Through Dread and Darkness (Passive!Nightmare X Reader)

In the fields

—Your POV—

Sweat beads on your brow as you dig up a foundation in the designated area. Markers mark the length of the area you're supposed to be working in. It's an odd rectangular shape, maybe around forty or fifty feet on the side you were instructed to work on. 

Essentially, you're going to be digging for today. The team leader, fiery redhead girl, will be responsible for your team's progress and quality of work. Already, it's proving to be a bit more strenuous than you intended. 

First of all, you're not much of a team worker. You're much more used to (and frankly, comfortable with) working on your own. Two, it's actually a lot more tiring than you thought. Hopefully, that's only true for the digging part, because you don't know how long you'll be able to exert yourself like this for days in a row. And finally, you only get paid weekly. 

Shuddering, you decide you're going to flesh that out with Egor and the mayor later. For now, you try and count the upsides of your new job. 

Let's see... the job pays well, at the very least, and the hours won't be very long since fall is slowly seeping into the sky. Plus you'll get a couple of breaks from the teamwork in the form of lunch breaks, just two quick moments to slip away and snack on your lunch alone. 

Speaking of lunch breaks, you plant your shovel in the dirt, exhaling heavily as you wipe your forehead with a somewhat dirty hand. Glancing around for the team leader, you spot her barking something at Christopher, who argues back with crossed arms. 

You're not going to interfere, you're just going to make sure you don't get scolded on the first day.

"Hey! I'm headed out for a lunch break!" You shout across the foundation, waving your arms to grab your leader's attention. She spares you a glance and a huff which you take as permission before skipping off to grab some lunch from the townhall. 

You offer the lady handing out porridge a grin and some pleasantries which she again brushes off like nothing. You get some porridge, a slice of bread, and a corn cob without so much as a simple greeting. 

Well, you don't let it bother you, heading off to a spot you know a little too well. There's a spring in your step as you make your way through the streets, food in arms as you head all the way to the very edge of town, where an old barn sits. 

An old barn you've been familiar with since your earliest days. 

You were never the most closely watched as a child, and as you stick your corn between your teeth, placing the bread in your bowl and doing a few simple stretches, a wave of nostalgia crashes into you. This barn was the first proper 'playhouse' you ever really had as a kid... well, maybe not proper, but it's special, and that's all you really needed. 

With a running start, you jump up onto an old, creaky crate and propel yourself through one of the wide, broken windows. Your porridge sloshes, but you don't manage to lose any. With a sense of triumph, you rise to your feet and look around the old decrepit farmhouse you've known for so long. 

It's still just the way you left it. 

There's an old, molded wooden workbench sitting in the corner. While most would be disgusted by the rotting, musty place, you're somewhat enamored by the resilience of the structure. It could fall down any moment, with the wooden beams holding it up reeking of mildew, but you're drawn in by the fact that it hasn't.

You seat yourself in a wooden chair, the only thing in here untouched by the elements. It's a bit scuffed and battered sure, but you won't find anything except scratches. 

Settling, you eat your corn first, peeling off leaves and strands of stringy fiber before eating the corn quickly. Then the bread slice, which is in your mouth and down the hatch just as fast. Finally, the mushy porridge. If only you had some cinnamon to drown out the pasty, tasteless grains. 

Looking at the now empty bowl in your hands, you ponder whether or not you should return it to the cafeteria, no one told you anything about having to do so... but you're not sure if that's the right thing to do. 

Well, whatever. You slip it into your coat pocket. Maybe you'll return it if you remember. For now, you climb out the window and make your way back to your workplace. You just have to hope you weren't gone too long. Lunch was pretty filling, so you suppose you'll come back when you're about to go home. 

As you make your way back to your post, your fiery red-haired leader approaches you. Oh no no no, she looks upset. You're not trying to have a squabble on the first day! Trying to appear as nonchalant as possible, you grab your shovel and dig up more ground for the foundation. 

"Hey you, brat, where've you been this whole time?" She asks, crossing her long arms as she levels a glare down at you. "You're going to throw off the schedule! You need to be working!" 

"I had just left for a lunch break." You excuse, breaking eye contact to work on scooping the earth. "Nothing nefarious."

"Mhm..." She scrutinizes you, looking somewhat unconvinced as she leans in uncomfortably close. You eye her warily before she bounces back, shrugging. "I think I remember someone scrawny like you prattling about a break." She snickers and you fully return your attention to your work. 

By the time the sun starts to sink below the horizon, Christopher and Sadie are gone. You however, are still shoveling up piles and piles of dirt, clearing out a painfully wide space for a warehouse you're not very excited to be building sooner or later. 

When the first day is done, the foundation is too. You and your hardworking team members having cleared out all the required space. That was good! You finally got to go home after several hours of digging, forgoing your second lunch in favor of dragging yourself home for a much needed bath. 

At least you got the hard part done today... you just hope the next step isn't harder.

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We get REAL PLOT next chapter let's actually go

Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed!

 - De Moogus