Sanders Sides Oneshots and Short Stories

Nightmares: Roman // pt.2

Not requested.

Ship: Romantic Logicality

Category: Angst

Warnings: Death mentions, gore, wound descriptions

Summary: Patton's next nightmare, featuring: Roman Prince.

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"Come on, Ro, this isn't funny!" Patton calls, shoving aside a stray tree limb. Of course Roman thought it was a mighty fine idea to go hiking in the woods without a map. And, of course, he had to go find a 'scenic area for a photo' and abandone Patton.

Patton huffs and steps over a log, then freezes. On the ground, scattered among the moss and leaves, is a torn piece of red clothing. Although, as Patton inspects it further, the color of the cloth wasn't originally red. It's been dyed. With blood.

"PATTON!"

Patton jerks upright at the shrill scream, echoing through the trees directly ahead. He takes off running towards the sound, flinching every time a shout or groan of pain reaches him. He bursts into a clearing, but it's nighttime now, the moon casting long, wavering beams across the ground. Frenzied growling and snarling reaches his ears, mingled with intermittent cries of agony. Then, across the clearing, he sees Roman, staggering over to him, bleeding in several places and moaning. Behind him, dark shapes slink through the undergrowth, their red eyes gleaming in the moonlight.

"Roman!" Patton shouts. He lunges forward, but something dark and heavy bowls him over, forcing him to lay on his back as huge paws press his shoulders down. When he opens his eyes, he's greeted by a massive, snarling wolf, its coat a deep, rippling black, slavering jaws inches from his face. Patton whimpers and twists his head to one side desperately, but the wolf doesn't seem intent on eating him. In fact, it's really only holding him in place. But for what?

Then Patton notices something odd. There's a thin strip of leather tied around the wolf's scruff. A collar. The nametag, in bold letters, reads: HELPLESSNESS.

"Patton, don't worry- ah!"

Patton casts his panicked stare back to Roman, Helplessness allowing him to look.

Several huge, monstrous wolves circle Roman, each one with a different printed word on their fur. One reads: DOUBT, another: CRITICISM. Each one snaps at him independently, low growls rumbling in their throats. Roman trips backwards over a root that shouldn't have been there, hitting the ground hard and screaming as the wolves descend, shredding his clothes and tearing skin.

"HELP ME!!" Roman shrieks in terror, lashing out at the wolves, but this only serves to excite them further. Self-Hatred buries it's claws in Roman's chest, eliciting a high-pitched screech of pain.

Patton tries to shove Helplessness off, grunting with effort, but the heavy weight never falters. The animal emits a low barking sound, it's claws digging into his shoulders.

"Pat- ahh- oh god- PLEASE GOD-!"

Blood trickles down Roman's face, the dark liquid gushing from several places and watering the hard-packed earth. The bloody stump of one arm twitches, and he whimpers.

Then Helplessness turns it's massive maw to the sky, singing a high, mournful howl. The others join in, pausing in their mauling to cry at the moon but Roman's gone still, his eyes can't be closed it's just a trick of the-

Light floods the room as Patton tugs the lamp cord roughly, nearly falling out of bed in the process. He touches his face, then his shoulders, phantom pain lingering. The image of Roman's shredded body flashes in his mind, and he leans over the bed, feeling quite sick. Throat constricting, he grabs his phone and dials the third number.

"Hey Pat, what's-"

"Roman? Are you okay?" Patton asks frantically.

"Woah, hey, yeah I'm fine. What's wrong?" Roman's voice is cool and collected, not panicked and hoarse like before. "Pat?"

"N-Nothing. Just had a weird feeling," Patton lies. His finger shakes as it hovers over the end-call button. "Sorry if I woke you."

"No biggie, I was working on play rehearsal anyway. Do you need anything?"

"No. Get some rest, Roman."

"Will-do, buddy. See you tomorrow."

"Bye."

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