"Oh my *god*!" Angela gasped, slowly moving towards the two figures after they crashed onto the ground. The larger figure had managed to cushion the other's fall, and was now groaning in pain.

"We don't have time, hide them. The Masks are coming." Cam said urgently, being the first to snap out of the speechlessness of the occurrence. Alstro complied without hesitation. He dragged them behind a gigantic box and Angela knelt by their side to keep them quiet, feeling grateful that they hid while they could, because the door swung wide open, and it felt like even the machine went quiet. No one dared to move.

"Where is Aran?" one of the Masks said, and Cam pushed Aran forward, however not without struggle from the other.

Moea eventually came to, feeling dizzy, but awake. She looked at Rosa, who appeared to be asleep, then jolted back at the sight of Angela, and her flower coated hair. Angela simply pressed her forefinger against her lips and leaned back to peek at the scene behind the box. Moea did the same, desperate to find out what was going on.

She saw a boy with black hair being scanned by an adult, and slowly started to panic as she recalled what had happened. She wasn't supposed to be here. Angela noticed her unrest and tried to calm her down. Moea could tell by her appearance that the girl before her was around the same age as Somnia. She wanted to communicate with the girl, but shuddered when she heard a loud, dull thud, and collective gasping. She looked behind the box again, and almost gagged as she saw one of the masked adults toss Somnia's lifeless body on the ground.

"This is what happens when you try to escape. We know she was in charge of this whole thing. Who else here knew?"

One of the Masks asked, only to find a deafening silence as his response. He raised up his gun and fired into the air.

"TALK!" he roared, and Aran stammered

"No one did!" he paused, to swallow a lump in his throat.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

"T...tell me... did you kill them? Everyone?" his voice cracked mid sentence. The whole room could hear that he was on the verge of tears, or worse- a breakdown.

"None of your goddamn business." the adult hissed looked around the room as his eyes lingered on the large box. Then he left the room with his colleagues and slammed the door shut. Aran crumbled down before Somnia's corpse and held her in his arms, he bawled out and rocked back and forth.

"Come."Angela said quietly to the two kids, who crawled out of hiding with her. Rosa eventually came to, still clutching Moea's glowing flower.

"No...why...?"Aran whimpered. He held Somnia's penetrated head against his chest and cried. Angela sat at his side, placing her palm on his back.

"I'm sorry..." she sniffled, and Moea sat down next to the two. She had her palm around Rosa's eyes, to shield her from the traumatising scene.

"M...mommy?" she mumbled, pulling Moea's hand down. Aran stared at the two with wide eyes, focusing on Rosa.

"Rosa?" he asked, comepletely in disbelief as he shook his head slowly.

Rose looked up with wide eyes, then slowly squinted at him, like she was trying to remember.

"Rosa? What? You mean-" Angela's eyes darted from the rose haired girl, to Aran's glossy eyes. He stood up and looked at her. "Come with me, it's not safe here." he said, walking to the other side of the room towards another door.

"So...you're telling me..." Angela said, barely able to finish her sentence.

"She really managed to have a baby?"

Aran nodded.

"You knew?!"

He nodded again.

"Aran...this is great!" she exclaimed, and Aran stared at her with a furious glare.

"Not great, because..."

"Because she's dead, Angela. They couldn't make it out. This whole thing was all for nothing." Aran scoffed, balling his fist tightly and hammering it against the wall.

"U-umm..." Moea interrupted, pausing as they all looked at her expectantly. She raised her hand with the papers bunched inside her grip. Aran snatched the papers and flew through them, shaking his head.

"Son of a..." he gasped.

"S...she gave me these papers to help me escape into the surface, but... I got led away from the route..." she lowered her head.

Aran held out his hand and pointed at the two girls.

"Hide. Once the coast is clear, you'll tell me everything she told you." he said with a straight face, his eyes swollen and damp.

"Meanwhile, we need to...bury the... Yeah." he nodded, as if finally coming to terms with his reality. Without another word, he took another look at Rosa, and walked away.

Angela opened the heavy door with a groan and let the two inside.

"We'll talk later, and we'll explain *everything*, okay? Just, stay very, *very* quiet." she said, hesitating before shutting the door.

Moea didn't think she could open that door with her strength. At least not after what she's been through.

"Um..." Rosa pulled at Moea's cloak. "What's your name?"

"Moea."

"What does *bury* mean, Moea?"