Chapter Text
“Miss Ratri”
She walked through the halls of Lambda. The long corridors were dim, with a lack of light and life. The entirety of Lambda felt like a dank dark cave. She hated this place. At the sound of her name being spoken, she turned to where it was coming from.
“Mr. Ratri wants to speak with you. He is waiting in his office.” The scientist spoke void of emotion behind his voice and eyes.
She sighed. “Very well. Thank you.”
With that, she turned on her heels and made her way to her brother’s office. She wondered what he wanted this time. Anytime he passed on information to her it was nothing very pleasant and was never good news. It felt like every time they spoke it was only him making her do yet another assignment. She was like her brother’s subordinate rather than his little sister.
Lost in thought she quickly made it to her brother’s office. She stood outside his door and knocked two times.
“Come in.” said a muffled voice behind the door.
She gently opened the door and closed it behind her only looking at her brother once she fully closed the door and heard a click. He remained glued to his paperwork and wrote clearly not paying attention to her presence.
His office was filled with books on fancy bookshelves. The two couches in the room were red and looked silky and smooth to the touch. The desk he was writing on was made of a dark wood that was stained with a hint of red and gleamed under the mini chandelier in his office. The whole office looked like a room reserved for someone of high status. It was nothing like Emma’s small, dingy office that she had in a confined corner of a laboratory. It was a very noisy area and a lack of solitary space for herself; needless to say, people were always watching her.
“Hello brother Peter, what is it that you need?” She plastered a smile on her face. Hands behind her back as she made her way to the front of his desk. He huffed and finally looked up at her.
“Emma. I have a new assignment for you. A new subject has arrived as of last night. He is a cattle child from Grace Field. His intelligence is unmatched, and he is quite possibly the smartest cattle child that we have ever produced. It would be a shame to have him eaten. Instead, I’ll have him go under experiments. So, I want you to be head of his experiment.” He stopped and looked at Emma intensely.
I understand, he is testing me. He wants to know if I could be trusted. I’ll have to tread these waters gently.
“Brother Peter!” Emma clapped her hands together. “I am honored that you trust me enough to let me oversee such an experiment! Especially an important cattle child like him.” She mustered the best reaction she could for him.
“You are intelligent Emma. I know you won’t follow James’ path, you know what happened to him.” There was a flash of remorse on his face which soon turned into a cunning smile, she hated it. She hated him after what he did to brother James, but she knew better than to make a scene.
“Of course brother Peter. The path that brother James took is quite an unfortunate one. I’m not sure what he was thinking, the only way to ensure peace is to sacrifice cattle children to the demons. Brother James was asking for chaos. We have to maintain the promise that our ancestors made, I thoroughly understand that.” She recited what she has said to Peter multiple times already. She cannot show that she has remorse for James, she could not be called a traitor just as he was. James wouldn't have wanted that for Emma.
“Good. You will start overlooking his experiments tomorrow morning. For today, pack up your things in your office, you’ll be moving to one closer to his experiment area. Any questions.” That last bit seemed more of a statement that had to be asked out of formality instead of an actual question, but she decided to test her luck.
“What is he named?” She asked with genuine curiosity. She knew that cattle children were given names rather than being called their identification numbers. Emma found the thought of giving cattle children names to be cute and very humanizing.
“Oh right. 22194, Norman.” He said as he went back to his paperwork.
“Norman huh.” She thought out loud. She wondered if his name suits him or what he even looked like. She was beyond curious and, for the first time in a long while, she found herself to be excited to wake tomorrow.
“What about his age brother Peter?”
Obviously, a little annoyed Peter put down his papers and looked at her with those piercing eyes of his.
Oops, looks like I’m out of luck.
“You’ll find that information on his record that you’ll get first thing tomorrow. You’re dismissed Emma.” Her name sounded so cold from his mouth.
“Alright then, I’ll be taking my leave.” She turned around making her way to the door. She turned the knob but stopped when Peter asked her a question.
“I can trust you, right Emma?” She continued opening the door and only replied as she was closing the door behind her.
“I know better than to betray you, brother Petter.” With that she shut the door, leaving his office.
Although James never told her of his plans, she knew of them. She knew about the book he found and the horrible things that their ancestors had done. Sacrificing so many lives for the sake of peace did not seem right to her. How can it be peace if so many lives had to and continue to be sacrificed till this day? There had to be another way-- a more peaceful way out of this hell. That is what she and James believed. Peter had a different opinion on the whole thing. Because of that difference in opinion, he did it. He killed James. That’s something she’ll never forget.
It’s been close to a year that James has been gone from this world. It’s been a tough year for Emma. Not only had she had suspicion been raised of her which led to everyone keeping a very close eye on her. She had lost her dear brother James. Her only family that truly cared for her. Peter was always occupied with work; he never paid any attention to her, but James made time for her. It was all very suffocating.
James never involved her in any of his plans because he always protected her, so she did not know any of his followers. Even if Emma truly wanted to continue the work that got James killed, most of his followers were executed without remorse and any who were still alive were lying low. Who could she turn to now? Who would be her back up and moral support? She couldn't do it alone. There were countless nights she spent awake, tossing and turning in bed thinking. Thinking about James, thinking about his potential plans, thinking about how alone she was. The list was endless. Emma was a complete wreck those first few months after James’ death, but she has learned to control it these days. She has to remain strong for James.
This last year was spent earning Peter’s trust. She believed it to be her best course of action. If she ever wanted to continue James’ wishes, she knew she had to earn Peter’s trust. As a result, she’s had to do things she wishes she could take back. The poor children, they don’t deserve this level of anguish. Now she had to oversee an experiment. She had previously only assisted experiments, but now she will have to perform the evil deeds to 22194. Lambda was hell on earth, yet she did not have the willpower to do anything to stop it.
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The next morning she woke to her alarm ringing. Like a spring she got out of bed ready to meet Norman in person. After a while, she made her way out of her dormitory and to her office in order to read Norman’s records like Peter had mentioned the previous day.
As she walked down those dimly lit halls she was greeted by several scientists. Of course. Despite being her brother’s lackey, she was a respected person. After all, she was a Ratri. Yet those greetings felt fake and lacked the warmth that a greeting should have behind it. It was all for appearance's sake, not to mention starting today she was also their boss.
She arrived at her office which was much better decorated than her old one, but not to the extent that Peter’s office was decorated. The record was sitting at her desk. Perfect.
“Norman. 22194 from Grace Field House.” She read out loud to herself.
She paused when she looked at his picture. If Emma could describe how he looked in one word it would be determined. It confused her, most looked scared or lost, but he looked almost confident.
What does he know? He has to know something if he looks this determined. I'll have to be careful of him.
She continued to look at his record. “Hmm, the same age as me.” Poor child. She would hate to be in his position. She continued to flip through the rest of his record, memorizing every detail in a few seconds.
“Let’s see if I could make his stay a bit more pleasant.” She walked out of her office and made her way to the observation room. He was a special case. Norman was given his own room and next to his room was the observation room where scientists would look over him 24/7. As she entered the dimly lit observation room she was greeted with the strong smell of coffee. The only light in that room was coming from the monitors that were closely watching Norman. It seems like there were a limited number of scientists in the room, about five, working on something that Emma could not figure out. Goes to show that Norman really is important because only a few trusted scientists are involved in his experiment. Emma wondered what the scientists were working so diligently on. Before she could wrap her head around it and figure out what they were doing, the head scientist, Smee, looked up at her presence and spoke.
“Good morning Miss Ratri”
She looked at the scientist who greeted her. With a large smile, Emma greeted back.
“Good morning Smee. How is he?”
“We ran basic experiments and tests this morning. We think it’s best if we ease him into everything before administering pills as a part of his daily routine. Is that fine Miss Ratri?”
She glanced over the surveillance screens. He was currently writing something on paper. Maybe drawing something? Cute.
“That’s fine. How did he do on his tests?” She asked the scientist, her eyes still scanning the screen.
“Full marks Miss Ratri. We’re thinking about increasing the difficulty of the tests each day in order to see exactly how intelligent he is.”
She looked at Smee with a pleasant smile on her face.
“How is he though?”
Taken aback a little Smee asked, “What exactly do you mean by that Miss Ratri?”
She crossed her arms and shifted her stance to one leg. “I mean how is he personally doing? Is he sad or happy or angry? How is he?”
“Oh, well I’m not quite sure. I haven’t asked.” He looked unsure and uneasy.
“Mr.Smee, I know my brother has mentioned how important 22194 is; therefore, we should make him feel welcomed. Clearly, all of you are treating him as an object rather than a human, I’ll go in and ask him how he is myself.” The other scientists looked at her like she said something extremely insulting. Whatever. She started to walk towards her door.
“Wait Miss Ratri, is that the best idea?” One of the scientists spoke up. Emma stopped in her tracks and looked back at them.
“Listen, as I said before, Norman is a very important test subject. It’s best to not make him feel as though he is in complete isolation. He is also a human cattle child, he can’t just treat him like a rat to poke and prod at. It just seems inhumane to me.” She spoke in a stern voice. The other scientists were taken aback by her sudden shift in personality.
“I’ll be leaving now. I’m in the next room over and you’ll be watching. Nothing is going to happen.” With that Emma walked out of the metal door only to be greeted by another metal door, this time it was the door to Norman’s room. For some reason, she felt nervous. Truth be told she has never spoken to another person her age, it was new to her. Call her naive, but she wanted to be his friend.
She opened her door and made her way in. The room had bare necessities with walls painted white with a matching white floor. It was a bright room compared to other rooms in Lambda, a stark contrast. In fact, it seems like the main theme of the room was white, which initially made it hard to see. She felt out of place and it wasn’t helping that she had a white blazer on, only adding to the whiteness of the room.
“Excuse me,” Emma said as she walked in, squinting a little trying to adjust to the brightness of the room, “I hope I’m not interrupting anything.”
Her heels clicked on the white floor as she walked in, she stopped a bit away from the table he was sitting at so as to not make him feel uncomfortable. She looked at him. He clearly was nervous at her sudden appearance, but he quickly shifted to looking like the determined boy in the picture Emma saw. Emma had never seen anyone like him, his bright blue eyes and white hair made an interesting contrast. She would quickly describe him as beautiful and she would definitely say that his name suited him.
“My name is Emma Ratri. I hope I didn’t startle you by dropping by unannounced.” She gave him a bright smile, one of the smiles she would only give to James.
“Hello.” He gave her a polite smile that she knew was fake. She’s learned how to fake a smile as a child, it’s just one of those things that a Ratri should learn. But she wasn’t here to be fake towards Norman, she wanted to show him that she was friendly and did not have any ulterior motives.
“Hi Norman, I’m just here to introduce myself and see how you’re doing. I know it must be alarming being in such a new and isolated environment.” She walked forward while speaking. Now standing in front of the chair across from Norman.
“May I sit?” She motioned to the chair directly across from where he was sitting.
“Go ahead” He gave her a kind smile and signaled towards the chair. With that, she sat on the chair and immediately crossed her leg over the other. Until she found herself well situated on the chair she broke the silence.
“You’ve met my brother.”
“Uh, yes. Yes, I have.” He answered, but definitely did not expect that to her first words after sitting down.
“I hope brother Peter treated you well during his care. He is known to be a tad bit ruthless.” She lightly joked at Norman’s expense, but the reality was that it was no joke.
“I assure you he treated me well.” Norman added a light chuckle and another polite smile. Emma looked at him for a second, trying to read his brain, but it seems that he is a well shut box.
“Nice to hear it. I’m the same age as you, you know. I’m also part of the Ratri household. The Ratris kinda hold a lot of power in this world if you didn’t know. So, if you ever wanted some sweets or anything you can’t get your hands on here, I could definitely get my hands on it.” Emma gave him a cheeky smile, it was her way of making a friend, but she really wasn’t sure if it was working. “Anyways, how have you been today?”
“All well considering the situation.”
“Ah yes of course, you’re probably not used to being alone for an extended amount of time, after all you lived with so many children not even two days ago. But don't worry Norman, I’ll be your friend and visit you every day okay?” Emma had a big cheery smile on her face. Norman on the other hand looked uncertain.
“Ah, have I come off too strong? Sorry, I must admit I’ve never spoken to or had any friends my age. I was also sorta a sheltered child-- the Ratris are a business family, so please bear with me. I know we just met and you probably don’t trust me, but I reassure you Norman, I don’t want any harm coming to you.” Her hands now clasped together hoping it would be a sign that she was being sincere.
“Let me let you in on a little secret”, she whispered to Norman, “ I was given full control of your new life here. With the exception of my brother, who could overthrow my rulings of course, but the scientists can’t. I could pretty much do anything within reason. I feel like I could trust you, if you trust me that is. I’m sure with time we’ll come to an understanding.” The clock ticked in the background, Norman rested his hands on his lap while Emma put her hand on her cheek.
She looked straight into his blue eyes and smiled sincerely at him.
“Norman, I'm not the enemy.”
She stood up from her chair, making a loud scraping sound on the floor. Norman was still seated watching her every movement.
“I think that’s enough for today, I’ll let you think over what I said. I know everything that has happened in the last two days has been a lot to take in, so take your time. I’ll drop by to visit tomorrow.” She scooted her chair back in, Norman still looking at her movements and not making a single noise. As she walked towards the metal door, she took her keycard out.
With the keycard in hand, she turned back and waved at Norman.
“See you tomorrow Norman!”
Emma left the room and only then did Norman muster out a weak ‘see you tomorrow'.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
After that first day, Emma visited Norman every day so that he would not feel lonely. Two months have passed since that day, and Emma was overjoyed to have a new friend even if they’re technically a captive. Someone her age and someone she could have a normal conversation with. It took the first month of Norman’s stay for him to finally open up to her and actually trust her. That sent Emma over the moon because from that point they were able to talk like actual friends and not just enemies or even acquaintances.
When Emma walked into Norman’s room on this day, she was a little late compared to her usual show up time.
She scurried into Norman’s room and quickly sat in the same chair that she sat in every day: the seat across from Norman.
“I’m so sorry I’m late Norman, brother Peter had me doing other things that do not involve taking care of you.” She was winded from running around the facility and she had a stack of papers with her. Norman assumed the papers were work that she has yet to finish, but he will admit it was strange she bought something with her, she never brings anything into his room except for treats and snacks.
“Don’t worry about it Emma, I see you’ve been very busy today” He tried to sympathize with her, it couldn’t be any fun being a Ratri.
Once she caught her breath, she looked at the stack of papers she was holding, “Aww man! I brought some papers along with me, I didn’t even realize” Emma smacked her forehead muttering ‘stupid’ under her breath.
Norman let out a laugh.
“You’re too funny Emma, how could you forget you were holding a big stack of papers like that?” Norman asked while still laughing.
Emma had grown used to Norman’s light teasing. She really liked hanging out with Norman, she would say that talking to Norman was the highlight of her day. She learned a lot about the cattle children and how smart Norman really is. She still had yet to beat him at chess.
Emma pouted, “Come on Norman! I’ve had a very hectic day! Give me a break” she crossed her arms while the stack of papers sat on the table.
As Norman’s laughter died down he asked what those stack of papers were anyways.
“Wouldn’t you like to know nosey” Emma replied smugly.
“I would like to know, I’m curious. But if you don’t want to tell me that’s fine.” Norman knew that they still have boundaries, after all they've only known each other for about two months.
Emma crossed her legs and put a finger up to her chin. She jokingly lightly tapped her chin as though considering telling Norman about the contents of the papers.
“Hmmm, okay, I’ll tell you. It’s all boring stuff through. Brother Peter put me in charge of Lambda's finances. I’ve been trying to learn how to do it these past few days and I think I’ve gotten the hang of it. This stack of papers is all expenses and a whole bunch of other finance stuff. Reaaaallll boring stuff” she gently put her elbow on the table and rested her chin on the palm of her hand. She looked into Norman’s blue eyes, which she would still describe as beautiful, and waited for his response.
He briefly looked over at the stack of papers then back at her, “That does seem like boring stuff, but this means Peter trusts you more right? Isn’t that what you wanted?” He genuinely asked her, he still doesn’t understand their sibling relationship, he has to admit it’s a little weird. Just by looking at how they interact with each other, It’d be hard to pinpoint that they are actually siblings. At least, how Emma describes their interactions, that's what Norman gets out of it.
She beamed, “Yeah!, I’m glad he trusts me more. Ever since what happened wi--” she paused, face completely blank. She shook her head, “Nevermind that, how are you today?”
‘Weird’ Norman thought, but wasn’t going to push on the subject, she’ll come to him when the time is right.
“I’m alright, the medication has been kind of a problem for me though” Norman cringed at the thought of the medication he was put on. Of course he wasn’t stupid, no matter how much Emma sugar-coated stuff, he knew what was happening. But he hoped he’d be able to get out of here before they killed him. Yet, he didn’t believe Emma was bad, she was also a victim in this world.
“Problem? What kind of problem?” She looked worried. That expression is just one of the ways Norman knew that Emma could be trusted and that she was not corrupted by the system. Her mannerisms showed she cared and that she was genuinely a good person born into the wrong family.
“I’ve just had killer migraines and I’ve coughed up a bit of blood recently” He studied her face. Her eyebrows scrunched together and she reached out for his hand which he gladly gave to her. Something he’s learned about Emma is that she’s an affectionate person. It made him uncomfortable at first, but now he’s grown to like her touch. It makes him feel calm.
“Norman! How long has this been going on?”
“About a month I’d say?” He knew he should’ve told her sooner, but he wanted to confirm something for himself before he said anything. If what Emma says is true about them always keeping an eye on him, that means the scientists knew what was happening to him and simply did nothing. This also proves that Emma does not look over surveillance footage which also means the scientists have neglected to report everything to her despite her being the boss. This means that they don’t completely trust Emma for some reason and if they can’t trust her that should mean that he could definitely trust her.
“You should’ve told me when it first happened. I’ll talk to the scientist Norman, this should not be happening” Emma’s face was stern and absolute. She gently let go of his hand and slowly got up out of her chair with an audible sigh.
“Let me go fix this” she looked tired, Norman didn’t notice before, but she had bags forming under her eyes and her expression was that of a person who hasn’t a whole lot of sleep. A person drained of energy which was unusual for Emma. He wondered what Peter had her doing that made her lose sleep over.
“I appreciate it Emma. Take care of yourself alright”
“Don’t worry I will” she waved goodbye and left his room.
The next day Norman was no longer on medication.
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It was early in the day Norman decided to read a book. He had to get his mind off the fact that Emma has not visited since the day she walked in with a stack of papers. That was about four days ago and Norman was starting to get worried. He wondered what happened to her or if something happened to her. He worried for his only friend in Lambda. She has never missed a day in the two months he had been here to come and talk about his day and keep him company for a while. It became quite boring not to mention lonely. All he did was take tests, eat, and try to find some form of entertainment.
As if someone was reading his mind, Norman’s door clicked open, but instead of being greeted by just Emma, Peter and her walked in. He knew there was trouble when Peter walked into his room with Emma trailing behind him looking uncertain and small. She was not living up to her usual personality, her hands were clasped in front of her, her strides were small and she walked with her face to the floor. On the other hand, Peter waltzed in his room with an air of confidence, totally the opposite of the energy Emma was radiating. On top of that he looked a little peeved.
Yep, something definitely happened
Emma finally looked up at him and offered him a small smile. Before he could return it Peter slammed his hand on the table, instantly getting Norman’s attention.
“Norman” his voice was sly and full of authority, “what do you know about the Gracefield escapees?” This caught Norman off guard.
“Excuse me? Did you just say Gracefield escapees?” Norman was shocked, they actually did it. They went through with his plan, he needs to remain cool. There is no way Peter is going to get any information from him.
“I’m going to ask you again Norman” Peter was quickly losing his cool, he said Norman’s name through gritted teeth, “What do you know about the cattle children who escaped from Gracefield farm?”
Norman put up a shocked facade, although not completely fake since he still can’t believe that they actually escaped, “I’m sorry sir, but this is the first I’m hearing about it.” He remained calm answering Peter with no signs of knowing about the escape plan.
Emma finally spoke up, “I told you he knew nothing brother Peter, how could he know about all this if he’s been out of Gracefield for two months? If he had made a plan, the other children wouldn’t have waited two months to act on it.” Emma walked towards Peter putting a hand on his shoulder trying to reassure him. He instantly looked over at Emma furiously and smacked her hand out of the way. He stomped his way out of Norman’s room seeing that he would get no information out of Norman. He slammed the door shut leaving Norman and Emma in the room alone.
Emma sighed and walked over to her usual seat. She plopped down and rested her head on the table. She instantly rested her head on the table. Norman looked at her fiery orange hair and wondered if he could get any sort of information out of her. Not to mention he was worried about her since he hadn’t seen her in four days.
“Umm, Emma? Are you alright?” He lightly tapped her head trying to get her attention. She seemed a little out of it.
“I guess. This whole week has been horrible. First brother Peter is on my back about extra work, and now he’s on my back about the whole Gracefield escape. He thinks you have something to do with it and I’ve argued with him countless times that there is no way you could have something to do with it. If you did have something to do with it that would mean you would’ve known about the demons in the first place. How would you have known? It just doesn’t make sense” She groaned, head still on the table. Norman felt bad, he had been lying to her but for good reason. He also appreciated that she was defending him this whole time.
“So when did it happen?” He had to try and get information out of her. He needs to know how his family is doing.
She lifted her head off the table, looking at Norman with a tired expression, “Four days ago, I held brother Peter off for four days. He just had to come ask you himself, but judging from your expression when you first heard about it, that must prove you didn’t know about it. Unless you’re a really good liar, but even if you were it still doesn’t make sense.” Her hands were now covering her face trying to process all the information in her head.
“Thank you for holding him off for me Emma” He spoke softly. Norman was really thankful she held that burden for him. He gently grabbed her wrists so he could move them away from her face. He gave her a smile. He gave her one of those smiles that showed that he cared. Emma paused for a second, looking at his face in wonder.
Emma sighed and shook her head. She moved her hands so that they were now lightly holding hands. “I was worried when we walked into your room, I thought maybe brother Peter might do something to you.” Emma paused looking down at both of their hands before gripping Norman’s hand tightly. “I trust you Norman. I know you’re kind and I know you’ll accomplish great things in the future.” He squeezed her hands in return to show that he appreciates what she’s saying.
After a moment of silence, Emma let go of his hands. “You know Norman.” Emma looked up at one of the cameras in the room, her voice now lowering to a hush. “Before all this happened. The Gracefield escapees I mean, I was going to take you out of this room and to a place that is a lot more refreshing. I thought it’d be a nice change of scenery instead of being in this room all the time.” She gestured to his room with one finger. “Now you’re going to have to wait a little longer, I need the dust to settle before you get to do that. I’m sorry, I hope you understand.” Norman didn’t understand why she was apologizing, well, he knew why but she shouldn’t be apologizing. It wasn’t her fault she’s been busy these past few days, it was partly his fault. Not that he regrets his past choices at all.
Norman waved his hand. “Don’t worry about it Emma. No need to apologize, what’s a few more days, right?” She gave him a soft smile, a smile that made him feel at peace.
“I appreciate your patience Norman. I should probably get back to it. I know brother Peter isn’t going to stop bugging, so I should have a talk with him.” She brushed some hair behind her right ear while exhaling forcefully. “I promise I’ll spend more time with you as soon as I can!”
Norman laughed, he liked her enthusiasm. “Don’t over exert yourself Emma. I’ll be right here waiting for you.”
Emma gave him one last bright smile and left his room. Now that he knows his siblings went through with his plan, it’s probably time he starts to make another plan to get out of Lambda. A few questions remain about how he would even do that, but he has to consider if Emma is trustworthy enough to be a part of his escape plan.