Preying on Praying Prey

Chapter 8

When George made it to the estimated location of the Woodland Mansion, he quickly assembled the new portal before eagerly jumping through it. If his calculations were close enough, he wouldn't even need to walk for an hour before landing at the mansion.

Squeezing his eyes shut and whispering small c ome on, come on, come ons, the brunette put all his energy in hoping that he was right about fast traveling in the Nether.

When he was through the portal, he opened his eyes slowly and searched his surroundings. Dark oak. Rich chocolate colored bark filled his vision, and he felt himself tear up. Thick droplets of tears dripped down his cheeks as his lip quivered with an emotion he hadn't felt in a long time. Gratitude and relief.

Years, years of working to make it to the mansion finally paid off. All the frustration, fear, and pitfalls he had faced through his journey finally bubbled over, and George let his guard down for the first time in weeks. He let himself collapse into the plush emerald grass, burying his face in his hands as he sobbed lightly.

He hadn't had time to even stop for a second and think about himself for the longest time. Constantly running for fear of his life for the past few days caused George to neglect his mental state, which was begging for a break. Why me? George had thought to himself, a pang of betrayal in his heart. What fucked up thing did I do in my past to deserve such hell? He dug his nails into the cool dirt in frustration. Dream.... Who are you?

Shaking off the pent up emotions, George let out a shaky breath as he relaxed himself, letting all his worries leave him through his exhale. No... not now. I've come too far. This is no time to break down, George. This is a victory. This is my victory. This is all I've wanted for years, and I've finally found it. This is the one thing Dream can never take away from me. I've earned this, and he can't take that away from me.

Gripping the scabbard of his sword with a sense of purpose and determination, George wiped the tears onto his leather arm guard and pulled himself together. The adventurer looked forward with a fire in his eyes, something that he had almost lost to the fear and intimidation he felt with the appearance of Dream. George was no longer going to run. He was going to make this his world. The boy puffed his chest out, and if anyone were there to witness it, they would have sworn a flicker of bright yellow flickered in George's irises.

Navigating through the thick forest, George traced his pathing on his map and set his way into the unknown. Although weaving through the thick chocolate brown trees was tedious, George felt safe for the first time in a while. Dream probably thought George was headed to a stronghold at the moment to finish the game; there was no way the hunter anticipated the adventurer would have taken such an ambitious pitstop.

Lost in his thoughts, George mindlessly went down the invisible path to the Mansion, passing each tree while dragging his fingertips to feel each rough etch of bark. Before long, the boy heard the crackle of a fire. Stopping dead in his tracks at the new sound, he felt panic rise in his throat again, images of his first encounter with Dream flashing through his mind like a horrible slideshow. Shaking instinctively with wide eyes, George forced himself to swallow down his fear.

I won't let him control me like this. This is my body. Get it together.

Going up against a tree to lean his back against, George peaked around the corner to see if there was any creature or person in the nearby area. To his surprise, the area was vacant, save for the freshly lit campfire left abandoned. Clenching his jaw, George carefully and slowly sneaked from tree to tree to get closer. At a certain point, the cobblestone and wood roof of the Woodland Mansion peaked up from the dense greenery. The boy almost fell back at how awe-struck he was at the sight. Out of all his imaginations of the structure, he never expected it to be so expansive and complex.

Making his way over to the entrance of the structure, George peaked inside with the curiosity of a kitten. It seems a little too quiet... he thought to himself, tip toeing in to avoid any noise and detection of possible creatures. Looking from side to side, the nervous boy walked down the expansive hallway. He was having a hard time being alert when he was trying to admire the details of the building.

Finally, some other intelligent life. Maybe I can talk to them? Maybe not though... considering the amount of adventurers that are only now whispers of existence...

Suddenly snapped out of his thoughts, George felt something grab his leather bag and pull him back, knocking the wind out of him in surprise.