Tricks and Treats

14 - I'm Sorry That I Let You Down

Sam aged many years in that moment. He didn't know what was worse, seeing Tommy's bloodied corpse or Dream's maniacal laughter. Tommy had his eyes wide open, the blue faded into a gray as if he was blind. Tommy was blind now, Sam realized, as he saw the red of his blood drip from his wounds to the obsidian ground. His lips were slightly parted, not a smile or a frown or a scream. It was emotionless, empty, no longer filled with the chaotic energy Tommy oozed on a normal basis.

The laughter hit when Sam was done panicking. Sam had heard evil laughter before, fake villains on the screen or his boys going off the deep end. This... This was different. It was like an evil god's giggling. Like Dream had done the impossible, and was so happy that he had killed a child. It was loud, medium pitched, and bubbling in the air like poisonous gas.

"What did you do!?" Sam yelled when he had enough of listening. The laughter grew louder, and no matter how much Sam pleaded for answers, Dream wasn't saying a word as he stood above Tommy's body, his knuckles covered with the blonde's blood.

Sam went outside, puking into the bushes. Flashes of the corpse distracted Sam as he wretched his lunch onto the ground. When everything was gone, Sam was dry heaving still, his throat starting to burn while a funny feeling ate away at his empty stomach. Sam didn't stop until he heard his name being said.

Ranboo, Tubbo, and JackManifold. Sam didn't realize how young they looked until he had to tell them that their friend was dead. Tommy was dead. Sam's son had been beaten to death. And now Sam had to tell his son's best friend and best friend's husband who was some level of friends with Tommy, and whatever Jack was. Sam breathed out, eyes glazing over as he tried to talk, tried to explain or apologize or anything. "Tommy... he..."

"Is he free now?" Tubbo filled the silence with a hopeful expression. Sam stared at the ground. He couldn't look at them anymore. Tubbo had looked so hopeful that Sam was tempted to lie. Would Tommy want Sam to lie? Would Tommy want everyone to know he was dead? Sam didn't know.

"No... he didn't... he won't be free," Sam whispered, voice despondent and hollow. "He... Dream and him, they got into a fight and... Tommy's dead. He's gone."

Jack reacted first. He left. He listened and walked away. He had this strange expression, like he was trying to be happy but couldn't get the emotion to work. Ranboo acted next, eyes going wide with a horrified expression as it all clicked inside his head. Tubbo shook his head. "What happened to Tommy? Why can't he be free?"

"Tubbo, he's dead," Ranboo said quietly, looking to Tubbo with a subdued terrified face.

"Who? Tommy? No, he isn't. This is probably a prank, Ranboo," Tubbo responded immediately. Sam looked away, recognizing the first stage in the five stages of grief- denial.

"I wish this was. I'm sorry," Sam said his voice finally breaking as tears filled his eyes. He went back into the prison so they wouldn't see him crying, his sobs bouncing off the walls of obsidian that was meant to keep people from danger. How could Sam leave Tommy in there with Dream? He should have been able to do something. Sam hated protocol, and he hated how he was unwilling to go against. Maybe if he had taken Tommy maybe even an hour earlier, he would still be alive.

———

"He's... he's dead," Jack said to Quackity, watching the latter's face melt into pain immediately. Quackity had many expressions, but this was by far one of his most painful one. The grief hit him like a bag of bricks. He didn't want to believe it, but what reason would Jack have to lie? How could someone who was lying be able  to conjure such haunted eyes?

"Go over there. Run the hotel," Quackity said quickly, walking away before the conversation went on further. He wanted comfort in those moments, so he went to Party Island. SapNap and Karl were trying to make the neon in the dance floor work, laughing at each other as the squares flickered in color. By some cruel joke from god, the squares turned a deep, sad blue the moment Quackity arrived. Karl looked over to him, his smile fading when he saw Quackity's expression.