E-404 | Dreamnotfound

Chapter Fifteen

His throat was burning as it attempted to catch the precious air it severely needed and his legs were numb from the constant running. The only thing keeping the brunette in his moving state was the adrenaline that ran through his veins and the blonde that was escaping further ahead of him.

"This way!"

"Dream what is that!" He yelled, fear evidently present within his panicked voice.

"Don't look back!"

George felt as if his body was moving on its own, powered by epinephrine. His mind was moving on its own, directing the body through every action as his limbs strained to keep moving. Haunting sounds from behind echoed throughout the small tunnel-like terrain he was running through. He couldn't stop. He didn't want to look upon the set of bleeding eyes that'd dug their way into his brain.

When Dream disappeared around the corner, George followed suit, careful not to trip over a spare root embedded in the ground. The environment filled with crimson trees would've been beautiful if not for the pursuer following behind.

Then, just like their close encounter during the mining trip, the smaller of the two had been pulled by the waist and into a small crevice that concealed their presence. With the creature not farther than a couple of feet away from the rounding the corner, Dream had placed his gloved hand securely over the other's mouth in an attempt to still his breathing.

"⟒-404," a long, drawn-out voice whispered through the muck of the underworld and it filled George with utter terror. His unknown words seemed to slither their way to the brunette's head while grasping onto any remaining hope that had kept him motivated, "⏁⊑⟒⍀⟒'⌇ ⋏⍜⍙⊑⟒⍀⟒ ⏁⍜ ⍀⎍⋏. ⋏⍜⍙⊑⟒⍀⟒ ⏁⍜ ⊑⟟⎅⟒."

Sweat trickled from his forehead, his body shaking in fear.

"☊⍜⋔⟒ ⍜⎍⏁ ⏁⍜ ⌿⌰⏃⊬."

Smoke that was being emitted off the monster could be seen through the red vines that hung from the ceiling of their small hiding hole. It only added to the eerie effect and George swore it was reaching into his soul and crushing his heart.

"⟟ ⍙⏃⌇ ⏚⎍⟟⌰⏁ ⏁⍜ ⏚⟒ ⊬⍜⎍⍀ ☊⊑⏃⌰⌰⟒⋏☌⟒, ⟒-404! ⎅⍜⋏'⏁ ⍀⎍⋏ ⏃⌇⏁⍀⏃⊬ ⌇⍜ ⌇⍜⍜⋏."

The inaudible words seemed to mock George in its airy sound. The only thing that seemed to keep him stable was the soft and almost unnoticeable breath that was being produced by the other.

"⏁⊑⍜⌇⟒ ⏁⊑⏃⏁ ☊⏃⋏⋏⍜⏁ ⍀⟒⋔⟒⋔⏚⟒⍀ ⏁⊑⟒ ⌿⏃⌇⏁ ⏃⍀⟒ ⎅⍜⍜⋔⟒⎅ ⏁⍜ ⍀⟒⌿⟒⏃⏁ ⟟⏁."

Noticing how tense the brunette was, Dream reached for George's hand with his one free one and intertwined them. It wasn't all for him, however, considering the blonde was also confused and extremely anxious about their situation. He'd never seen a creature like the one that was now chasing them which made them extremely vulnerable to its advances. He had an overwhelming feeling of familiarity with the voice that seemed to affect the brunette way more than himself. The thought chilled him to the bone.

"⊬⍜⎍ ⋔⏃⊬ ⏁⊑⟟⋏☍ ⊬⍜⎍'⎐⟒ ⟒⌇☊⏃⌿⟒⎅, ⏚⎍⏁ ⊬⍜⎍ ⋏⟒⎐⟒⍀ ⏁⍀⎍⌰⊬ ⍙⟟⌰⌰, ⟒-404."

The voice seemed to fade further and further until the whispers slowly merged with the other hellish monsters that roamed the dimension. Once the blonde was sure that they'd be safe, he dropped his hand from the other's mouth. None of them spoke about their hand-holding, either too occupied by their situation or they refused to say anything.

"D-Dream?"

It was soft as they tried to remain as quiet as possible. When the brunette turned around to face Dream, he continued with a hesitant voice, "I knew the nether was horrible, but I didn't think-"

"I don't know what that creature is."

George stilled. If even Dream was unaware of its existence then they were treading through the unknown.

The blonde quickly sourced out his watch and started typing on the smaller device.

When he received a confused glance from George, he explained, "I'm sending Technoblade a message. There's a possibility that he knows something about that monster."

After a few seconds of thought, the brunette remembered vital information, "In my memory," he began as Dream looked up from his communication system, "Karl and I were talking about something that we wanted to keep discrete."

"Do you know what you were talking of?"

George looked up at the other in an attempt to make eye contact before remembering that he was masked.

"I...I think someone we cared about was hurt or involved in something serious," he swallowed, "It looked like there was a nurse but we were trying not to be suspicious."

"Nurses? There are rarely hospitals around that're that big and not abandoned," Dream thought.

"There isn't?"

"Hold on," Dream said.

"What?"

The blonde gazed far away for a second, pondering something, "When you have your memory moments, you repeat some bizarre language."

"Is it...is it the same as what that monster was saying?"

Dream hesitantly nodded. He wasn't sure, but the tight feeling within his stomach seemed to agree, "You're connected somehow."

George noticed a crimson tree stump and after inspecting it to ensure that it was safe, he sat. The other followed his actions, also sitting down.

"We have to piece this together," the blonde offered.

"It's almost as if I wasn't supposed to be here."

"What?" Dream asked.

"Think about it. The more memories I remember, the more restricted I am. According to you guys I randomly spawned instead at the set area. Not to mention my actions or mission achievements aren't tracked."

"Like you weren't originally supposed to be here. As if you're out of place."

Bubbles could be heard popping from the lava around the corner. George moved to rest his back against Dream's.

"What if I was already in paradise?" George questioned, staring at the rock wall.

"The real problem is the fact that so don'tknow why you are here I'd you originally made it to paradise. If that's true, why are you back and what does that have to do with the language you and the monster spoke?"

George sighed, looking off into the entrance of the little cave they were in. He wondered what the others were doing while the duo discussed. Most importantly, he didn't understand the majority of everything.

"Oh come on."

"What?" George asked, changing his position once again to be seated next to the other.

A look of annoyance, or even fear, was displayed upon Dream's face.

"It's Technoblade. He says that whatever that creature was is needed for the next ingredient in spawning the final boss."

"Does that mean we have to kill that monster?" George asked, worry laced within his voice.

Dream swallowed, "We need a bane's eye."