Thomas: A Disney Fanfiction

Ch. 3 The Second Nightmare

Thomas, exhausted from all the work he'd endured, felt like he could hit the sack at anytime.  After dinner found him sitting against the fence and staring up into the cloudy sky, he did this whenever he felt homesick.  

He missed playing with his little sister, his mother making sure he was well-fed, and the bouts of arm wrestling he'd have with his father (even though his father always let him win for good measure).

He was voicing all of this to Ben who had sat down next to him and asked him if he was daydreaming about his sweetheart, "I don't have a sweetheart!" he'd insisted despite Ben's suspicious looks.  Thomas had yawned and felt his eyelids get heavy from sleepiness, especially as Ben was stroking his back and speaking to him in the same soothing tone used on small children.  

Next thing he knew, the savages had invaded again.  As he worked to be more careful, the savages took hold of him and bound him.  Brandishing the sharpest knife he ever saw, they laid it on the boy's chest and were just about to stick in when..., "Thomas,"  

Thomas heard the ghostly outside voice again, only it sounded like Ben.  Thomas looked around and saw Ben shaking his shoulder, "Get up, lad! Get up!"  Thomas slowly opened his eyes as he focused on the reality before him.  As his eyes adjusted, they focused on Ben still shaking his shoulder and still telling him, "Get up! Get up!"  Thomas rubbed his eyes with his fists and looked back at Ben, "What happened? Am I alive?"  Ben wiped the sweat from Thomas forehead, "You were having another nightmare, lad.  You were screaming in your sleep."

Before Thomas had time to blush, Ratcliffe came over, staring down at the two, "Trouble about?"  Thomas blushed the color of his hair as Ben placed an arm on the boy, "Thomas just had a nightmare, Governor."  Ratcliffe turned to Thomas acting as though he were about to scold the lad, but instead told him, "Perhaps you'd like to be careful what you allow to influence you, Thomas?"  Thomas gave him the same ashamed look as before, "Yes, Governor."

After Ratcliffe left, Ben punched Thomas soft in the arm, "Oh, come on, Thomas.  You can't let every insult he gives you get you all sniffly.  You'll look just like a schoolboy."  Thomas' shoulders slumped,

"I really wish Mum and Papa were here."  Ben put an arm around him, "You do?" he asked continuing to speak to him as though he were a small child.  Thomas wiped his eye, "Mmmhmm."  As Thomas continued sadly sighing, Ben spotted a tear rolling down his left cheek closest to him.  He put a finger on Thomas' cheek, let the tear slide on it, and looked it over.  It was like any ordinary tear of course, but it was slightly bigger.  Having flicked the tear on the ground,  he stood Thomas up, "I think your just tired, lad.  It's getting late." he put a hand on Thomas' back and led him to Thomas' tent, "Let's get you to bed."  

Thomas sniffled, "Okay."  

Thomas shot his head up, "Would you stay with me a while?" he blurted out a little more desperately than he intended to sound.

"Sure, why not? I'll read you to sleep."

Ben pulled the blanket over Thomas and sat near the head of the bed.  Thomas passed him his favorite and Ben read to him till Thomas couldn't hold his eyes open, yawned, and fell asleep.  Ben chuckled, put the book back with the rest of Thomas' things and left for bed himself.