The Railroad

Chapter 24

"You've grown, kid," Dream murmured.

"What are you doing here, Dream?" the other asked, pulling away from the hug.

"It's a long story, I'll explain later. There's so much that I want us to catch up on! I met this guy-"

"How do you know each other?" Sapnap interrupted.

"Ranboo is someone I smuggled a long time ago. Four years, I think."

"Wow, was it really that long ago?"

"I guess it was."

"I'm so confused right now," Sapnap said

"We can all explain everything when we get back to the house..."

He drifted off when, out of the corner of his eye, he saw a group of people walking down the street. In the lead was George's father, and to his right was one of the guards that he'd bribed to get out of Tallahassee. George's dad may not recognize him, but the guard definitely would, and if they were looking for George like the blond suspected, he was bound to put two and two together and they'd be screwed.

Shit.

"Uh, Sap?"

"What, Dream?"

"We gotta go. Like, now."

"What?"

"Now!"

He grabbed both of their hands, leading them away from the very revealing front porch belonging to the taller blond. Dream wasn't sure if the group of people saw him or not (or if they cared) but he wasn't about to take any chances as he ran down the alley where the side door to the house was located.

Before they got inside, Dream saw as a group of four guards exited one of the other homes and reported back to the group. They were searching for something. Better yet, someone. And Dream knew exactly who.

The blond slammed the door open with a little more force than he needed to, feeling relief flood through him to see all three boys there, but, more specifically, the brunet who was sitting on the counter.

"We gotta hide, George," Dream said with an exasperated voice before George could say anything, running over and helping him off the counter.

"What's going on, Dream?"

"It's your father. He's here."

George stared up at him, dumbfounded, while sounds of confusion and surprise echoed off the walls around them. The shorter raised an eyebrow, as if to clarify that he'd heard correctly and his father was, indeed, here, to which Dream gave a curt nod.

"Oh no..." George whispered, worry on his face.

"Don't worry, I'll protect you. Is there somewhere we can go to hide?" he asked the thruple, who all looked to each other to see who had a plausible answer.

"You can hide under the stairs," Karl suggested after a moment's deliberation. "It's in the laundry room, and the door that leads in there covers the door that goes to the closet and crawl space. It's dusty in there, but there's a bunch of stuff blocking it so the chance of them finding you is slim."

"Lead the way. Ranboo, I know this is confusing to you, but please just hang out here and don't give us away. I'll explain it all when we're in the clear."

"Don't worry, Dream. I got your back."

Dream offered him a warm smile before gently taking the brunet's hand and pulling him in the direction Karl had begun to wander off in. The blond could feel George's hand shaking slightly and he gave it a soft squeeze, smiling reassuringly at him. He gave one back, though his mind was visibly elsewhere. Most likely his father and how he had managed to find them.

George was, in fact, thinking about his dad. There was really no possible way they could have known where the boy was going. Only three people had known that information: himself, Dream, and... Wilbur. Which could only mean one of two things. One, Wilbur had sold him out, a thought that he ruled out as instantly as it crept into his mind. Two, they had somehow forced Wilbur to talk, which was impossibly more terrifying.

But of course, the blond was there to comfort him and help him chase his demons away. Thoughts of his love made him think about the other boy they'd brought back. Did Dream call him Ranboo? That couldn't be right.

"Here you are," Karl said, interrupting his pondering. "When this door closes, there'll be one on the other side. Move aside the boxes until you get to the back, then get in the space and move the stuff back to cover you. Don't worry, guys, you'll be just fine."

"Thanks, Karl," George said as the taller brunet nodded and smiled kindly, shutting the door with a satisfying click.

The two remaining in the room wasted no time in making their way under the stairs, following Karl's exact instructions. Dream let the shorter go first, so that if someone was to find them, the blond would be the first one the unsuspecting person would encounter. If that was to happen, Dream felt bad for them, because he would spare no guilt or hesitation when it came to keeping his princess safe.

Speaking of the brunet, George was curled up in the corner, eyes glazed over as he thought about something, probably their situation. He was still shaking, causing Dream's concern to grow. He pulled the other closer to him, holding the shaking boy tight in his embrace and comfortingly rocking them back and forth.

The space wasn't as bad as Dream had imagined, but it definitely wasn't the ideal spot for seeking comfort or solidarity. Every creak of the floorboards above them made the boys tense; every draft of stale, dry air made them shiver; every flash of movement from a bug scurrying away caused them to flinch. It was dusty and dark and cold, but George couldn't have felt more warm and safe in the blond's arms.

"Was that really Ranboo?" he whispered, voice as low as possible, interrupting the peacefulness of the pitch black crawl space.

"It was," Dream replied, still astounded that he'd met two of his old friends on the same day, less than an hour apart.

"How'd that happen?"

"I don't know, to be honest. You'll be the first person I tell when I found out," Dream said, making George giggle.

This adorable act of lightheartedness was short lived as the sound of a slamming door sounded from somewhere else in the house. George froze in Dream's arms, clutching onto him tightly and screwing his eyes shuts as he prayed that they wouldn't be discovered. He felt a light kiss on his forehead, which calmed him marginally, but the infamous voice he recognized all too extinguished any of that.

"Sorry to interrupt, gentleman, but I'm looking for my son. You wouldn't mind if we took a quick look around, would you?"

~Word count: 1,703~

A/N: i swear, no more missing updates. i just got home late last night, but since i have school this week there's no reason i shouldn't be able to upload. speaking of, they should be done by saturday??? don't hold me to that, though, lmao