Separation || A Different Twist On Exile

-chapter nineteen-

He stumbled out of Logstedshire's remains, having a bit of a limp. It wasn't from pain, although his feet did start to hurt after awhile, but from the height difference of them when one had a shoe on and the other didn't.

The night didn't take long to turn into day, the sun rising over the trees. Normally, this would have made it warmer, but where Tommy walked was all shaded by the woods, and it seemed only to get colder the further he went.

His thin, ripped clothing was not suitable for the weather. No matter how tight he held himself, he still shivered and shook from how bleak it was.

He had convinced himself by the daytime that Dream knew he was gone, and was behind him hurting for him. This meant he would not stop for anything, unless it was somewhere he could hide and take shelter briefly.

So no matter how weak he felt after all that happened, he kept going.

He thought that if he went back, he would be stuck there forever, and he couldn't have that. It was bad enough being away from everyone when they had a choice, so if no one knew where he was and he had to live in fear of someone finding, how would this be better? He argued to himself.

"I can't really turn back now." Tommy mumbled softly, almost sarcastic. He wondered if that was really true, even making up a scenario in his head while he walked, passing the time.

"Tommy? Where were you?" Dream questioned angrily, stomping towards the boy. Tommy flinched back, afraid. He couldn't figure out something to say, not able to find an excuse.

"Tommy! Answer me. I was looking everywhere for you." He sounded sad, scared too. Tommy felt guilty, breathing heavily as he held his own hands, looking for something.

"I- uh..I was just..lost? I went out in the woods, looking for something, and, uh.." He trailed off, fidgeting with his fingers nervously. Dream took another step closer, grabbing Tommy's shirt and pulling him towards him.

The boy closed his eyes, perking his head away from Dream so he didn't have to witness any of what was happening.

Somehow, he knew this was fake. But it felt so real. It felt like he was back there, Dream's voice as loud as ever in his mind.

"Your lying to me, Tommy." Dream whispered, earning his way into Tommy's head just by his tone. It sent shivers down his spine as he tried to argue, despite knowing that it was true.

"You know I don't like it when you lie to me, Tommy."

Dream threw him to the ground, making Tommy curl up into a little ball to protect himself.

"Get up." Dream demanded, staring down from above Tommy. He watched as the boy stayed frozen on the ground. "Tomm,y get up."

This time he didn't wait, forcefully grabbing onto Tommy's arm and flipping him around. He tightly held onto Tommy's chin, turning his head towards him. Despite Tommy's efforts, he couldn't get back. He ended up just stopping movement all together, the only thing keeping him together was the blindness he had while his eyes closed.

"Open your eyes Tommy."

Tommy did exactly that, squinting at the brightness. He had forgotten where he was, how white the snow shown.

It was almost like he could feel what was happening, that's how many times something like that occurred between them. His voice rang through his ears, as clear as day to Tommy. It almost hurt him to hear it.

That's how he knew he would never go back.

Everything from there started to get weird. He could tell easily that it infact was not midday, and that the sun was setting. It kept getting brighter, details going blurred for Tommy.

His teeth chattered, his hands almost frozen around his arms as he tried to use what little body heat he had left to warm himself.

The more he went, the more dizzy he felt. He started to get tired, too. He would swear he was going to pass out.

Very suddenly, he noticed his surroundings, how trees got farther apart. It was easier for Tommy to keep walking without dodging them on his path. He didn't know what this meant, but not far ahead of him he would see a decently sized house, a cabin made of mostly wood.

Upon this discovery, Tommy's eyes lightened up, giving him a bit of hope. He quickly checked his shoulder, making sure no one was behind him, before running as fast as his legs could take him to the door.

He didn't care about etiquette, knocking or at least checking that anyone was in the house. He didn't give mind to his normal basic rules for breaking and entering, either. For this to Tommy, was too good to be lost.

As he was too wrapped up in his own joy, he didn't notice the obvious footprints in the backyard of the house, indicating someone had been there at least since the last snow (and seeing the coverage, had to have been recent).

Tommy scrambled with the door, quickly figuring it was unlocked. He scurried in, soaking into the warmth.

There wasn't a fire or anything, but it was so much warmer than the outside. It made Tommy feel so much better, other than the fact that most of his limbs were numb by now.

As he waited for himself to warm up, he examined the room by the entry, looking mostly for what he could borrow.

It wasn't stealing if it was for a good cause.

The room was lined with chests, covering the walls. To the left was a door frame, nothing actually covering it. In that room was a kitchen, normal style setup, all that one could have without electricity.

Tommy didn't care for food right now, though. He just wanted to get things and get out.

He went first to the chests, surprised at how organized everything was. With a simple read of the labels, he knew where everything he needed was.

He opened the chest marked "potions" and searched through quickly. He set down a health potion and an invisibility potion, then made his way through the others.

There was other chests he didn't go through, as he went directly to the bin that had weapons and tools in it.

It was small, only having tiny spots for each of the objects. It had two, barely used, swords, one sorta scuffed up axe, a pickaxe that was barely holding together, and one that was perfectly fine.

He took a step closer to really look at them, seeing how they were all netherite. Tommy hadn't really had a netherite tool in forever. More or so, he couldn't have netherite.

It looked like God was in Tommy's favor today.

But something in the boy still felt off. He brushed it off as guilt or just his conscious being aware from being in an unknown area, uncomfortable with the fact that he was (probably) being hunted down.

He just felt..icky. That's the only way he could describe it. Like he was doing the right thing, but he..wasn't? It was the feeling when you knew something bad would happen, even if you didn't know what or how to stop it.

Every little sound he would peek behind him just to make sure nothing was there. This was starting to bug Tommy, how he couldn't get things done just because he was antsy.

There was a rather loud noise from behind him, making him jump. When nothing appeared, he cursed himself for looking. He briefly closed his eyes and told himself to stop.

But when another sound came from the door, something he convinced himself had to be apparent, he went ahead and looked.

He was not ready for what he saw, and honestly, it made him quite afraid.

"Tommy?"

He was caught in the act of stealing.

And various other crimes, as well.

Again.

"Techno."