Ends of the Earth [DNF]

Chapter 29: Father-son-bonding

The nightmares didn't seem to falter. The exact storyline that was happening was difficult to pinpoint. However, the feeling of being trapped seemed to be a reoccurring theme. Dream woke up in panic three times in the span of five hours. George woke up every time as well. The brunette had switched sleeping spot from Dream's chest to the ground beside him. The loss of warmth was agonizing, but George's action wasn't too surprising.

Every time that Dream shot up from the ground, disorientated and terrified, a pair of blue and brown eyes looked at him. It was as if he knew that Dream would wake up. There were hardly any emotions behind the stare except a hint of confusion. But it felt like a step forward that George was even looking at him.

The sun made its way up on the sky and the morning finally arrived after that awful night. Dream's mood wasn't the best, thanks to the lack of sleep. George seemed a bit tired as well, but didn't do anything to confirm Dream's suspicion.

Dream's plan was to reach the camp in three days. He hoped that everything was going well for the bomb squad. Sure, they were outnumbered based on the amount of people. However, they did possess one great advantage, the access to the surface. The people in the bunker could theoretically just walk out there, but the dangers that the Council had propagated about what the surface contained, was more than enough to keep people from going out. He had to give it to the Council, they'd done a good job at infusing fear in their residents. Fear was certainly a powerful weapon.

Wilbur had tried to explain the mechanism that was going to used in the little explosion, but Dream failed to understand most of it. However, as long as it worked, the how didn't really matter. It was said that it'd take about a day to get everything in place, given that everything went according to plan.

Dream had collected all their stuff from the campsite. One of Dream stronger suits was thankfully his orientation skills, so it wasn't too difficult finding the same path that they'd travelled before and just follow it backwards. George kept the same manners; blindly following Dream without ever complaining. The silence was deafening. It felt familiar to travel along the forest again, yet so unfamiliar. Dream missed their former bickering and the sarcastic comments.

Time passed slow when there was nothing to do but walk. Dream finally decided to take a break. He handed George some food and water and commanded him to eat. Dream zoned out due to lack of sleep. When he was as the bunker, the lack of sleep wasn't so much of a problem. But the walking was way more draining than he remembered. He decided to rest his eyes for just a moment and it didn't take long before he was asleep. His lovely dreams shortly after made an appearance. He was standing in an empty field; an unnatural silence fell over the place. George was suddenly in front of him. "George?" Dream asked, unsure on what was going on. The brunette tilted his head to the left and remained silence for a while. His eyes shone with hatred. "It's all your fault." His tone was harsh. It felt like his heart had been crushed under a stone block. "You're no better than him." George spat the last word out. Dream remained stunned. "Do you really think that I'll ever forgive you?" It was as if George's hatred became a black liquid that slowly covered every part of the field and Dream felt himself sinking. Panic arose as he sank deeper and deeper, unable to move. Just as the liquid was about to drown him, George face appeared above him, the hatred remained. But right when Dream was about to drown, George expression changed to worry. Dream felt a hand grabbing his arm and pulling him out. He was no longer in the field but was standing on a beach with a sand pier leading into the sea. He started walking along the pier and into the sea. He reached the end and set his sight on the horizon. He inhaled the salty air form the sea and it felt like he could breathe for the first time in forever. A person was suddenly by his side. Dream turned to see who it was and found out that it was George once again. The brunette had his eyes on the horizon as well. His eyes looked like they sparkled. The brunette quickly turned to face him. He didn't smile but didn't have the same lifeless expression as usual. Dream felt hands cupping his jaw, the same way that they'd done once before. Dream leaned into the touch and kept his eyes on the brunette. He extended an arm to put away one of George's locks, but the scenery started to change once again and he realized that he was waking up. The sea and the beach disappeared but the illusion that George was holding his face remained, which was weird. It only started to make sense when he understood that George was, in fact, holding his face.

His heart fluttered. His hands found their way to rest upon George's, that was still holding his face. "George...?" it was nothing more than a whisper. But the moment was cut short when unfamiliar voiced interrupted and George was suddenly kicked in the back of his head and pushed to the side. Two hands gripped the collar of Dream's shirt and pulled him up without mercy. A pair of cold, green eyes was staring at him. "Hello, son."