Once Upon a Lifetime || Dreamnotfound

6

The knock at George's door doesn't wake him up because he was already awake.

Dragging air through his nose in a slow inhale, George checks the gun at his waist and opens the door. Dream stands outside, a cheerful smile accompanying his bedhead.

Unusually awake for so early in the morning, Dream says, "Good morning, George! How did you sleep?"

"Good," George lies, crossing his arms. "What do you want?"

Dream's smile doesn't falter. "I was going to show you around the place, is that okay?"

Remembering the map in his pocket, George nods. Dream exclaims, "Excellent! Let's start with the showers."

George's eyes snap up. "There's working showers here?"

"Mhm," Dream hums, eyes bright with the sudden alertness in George's eyes. "Want to see them?"

George nods, and Dream takes him down the hall, pointing out people's rooms and the bathrooms. He opens a door and George's eyes widen at the sight of dozens of shower stall doors.

Dream pulls his backpack off his shoulders and rifles through it. He holds out a towel and some clothing, saying, "Enjoy."

George tentatively takes the clothes and towel, walking down the room and peering into stalls. He can feel Dream watching him curiously, jade eyes insightfully observant. George doesn't bother glancing back at Dream before entering a shower stall.

~

The water was hot, the pressure just right. It was the best thing George has had in years. Shampoo and conditioner were already in the shower, so George didn't need to worry about that.

When he stepped out, he felt the cleanest he's ever been. George doesn't remember the last time he's had a shower. Sure, he's washed his hair with water bottles, but there's only so much you can do with limited supplies.

He's eternally grateful for the electricity of the bunker. He walks out of the stall, fresh clothes on and his gun kept secure at his waist. Dream showered too, and now they stand staring at each other with damp hair and a change of clothes.

Dream is frozen for a moment before he looks away hurriedly, rubbing the back of his neck with a nervous cough. His eyes dart up, and his voice comes out in a mumble, "Alright. Let's get breakfast."

Nodding, George follows Dream, who keeps glancing back at him. As they walk silently through the halls, music drifts through speakers. The old tune startles him, its words are ironic and unfitting of the situation.

"... the bright blessed day, the dark sacred night. And I think to myself, 'What a wonderful world.' The colors of..."

George looks at Dream questioningly. "The song doesn't really fit, does it?"

Dream shrugs. "Foolish loves this song. It's played at least once a day everyday. He's the most optimistic out of all of us."

George frowns, not finding a reply. The soothing melody of the music does little to reassure him. The world is in a perpetual state of hell, no end in sight. After the initial dropping of nukes, most of the earth's atmosphere was clouded with ash and soot.

The devastating effects of minerals in the air cooled the world's temperature, but once all the dry minerals settled after a couple of years, an insurmountable number of forest fires broke out. These heated the atmosphere, and lasted for over a year.

Now, icecaps have been reduced by over fifty percent, flooding coastal beaches and raising the temperature of the earth. Days are warmer, winds dryer, less life inhabits the world. The lack of pollution has slowed the climate change down some, though.