BLIND | DreamSMP

II - Escape

Tommy had started running the moment he hit Dream, dropping the hammer and throwing himself out of the tent, stumbling slightly as he went.

He was no longer thinking, merely acting in a desperate attempt to save his own skin.

Tommy wanted to be far, far away from Dream, which is why he flung himself into the portal. After all, how much farther away could he be than in another dimension?

There was a flash of purple, and then his feet hit netherrack. The heat was intense, increased tenfold by the bubbling pool of lava under his feet.

Tommy stopped moving, relatively sure that Dream hadn't seen him enter the portal. He drew the photo of Tubbo out from his pocket and stared at it for a few seconds, rubbing a spot of grime off Tubbo's shirt.

There was a sound, and Tommy spun around to see Dream emerge from the nether portal, looking around wildly before his gaze landed on Tommy.

Dream broke into a sprint, heading straight for him. Tommy began to run too, heading out onto the bridge spanning the large lava lake. He could hear Dream behind him, footsteps pounding on the cobblestone. Tommy ran faster, desperate to escape, to be anywhere else with anyone else but Dream.

A little piece of the bridge stuck up slightly more than the rest of the cobblestone, easy to notice if you were paying attention; but Tommy wasn't, and his foot caught on it, launching him forward, snatching the photo from his grasp.

He smacked into the ground hard, skinning his elbows and knees, his previous momentum carrying him forward, and suddenly there was no longer any ground underneath him.

Tommy screamed as he began to plummet downwards, straight into the hissing lava.

Something caught him, cutting the scream off; a hand held on firmly to his ankle.

Tommy knew exactly who it was, and began to struggle wildly, writing back and forth in an entirely ineffective effort to relinquish himself from Dream's grasp. He wasn't quite sure why; Dream was saving him from a fiery death. Shouldn't he be grateful?

"Stop it Tommy." Dream growled, grabbing Tommy's other ankle with his free hand.

"Let go!" Tommy shouted in response, tears stinging his eyes.

But Dream continued to pull him up, ignoring Tommy's angry swearing, and eventually he was deposited unceremoniously onto the bridge, stomach pressed against the cobble.

Tommy began to raise himself up, but Dream's foot came down heavily on his back, forcing him down again. Tommy let out a sound of protest and pain, cheek pinned uncomfortably to the rough cobblestone. He tasted blood; it was coming from his lip, which had been split open by Dream's aggression. He strained his eyes to catch a glimpse of Dream.

Dream lowered himself into a crouch, one foot still firmly planted on Tommy's back, like a proud hunter posing for a picture with his prey. He began to speak to Tommy in a soothing voice, coated in honey and rose petals.

"It's all right now Tommy; you're safe," he purred, removing his foot slowly from Tommy's back, replacing it with a gentle hand.

"You don't need to be scared anymore." Dream continued rubbing small, comforting circles on Tommy's back.

Tommy sat up slowly, and Dream let him. The boy stared at Dream, a silent war waging once again in his mind. A few seconds passed before one side lost, and Tommy flung his arms around Dream, burying his head into Dream's chest. Dream's arms encircled Tommy and held him as he sobbed.

After some time, the sobs subsided and it was quiet except for the occasional sniffle and the hiss of lava. Finally Tommy pulled back, eyes red and puffy from tears. Dream brushed a loose tear off Tommy's face with his thumb and Tommy stared at him in complete adoration.

"I'm so sorry Dream," Tommy said, breaking the silence. "Thank you for saving me."

Dream took his hand back and stood up. He held a hand down to Tommy who took it gratefully, and pulled him to his feet as well.

Dream began walking back towards the nether portal, Tommy at his side. The two made it back to solid ground and stepped into the nether portal.

Where they had been a small spot of blood from Tommy's lip stained the cobble and more noticeably a small picture of Tubbo, slightly torn in one corner and spotted with smudges of dirt remained.

Once through the portal Dream's demeanor changed. He dragged Tommy behind him, hurrying towards the tent.

As soon as they were inside Dream flung open the lid of Tommy's enderchest, and dug hurriedly through it, searching for a specific item.

Tommy stood awkwardly, unsure of what to do. Dream finally straightened and shut the lid to the enderchest, now holding a potion in one hand. He shoved it towards Tommy who took it with a surprised expression.

"Drink it," Dream said.

Tommy glanced at the potion, then back at Dream. There wasn't much inside, maybe a swallow or two, but what was there was black and opaque and looked nothing like any potion Tommy had seen before.

"What is it?" Tommy asked, confused.

"Now, Tommy!" Dream shouted.

Tommy flinched and uncorked the bottle. He held it up, taking another second before raising the potion to his lips and swallowing all of it. Tommy set the now empty bottle down on a chest.

"What was it?" Tommy repeated. He didn't feel any different.

"It's been less than an hour and you've already broken two of the new rules," Dream said in an icy tone.

Tommy was embarrassed and ashamed. It was true; he had entered the nether and attempted to keep a photo of Tubbo, both of which Dream had told him not to do.

"The potion is your punishment," Dream continued. Tommy looked at Dream, confused.

"What do you mean?" He certainly didn't feel any different. Was it supposed to do something?

"In a few hours you won't be able to see anything," Dream said.

"What?!" Tommy nearly shouted.

"It's a blindness potion. Once it starts working you won't be able to see anything until I administer the antidote." Dream was scarily calm, almost disinterested.

Tommy stared in shock, trying to find words, but none came to him and his throat was too dry to speak even if he could think of something to say.

"I'll come back in a few hours. It should be working by then." Dream said.

With that, he took his leave, striding out of the tent and disappearing into the nether portal.

Tommy stood there, trying to calm down, to come to terms with the situation, but his hands were shaking and he was breathing heavily, like he had just run a mile. There wasn't nearly enough air in the tent. Tommy was suffocating. He ran outside, trying his best to calm down, but nothing was working.

He began pacing back and forth, and as he did so he began to look around him. At the ruins of Logstedshire specifically. Dream had ruined it. Dream had ruined everything.

And yet, Tommy wanted to stay with Dream, to be his very best friend. Conversely, he wanted to be as far away as possible from Dream. All his emotions and thoughts contradicted one another these days.

Tommy startled at a noise, and looked up at the sky to see a flock of birds, flying in a scattered formation. They looked so happy. So free. For some reason, Tommy felt himself take an unexpected step in the same direction as the one the birds were heading.

He was surprised at how good it felt. He took another. And then another. Was this really happening?

Tommy began walking, walking away from his tent, from the burning ruins of Logstedshire. His heart pounded in his chest, fearful and excited.

He stopped suddenly. He couldn't do this, could he? Tommy turned around to go back. He took a step towards his tent. It felt wrong. It felt nowhere near as good as walking away did.

Tommy spun back around. The birds were far ahead of him by now. Tommy started walking again, and then running. This felt right; he kept going.