Upon the Ruins of a Broken World II A Dreamsmp AU

The Hunt

A black-haired boy ran through the forest, his eighteen-year-old frame shaking with fatigue. Yet, he did not stop running. Greater than the pain of his aching lungs was the fear of the people behind him. They were hunting him.

The boy screamed in pain as a bullet pierced his leg, blood spurting onto the path beside him. He collapsed despite his best efforts and started to drag himself forward. A rough hand grabbed his wrist, pulling him up from the ground.

"Please!" He cries in agony and desperation, tears streaming down his face. 

The man who had him said nothing as he stabbed a syringe into the boy's side, emptying the contents coldly. 

The boy kicked out in a last ditch effort to free himself, slamming into the man's side. Fast as a snake, the man whipped a knife from his pocket and sliced downward.

The boy screamed as the blade cut vertically down his face, straight through his eye. 

The last thing the boy saw was red, and the cold face of his hunter before he fell away into the abyss of unconsciousness. 

>————-<

Tommy stride down the main road confidently, hands in his jean pockets.

"Good morning, Tommy!" An older woman called from a shop window. 

"Good morning, Miss Captain." Tommy said back, smiling at the white haired lady. She was a strange one, with her stories and queer ways, but she had always been good to Tommy. 

"Are you excited for the revealing?" Miss Captain called. 

"No, I already know I'm human, so I mean, it's not going to be interesting." Tommy said nonchalantly. When someone turned sixteen, they had to take the elixir, a substance that revealed your true self. 

Some people where hybrids, mixes between themselves and their true forms. Those people were taken away by the government, said to be a curse and no more than animals. 

It was said that most hybrids knew what target were before the Revealing but Tommy hadn't had any strange feelings or dreams. He was just a normal person and he was grateful for it. 

He didn't need to be reminded of the black-haired boy who had been revealed. Quackity as he had been called. Tommy remembered him as the class clown, though that day there had been nothing to joke about.

Quackity had emerged as a winged hybrid and had ran. Tommy hadn't seen him since. 

"Hey, Tommy!" Tubbo, a short brown-haired boy called as he came running down the road. 

"Hey, Tubbo, you ready for the revealing man?" Tommy asked, clapping his best friend on the back. Though Tubbo's birthday had already passed, the Revealing happened only once a year and everyone who was turning sixteen would be there. 

"Yeah." Tubbo said smiling. Tommy thought he saw  flicker of uncertainty in Tubbo's eyes. "Here! I brought you some honeycomb from my bees!"

"Oh, thanks. You okay, Toby?" He asked, gazing into his friend's dark eyes questioningly. 

"Yeah! Yeah," Tubbo said laughing. "I just came to pick up a few things from Captain P. here." 

Tommy watched his friend walk away and into the flower store. He shrugged and continued down the road. There was about an hour of time to kill before the official ceremony and Tommy didn't want to be late. The sooner it was done the better. 

Tommy walked down the main road, eating his honeycomb and glancing around at his childhood home. There was that tree where the weird kid had always hidden, cosplaying as a fox. 

Bullies had called him a furry and in the end, they had been mostly right. 

Fundy had turned out to be a fox hybrid. 

There was the play ground were that pink haired girl had always swung on the swings. She had been a fish hybrid. She didn't even have a chance to run. 

Tommy stopped before an alleyway. 

Wilbur had always used this place as a short-cut to school. Wilbur had been an ethereal hybrid. Shot on sight. 

Tommy had been forced to watch. 

As Tommy approached the podium, he saw some familiar faces. Eret, the guy who always wore sun glasses for some reason. Tubbo, who came stumbling up beside him. Sapnap, who swaggered up the stairs, no hesitation in his stride. A lot of other people walked past him. 

None of them meant anything to him. Not anymore. 

Finally, the ceremony started and the Mayor strutted onto the stage. 

"Please line up, and let's begin." She said coldly. She had straight dark hair and black eyes, which she levelled on the youth harshly. Tommy shivered as the gaze passed over him. 

Slowly, reluctantly, the sixteen-year-olds shuffled onto the podium and lined up. 

The first person to go was a boy Tommy didn't know. He took a sip from the white flask and stepped back. Everyone waited. Nothing. 

The second person was the same. A girl with blond hair this time. A human.

The third and fourth kids were all humans, and then the man reached Tubbo. Tommy looked at his friend and saw the fearful expression on Tubbo's face. 

Tubbo stepped forward and sipped from the flask, stepping backward hurriedly. Nothing happened, though Tommy saw Tubbo wince slightly, as if in pain.

The next person was Sapnap.

He stepped forward and took a sip, stepping back nonchalantly. The next moment he doubled over and screamed. The guard waved at two other standing off the podium and they ran forward, grabbing Sapnap roughly by the shoulders and hauling him upright.

Tommy could see the boy's face clearly, as part of his cheeks turned a dark yellow and his right eye a flaming red. Sapnap screamed again and Tommy could see fangs growing from his mouth. 

One of the guards jammed a syringe into Sapnap's arm as the boy struggled. Suddenly, Sapnap fell limp and the guard hauled him over his shoulder and walked down the stage. Tommy saw them load Sapnap into a white van. 

It was probably the last time Tommy would ever see him.

The guard continued as if nothing had happened and finally, it was Tommy's turn.

He stepped forward and took a sip. It tasted terrible and it felt like acid was running down his throat, burning him until it settled in his stomach. 

Tommy froze as he felt something stir within him. 

It wanted to get out. 

Tommy shoved downwards and quenched the thing's thirst. 

The guard looked at him strangely and then nodded to the Mayor. Tommy nearly sighed with relief. He was a human.