MCYT: Short Stories

III: Three, to One

"Yeah," Dream sighed, his grip loosening just a bit. "We are."

"Not for long."

Dream's head snapped toward the new voice, his eyes smoldering pools of green fire as George flinched in his hold. "Sapnap..."

"What?" The second male whined, his skinny (too skinny) frame slouched lazily against the wall of the cave. The thin, stained clothing he wore hung loosely on his body, his slick and messy raven hair held tightly back with a long ivory strip of cloth. His navy blue eyes narrowed with spite. "You know we're not gonna survive for much longer, so stop being a baby about it."

"We've survived for this long..."

"And the waves only get bigger the longer we last." Sapnap looked down at his feet, his split lips curled up in a snarl. "So fucked..."

Sighing, Dream shot the younger male one more glare before turning back, his eyes softening. "Don't listen to him George, he's just being stupid."

"You're being stupid."

Dream turned his head, face scrunching in a scowl.

"Y-You're both b-being stupid," George suddenly found himself mumbling, his lips twitching up in a small, amused smile. Dream blinked down at him, momentarily surprised, before regaining his grin, eyes gleaming. "Says the stupid."

Sapnap shared the grin. "Yeah, stupid."

George's smile widened as he slowly pushed himself up (he hurt so badly), a weak giggle escaping past his lips that drowned out the whimper of pain hanging in his throat. Dream helped him lean up against the rocky wall, the jagged stone digging roughly into his aching back. He took a deep breath (ignore the smell), running his tongue over his dry lips and swallowing. His right ankle was on fire. "W-What happened?"

As soon as the question left his mouth, the lightened mood in the air immediately diminished.

George felt guilt stab his chest. "I-"

"Zombie horde," Dream answered shortly, stare no longer on him. "It...it happened so fast," his voice sped up, a panic burning in his eyes. "I-I didn't notice u-until late, I-I...you fell...I wasn't paying attention-"

"Dream," Sapnap chided, but was silenced by the dismissal wave of a pale hand. "Stop, Sapnap. I-I know, but I can't...I can't stop b-blaming myself."

"It wasn't your f-fault," George responded, grimacing as a sharp pain flared in his ankle once he shifted it. "The dirt c-crumbled beneath me, I-I wasn't fast enough to move."

Dream didn't respond, but it was clear enough he wasn't convinced. Sapnap shifted from his slanted position, the corner of his lip curling bitterly. His crossed arms tightened. "Your ankle's sprained."

George couldn't retain the sarcastic bite from his voice. "Really? I hadn't noticed."

Unfazed, Sapnap continued. "Your back is pretty messed up, too. I'm surprised you didn't break it."

"I probably would have if I hadn't landed on that zombie."

Beside himself, Sapnap formed a grin. "Too bad you couldn't thank him, then."

Rolling his eyes, George straightened himself up a bit more to release the tension from his spine, his teeth tightly clenched behind the thin white line of his mouth. He couldn't hide his discomfort even if he tried, which made him despise the look of pity briefly crossing Sapnap's pale features as he moved. "Don't look at me like that."

The younger male merely blinked. "Alright then."

Huffing, George took a moment to observe his surroundings. The cave they refuged in was quite small, already lit with several torches and scoured of its valuable resources. The unneeded remains of a furnace lied in the far corner opposite of him, which rested behind a dying fire of smoldering logs. He couldn't see the entrance (he didn't dare strain his neck and look), but from the lack of natural light, he assumed it was dusk or night.