Out in the Woods [5SOS AU]

Chapter 17

"Are you okay? What happened?" Calum asked worriedly, helping the younger boy sit up carefully. Michael quickly bit his lower lip, not wanting to answer that question. But with the way Calum was looking at him, he knew it would come out eventually. And to save himself the trouble of having to hide it any longer (as he had been doing it for five days now), he sighed. "I... I've been having nightmares."

Calum frowned immediately, taking the boy's hand in his own. "Why haven't you told me? I'd found a way to help you, or at least tried to. You're not alone, you know that, right?"

Michael nodded slowly, smiling slightly at how worried Calum was. "I know. I just didn't want you to worry, like now."

The Beta averted his eyes, still frowning slightly, before sitting up a little more and looking at the other boy with a more confident look. "Tell me what's been bothering you."

The black -or well, actually more black and white with the way his hair was going- haired boy almost rolled his eyes at Calum's attempt to be more indifferent, like he always had been before, but he kept himself in check. He then went over the words, gulping and grimacing as it was a nightmare for a reason. "It's um, it starts when I'm out, looking for that bunny. Suddenly I'm surrounded, by humans. They hit me with something, some kind of sedation dart or whatever and I black out. When I wake up again, they're dragging me somewhere and before I know it, I'm chained to a wall, having needles in my arms and legs."

Calum is frowning again by then, his whole being sad. Michael gulped, chewing on the inside of his cheek before continuing. "It starts to burn and it keeps spreading and it worsens and just... It isn't like anything I've felt before. And I slowly black out again, losing hope and- and sometimes they come back and hit me or cut into my skin. But it always ends the same."

The Beta scooted closer to the boy, pulling him against himself and running a hand through his hair, trying not to frown at the fact a quarter of it was white by then. "Do you want to tell me?"

Michael wrapped his arms around the Beta, sighing as he buried his face in the other's neck. "No one comes for me and I die."

Calum felt his heart break, holding the other boy tighter and holding him until they were both getting tired again from being awake in the middle of the night. They went to lie down and cuddled close to one another, the Beta keeping the younger boy warm with his body and embrace.

Michael still had the nightmare, but this time it ended differently. It wasn't necessarily better, but at least someone came for him. Calum came to save him, but it was too late. He was dying and did so right in the other's arms. Much like Calum had expected when the boy had been so pale and lifeless after they had taken him home.

The morning went slow, both awake early and going for some breakfast, before ending up in Calum's room, where Michael looked at a picture he had found while Calum was in the shower. He hadn't meant to look around the room, but he hadn't ever done so before and he found the need to get to know Calum even better. And while looking around, he noticed a small corner of something sticking from the upper drawer of the nightstand.

It was really just the curiosity that got the best of him as he opened the drawer and plucked the thing out, letting his eyes move over the clearly old picture. It was a cute one, that for sure.

Calum was maybe a year of six or seven when the picture was taken. His sister not much older, as she got hugged by him. Their parents were behind them, arms around one another and smiling at the camera, just like the two kids. A happy family.