The World Below [DNF]

Chapter 38: The last moment

George POV

Coming to terms with the fact that he would die young was something that George had accepted a long time ago.

Still, sitting in the same room that his dad had showed him a long time ago while waiting for his executioner, brought up some unwanted feelings.

No matter what happened, George's parents would never be the type of parents that one could've wished for. Yes, his dad was a bad person. But a small part of George saw his dad as the better one out of the two of them. Solemnly because he was the one that didn't leave.

Somehow, he'd always known that his mom was alive somewhere. Yet, when you're approached by a tall British brunette, claiming to be your half-brother. It was difficult not to have some sort of doubt.

The tall brunette, also known as Wilbur, had cornered him one day and told George that he knew something that was in George best interest to know. Curiosity had been his downfall.

Wilbur had revealed everything. How someone close to George was sent as a spy with the goal of finding something that they could use to pin him as criminal. Between the lines, it was clear that Wilbur knew who that Schlatt wasn't "404".

George had been dismissive in the beginning but when he said that his boss and mom, Ms. Soot, had arrived back to the states five years ago and back then went by the name 'Davidson', George caved.

It appeared as though their mom had lived two completely different lives, one in America and one in UK. Wilbur told him that his mom left when he was four and his brother Tommy was a newborn. No one knew where she went until five years ago when she returned. Her explanation was that she'd gotten close to a very important person, also know as George's dad, and she followed him back to the UK.

The story was so bizarre yet made sense. She had always worked for the CIA, and possessed some personal vendetta against George's dad and had therefore been extremely dedicated to overthrow him. Dedicated enough to even get a child with him. They figured out that George must've been born sometime between Wilbur and Tommy.

George was taken aback by Wilbur's confession in the beginning, he could've never imagined that his mom would go to such extremes just for a case. However, when Wilbur said that his mom was the one to kill George's dad, then it became more believable. Karl had namely said that before George's dad's execution, his dad had recognized the woman who shot him.

It sure was a mess. It took awhile for George to figure out what Wilbur got out of telling him this. That was until Wilbur confessed that she knew about George's little trick. She already knew that he was "404" and it was just a matter of time before she'd strike, and it wouldn't matter who got hurt in the process.

That George believed. And that's when the pair decided to make a plan.

The plan wasn't completely waterproof, but the best one they could think of with such short notice. Who his mom had sent as a spy wasn't difficult to figure out. Dream just showing up a random day was suspicious enough already. Besides, it was obvious that the blonde guy was hiding something.

They settled on making a fake claim that Techno's and Dream's fight would be one to the death. It would be enough to get Ms. Soot's attention and all he had to do was convince Dream, because that was how the information would get to George's mom.

Dream's reaction wasn't the one that George had hoped for. Seeing Dream freak out over something that George would've never let happen, was heartbreaking. When Techno had pulled that little stunt where it looked like he killed that guy in cold-blood, George practically felt Dream's distress becoming his own.

George couldn't claim to be the person that valued human lives the highest. And it happened now and then that people died during the fights, but it was never planned. The guy they'd hired did a damm good job at acting like he got stabbed for real. Maybe the promise that the man's entire gambling debt would be paid off mixed with Techno's terrifying aura became a good motivator, because that guy definitely served the performance of his life. Wilbur was the one to thank for the blood part, he said that one could fake being stabbed by using a bag with blood that was attached to a surface that a knife couldn't penetrate, like a bullet-proof west. So, that's the idea they went for and that worked out perfectly

That Techno then died was a true shame, but George whole-heartedly blamed his mom for that.

Speaking of that monster of a woman, the door opened and in stepped three person. Each one having a connection to him in some way. He'd promised Wilbur not to kill their mom, but George never agreed not to hurt her. The knife flew by with ease and George felt like a sadist as he nearly laughed at how unprepared she was for any sort of attack. It wasn't difficult to predict how all of this would go down. Some bickering and lastly, she'd end him the same way she'd killed his dad.

Although George was prepared for Dream's shock when the truth would be revealed. It stung to see the look of betrayal and how George had no chance at defending himself as his mom kept attacking him. Why she tried to paint him as the bad guy wasn't hard to understand and some of the accusations wasn't completely off. But when she indirectly claimed that George only used Dream's feelings for his own personal gain, that's when it became difficult to act unaffected. And Dream believed her, by the looks of it.

Nonetheless, George had no chance at defending himself. He could never hate Dream and knew that his mom had him at a tight grip with no way out.

To say that George didn't wish that the situation would've been different, was a lie. It sure looked like he was sadist that loved to prey on people with addiction.

But truth be told, the only reason why he hadn't taken Dream up on the offer to run away was because he feared that if he left beforehand, his mom would've found a way to kill him anyways. He needed her to see it with her own eyes, to think that she'd killed him.

His dad was the one to blame for involving him from the start. There might've been a slight possibility that he could've escaped before he got involved. Maybe it was some sort of obligation that stopped him. George knew how his dad had ruled everything and George was scared that if he wasn't the one to take over everything, then someone even crueler would find their way to the power. These were thoughts that had haunted him for years.

Dream wasn't the only one who must've felt betrayed that day. None of the others that lived in the house knew the truth either, so right before George had gone to this room, he'd given Sapnap a note. The ravenette had seemed utterly confused but George left quickly after. How he hoped that Sapnap would read it, it contained a short explanation and instruction for a potential plan. Dream had received a similar one, but if the blonde guy would ever find it or care to read it after all of this was up for debate.

When the barrel of the gun then rested against his forehead, George knew that the end was close. All he needed to do was making sure that bullet hit his chest and not his head.

One sentence about his dad was apparently enough to give him that oppotunity. His mom had surprisingly even shown a hint of emotion. The short moment of weariness became his cue. He remembered once that his dad had scolded him for being too emotion, like his mother, and how it was a bad thing. In this scenario, those emotions became his saving grace as he was able to lower the barrel to his chest before the sound went off. He bit down and felt a bitter sensation fill his mouth. He shot Wilbur one last glance before he felt and darkness consumed him.

The last thing he thought was that his death was necessary for the people he loved, even if they might not understand why just yet.