Chapter 5
Tommy's eyes seemed distant. Tubbo could only conclude he was thinking about something.
"Tommy? Are you.. one of them?"
Tommy's face reddens.
"Well I- I don't know," Tommy said, frantic and strangled. His posture was oddly calm, but his eyes however, showed a deeper fear that Tubbo couldn't place.
"Tommy. How are you here? Do you know how dangerous it would be if Population found out?"
"I'll leave. I'll find my way home. It's- it's fine," Tommy answered, a lump in his throat.
"No," Ranboo says, sitting up in his chair and staring daggers at Tubbo,"I'm not exactly sure how it works here, but where I'm from, although I'm not exactly sure where that is, we don't do this . You're a person. We don't do this to people .."
"But Ranboo we can't-", Tubbo says, his demeanor changed.
"I know I'm new here, but how the hell is this legal? You- you can't just lock someone up in their house forever . This isn't humane."
Tubbo sighs, but deep inside, he knows that it isn't.. The pills that he takes in the morning and the grayness that covers everything he sees can't be normal. And Tubbo knows it. In the deep depths of his memory, he can almost grasp it. Almost grasp the way it was before. The way it was before everything now.
"It- It's not. But we can't do anything to stop it. What could we possibly do to stop the government itself? It can't be done. The reason there are Shadow Children at all is because of poverty. That's why population.. takes them."
Tommy's eyes drift to the floor, but Ranboo's have a shimmer to them. Like he's got some sort of plan. Determination is what they used to call it.
"And what does determination lead to? Extermination. That's right. Very good class," His first grade teacher had said.
"Who's in charge?" Ranboo asks.
"What do you mean?"
"You said that the government controls everything. So, who's at the top? Who's controlling everything?"
"This guy named Dream. I met him once when I was 9, with my dad. My dad works with him a lot, I think. He seemed pretty nice when I met him, but he also seemed a little shrill."
"Where is he?"
"Like where does he live? I dunno. I think the government sleeps at the Grey House a few miles from here, but I could be wrong. My dad usually sleeps at home, when he's not.. out and about, so Dream might have a house too. Why do you ask?"
"We have to do something. I can't sit here and say I'm a good person while people are being treated like this."
"But what if they find out?" Tubbo asks cautiously.
"We.. we won't let that happen. We can't afford to." Ranboo says, a strange surge of confidence flowing through his veins. Although it feels alien and out of character for him, he's just happy to have some bravery for once in his life. To defend something. To do the right thing.
"So.. what are we gonna do now?" Tommy asks, barely above a whisper.
"I don't- I don't know. My dad will probably be back soon and you don't have anywhere to go, and Tommy. You should go back with your family, right? And I'm gonna guess that you weren't really hiking ," Tubbo hints.
"I wasn't. But I can't go home. There were these people, And they knocked on my door and I escaped through the back window but I think it was.. Population. But I can't go home," Tommy says, his voice cracking at the end of the sentence.
أنت تقرأ
Similis
قصص الهواةTommy's always been a curious boy. When other kids would go outside to play, he would stay inside with nothing more than a "You wouldn't be safe" from his father. Tommy has questions, but none have been answered. Along with the pills the government...
