Ones and Zeroes

Chapter 13: The Code

It had been a little more than a week since George had first been welcomed into the base. He thought back to the night where Dream had almost kissed him. Not even after two days of knowing him. Yet he felt like he had known him for years, making him feel safe and at home. Dream had after those days comforted him and George enjoyed his presence. They trained for hours on end and whenever George panicked, Dream was by his side. He couldn't bring himself to tell his friends the reason behind the moments of panic. He remembers only two days ago teaching Tommy how to push your opponent to the ground, only to run away in panic. He couldn't live like this anymore. He couldn't hide his secret much longer.

Everyone sat on the couch. George sat on the end closest to the fireplace. It felt good to be sitting near the flames, it warmed him up in the naturally cold environment. In addition he had been told that it would be raining the next couple days so we would not be able to go out of base due to slippery surfaces. We would need to be able to climb and run. It would be difficult and risky to run in the rain. Light, muffled sounds of thunder rumbled from above ground every so often.

George was spaced out, he finally came back when Dream asked him a question.

"George do you think you'd be up for it?" He stared intently, waiting for an answer to leave George's mouth.

"Sorry I wasn't listening. Can you say that again." I responded shaking my head.

"Oh okay. Well, we were wondering if you'd like to join us in our next mission." He asked again. "We could use more people coming out with us to grab necessities and explore more. From what we saw last time, I think you'd do great."

Would I?

"Yea, of course Dream." I smiled at him before he continued with the rest of the meeting.

~

Everyone was sitting in their rooms. It was sunset and almost time for dinner. Dream was reading the papers he used during the meeting and information he collected on V.I.L.E. George had learned soon after staying here that he and the group are rebels. They fight against the organization's protocols and norms. They stay in hiding, slowly tearing apart the organization from the inside each day by visiting storage rooms and taking materials as well as papers and info that could give more background. He admired that they were doing what they could with such little resources. But George knew all too well what the group was capable of. He's witnessed it with his own eyes. He'd lived it.

It was quiet. Only Dream and him were downstairs. George wanted so bad to confront him about their current relations. Specifically what had happened with the glasses situation that one night. The two of them had been avoiding it for too long. They spent each day and night avoiding the topic. George hated that he only comforted him when he was in a panicked state. He wanted nothing else but to cuddle with him comfortably in their room all day long. Something deep down also told him he wanted more. He hadn't figured that out yet though. He wanted to soon. He needed to. He needed to know the truth. He wanted his Dream back.

His?

He got up slowly and walked over to Dream who sat on the couch. Papers were scattered all over the table. His face was ridden with frustration. George gently sat close to Dream on the couch, making sure to not interrupt his thinking until he was ready to talk. He loved that he felt Dream radiate warmth the minute he sat next to him. But he wasn't there to warm up...

"How's it going?" I nudged towards the papers on the table.

"Not good. I can't seem to pinpoint the location of the next clue." He answered. "I've triple checked everything. I search endlessly through this research and reach dead ends every time. All I can find in those dead ends is this one blurred code, I can't figure out the missing numbers." He lifted up a single paper and pointed to a list of long codes. Lots of ones and zeroes. Dream's finger lingered over a small line of numbers at the bottom of the paper.

George stared at the paper.

This looks familiar.

He thought harder. He kept looking at the small numbers at the bottom of the paper. Three empty brackets were placed in the line of numbers.

Wait, I know this.

It all clicked into place. Flashbacks of my childhood flew through my mind in small clips. Being taken. Experiments.

What did they do to me?

I held my head. My head pounded. It hurt.

Those are-

Loud footsteps came down the steps. A boy came running down the stairs.

Tubbo?

"He's gone!" He cried out.

"Who's gone?" Dream asked.

"Tommy!" Tubbo yelled, holding a handwritten note in hand. He was crying. "He's gone to crack the code!"

Hi guys! I was restless so I'm posting this chapter at 2 am lol. I'm gonna post some more chapters tomorrow because I just don't have the energy to write at 2 am on a school night. :/

Thank you all so much for the support and I'll see you all soon! :)