Danger on the Horizon ( A Dream & GeorgeNotFound Fanfic)

Chapter 16 - Talk to Me

Sapnap and I have never felt more useless. At Bad's instruction, we leave the room and wander out to the living-room, still unable to believe what just took place. I drop down on the couch, my gut twisting itself into knots of worry. Sapnap sits beside me, leaning against my arm. I appreciate feeling him there with me – it makes me feel a little less alone.

"George?"

"Yeah?"

"Are you okay?"

I frown, shoving my unsteady hands into my hoodie pockets. "Yeah. What about you?"

"I'm fine."

I find this so dumb. Both of us are clearly not fine – we're shaken after that ordeal, and very sleep deprived. And on top of that, our best friend is unconscious in the other room. Again. . .

This situation reminds me all too much of waiting in the hospital while we took turns sitting with a comatose Dream. Waiting to find out if he would be okay. I'm so sick of waiting. I'm sick and tired of everything. Those f- creeps who took that picture. I was supposed to protect Dream. . . looks like I've failed again.

Sapnap shifts into a more comfortable position beside me. He appears to have calmed down considerably after taking the direct orders from Bad. We remain silent, listening to the wail of the wind against the windows as the rain pelts down. It's definitely been a while since we've had a storm this bad.

Neither of us move for a long period of time. We're both too busy thinking and praying.

So tired of all this. I just want Dream to be well again. Why did this all have to happen? He doesn't deserve it. He was just starting to get better. . .

"Hey, George?"

I jolt awake – awake? Did I fall asleep? - as someone whispers my name and shines a flashlight into my face. I cover my eyes, making out Bad's shadowed form standing a few feet away. Sapnap snores gently beside me.

"Bad? What- what time is it?" I yawn, stiffly getting to my feet. Then my heart sinks. "Is Dream okay? What's wrong?"

Bad steps over quietly, handing me the torch. "Nothing, he's just the same as before. Except his temperature has gone up slightly. But since he's asleep, we can't really do much about that. It's only twelve-thirty. PM." he adds, as if that was necessary.

I sigh, rubbing my shoulder. It's aching I must have had it in a weird position. . . "Okay. Well – you want me to go stay with him for a while?"

Nodding, Bad sits down. "Thanks. And after about an hour, come wake Sapnap up for his turn."

"Sure."

I leave the living-room and head into the bedroom. Dream is twitching feverishly and muttering something garbled under his breath but doesn't seem to respond when I take the no-longer damp cloth off his forehead. It's warm and almost completely dry. I take it to the bathroom and hold it under the cold tap for a few seconds before squeezing the excess water out of it. Then I go and place it gently on Dream's head. He flinches, pulling away from the cool cloth. I can feel the heat radiating off his skin as I brush his hair back off his face.

A crash of thunder sounds overhead and Dream shrinks back and moans, still trapped in the depths of slumber. I sit quietly on the end of the bed, just watching as he murmurs unintelligibly. He's talking an awful lot.

Ohhh yeah, that's right. Dream has told me before that he already sleep-talks a lot. And this fever is not helping.

"'m s-rry. . . don' l-t th'm come – please- 'm sorry I'm sorry. . ." the few words that I can make out are concerning, to say the least. It sounds like he's pleading with someone to 'not let them come' and that 'he's sorry'.