Wild

Chapter 7

Dream took gasping breaths, slowly sinking to the floor of the dim tunnel. He could still see it, the flashes of those brown eyes locked onto his. The second that door had sealed he had run, and he hadn't stopped running until his lungs burned for air. Shakily he had sunk to the floor, leaning heavily against the wooden wall as he tried to take in as much air as he could. He wasn't even sure where he was, just running until all noise stopped, leaving him only with his gasps filling the silence. Somewhere beyond his panic filled vision he could see flickering, a light frantically trying to get his attention.

Slowly Dream came out of his trance, trying to slow his breathing to a calming pace. He looked down when he saw the flickering light again, seeing his glowstone mirror his fear. Honest he wasn't even sure why it had shook him so much, just something about being seen had ignited a deep impulse to flee, to save himself. But no matter how he reacted the point still stood, George had seen him and his entrance into the wall. No longer could he hide behind the safety of the humans ignorance.

Knowing that the secret was out, the giant could do anything, would do anything. Like hunt him down, or lay traps around every corner, or seal away all food so Dream would be forced to come out or starve. So many different ways this could go and Dream couldn't predict any of them, something that truly scared him. He would never know when a trap was waiting for him, or when he was being watched.

Dream focused more on his deep breaths, fighting the rising panic. There was no reason he should be scared, he was a wild borrower and a damn good one too. So what if he was seen by one human, he could get around that. He could dodge anything the human threw at him, just long enough to get the supplies needed to leave.

Dream clenched his fist tightly, holding onto the stubborn fire he felt in his chest. No way in hell was he going to let a human scare him, not after what he's been through. The borrower slipped a hand under his mask, rubbing away the tears he didn't even realize were running down his face. He was about to climb to his feet when he felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up, a feeling he was painfully familiar with. The feeling of being watched by hungry eyes, the feeling of being hunted.

Dream pushed himself to his feet and looked around for the source, eyes wide to see in the dim light, his glowstone trying to light his way. He didn't recognize this tunnel, nor did he see any tracks breaking the dust. He couldn't hear anything either, only the quiet creaking of the old house. Dream reached for his dagger and cursed when he realized he was still missing it, but didn't get any further when he heard something. Movement, the sound of something slowly dragging and something tapping against the hardwood.

Dream jolted when he saw a flash to his right, deeper in the unknown tunnel. He watched as his glowstone's light reflected back two floating orbs in the dark. He tensed, ready to move, as the reflection got closer. But the second it was close enough to illuminate the whole thing he could feel his heart skip a beat.

A rat, three times bigger than him with awfully sharp claws and a dragging tail. The beast looked horrible, with wild hungry eyes and grimy matted hair. It would be an ugly sight to a human, and a terrifying sight to a borrower. It sniffed the air, snout flicking to catch its prey's scent. Dream felt himself take a step back, tensed to run any second. It didn't look like the beast had the best eyesight, barely able to navigate the tunnel as it was. Maybe he could sneak away, just backtrack through the tunnel while it blindly tried to find him.

Dream's plan didn't make it much further than that, the rat stopping its sniffing and laid its hungry red eyes on him. "Shit" that was all he managed to say before the beast pounced at him, sharp claws scratching the floor. Dream dove to his left, barely avoiding the claws, and slamming against the wall of the cramped tunnel. There was no way he could keep dodging this Satan spawn forever, not with how little room he had.