The Railroad

Chapter 34

"What is it?" George asked, looking at him with confused eyes.

"The cure, Boomer had it-" Dream stammered, trying to think back.

Did he actually have it? He didn't remember seeing it on him. Didn't Boomer give it to him? If that was the case, then where was it? He didn't have it, something he realized after patting every pocket on his person.

He looked back at George's brown eyes with apologetic worry. The smaller sighed, looking back up at the several flights of stairs above them with a scowl, clearly not wanting to go back. However, he was only able to take two steps when Punz hurriedly rushed forward and set a hand on his shoulder, twirling him around.

"I have it!" he said, pulling the vial from his pocket. "It fell out of Dream's pocket when he tackled Hannah and I completely forgot I grabbed it."

"Oh thank god. I did not want to go back up there," George replied, laughing a little. "Now, let's go."

George took the cure and transferred it into an empty syringe, pushing past Punz and exiting the cold stairwell. He'd completely forgotten the fact that they hadn't received confirmation on if the area outside was clear or not, and the brunet's heart stopped as he looked around. Several people--most just regular people, going about their normal, daily routines as the new dawn took the place of the night--went about the hall. But there were also guards stationed at every entrance in sight.

One looked in George's direction and he ducked behind a desk, breath stopping as he prayed that the man hadn't seen him. He didn't notice that Dream and Punz had followed him, so he almost screamed when Dream put a hand on his shoulder.

"Relax, it's just us," Dream whispered, crawling under the desk and bringing George with. He held George in the circle of his arms, trying to comfort him

"I don't think he saw you," Punz said, peering over the edge of the desk in the direction of the guard. "So, what do you guys think is the best way outta here? Cuz I'm fresh out of ideas at this point."

They both thought for a moment, assessing all their options. George spoke up first, "The front door." The other two looked at him with a quizzical look. "Hear me out, okay? The front door is probably being guarded the least heavily because they would never expect us to go through there. Multiple people will most likely see us go, so we'll have a lot more witnesses if they try to apprehend us. Keep in mind that the majority of those in here right now are regular people, and may not agree with what my dad is trying to do here. We could potentially use that to our advantage."

"You're so smart, Georgie," Dream said in a teasing voice. "I say we go for it," this time directed at Punz.

"Well, we're gonna have to. Run!" he yelled, hopping up from his spot.

George looked at where his attention had been turned to before he ran off and saw a guard pointing towards them while talking into his walkie talkie. His eyes widened and he grasped Dream's hand, pulling them both up and frantically scurrying after Punz, who was close to the door at this point.

Several guards swarmed the entrance, trying to catch them. George let go of Dream's hand, figuring they'd have a better shot if they separated. As a guard went to grab him around the torso, he slid on his knees, leaving his jeans with marks. Another came for him and he rolled out of the way, quickly bouncing back to his feet and taking off towards the door once more. Only two guards stood in his path. He could easily make it past them.

"George!"

The yell made him stop dead in his tracks. No one came for him as he slowly turned around to see his father standing a few yard away with a gun to Dream's temple.

"If you don't let him go," George threatened in a low voice.

"You'll what? Kill me? You wouldn't do that: you don't have the stomach for it. You never did," his dad bit back, sparing no emotion for his only son. He gripped Dream tighter, arm digging into Dream's wounded shoulder, making the blond release a strained grunt.

The brunet clenched his fists. "Oh yeah? You wanna test that theory? Try me. Put the gun down and fight me like a man, like a human."

"George..." Dream warned in a low voice, clearly not liking the thought of George being pitted against the bigger, more skilled, obviously stronger man.

The older male shoved Dream to the side, right into the hands of a guard who was quick to restrain him. The blond fought against him but couldn't keep it up. He cursed out his arm that wouldn't allow for him to use his full strength. That wouldn't allow him to save his love.

The two brunets stepped closer to each other, trying to come off as intimidating and... succeeding. Dream had never feared George more than right then: he looked so angry, his glare could shame anyone into silence. Well, except for his father. They were both unconcerned with the gathering crowd of onlookers, peering at the scene like they couldn't believe it was happening; like it was out of a movie.

That's what Dream thought, anyway. But George was very aware of the audience. In fact, he was counting on them. He wasn't planning on fighting his dad: that was a fight he couldn't win. No, he was going to make a martyr of himself, an example of the lengths his father was willing to go to in order to get his way. He wanted to reveal the monster inside.

He let his dad crack the first punch, and the next one after it. But it wasn't good enough, the crowd was reacting with mere gasps at them. The only person acting appropriately was Dream, who was shouting at the top of his lungs.

He needed better.

"That all you got" the brunet taunted after spitting out blood.

His dad's jaw clenched and he swung again, this time much harder. George wasn't sure where his newfound confidence was coming from, but he wasn't mad about it, because it's what allowed him to finally stand up to his father and, quite frankly, act cool in front of all of these watching eyes. He could prove his point at last, prove to everyone that he could handle this.

No one needed to be told the relationship between the two people fighting, because they all already knew. This was Andrew Davidson and his son, George. Soon, they would know why all this had happened. And hopefully the people of Raleigh would see what George wanted them to and stop it from happening.

His dad took him to the floor, punching him over and over. If it took George's death to accomplish what nothing else had, then so be it.

Oh wait.

His logic had backfired.

I'm still the only one that knows.

His fail safe hadn't failed to stabbed him in the back.

I have the cure and I'm the only one who knows the missing component.

Well crap.

~Word count: 1,195~

A/N: happy thanksgiving if youre an american! if youre not, happy november 25th, one month till christmas. i was right about four more chapters; it will be threee after this one so stay tuned :]