Ends of the Earth [DNF]

Chapter 14: Sympathy's a bitch

Knowing that the other guy had access to his mind made him uncomfortable to say the least. But he hadn't noticed how much the weird brunette had done for him until he stopped.

While he lived at the bunker, he'd relied on sleeping pills to help with his night terrors. But these pills weren't available out here.

The pair kept traveling. His dark-haired companion didn't say much at all, the fact that he didn't even know the guy's name was something that bothered him. Sure, he hadn't been the most talkative before but now the wordcount was close to zero. He had been informed that they would hopefully reach the bunker within a week. The silence was unbearable. Dream still knew very little about the other's power, which was rather unsettling, and he doubted he'd get much of an answer if he asked. The though of escaping often crossed his mind, but he feared for Sapnap's life. He also knew that he wouldn't be able to find his way out of here alive on his own and who knew what sort of creatures lurked around them?

Their argument kept replaying in his head and as much as he hated to admit it, but the other guy had made some valid points. Yet, he also felt as though some of the assumptions had been inaccurate. The life in the bunker was safe, structured, easy to understand. However, it contained no place for individualism. Everyone was seen as a piece just waiting to be placed in the right spot in of the puzzle and if you didn't fit in? Too bad.

All Dream had ever wanted was to see what was outside the bunker and the only way to do that was to become a Watcher. The training had been traumatic, he knew that it would require obedience to authorities, even if it felt wrong. But he'd do anything to get out of there.

They walked through what felt like a big forest-maze during the days and rested during the nights. The brunette would hunt small animal that they'd cook over a small fire. He was a good hunter, Dream had to give him that, and despite their argument, he always made sure to share equally. However, the frequent night terrors started to take a toll on both of them. Dream would wake up in panic multiple times a night and the brunette always woke up as well. The guy's determination the rescue the girl was admirable. He knew that if he were to go missing, no one from the base would lift a finger to help, he was always replaceable.

The night terrors would mostly revolve around training in the bunker, but one night took a different approach. He was standing in a field. All the trees had been cut down, and in the middle of a field laid a bloodied corpse. He was slowly pulled towards the corpse and when he got closer, he saw who was lying there, his mom. The ground started to pull his mom's corpse down and Dream freaked out. The words "no" kept echoing through his head over and over. This couldn't be happening; he couldn't lose his mom again. He sank to his knees in desperation, trying to dig after his mom. His fingers started bleeding, but he didn't care. The sound of metal rang through his skull and when he looked down, he saw that chains were connected around his ankles and the ground was now pulling him down as well. Trying to grab onto anything that might delay the process, but nothing worked. Tears escaped his eyes. He didn't want to die. The dirt slowly consumed him, he understood that he'd lost the battle.

But that's when a sense of peace spread throughout his body. Was this what dying felt like? The scenery changed again, he was now sat in a glade, the sun was just about to set, painting the sky in various colors. Big birds flew over the sky towards the sunset. "Breathe". The word echoed in his mind. He set his focus on the birds and focused on his breathing, it all felt so peaceful, everything was perfect. But the moment would soon end when he woke up, staring into the blue and brown eyes. The guy was holding his face between his hands and forced Dream to look at him.