The Railroad

Chapter 31

"Why are you doing this, Punz?" George asked.

He was sitting in his room, the one with the simple cot and white walls. Punz was standing against a wall, staring through the window with an unfocused look in his eye. Boomer and Dream had gone back to the lab to try and retrieve Hannah's vial of the cure, which she had left in a safe for safe keeping. Boomer thought he knew the code, so they were attempting to get inside.

Dream didn't want to leave George again but knew he had to. He now had the upper hand on Boomer: he had the knife and, even without it, was considerably stronger and could easily take the younger in a fight. George couldn't overpower Punz, but for some reason, Dream felt compelled to trust him. The blond trusted his instinct, not people, so if his instinct was telling him to trust a person, he was going to.

So, they separated again, and George was bored. And the brunet couldn't stop wondering what motivation Punz had for helping them.

"What?"

"What's making you help us and defy my father?"

"You're not the only one with a zombie you care about." George looked at him expectantly, waiting for him to elaborate. He sighed. "My girlfriend was turned at the same time Wilbur was. She was one of the originals. When she first made the change, she ran from the authorities and was the reason a lot of people were turned too. Including Wilbur. I saw it happen: she switched for the first time and went for the closest person, which was unfortunately him. We were at the supermarket together, so I was able to pull her off before she killed him and that's when she ran. I thought he was fine, and he did too. But, as I later found out, he wasn't. Wilbur killing your mom wasn't his fault, it was hers. And mine too. I always felt some sort of obligation to him, but now that he's gone, it's moved to you. Killing all zombies isn't right, I never believed it to be."

George was speechless. He'd wondered for so long about what happened to Wil, if he could've prevented it, just to learn that Punz had known all along. It was as simple as being in the wrong place at the wrong time. That wasn't something to dwell on, it could drive you crazy.

"I'm sorry, George. If I had known what your dad planned to do, I would've never pretended to be on his side; I would've stopped him at the first chance I got-"

"I don't blame you, Punz."

"No?"

"No. If it wasn't for you, he would've been dead a lot sooner. No one would've had closure and I wouldn't have been especially driven to make the cure. I appreciate you helping us now, though. Without your help I wouldn't know if Dream is safe or not."

"You really, care about him, don't you?"

"Yes, more than I thought was possible."

"What's it like? What's it like to have real love in your life?"

"It's..." George thought for a moment. What was it like? What words could sum up the feelings he felt for Dream, the things that made him feel so solidly complete? "Before I met him, my life was void of meaning. I had my goals and my passions and my closest people; I had the big thing I was striving for, but I lacked purpose. Purpose other than those days spent at the lab, aimlessly stumbling about in the world without an outlet for my true feelings. I didn't realize that I was missing something so vital to my wellbeing until I had it, and now I don't know how I ever lived without it. The missing part of me is finally filled with something irreplaceable. He's my light in the dark, my anchor, my everything."

"That sounds amazing. I wish I had what you two do."

"Maybe you will someday," George said kindly.

Punz looked to him skeptically, like he didn't believe that in the slightest. George smiled at him and Punz's eyes softened. He even found the will to smile back a little, but he quickly looked back out the window.

George, still bored, let his mind drift back to Dream. Was he okay? Had they gotten the cure? Were they on their way back now? The brunet hoped so; sitting here with nothing to do and no one to distract him, Wilbur was becoming the only thing he could think about. His laugh, his smile, his eloquent way of speaking. He was so smart, he had so much potential, just for it to be stripped away from him. Punz may have pulled the trigger, but George blamed his dad.

It might as well have been him.

But it wasn't, because he refused to dirty his hands. He was always gonna make someone else do all the work and then take the credit for it so as not to get caught and not sully his name. Exactly what he was doing with the cure. He made George create it just to take it right from him.

"George, are you okay?" Punz asked.

"I'm fine, why?"

"You seem to be kinda out of it, like you're here but not fully. Are you thinking about him?"

George sighed. "Yeah. It's really hard not to; I've been trying to push all my thoughts and feelings down so we could focus on the problem at hand, but it's not going too well. It's only been a day and I already miss him so much. How am I supposed to do this?"

"He was your best friend, George: healing isn't gonna be an easy process. It's good that you're trying to look past it for now, but you need to deal with this later on. Go to therapy, find a coping mechanism, but don't ignore these emotions. They're good for you. And ignoring them isn't gonna just make them go away, if anything it'll make them worse."

George felt deja vu creep over him. He remembered having a conversation scarily similar to this one not even a week ago. Was is really only that long ago? It felt like a lifetime had gone by since those pleasant moments with Dream. He never thought he'd miss being on the run. A few days ago, things were simple. Just him and Dream, trying to accomplish a goal that turned out to be so much easier than what was going on at the moment.

"Thank you, Punz. I needed to hear that."

"Of course," the blond said, offering a small smile.

George decided he liked Punz. He looked mean on the outside--burly, poker face, rough and tough--but in the last hour or so, he'd come out of his shell a bit and actually proved himself to be kinda nice, and also trustworthy. It hadn't taken long until the brunet forgave Boomer, he was still a kid: barely older than eighteen. And he didn't actually do anything.

Punz, on the other hand, was the one who told his father where he and Dream had been planning on going, the reason that this had all happened. But he was helping now, and that was what mattered in George's book.

It had been too long, they should have been back by now. George was beginning to grow worried. If they were caught, it would not end well. They could be imprisoned or... killed. George couldn't bare the thought of anyone else he cared about being hurt, especially not because of him.

Just when his worrying was on the brink of becoming panic, he heard shouts coming from down the hall, as well as two gun shots. It was so loud that George nearly jumped out of his skin from fear.

Then the door swung open.

~Word count: 1,286~

A/N: i put up christmas decorations today. i am now very happy :) and another filler chapter; things are moving kinda slowly i know, but it'll pick up soon i swear.