Dreaming of Demons (Dream x oc)

[38] Safety

I pushed and pulled on the oars until the burn in my arms left them almost useless. If I squinted, I could make out some shape hovering on the horizon in the distance, but it was a bit difficult to tell with the constant swaying of the boat I sat in. The hope that it was the SMP, however, gave me just a little more energy to push on.

The cut on my leg had healed enough to scab over. Blood had smeared on the fabric of my sweatpants but at least it had stopped actively bleeding. The health potion I had taken moments before Dream attacked me must have lasted for a few minutes, effectively healing a part of the fresh wound.

Dream's wound would have been deeper, more debilitating. I hoped I hadn't cut a major artery. There was no way of knowing for sure. I had escaped so fast, spurred only by desperation. The only fact I could rely on was that the injury was enough to stall him. Enough for me to actually escape.

The shape in the distance slowly grew, and I could make out a large stretch of land lined with tiny, faint trees. My breath caught in my throat when I recognized the silhouette of the giant prison building. A smile broke out on my face again, and despite the aching in my arms, I pushed my arms to row faster. I never thought I would ever be so happy to see the prison.

My boat hit the sand and I sat there, completely still. It almost didn't feel real, that I was actually back. That I had done it. My legs shook as I slowly rose up, and I tried to keep my balance when the waves swelled against the boat. I staggered out, my shoes splashing in the lukewarm water and trudging me up to the dry sand.

Collapsing onto it, my fingers pushed through the softness, and strangely, a laugh bubbled out of my throat. But it quickly melted into a hiccupping sob. I really couldn't believe that I was here. The relief was so overwhelming, I couldn't control my tears anymore.

I was crying on the sand again, on the opposite end of the world, my tears falling for a reason completely different. The last time I had touched this sand was days ago—weeks, actually. I didn't have the state of mind to wrap my head around just how long it had been.

My vision was horribly blurred, and my mind could have spun off into oblivion. I almost dozed off right then and there, the exhaustion setting in my bones. I snapped myself awake, sniffling as I picked myself up from the sand. I needed to find an actual bed to sleep in. Not some rickety cot in a stone basement. A real bed.

I started walking, hugging my arms around myself as I shuffled my way through the brush. My gaze raised up to the prison looming over me. It was still as silent and foreboding as ever, even without it's primary prisoner.

In fact, the air was quiet all around me. Not a single person was in sight. No voices floated across the long field of the prison entrance. No flash of armor or someone hauling building supplies. It was like a ghost town.

I felt almost like a stranger here. Like I wasn't supposed to be here. The Dreamon's words floated to the front of my mind. They're all going to hate you when you go back. They'll never forgive you.

I squeezed my eyes shut, blocking them out almost physically just as mentally. Why did I keep thinking about it if I knew he was wrong? I mean...I had never actually tested out his theory, so there was still the possibility of him being right about it all. People could really hate me and...they might try to kill me. I could be walking myself to my demise. Maybe I really would have had a better life with Wilbur and the Dreamon—

No. I stopped cold on the start of the Prime path, shaking my head to expel my thoughts. No matter how hard I tried, his words were still trying to break in. I couldn't be alone with my thoughts right now. I needed to find someone—someone I trusted—to get me out of the headspace I had been in for the past few weeks. I needed someone to make things feel normal again.

Karl.

As soon as he came to mind, my body was moving again, taking me along the Prime path in autopilot. I didn't know exactly where I was going, maybe Kinoko Kingdom. That seemed like the most logical place he would be, and I hoped I was right.

I don't remember if I ever did see someone as I strode on the path. I didn't stop to see if anything had changed, if there were new buildings or statues. Everything just blurred until I suddenly recognized the colorful houses of Kinoko peeking through the leaves in the trees.

I burst through the tree line and broke into a run. For some reason, my heart felt jittery, like some dire consequence would ensue if I didn't make it to Karl in time.

And he was there, standing with his back to me, his hands on his hips as he stared at the front of a house still a distance away from me. His dark, curly hair and wonderful, multicolored hoodie was the best thing I had seen in ages.

"Karl!" I called out, my voice hoarse. I was starting to lose my breath.

He turned quickly, startled. Confusion flashed to disbelief in his eyes.

"Tare?" He questioned right as I crashed into him, wrapping my arms tightly over his shoulders.

He hugged me back almost cautiously, the confusion still evident in his touch.

"How—wait." He stumbled on his own words. "I thought you were with Dream—that you helped break him out?"

I shook my head, my eyes shut tight. "No, no, I escaped from him. I didn't help him break out." My voice shook with the emotions rising up again, yet I felt safe in his arms. My voice dipped to a whisper, barely able to carry itself. "I got away from him. I'm back."

Karl was silent, his arms tightening around me. For a moment, he let me hold on to him as I sniffled through my tears once more, surrounded by the blooming flowers and warm sun.

"I'm glad you're back," he whispered.

I pulled back finally, wiping my eyes and realizing how disheveled I probably looked. "I'm sorry, I—"

"What?" He almost exclaimed, a lighthearted expression on his face, "Don't apologize! I mean, I don't know what happened, but I don't think you should apologize."

I nodded half-heartedly and pressed my hand against my head as I hugged my other arm around my body. I was getting a headache and my thoughts were muddling together, but despite my exhaustion, I still tried to explain.

"Dream, he...it's not his fault. I've tried telling people that—" I stopped to take a breath, pressing the heel of my hand to my eye. "It's all so confusing, I know, and I hate it. But it's really not his fault. It's not—"

"Hey, I think you should just rest right now." Karl put a gentle hand on my shoulder. "You can tell us everything later. Come on." His hand fell from my shoulder to grasp mine so he could pull me along with him and into the house he had been looking at before.

I just numbly followed behind with bleary eyes, and as soon as I hit the soft comforter of a bed, I blacked out.

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A/N

A shorter chapter, and I know she kinda cries a lot but I feel it's valid given the heck she went through for the last couple weeks :')