Receeding Tides (mcyt)

Chapter 17

Dark clouds gathered above Tommy as he found his way into the city. By the time he reached what was left of Calais, rain splattered the ground and blinded the boy. His stomach gnawed at him for sustenance, and his entire body shook in his boots. The rain stapled Tommy's clothes to his skin, and droplets of his own sweat clung to his eyelashes. Any adrenaline wore off long ago, and every fiber in his body burned like hell flames. Tommy found a streetlight and curled against the chipped base. He huddled barely under the flickering light and wondered how it was still lit after all these years.

The next time I see that fucking mask I swear to god I will skin that paleolithic era piece of shit.

The wind froze his dampened hair into harmless spikes and stung his already cracking skin as Tommy pulled Dream's coat around his shoulders. It too was drenched. Despite being practically a perfect fit, the jacket offered little warmth. Nonetheless. Tommy was thankful to the patched fabric and to whoever turned and left the streetlight on.

He shivered involuntarily. Tommy hated doing thinginvoluntary. It always felt like someone controlling his body for him. As if someone thought he couldn't do anything by himself, so they took it upon themselves to do it for him. Like he was still an incapable, deadweight child. No wonder why no one in movies wanted to have kids when they were fighting for their lives.

His torn clothes sported even more holes, and they allowed frigid French air through to his skin. At least his mask kept his face warm, and his goggles kept the wind from hitting his eyes. It wasn't much. He could still feel the wind stab at every other part of his exposed skin. Tommy internally swore at whoever created French weather. It was almost as bad as Britain's.

Him and his body yearned for a good 24-hour nap and a decent meal. Preferably something with a coke. Despite the exhaustion, Tommy continued to forsake his body's needs. He had to stay awake for when Dream arrived. If he fell asleep in a huddle under a skinny streetlight that leaned farther over him than Pisa, who knows what could happen? Someone could mug him. More likely, kill him as well. Tommy forced his heavy eyelids open dozing on and off too. In the distance, he could see the bulky outline of a woman jogging towards him. He squinted trying to see her clearly, but the rain and his quivering body forced his sight out of clarity.

The woman's boots kicked up water from nearby puddles, and her hood hid anything Tommy could use to identify her as a threat or an angel coming to take him to heaven. She knelt in front of him, yet Tommy still couldn't see her face clear enough. The woman wasn't tall, and her faded hair fell just beyond her shoulders even though it was tied back. She spoke what sounded like accented English nonsense from behind a black mask and cracked goggles.

She shrugged off her jacket and wrapped it around Tommy's shoulders. It did little to warm him, but he appreciated the thought. She motioned for another person to come over. A man with a drenched hat speed walked into view. The woman shouted to the man, but the rain drowned them out of Tommy's hearing.

Bucket Hat helped the woman drape Tommy over their shoulders, and they hastily hauled him into a still-standing building. As soon as the warmth of the indoor heating hit his face, Tommy gave in to Exhaustion. He let his eyes shut and body go limp.

Word count: 620

Somehow we're already over halfway through with this story and I'm elated. Thank you guys so much for sticking around this long! I didn't expect 200 reads much less 2k. Reminder that this is not an accurate portrayal of the content creators' real life personalities or a Dream x Tommy ship. He is a minor and that is illegal.