Noah's POV
The ground beneath us was cracking and shaking, sending sharp tremors through my body. My legs felt weak, but I pushed myself to stay on my feet. I couldn’t believe what was happening. I thought I had all the answers I needed, but now, watching the earth crack open, something wasn’t right. I was missing something.
"Emery!" I shouted, my voice barely audible over the rumbling ground. I wanted to ask her what was happening, what this was all about, but the words didn’t seem to make it out of my mouth. I saw her from across the room, standing there like none of this chaos was even phasing her.
She wasn’t bothered at all. Not by the shaking, not by the cracks, not by the rising thing in front of us. She just kept walking towards it. And that’s when I saw it—something in her hand. A small, silver case. I squinted, trying to make it out, but I couldn’t see what was inside.
"Emery! What are you doing?" I yelled again, this time louder, hoping she’d hear me. “Stop! It’s dangerous!”
But she didn’t even look at me. Her eyes were locked on the thing rising from the cracks. I could feel Abigail tense beside me, her breath coming out in quick, shaky bursts. She grabbed my arm.
"Someone stop her!" Abigail shout out, her voice filled with panic. "She’s going to get hurt!"
"Emy!" I turned to see her pale face, her eyes wide with fear. She was shouting at Emery too, pleading with her to stop. "Do you want to die instead of us?" she screamed, her voice cracking. "Stop it, Emery! Just stop!"
But Emery kept walking, like she was in a trance, like none of us existed.
I cursed under my breath. "Damnit, Emery!" I muttered, feeling the frustration burn in my chest. "Why won’t she listen?" I could barely hear myself over the noise.
The ground shook again, this time harder than before. I could feel the cracks spreading toward us, creeping closer with every second. I turned to the others. "Stay in the corner! Hold on to something!" I ordered. “Now!”
I began moving, slowly groping the wall, trying to keep myself steady. I had to get to Emery. I couldn’t just stand there and let whatever was happening play out in front of me without trying to stop it. I had to do something.
But the floor beneath me started cracking even worse, pieces of it breaking off and falling into the void below. I clenched my teeth, forcing myself to keep moving forward. Every step was a battle, but I wasn’t going to stop.
Another strong tremor rocked the ground, making me lose my balance for a moment. I barely managed to catch myself. Then, everything went still. The shaking stopped.
I lifted my head, turning toward where Emery was. My eyes widened. A large, oblong, translucent glass structure had appeared in the center of the room. It was facing Emery, and she was standing right in front of it.
But that didn’t stop me. I kept moving toward her, my heart pounding in my chest. "Emery!" I shouted, but she didn’t react. Her eyes were focused on the glass.
The thing in front of her began to open, releasing a thick cloud of smoke. I could barely see through it, but I noticed something that made my stomach drop. Tears. Tears were falling down Emery’s face.
What... what could make her cry like that? Emery never cried. I had seen her go through hell and back, and she never showed this kind of emotion. But now? Something was different.
I finally reached her, my legs feeling weak. I didn’t look at her. Instead, I turned my eyes to the glass structure. And that’s when I saw it. 
Pain shot through me like a knife to the chest. I couldn’t breathe. My legs gave out beneath me, and I collapsed onto the floor.
"Mom…" I whispered, barely able to get the word out. My voice felt broken. Inside the glass, our mother was lying there. Peaceful, calm, and still as beautiful as I remembered. But she was… she was just sleeping.
"Mother…" I whispered again, choking on my words. Tears blurred my vision as I stared at her, my mind racing with questions I couldn’t answer. What was she doing here? Why had Father hidden her away?
I couldn’t move. My legs refused to work. All I could do was stare. Stare at the truth I wasn’t ready for.
Emery kneeled down beside the glass, opening the silver case. Inside were three injections. My breath caught in my throat as she grabbed one and carefully injected it into our mother’s arm. She held her hand, her fingers trembling as she waited. Waiting for something I didn’t understand.
I shook my head, trying to piece it all together. "Father told us…" I muttered, my voice barely a whisper. "He told us she was far away… sleeping…"
There wasn’t a day that went by when I didn’t ask him about her. Where she was. Why we couldn’t visit her. And now… this? This was where he had hidden her?
"Emery," I said, my voice shaking as I finally turned to face her. "Mom…" I couldn’t finish the sentence. It hurt too much. "Why… why didn’t you tell me?"
Emery’s bitter laugh pierced the silence, breaking what little strength I had left. "I didn’t know," she whispered, her voice filled with pain. "I didn’t know this would be the price. Not until I saw that thing rising…"
She wiped her tears away, her hands trembling. "I knew this game was special. I knew Father was hiding something. But I didn’t know it would cost us this. Even Father… he played the game. And now he’s gone." Her voice cracked, and she looked down at the ground.
I couldn’t believe it. I didn’t want to. "So… that’s why," I whispered, my voice barely audible. "That’s why Father wanted Mom to live instead of him. That’s why…" A painful chuckle escaped my lips, but there was no humor in it. Just pain. "This was it all along…"
I could feel the presence of the others behind me. Abigail, Nathalie, Lucas, and Finn—they were all there, watching. I glanced up at them. They looked worried, but there was nothing they could say. Nothing they could do.
But before anyone could speak, a low growl filled the room, followed by a cough. My heart stopped. I turned back to the glass, my breath catching in my throat.
"She’s waking up," I whispered, my voice trembling.
Emery’s eyes widened, her tears falling faster. Our mother’s eyelids fluttered open, and she looked at us. "Emery?" she asked, her voice soft and weak. "Why are you so frowned up?"
Emery didn’t say a word. She just threw herself into our mother’s arms, sobbing loudly. I couldn’t hold back anymore either. I joined them, wrapping my arms around both of them, crying until my chest hurt.
"Noah…" My mother’s weak voice broke through my sobs. I looked up at her, and she smiled softly. "You’ve grown so tall. So handsome…"
I chuckled through my tears, wiping them away. I didn’t want this moment to end. I didn’t want to let go of this peace, this feeling of safety that had been so foreign for so long.
"Just rest," I whispered, my voice shaking. "You need to save your energy."
She smiled again, but then her eyes clouded with confusion. "Where is Nick?" she asked softly.
Her question hit me like a punch to the gut. I glanced at Emery, who was already looking at me, her face pale. Neither of us knew how to answer her. How could we explain all the chaos? The game, the deaths, our father? How could we?
For now, all we could do was hold on to her and pretend—pretend that everything was going to be okay, even if it wasn’t. At least for a moment, we could pretend.