Ends of the Earth [DNF]

Chapter 20: Make a wish

The dreaded bunker got closer every day and time was running out. George had agreed to Dream's wish to follow him away from this place. George had explained that him and his two other friends already had agreed to leave, but they couldn't do that before retrieving Karl's sister. So, that meant that they'd still have to get to the bunker and continue with their plan. Dream had voiced his concern that his life might not be worth the trade. However, George was still confident that it would work. He reasoned that it'd cause a riot if the civilians in the underground-facility would get the news that two of their people (referring to Dream and Sapnap) had lost their life due to their leader's inability to cooperate. The most important part was just that so many witnesses as possible was present, forcing the leaders to make the trade even if they wanted it or not.

Dream had avoided questions about Sapnap upon that point. He knew that the brunette would never hurt him, but not so certain regarding his friends. One of them had after all pointed a knife at his friend's throat. George had chuckled lightly at the question and assured him that Sapnap was well and thriving. The talk about killing him had been nothing but empty threats. George had told him that Philza, which apparently the name of their leader, would kill them if they'd kill another human just to make a statement. According to George would it not be too farfetched to assume that Sapnap had stolen his bed by now. Because Philza was apparently not so keen om prisoners.

With that out of the way, the plan would be to pretend that the threats were real ones. Dream had agreed and hoped everything would go smoothly. He'd tried to explain where he thought the best entrance was located, but it was more difficult than anticipated. So, George suggested another strategy. He'd said that you could learn to open and close your mind and that's how they didn't have 50 different voices interfering when they were at the camp. The technique wasn't much more than just mental practice. It took a few tries, but Dream got a hang of it, therefore making it possible to visualize the things he tried to explain. That mind-thingy was handy at time.

The last step was then for Dream to get out of the base so the two could link up again. George said that he'd give Dream a visual map of the way to their camp if he could find a way to get to the surface without making it too suspicious.

The whole plan seemed rather solid. But Dream was nervous. George had offered Sapnap to come with them as well and Dream believed that his friend would take the offer. Anything was better than returning to the concrete bunker. It was one of the few tickets out of the endless circle.

George said that they'd most likely reach the bunker in two days, or more like one and a half day. He believed that they'd be there in the morning on the second day. Dream didn't want all of this to end, even if he knew it would only be temporary and that they'd see each other again.

They'd found a resting space for the night. Darkness was slowly taking over, the stars did once again make an appearance. Dream was resting on his back against a tree. His slowly ran his fingers through a certain brunette's locks that was fast asleep with his head resting in Dream's lap. He had his gaze fixated on the stars while he simultaneously felt as though he was in a quarter life - crisis or some shit. His girlfriend made her ways into his thoughts, he knew that he'd more or less cheated on her, but he doubted that she'd even care. It would honestly not have surprised him if she had done the same.

His time out here had made him realize that their relationship wasn't much more than a distraction. They had nothing in common and it hit him that they'd nearly only spent time when others were around. He had practically not thought about her for his entire time away, which might be an indicator of the relationships value.

Damm you Sapnap for being right.

The experience had brought some new perspective to, well quite frankly everything. He could see that the bunker was a place that relied on obedience and fear of the unknown. They were very technologically advanced but were still made to believe that the surface and all its secrets were a scary and dangerous place, that should be avoided at all costs.

His dad was the other person to cross his mind. He resented that man; nothing would change that. The man was practically a cult-leader. Dream was sure that he knew a lot more about the world than he claimed to do. But fear and people's need to find a place to belong was two powerful tools of manipulation. He was sure his dad was aware of it and used it on a regular basis to keep everyone where he wanted them.

He was pulled out of his identity-crises by sleep drunken voice. "Your thoughts are all over the place, it's making me feel like I'm on a boat caught in a storm." Dream just sighed. George sat up and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and stood up. "C'mon, I want to show you something."

The brunette disappeared into some bushes and Dream did his best tag along. George seemed to recognize that the his companion had a hard time keeping up. So, Dream suddenly felt a hand grabbing his own, pulling him in an unknown direction.

"Where're we going?"

The vegetation didn't seem to get any thinner and George refused to answer. "Eyy, short-man, slow down." That made George bite and Dream couldn't help but smile. "I'm not short, average height actually, if you wanted to know. You're the giant, a slow one as well." Dream was about to object, but the plants got fewer and fewer and Dream soon spotted what he believed to be the destination.

George slowed down and Dream realized that they were standing on a cliff that must have been around a hundred meters above the water surface. George sat down and indicated for Dream to do the same. George pointed at the horizon. "Look." Dream did as he was told. It didn't look like much at first but then the show started. What looked like millions of white dots were falling at once. Dream sat there, completely amazed by the sight. He forced his gaze away from the meteors for a while and shifted his attention towards George, who looked equally as amazed.

"Wilbur always talked about this. He loves everything connected to space; I think the mystery intrigues him." Dream felt as though he'd been robbed of the world beauty for so long. He'd heard about stuff like this from his mom, but it was completely different to experience it first-hand.

Dream felt something being placed in his hand. It was small and didn't weigh much. He pulled his hand in front of him so he was able to see the object. It was a small, carved moon and it... glowed. Dream turned to face George to get answers. "Is it radioactive?" George kept his eyes on the meteors but shook his head. "No, it's called foxfire. It's a fungi that causes it to glow." Dream was utterly fascinated. He inspected the creation for a few more moments before he put it in his pocket. Returning his attention to the sky. "When did you even find this place? You've been asleep for quite a while." George gave him a mysterious smile but let the question remain unanswered. The brunette decided to change topic instead.

"Wilbur said that people used to make wishes when they saw falling stars, or rather when they saw meteors and called them falling stars." Dream furrowed his brows. "Why?" George shrugged but kept his eyes on the meteors. "Does it matter? You know that not everything you do has to make perfect sense, right?" George said teasingly. Dream turned to the meteors again. He couldn't say he'd believed it, but he made a wish, that he buried deep within.

"Thank you for showing me this." George was a bit taken back by the comment at first but collected himself rather quickly.

"You're welcome. Maybe you won't need me if I show you enough of these types of places" he responded jokingly.

Dream didn't bother responding. He instead hastily pulled George into a hug and laid down, so the brunette rested on top of him. The brunette was obviously not prepared but melted into the hug when the surprise had vanished. Dream took the liberty to run his fingers through the other's hair, which resulted in the other burying his face deeper into Dreams chest. Dream felt like he could explode out of happiness.

The time they'd spent in the wild made Dream get use to the sometimes not so comfortable sleeping spots. The brunette's breathing had slowed down and Dream figured that he was about to fall asleep. Dream would soon let the other sleep, but he gripped George's face and turned it against his. He closed the distance and pressed his lips against the brunette's. It was the most exhilarating feeling ever and the thought of being able to spend the rest of his days with George had never seemed more appealing.

Their lips parted from one another; Dream pressed on last kiss on the other's forehead before lying back again. "Goodnight, love." It was a bold expression, but it felt right. George didn't seem to mind it and mumbled a silent goodnight before drifting of. Dream followed his example moment later.