses me a big sack, which I catch with a single hand. "Here. I told you. I'm not leaving anyone behind, even if that person doesn't want to come with us.
"Make sure you get her, even if neither of you want to."
This is stupid... but I don't have much time.
I go to the babies' room, the last room I haven't checked. There's only one baby in that room left. There's Sistine, looking over Carol's bed, watching the blue-eyed baby smile and giggle for one last time.
"I'm gonna miss you," I hear her utter softly to the baby, almost as if the infant could understand.
I hate to admit it, but I miss seeing this. Just her, playing around and having fun with the babies, knowing very well that they're going to forget her someday.
I still don't understand why she keeps up with it. She knows she'll die here someday, and she knows that everyone will forget about her when that time comes. So I don't get why...
Why does she want to stay?
... I have to act fast.
Without wasting another second, I use the sack to capture her. She reacts with a confused shriek, but I ignore it and get Carol, carrying both of them down without Mama knowing.
She's still in there. I can still hear her.
As quickly as possible, I go outside and drop off Carol, running off with Sistine slinged over my shoulder. I could only be thankful that she's light as a piece of cotton.
... I don't think I'll ever understand her.
But...
... I suppose, when all of this is over...
... I could try.
"Sorry for the wait, guys!" I hear Emma say as soon as I reach our meeting place. Our siblings call out to her excitedly, as if we aren't running from our deaths at all.
Only upon reaching the wall did I see the whole picture.
Because of Gilda speaking up, Emma made a decision of not bringing everyone. All of the kids with us right now are the fifteen eldest kids in the entire House. The rest will be left here...
... But they're planning on coming back for them.
Alarms are sounding left and right, security going higher and higher with every step we take. I have no idea where they're heading. By now, the bridge should be flooded with so many humans and demons that we won't be able to leave.
"What now!?" I react, turning to Emma for her instruction. "We're still way too far from the bridge!"
It's impossible. We just can't make it in time. At this rate, the bridge will be highly guarded by the time we finally reach it! What now...!? What should we...
"Don't worry," Emma suddenly says. "We aren't heading towards the bridge anyway." Emma stops and points at the other side of the cliff. "We'll get to the other side from here."
Everything else just starts happening so fast. Ropes shoot from here to the forest, getting tied by Don, who tested the zipline first. Before I know it, kids come and go, going past the cliff as if it wasn't there at all.
They aren't afraid.
They aren't afraid of falling. Of failing. Of death. They aren't afraid of what's coming after them.
Why aren't they scared? Normal kids wouldn't be able to do this!
Why are they all so quick? They're so confident and collected! These kids seriously have been preparing... those whole two months!
"What do you think?"
"N..." I stop myself, turning to the source in shock. Soon, that surprise forms into a smile.
"What's with that face?" Norman snickers. "I still can't believe I actually managed to trick you!"
"... 'I'll show you something amazing', huh?" I ask him.
Norman nods, staring at the kids and saying, "Amazing, isn't it? This clearly isn't a normal scene you're witnessing right now." I turn to my siblings as he glances at me. "It's a scene we both thought was impossible to witness.
"But we had Emma on our side. She believed in all of us, so the kids believed in her too. She's so reckless and pure... and able to have so much faith in everybody. Isn't it amazing, Ray?
"We don't have to give up!"
The wind blows through my hair as the illusion of him disappears. I know he's just an illusion, and yet... I can't help but hope that he's still out there.
I wonder..
... How much did Sistine really know about this?
I turn to the sack, with the intention of releasing Sistine. Out of all of us, she probably hates me the most. She certainly wouldn't trust me with her life, even if she was forced to.
Except she did.
There she is, fast asleep. Entrusting her life to whoever captured her and carried her away. I haven't seen her this peaceful in quite some time... I could only wonder how much hell she was suffering throughout this entire plan.
"Pathetic... you are so pathetic."
... How could I say something like that?
"Sistine..." I whisper, placing the sleeping girl on my lap. I take her soft, pure white hair and press my lips against it. "I'm sorry...
"But I have to get you out of here."
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The Choice Of Fate || The Promised Neverland
Fanfiction"This child does not fear death, nor even the thought of it. She sees beauty, the good in the evil before her. She does not see us as a threat; I don't think she ever did. She does not fear evil. She deserves life. She deserves freedom, Isabella. Le...
