Not Even Real | Dream SMP School AU

60 - Glow

Ranboo tiptoed through the hall as silently as they physically could. Their whole body trembled with fear as they made their way through the building. The wailing wasn't the only thing they had heard.

Bricks shifting, wind, I think I heard a door open?

As their mind wandered to remember the sounds and what they could possibly be, they heard a loud slam coming from down the hall. Ranboo froze in place, their entire body cold with terror.

That must be the door from before.

Calming themselves the best they could, Ranboo continued through the hall carefully.

Why am I doing this? I should have left while I could!

"Yes, you should have."

Ranboo froze for a second, processing the voice still present in their mind.

I... I hope nothing bad happens.

"Do not think that. You may end up jinxing it, Ranboo."

Dream... You've gotta stop being quiet for so long only to-

Their thoughts were cut off by a flurry of loud banging. Fear rose in their heart as they crept slowly over to the door. They subconsciously searched for a reason why they should leave and never return.

Damn this place... Damn it and all its awful happenings! Why can't this be normal! Why'd I have to come here?!

"It's not like you have much of a choice."

Why... What does that mean...

"You know what it means, Ranboo."

Of course they knew what it meant, but now wasn't the time for recalling their dramatic past. There was a terrifying sound to answer to.

"Three..." They began, quietly speaking to themself, "two..." They changed their stance to a more 'battle ready' position, "ONE!" Ranboo flung the door open as quickly as the could, the handle colliding with the wall in the room so hard it made a dent.

Within the room were tons of boxes and random equipment. Sports balls, nets, stacks of paper neatly and not-so-neatly tucked into each and every corner. It was OCD's worst nightmare and a hoarder's best dream.

Ranboo couldn't see any sign of life or movement. The banging had stopped, the air now silent and sound. They glanced around the cluttered room, hoping that the sounds they had heard were simply their imagination. Ranboo subconsciously nodded to themself, ready to leave. Then he heard a soft sound to the left of the room, seeming to come from behind a stack of boxes near the only other door in the room.

"What do we do?" The first voice whispered, a hint of fear in his words.

"Shut up, Zak! We can't make any noise!" The second voice replied, more fear in his voice than the first's.

Zak... Darryl... What are they doing here?

"Hello? It's me... Uh... Ranboo?"

The two voices owners peeked out from behind the boxes. They appeared to me a bit messier than normal. Their hair had the "tangled up because of wind" look Ranboo had seen so often from Toby, there were bags under their eyes, and their clothes looked like they had been put on in the dark. Ranboo forced themself to not ask questions in order to focus on the most prevalent thing.

"What are you doing here?" Darryl and Ranboo asked at the same time, pausing after in surprise before Ranboo continued, "I'm here because I was locked in. You two seem to have come in through... A back door? In a storage room?"

Darryl and Zak glanced at eachother, staring into one another's eyes as if they could read word in them. After an awkward moment of silence, they turned back to Ranboo.

"We're here," Zak began, "because we... Needed to get paper?"

"What? No! I said because we needed something Principal J. Schlatt took from us!" Darryl whisper yelled at Zak. The other boy held up his hand defensively as his friend sighed.

"I don't really care that much... But I also want to leave so can you open the door?" Ranboo tilted their head in the direction of the only escape they could thing of.

Anxiety rose in their heart, slowly creeping up into their head. Something was clearly wrong here, besides the fact that two of their classmates were in the storage room of a locked school.

What is going on here..?

"You feel it too?"

Returning their focus to Darryl and Zak, they found themself watching the two attempting to open the door. They twisted the doorknob, pushed and pulled the door, Zak tried to kick it open only to end up hurting his foot. It was hopeless.

"I guess we'll have to wait here until morning..." Ranboo spoke quietly.

"I can't wait until morning! My mom's gonna... Well, not kill me... But she'll be really mad and scared!" Zak whined, falling to his knees dramatically.

Darryl and Ranboo watched him as he stared at the ground, mumbling under his breath.

"Ranboo, I don't mean to alarm you, but please take a closer look at Darryl's eyes."

Ranboo adjusted their focus to Darryl's eyes as Dream said. It took a moment to realize what it was they saw, but when they did, another bolt of anxiety shot through them.

What..?

"I think I know what it's from."

What do you mean by that?

A quiet ringing rose in their ears, replacing the noises of wind and voices around them.

"You know who I really am, Ranboo. I was in this place before it was open. I know what happens to people like them."

People... Like them..?

Darryl and Zak's eyes had a slight red glow, dimly illuminating their faces. Neither of them seemed to notice the way Ranboo had.

"I can't tell you much right now. We'll talk later."

But I have so many-

"Questions? I know. Let me answer one for you now. You can leave by getting a thin metal object and jamming between the door lock to open it. Get home safe."

In an instant, Dream's presence vanished from Ranboo's mind. They sighed and began searching the room for "a thin metal object" to unlock the door.

"What are you doing?" Darryl asked, his voice wavering with anxiety.

"I'm- oh!"

Fear flooded the two boy's faces, disappearing after Ranboo took a metal sheet out from behind a box.

"We can use this to unlock the door." Ranboo explained, walking to the other side of the room. They carefully slid the sheet into the space between the door and the wall, fiddling with it for a few seconds before turning the handle and opening the door. Instantly, Zak and Darryl ran out into the wind, their words of thanks being lost in the sound of the wind.

They're kind of... Suspicious. But oh well.

Ranboo closed the door behind them, waving the others goodbye as they went on their way home.

...

. . .

:)

Author's Note: Thank you for all the support over the LITERAL YEARS I've been writing this story. It's not over yet, but there will likely be some changes to previous chapter due to... Unfortunate characters. -Memory