Nightmare

Dream

It was just a game. A game between friends. Or so they thought.

Sapnap looked up at the sky, shielding his eyes from the bright glare of the sun with his hand. Beside him, George and Bad waited patiently for Dream to arrive. The forest they were in was small, with stubby trees and large clearings. He'd have to chop down a lot to have enough for their game. The air hummed with excitement. Suddenly, a man wearing a green hoodie stumbled through the clearing. He tilted his mask (it had come askew for some reason) and  said,

"I'm heeeereeee!!" Sapnap smiled. Finally the game could begin. "Your not get away this time, Dream." He began to count down. 

"Five." They all tensed.

"Four." Dream faced the edge of the clearing.

"Three." George took a step towards Dream, readying his muscles to start sprinting. 

"Two." Bad thrummed his hands over the nearest tree. 

"One." And the game began.

Dream took off the second he could. This was a game of life or death. Sure, he'd respawn, but that was no fun. Once he'd gained enough leeway he punched down a tree and made a crafting bench. Sticks, pickaxe, axe, sword. He crafted in rapid succession and then picked up the bench. George wasn't going to sit on it this time. He sped into the nearby plains biome, searching for a village. And for his friends. 

Sapnap frantically brought his fist into a tree. He needed wood for the others. They were supposed to be  buying him time, staying on him so he doesn't get any resources. After he chopped down the tree, his communicator buzzed. Georgenotfound fell from a high place. Badboyhalo fell from a high place. Seriously? He quickly crafted what he needed and shoved his table into his inventory. 

George respawned with a bit of hope in his heart. Hope for the game. "He's in a ravine, guys." And so they sped off, following George to the speedrunner. 

Dream laughed to himself as he acquired iron. He almost had enough for a full set. The adrenaline from jumping into the water at the bottom of the ravine and covering it up with blocks had almost run out. At the faint sound of voices, he picked up his two furnaces and suited himself up. Now he had to find a village. The voices were growing louder, until he realized they weren't his friends voices. They murmured a stream of unintelligible nonsense into his ears. But then something clicked. The voices were telling him to kill his friends. To make sure they never respawned. Then came the sound of footsteps at the top of the ravine. He'd stayed there too long! He raced to blockade himself in a little room so he could tower out in peace.

George looked at his compass with a giddy sense of accomplishment. They'd kill him now, and the game would be over. He'd win for once! He brandished his sword as the compass locked on him. Dream was right below him! George could hear him breaking blocks and eating. He bounced from one foot to the other. Sure he'd massacre his friend, he yelled. "Ohhhhhh DREEEEAAAAM!" We're gonna kill youuuu." A faint noise came from under his feet. Any second now Dream would pop out and it'd be over. But George had no idea Dream was mining a tunnel under him. He popped out a couple meters away from him and took off, trying to avoid the point of George's sword as he ran. His hoodie was riddled with holes now as he dove into the ocean, hoping the dolphins would swim with him. 

George plunked down his crafting table and sat on it, quickly forming a boat out of some spare wood. He set it down in the water. Bad, out of breath from trying to catch up, sat down in George's boat. They sped off along the water, looking under the surface of the ocean. 

"What, are you just gonna leave me here?" Sapnap panted. He grimaced at the dark water. "Now my sneakers are gonna get all wet," he complained as he jumped into the ocean, sword in hand. 

Dream got a dolphin before the others. Now he raced along the surface, feeling the cool embrace of the water with the dolphin at his side. He giggled madly. He'd seen a hint of a village on the other side of the gaping chasm of liquid. Sapnap, George and Bad were far behind him. But the voices were back. Kill. Kill kill kill kill kill kill kill killkilllkillkillkillthemtheyarentimportanttheyarentyourfriendswhyarentyoukillingthemstop stop STOP STOP STOP. He clutched his head as the dolphin swam past him. But now they were back. His friends had caught up to him. George and Bad were in a boat, but Sapnap was swimming ahead of them, trailing a dolphin. The voices whispered in his ears, his head. Now. NownownownownownownownownownownownownowNOWNOWNOWNOW NOW NOW NOW. He turned to face Sapnap. Sapnap only had a chest plate. This would be easy. 

Sapnap panicked as Dream started swimming towards him. He readied his own sword. Dream, with full iron armor, without the grace of a dolphin, was swimming faster than he ever would. And then suddenly Dream was upon him. He'd knocked Sapnap's sword away from him faster than he could blink. Sap tried to swim away, but Dream grabbed his foot, the saltwater stinging as his nails dug into his leg. Sapnap tried to scream for help, but inhaled a gallon of water instead. He was in a lot of pain. And then Dream stabbed him through the chest. 

Sapnap was slain by Dream.

George looked over the edge of his boat, uneasiness creeping in him as he stared at the murky water below, the liquid turning red as Sapnap's (former) body bled out on the seabed. He could sort of see Sapnap's corpse at the bottom of the ocean. But where was Dream? He cast a worried look at Bad, who was busy playing with his shoelaces. And then a head popped out of the water. And the chase was on. 

Without a dolphin, George and Bad easily caught up to Dream. Frantic, he dove to the bottom of the ocean. They'd have to get out of the boat to get to him. Sure enough, Dream saw George leap off the edge of his vessel and begin swimming downwards. But the voices were back. He grinned.

Georgenotfound was slain by Dream.

Bad cried out in fear as Dream swam from the depths up to his boat. A quick slice of a sword and Bad was plunged into the water. He didn't have time to draw his blade when Dream sliced his throat open.

Badboyhalo was slain by Dream.

Dream shivered outside of the water. He chewed a piece of bread thoughtfully as he deliberated on his next step. Killing everyone has bought him time. Time he couldn't waste. He gathered his crafting bench and the rest of the hay and set off, looking for a lava pool.

Sapnap checked his compass. For some reason, it had gone dull, refusing to update its needle. His communicator buzzed and the blood drained from his face. 

Dream has completed the advancement, "We need to go deeper".

Sapnap shook his head. Already? He checked his compass again. It was still locked onto his last location in the Overworld. He messaged Bad and George. They had a Dream to hunt down.