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Rain.
…
I’ve always fucking hated rain.
… “Shit Shit Shit!”
It’s cold and wet as hell.
Dream was chasing after him; he knew it. He heard his footsteps, loud but calculated on the soaked pavement.
“Tommy…”
It always rains when you least want it to.
“Get back here Tommy,” Dream chuckled, “you know you can’t get very far.”
Just a little further, just a little further. He has to get away, he just has to.
It’s like it knows when you don’t want it to be there.
The storm sounded like soldiers on the battlefield. Marching with purpose and rhythmic stomps. A war between the sky and the ground fought with the tears of clouds.
The real war, however, was between him and Dream. A war not fought only by violence, but a war of psychological battles too... one where Tommy was really the only one getting beaten; Though right now, this new part of the war was decided by stamina and the distance he could gain before Dream caught him.
He hated this, but it was better than staying with Dream. Sure he probably would get caught and be treated worse but even the slightest chance at escape was enticing. The taste of freedom was addicting and he just couldn’t pass it up.
Tommy ran; he wasn’t willing to stop until he knew Dream wasn’t going to get him. His enemy was fast and seemed to be predicting the ways in which the boy thought- It would take a true miracle for him to escape this time.
SLAM!
Unfortunately for Tommy, he didn’t have the best luck with miracles.
He slipped on the sidewalk, the soaking concrete, like soap to his old, probably overly used shoes. It was about time he fell, he was surprised in himself, in any other case he probably would have earlier.
“Time’s up, Tommy. Honestly you should have known better than to run,” Dream chastised, tsking barely audible over the pounding water.
This was it, his time was up. Tommy wasn’t going to make it, he’d be stuck with Dream for the rest of his life.
“You know I’m not going to make this next week easy for you after this stunt you pulled,” Dream reminded, “your actions have consequences remember? ”
He’ll never be free he’ll never be free-. He anticipated the harsh grip of Dream when suddenly-
CAW! CAW!
What? A bird’s crow sounded overhead, starting relatively quiet before raised to a frenzied crescendo of squawks. "The wingbeats of a frantic flock thundered in Tommy's ears, just above himself and Dream."
“The fuck..?” Dream shouted, giving a voice to Tommy’s current thoughts. What the hell was a flock of birds doing right here, right now?
“Get away from me you flying pests!” Dream yelled, the caws seemingly managing to grow louder at this..? Tommy turned to look at the scene unfolding just a few feet away and saw the most confusing sight... Dream was backing away and almost looked afraid? The crows seemed to be trying to chase him off?
He took this moment to get away and slowly stood up in an attempt to regain his bearings. As he halfheartedly dusted himself off he noted Dream had hardly even noticed him getting up, his attention focused solely on the birds.
Tommy dragged his bruised body up into his usual, awful stance before shooting off again. Dream saw this of course and tried to chase after him again, but this time crows blocked him and he had no way of getting around... Maybe Tommy was in luck with the miracles today?
‘Good riddance!’ Tommy thought, a smirk on his face as he sped up, finally stopping to take a breath. He rested at some old bus stop that he thought may have been unused, until one actually rolled in, doors opening slowly. Tommy grinned, forgetting anything he learned about stuff like this and jumped inside
“Suck it green boy!” He yelled out into the night, hoping Dream was able to hear as he fled the scene like a fly escaping a human. Hopefully, now he could make it far away from here... maybe Dream finally wouldn’t be able to get him back...?
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“Do you have a ticket?” asked the bus driver.
“Uhhh.” Tommy hadn’t really thought that far, to be honest; he was just hoping it would be free.
“You know what kid? You don’t look very good, I’ll let you ride. Just be sure to have one next time, okay?” Tommy was too tired to argue at being called a kid.
“Thank you.” He looked for a seat, which wasn’t hard, The bus was practically empty except for a weird homeless-looking guy in the back. Although, Tommy knew he couldn’t really say he didn’t look like shit himself to be fair-
The whole chase thing really did a number on him, especially the fall. His clothes were muddy and torn, though they weren’t the best quality in the first place so what was supposed to be expected? Dream had never done anything truly nice to Tommy... Sure he told stories and could be nice sometimes, but he never truly meant any of that.
He sighed when he thought of Dream. Before they’d met, he had been in the foster system. His parents had only died a few months prior But he’d been through so many places... Tommy had remembered how he thought Dream would be different from the others who were cruel to him...
He shuddered; living with the man for six long and horrible years. He sometimes wondered how he had managed to deal with it but then again, Dream wasn’t neglectful all the time, at least...
Sometimes he was nice to Tommy, give him nice foods and telling stories, but he would change in a heartbeat...
Dream would hurt him, Not give him even a crumb, occasionally taking Tommys belongings away, a few times he’d just outright switched to beating him, with fists and occasionally knives were involved too-
The worst, to Tommy though, was when he locked him in the closet. Out of all he did- that was the worst. He was locked in for days at a time, for seemingly no reason... one time he was in there for almost a whole week…
God, he shivers just thinking about it. At least he won’t need to go back there ever again. Thanks to those birds, he managed to get away. He’d think about how strange it was but honestly, he’s far too tired for that. All he cares about is that Dream’s not a problem anymore. I won’t ever go back to him .
Before he knows it Tommy starts to fall asleep, his eyelids shut tight. His head droops and he dreams.
He’s in the clouds, wind ruffling his feathers as he gracefully flaps his wings.
The sun is behind him lighting up the clouds a light yellow and pink. A sky of cotton candy bliss.
The ground is too far to be seen, forgotten at the height at which he soars.
Behind him are a trio of birds, each wildly different.
A light brown bird with white spots and a white underbelly is the furthest behind. Singing a soft yet colourful melody, to contrast with his plain appearance.
Right behind him is a red bird with bright red wings and speckled spots like snow on his wings.
Finally, there was a black-bird, a crow, with striking blue eyes. He was the fastest of the four, he was at last and quickly caught up.
The crow flew up beside him staring into him with his bright sapphire eyes.
He seemed to be trying to send a message, but he didn’t understand.
Find us.
Suddenly, the crow disappeared, turning into a smoky mist. The other two behind him did the same.
He looked forwards and watched as the strawberry and lemon clouds turned a stormy grey. Rain falling from the clouds as thunder sounded.
He tried to turn around but for some reason, he couldn’t.
He was stuck flying towards certain doom.
Lightning struck in front of him and he turned sharply, narrowly avoidin flying into it.
The noise boomed loud enough to shatter his eardrums.
Instead of permanent ear damage, Tommy awoke, panting heavily, as sweat dripped down his forehead, mixing with the dirt and grime that covered him. It was only a dream, hah- a dream, he was fine. It was odd but he’d rather only have bad dreams to worry about than deal with the actual Dream.
The bus seemed to have stopped and he looked at the bus driver who stared at him. He noticed the homeless guy left.
“Did ya hear me, kid? I said this is the last stop,” the bus driver told him, “I’m gonna have to let you off.”
“‘m not a kid…” Tommy muttered under his breath as he got up. He walked out the bus door, hopefully far enough away from Dream. The door shut with a click and he watched it slowly drive off into the distance, the still-falling rain made it disappear quickly.
Well, hopefully, he got pretty far, considering he can’t recognise the area it seems likely. Tommy thinks that’s pretty pog, to say the least. Maybe he’ll get caught but he doubts it. Even if he does, the fact that he got this far won’t be easily forgotten. No matter what this will be a turning point in his life, positive or negative.
So where exactly was he? He looks at a sign, but he doesn’t recognise the street, which probably is a good thing. Still, it isn’t exactly helpful. The buildings all look like generic suburban houses which isn’t helpful either.
He decides to explore, hoping he won’t be spotted. It isn’t like he will be though, after all, it’s literally midnight, at least it was before he got on the bus. Who knows what time it is now? Certainly not Tommy.
To be perfectly honest Tommy was lost. Having spent much of six years in one house doesn’t exactly let Tommy explore the local area much, let alone a whole other town.
So Tommy decided to wander until he managed to find a place to stay without being caught. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like this place has many, aside from the trash cans. Tommy doesn’t think he’d like sleeping in a dumpster so he moves on.
After what feels like an hour, but is more likely to have been a couple of minutes, Tommy reaches a different area. The houses look a bit more unique, with considerable variation between them. One house looked like more of a shed than anything, but he avoided making the mistake of going inside when he saw lights on inside. Another house was larger than the others and appeared to be more of an art project than anything livable.
He hears what sounds like caws up ahead and sees a trio of crows flying above him. He remembers his dream with a start, and the blue-eyed crow.
The birds seem to be flying in a single direction, just slightly left of where he was currently facing, and he starts running in an attempt to follow them. He knows it was just a dream but it wouldn’t hurt to chase them, right?
As he pursues the crows he notices a distinct change in the environment. The houses appear more sparse and trees become more common. The road becomes less maintained and more damaged as woodland overtakes the town.
Tommy wonders if he should keep following them, after all, who knows how many dangerous animals and bugs are in there? But he shakes his head and decides he’s a big man who can handle a few spiders or a little poison ivy.
Then he sees it, a giant mansion, covered in vines and holes. It’s made of wood and parts of it are rotted. But other than that it seems relatively stable.
It looks haunted as fuck, but he ignores that and decides to walk closer. There’s a huge ornate fence, wings seemingly carved on the open gate. It was rusted and some bars were bent but other than that, it was remarkably intact. The crows he was pursuing landed on the fence and cawed softly.
Tommy cautiously at first began to walk inside the courtyard before his steps became more confident. What appeared to once be a neatly trimmed garden was now a wild mess of bushes and ivy. Wild flowers growing with no real pattern. The only way you could tell it was a garden was the remnants of flower beds. Luckily for Tommy, the walkway seemed relatively clear, as if the mansion was expecting his arrival. More crows were in the garden, perched on large plants and watching him with piercing black beady eyes.
With that creepy thought out of the way, he looked up at the mansion itself, somehow seeming even more imposing up close. The doors seeming more like a gaping maw rather than anything inviting. And yet, still there seemed to be a warm inviting feeling when he stepped close. Like the family dinners he had before his parents were stolen away by death.
Despite his better judgement, he turned the handle and opened the door, revealing a relatively untouched interior. Other than the layers of dust and occasional hole in the ground or wall it almost seemed like it only was recently abandoned.
He only realised the weight of his actions today when the door slammed shut behind him. He wouldn’t have to worry about Dream anymore. He was free .
He slid his back down on the door sitting down and looking at his muddy worn clothes and looked back up at the mansion. He was free.
No more starvings, no more beatings, no more closets. He was free.
He felt his face rise into a sharp and joyful grin as he whooped and cheered triumphantly in the seemingly empty manor. But little did he know three figures were watching him from the shadows.