The condition of the world is deteriorating. Dark, mysterious entities lurk around, devouring the minds of the pure and vulnerable. They sense even just a faint hint of despondency like how they sense blood.
Human extinction is only a few steps awa...
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Chapter 5: Bonding
"Miss?" A small voice squeaked. "Miss, it's almost time for dinner."
Emelie mumbled something under her breath and turned her body to the other side, away from where the voice was heard. It's been years since she had slept on a soft mattress. She lost count on how many times her back ached from sleeping on a sleeping bag.
"She won't wake up," another tiny voice was heard.
Elaine and Henry have been trying to wake up Emelie since earlier, but she just kept turning and tossing around. The little girl gave up trying while Henry sat on Emelie's bed, curious about the new girl. With a huff, Elaine looked around the room. Her curious blue eyes wandered around until a scruffy-looking bag on the floor had caught her attention. She walked towards it and rummaged inside, trying to find anything interesting to her.
Her eyes twinkled when she felt something smooth and cold in the palm of her small hand. Immediately, she grabbed and managed to pull it above everything else in the bag. It was a necklace with a silver heart-shaped locket. There was a small button on the side and she instinctively pushed it. The locket popped open and inside was a picture of a family; a young woman, a young man, and a little girl. Elaine was trying to figure out if the little girl was the same girl who was fast asleep, but the next thing she knew was that the necklace was snatched from her grasp.
"What do you think you're doing?" Emelie snapped, checking if the locket was damaged. She quickly put it back inside her bag and closed the zipper. "You shouldn't be touching things that aren't yours."
Elaine crossed her arms over her chest and said, "We were trying to wake you up but you wouldn't."
"Yeah, what she said!" Henry butted in, beside Elaine. He pushed his long bangs away from his eyes.
"It still doesn't mean you have the right to," Emelie said in annoyance. No one had ever tried to wake her up for as long as she could remember, although she didn't miss it one bit.
"The right to what? Wake you up?" Elaine asked, following Emelie as she walked to the other corner of the room. Henry hopped towards them.
Emelie sighed, "Nevermind." She grabbed her jacket on the floor and headed quickly towards the door, but the little girl hurried to get there first.
"I'm only eight, miss," Elaine replied, her small frame blocking Emelie's way. She looked up to Emelie with her big eyes, and her wavy hair seemed to hug the sides of her small, pale face.
"And I'm ten, which makes me the older one," Henry added, poking Elaine's cheek.
"Good for you two," she replied, unsure of what to say to a child, especially to children like Elaine and Henry. "Please, excuse me. I don't want to seem like I'm a lazy newbie here."
Elaine giggled, "You kind of are, though."
"Why's that?"
"You didn't help Penny and the others to prepare lunch earlier. Everyone cleaned up after that, and Ramsey also fixed a lot of things," Henry's eyes squinted from his big, stretched smile. "Even your friend helped tend the garden with Paige."
