The Disappearance of Tommy

Final Decision

I'm sorry.

Dream threw his bag out the window first, then his sword, then the small lantern. He grimaced as he fell to the ground which was only a few feet below.

"I'm going to to find you, bastard." Dream walked far away from the house and into the forest. He lit a match and tossed it into the lantern. It caught flame and he held it up to the map. Dream slipped the bag off and rummaged through it, until he found his compass. He knelt down and dropped it onto the map's thin paper.

"Let's see..." He followed his compass as he walked through the trees. On the map we're old discoveries that Niki marked on her map because of Phil's. Things like homes or hidden treasures, which were probably just beautiful scenery.

However as he walked he kept looking at this red dot on the map, labeled dangerous. Around the red dot was a frame of a house. The frame was colored with green. Green was referred to as abandoned at the bottom of the map. Dream's mind was racing. What if mom's there? What if- what if she's in trouble? Dream settled on the possibility of his mother being hidden in plain sight, too early. No other homes sparked an interest like this one did, his mom was clever to hide in such a dangerous place where others could get hurt. But she was smart enough to trick whatever threats lied beneath. He began to run.

Dream looked at the shabby cabin that barely supported it slanting roof. Carefully Dream walked up the stairs and pulled his sword out from its sheath. He pushed the door open and hid behind the wall for cover. After nothing but silence filled his ears he walked into the home. The light of the bright moon cascades a shadow of his figure onto the wooden floor. He hovered his lantern around and stayed close to the walls. Dream gasped as he kicked some pair of chains across the floor. He lowered his light to the ground and tilted his head at the sight.

"Shackles? Prison shackles? That must be why this place is dangerous, it's probably a hide out for escaped prisoners or something..." he said to himself and kept looking at the ground. He turned around and felt his eyes widen at the red liquid that was dried and stained the wood.

"Wha-" he stepped closer and looked at the long hair. He held the light closer to her face.

"..." he felt his words strangle his lungs. He couldn't speak. He could move. Dream stared at his mothers lifeless eyes with teary ones.

"M-......m." Desperately he tried to speak, but he only scooted away from her corpse and dropped the lantern. Dream clawed at his crying eyes, he didn't weep, he didn't sob. He didn't say anything. He only swung his bag off his shoulder and took out a role of gauze. He knelt beside her and gently lifted her up onto his knees.

"I...e-...it's...it's go—going. T...th- to be...ok-okay." He said to his mom as he wrapped up her head. The blood stained the white fabric, but he tied it around her head and gently lowered her back to the floor. Dream's shaking grasp cupped her hand and raised it to his cheek. Dream made her hand wrap around his cheek as if she were cupping it. He leaned into the cold and touch and closed his eyes.

"Just- just...wa-wai—wait. I'll come b-back and- and bring y-you to Niki's. S-sh-she'll sa-save you." He ran out of the house and fell on his knees. He squeezed his chest and felt his breaths thicken.

"I-...I'm goi-going to make i-it right."