***

The first thing the four of them did when they got back was going to the library. They were going to start researching all they could about the outside world and how the demons took over. Norman was leaning against a bookshelf while reading a book while Ray read his at the table with Alex. Emma stood in front of the world map that was hung on the wall. She had her hands on the map as she studied it.

There was hesitance as Emma said, "So our map was published in 2010. Now that I think of it... We don't even know a thing about where in the world we are right now."

Alex closed the book that she was finally done reading. Reading all these informational books was so boring and hard for her to do. Fantasy books were a whole lot better. Like she had said before, informational books were dull and boring while fantasy books were colorful and exciting. "We've always just been in our own little bubble. We never even thought about a life outside of this house."

They knew that one day they might have to leave the house, but they never thought about it that much. As naive as it sounds, they just thought that they would all stay here. They've already been here for eleven years so they've just gotten used to it. Thinking about what was outside did interest them, of course. They just never thought about where exactly outside was.

"Since we can see that the sun rises out of the south," Ray looked up from the book he was reading, "We must be located somewhere in the northern hemisphere. We also have four seasons, so it should be safe to assume that we're closer to the equator."

"But in the end, that's all we can come up with." Emma tightened her hand into a fist.

"Checking for cameras... Checking what's beyond the fence... And getting our hands on those 'ropes," Ray listed off, "I think things have been moving along quite smoothly for us so far. So what's next?"

Alex spoke up, "I think we-"

"Ray! Norman! Emma! Alex!" Mom's voice called out, cutting Alex off.

The redheaded girl jumped in her seat from the suddenness of the voice. She could hear Norman laughing behind her. She turned her head to him and pouted, slumping down in her chair, "That was not funny."

"Mama..," Emma turned to the others, "This is bad! Doesn't this mean that she's suspecting us?"

"Calm down," Ray told her.

"We shouldn't be freaking out this early," Alex added. They didn't even really have a reason to freak out yet. Mom could just be calling for them to do something for her. "We don't know enough about why we're being called so let's remain calm." Ray and Alex stood up from their seats and everyone, except for Emma, started heading for the door.

"Think about it from the enemy's standpoint," Ray advised.

"The enemy's standpoint?" Emma inquired.

"None of the kids seem to be visibly shaken," He started, "If that's the case, it isn't strange for us eldest kids to be suspected first. This is nothing to be scared of."

Norman cut in with his points as well, "We can't let out guards down and we have to stay in high alert than ever before, but don't worry! Our enemy has no idea about who we are at this point. There's no need to panic. That's basically what Mama is trying to make us do," He, Ray, and Alex started leaving the library. "Let's go!"

Before they walked out of the door, Alex placed a comforting hand on Emma's shoulder, "Just relax and it will all be fine." The four of them left the library and headed to where they heard Mom calling for them. They lined up in front of her but they were surprised to see Don and Gilda there as well.

"What is it, Mama?" Don asked.

Mom smiled at them, "Could I ask you all... To help me with some chores?"

***

Helping with the chores lasted for three days. If Alex had known this then she would have tried to find some way out of it. They hadn't had any time to talk about their plans at all. This was probably set up because of that reason. Mom didn't want them to have the time to find a way to escape and set their plans in motion. Alex let out a sigh as she wiped the sweat from her forehead.

Ray was stood a little ways from her with a broom in hand, "Still... What a pain in the ass! It's already day three... But all we've been doing is organizing the food supply. Checking every extra sheet in the house for damages, and cleaning up some of the unused rooms."

"These past three days have been torture," Alex stated. She whispered to herself in a low voice so Don and Gilda wouldn't hear her, "Now I kind of wished she would have called us for a different reason."

Suddenly, Don threw his hands up in the air with a yell, "Ugh! I. Want. To. Play! Guys, why us?! Why only us?! What are we even getting punished for?! We haven't done a single this to deserve this!" Alex looked away with a slightly nervous smile. Sorry, Don. Mom was probably pulling him and Gilda into it in case they were in on their plans as well.

Gilda went over to Don and grabbed his wrist. She started to pull him out of the room, "Don, come here and help me for a second," Don questioned her, but Gilda continued pulling him down the stairs, "Come on, hurry up!"

"In the end," Norman spoke up whenever he was sure that Don and Gilda were far enough away. They finally had a chance to talk about the things they needed to. "We still need to figure out a way to get rid of that. We'll never get out of here if we don't on time."

"Always being the optimist in these situations, huh, Norman?" Alex shot him a teasing smile and he shot one back at her.

"But how?" Emma asked, "As soon as we realized we were being tracked, we all searched all over our bodies..," Emma felt of her clothes to make sure. "But none of us could find a single scar that seemed to indicate that a tracker was planted inside!"

"It's true, we even checked our clothes and shoes," Norman added.

"Maybe they were placed in us when we were a lot younger," Alex theorized. It wasn't too far-fetched of a theory. It made sense if you really thought about it. "The scar would be gone by the time we were grown up enough to notice it and start questioning what it was."

"That's a possibility," Norman had a thoughtful expression on his face, "Ray..."

Ray took over with the conversation, "So I've been thinking... If these transmitters are truly man-made, it's highly likely that they're the type that emits electromagnetic waves... But from the sources we have right now, I found that electronics that can do these kinds of things contain a battery that needs to be charged or replaced often. I did a bit of math the other night-"

Alex cut him off, "Do you ever sleep, Ray?"

The only answer she was met with was a look from Ray. He continued from where he left off, "Creating a tracker small enough to slip into the human body without leaving so much as a scratch that lasts over ten years... Was an impossible task with the technology the world had back in 2015."

"So what are you getting at?" Emma didn't seem to be understanding yet.

"In other words, it'll be insanely difficult to find and destroy the trackers planted inside of us with the limited information we have right now," Ray explained, "Hell, if the trackers are something made by those demons themselves, we're at a complete loss."

Norman brought a hand up to his chin in thought, "You're right. In fact, there's actually a higher probability that the trackers were indeed made by the demons!"

"The demons could have some super futuristic technology that we don't even know about," Alex suggested. Who knew what kind of technology the demons had? They could have some high-tech stuff that they wouldn't even know the functions of.

"Wha-" Emma looked at Ray with a worried look, "Aren't we super screwed?"

"Yep, we totally are," Ray replied which sent Emma into a panic. Alex sweatdropped at his blunt response. He really didn't think about sugarcoating it, did he? "If only we had an x-ray machine or something, eh?"

"Well... We don't know much... But we can still brainstorm. If we think hard enough, there must be a way!" Norman exclaimed. That was what they had to hope for at least. The four of them made their way into one of the empty rooms. Norman walked to the farthest wall and placed his head on it, "We have too little information to work with."

"Agreed," Ray said.

"We'll find some eventually," Alex let out a sigh, "We just have to keep looking."

Norman turned his gaze to look out of the window, "Perhaps... Mama seems so relaxed... Because she knows that we'd run against these kinds of walls," Ray, Emma, and Alex look at him with a puzzled look. What made him think that? "Look at her! Doesn't it bother you? I'm not sure how to put this, but... Everything she's done so far... Is really... Vague."

"You mean it feels like she's not even trying to find us?" Ray inquired.

"Exactly!" Norman nodded, "Something just doesn't feel right. I hope I'm just overthinking things."

"Now that you mention it..," Alex trailed off. "It does feel like that. Maybe she already feels like she has under control?" Since they were all stuck cleaning, they had no time to really talk so that would lead Mom to feel like she had them under control. She could have deliberately thrown Don and Gilda into doing the chores with them because she knew that they didn't know about the secret so they wouldn't be able to talk about it in front of them.

They all left the room, talking out into the hallway. Just then, Don and Gilda were actually already on their way to meet them. Don pointed a finger at Emma and yelled, "Hey! Quit slacking off! You're the oldest kid here!"

Emma rubbed the back of her head nervously, "Sorry, sorry," The boys started to carry out some of the furniture from one of the unused rooms. Emma watched with a determined look and a smile, "Let's hurry up and get this all over with!"

Don groaned, "Ugh, are we gonna have to do this again tomorrow?!"

Alex whispered to Norman who just so happened to be passing by her, "I will run away earlier than we intended to if we have to do this tomorrow." Norman laughed at the girl's comment.

***

It was later on that day when Mom had called all of the kids together. Alex had no idea why Mom would call everyone together. Was something big happening that was being revealed? Was there a surprise that Mom had been planning? Alex and the others understood what it was whenever they saw the two people who were with Mom.

"Huh?" Norman, Emma, and Ray inquired.

"You've got to be kidding me..." Alex looked at the three people in front of her with wide eyes.

The grin never left Mom's face, "Let me introduce them. This is Carol, one of your new siblings," Mom was holding a baby in her arms. The baby had light orange hair and she was currently yawning. Next to the two of them was a woman with a dark complexion and a suitcase. "The person next to me is Sister Krone. She's here to help me out with chores around the house."

Emma's eyes widened, "An... Adult?!"

Alex hugged herself, "As if one wasn't already enough."

"Isn't it a bit too early for the new baby to come?!" Ray asked.

"Sister Krone?" Mom called out.

The woman, now known as Sister Krone, had a smile on her face. Alex had a feeling that it wasn't a good type of smile. Sister Krone spoke for the first time since arriving, "Ah, yes. I will be living here with all of you starting today! Nice to meet you all!"

"Now we have 16 kids under the age of three to protect..." Norman trailed off.

"And our current enemy is no longer Mama alone." Ray finished. Great... Just when everything seemed to be getting more simple, a wrench is thrown into their plans and wrecks it all. Just how were they going to handle this?