Freedom? - Chapter 8

Freedom? - Chapter 8

TW: panic attack, torture mention, derealisation

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8 <- You are here

Dream was frozen. Not just from the temperature outside, or the biting wind, or the falling snow. He was frozen in motion after hearing a very familiar voice.

“We know you broke him out, Technoblade.”

Sam.

And wherever Sam was, Quackity couldn’t be far.

Some of the dogs were still around him, others had scattered while he was laying unconsciously on the bench. Quickly he grabbed the iron bucket, so there was no possibility for the dogs to alert them about Dream’s existence. Some of the animals seemed to notice his distress and poked their wet noses into his thigh.

Dream stood in the middle of the open enclosure, feeling like his legs were frozen to the cold ground, heavy limbs unable to move. He felt tears prickle at the corner of his eyes but he quickly wiped them away, refusing to let invisible eyes see him like that.

In moments like this, he wished he still had his mask to cover his face with.

“I don’t know what you are talking about. I didn’t even know he was gone.” Dream heard Technoblade’s monotone and tired voice and his heart stopped. He had been convinced that Technoblade was going to rat him out to Sam and Quackity.

He had told Dream a few times already that he won’t send him back and that he should trust the piglin hybrid but after the prison, Dream knew better than to trust anybody. No matter how nice or gentle someone was with Dream, he couldn’t let his guard down. Everybody was out to hunt him, to hurt him, and to send him back to the prison. Dream knew he just needed to make one mistake and Technoblade and Philza would be fed up with him. He would be gone. Back in his personal hell. Forgotten.

Suddenly he heard rustling next to him and something wet touched his palm. Quickly, Dream pulled his hand back, but slightly relaxed when he saw one of the dogs he had shared his room with. His tail was wagging gently and he kept pushing his snout into his hand, demanding pets. As much as Dream wanted to pet the dog, he couldn’t. He had to hide somewhere, somewhere no one could find him.

But looking around, all Dream could see was the open and flat tundra, nowhere to hide.

Dream knew something was approaching when he felt heavy steps coming into his direction. He was immediately thrown back. He was back in his cell again. The heavy steps of netherite boots came closer and closer. No matter how far Dream pressed himself into the wall, begging some god, any god who could hear him, to just make him disappear.

But no one listened.

Everyday was the same and no matter how hard he had tried, he couldn’t escape the netherite boots.

Dream was ripped out of his thoughts when he heard a silent whistle. He almost overheard it but suddenly all the dogs came over to him and surrounded him. On his left towered the giant creature named Steve. He had heard a lot about Steve and even saw him once just before Doomsday. He knew polar bears were aggressive and strong beings, so Dream was unsure upon seeing the animals so close to him.

The polar bear gently nudged him with his giant head, forcing Dream to stumble back.

“Steve!” Dream hissed, trying not to alert anyone. “Steve, stop it!” He kept whispering, pressing against the head of the bear, trying to push him back. But the polar bear was stronger than him. The strength quickly left Dream and he collapsed onto his knees. Steve now towered over Dream and the dogs were still surrounding him.

“You can check if you have the need to.”

He suddenly heard Techno suggest. Dream wanted to force himself to stand up, desperately trying to get his legs to support his weight but he had no chance, his knees were shaking and his arms were too weak to push himself up.

This was it. Sam and Quackity were going to find him in the with the dogs and Steve and he would be dragged back to Pandora’s Vault. Literally dragged because he had no way of standing up, his body still too weak. Maybe they would believe him if he told them that he didn’t want to break out! That he stood no chance! One day, Technoblade just appeared and took him with him to his cabin! He never wanted to leave, he just couldn’t defend himself!

Dream’s breathing was erratic. The animals seemed to notice his distress and Steve flobbed down in front of him, nearly squishing him with his entire weight. His body was still trembling. He felt like he was going to suffocate. Quickly, he pressed his palms against his mouth, trying to stifle the sounds which were threatening to escape. He couldn’t go back.

Not when he had grasped a little bit of freedom. He didn’t want to lose any of this, he couldn’t lose any of this. He would die if they were to put him back into the prison. Dream was sure that the torture would be worse than it had been before, as a punishment for running away! He knew the entire server hated him but he just wanted to be left alone! He didn’t want conflict! He didn’t want to meditate anymore! With the exception of Technoblade, and maybe Philza, Dream didn’t care about anyone on the server anymore. Not George. Not Sapnap. Not Bad. Not Tommy. Not Ranboo. Not Tubbo. Not Puffy.

No one.

Why couldn’t they just leave him alone? He promised he wouldn’t cause trouble! They wouldn’t see him again, in the eternity of their lives! He would stay away from the mainland and once Technoblade and Philza had enough of him, he would even be willing to leave the Arctic Commune! He would leave everyone alone, if it just meant that they would leave him in peace.

Suddenly he was pushed to the ground by a heavy and furry limb. His cheek hit the snow and a gasp left his lips. Dream’s eyes were ripped wide open like a prey trapped beneath a predator’s paws. It wasn’t too far from the truth, after all, Steve was a predator and Dream stood no chance against him, so he laid as still as he could, trying to breathe regularly and shallowly.

There was something comforting yet terrifying about being trapped in a polar bear’s grasp. Dream felt the warm, fluffy, white fur of Steve’s belly pressing against his face, gently tickling his nose. At the same time could feel the hot breath of the polar bear in his neck as Steve curled up around Dream. Claws were hanging a few centimeters away from his eyes and Dream stared at them with respect.

One wrong move and he might lose his other eye.

Dream couldn’t see much apart from white fur and black claws. Maybe a little bit of the grey sky above him but this view quickly got blocked by a few dogs which decided to lay on top of him. It seemed like the dogs had surrounded him and Steve in a protective circle. Some of them were sleeping, others were watching the environment attentively.

Dream calmed down after a while, due to the regular breathing of Steve, the calming presence of the dogs, and the warmth which surrounded him. He had never expected laying in the cold snow to be so very relaxing.

Out of nowhere Steve raised his head and started growling. Dream was still trapped under a pile of dogs and hidden by the body and the paws of the polar bear, so he couldn’t see what Steve was growling at.

“This is my emotional support polar bear, Steve.” A monotone voice, the voice of Technoblade, suddenly boomed over him. “And my hound army.”

Dream felt the cold return immediately and cling to his bones, the second he remembered what was going on. Steve and the dogs had been so distracting and comforting, he had forgotten about Quackity and Sam. The two people who wanted to take him away from safety. Away from a warm bed at night. Yes, he was sharing it with three dogs but he was fine with that! Dream didn’t remember the last time he had spent the night in a bed, even before the prison. They wanted to take him away from the dogs, away from the wooden walls which protected him from wind and weather at night. They wanted to take clean clothes, the chance for Dream to wash himself,whenever he wanted to with clean water, away.

“I wouldn’t approach them if I were you, Sam.” Technoblade said with a slight chuckle in his voice when Steve growled again. Some of the dogs were joining in with Steve, standing up, slowly approaching Quackity and Sam.

“They are very protective animals, you know? And the two of you are threatening their peace and home right now.” Technoblade went over and petted Steve on the head, and Steve stopped making noises. After a few seconds he put his head back into the snow, black eyes still resting on the two intruders.

The animals around the commune were obeying Technoblade’s every word.

“Let’s just check the houses and then leave, Sam. Come on. See if we can find him inside.” Quackity sighed and led the way back to the houses, leaving Dream alone with the animals.

Dream wanted to cry out of relief. It seemed like they didn’t suspect him and would leave soon. He pressed his face into the soft fur of Steve’s side and gently took a few bundles of white hair into his hands. The tears never fell to the snow covered floor, but lost themselves in the labyrinth of Steve’s pelt.

He didn’t know how much time passed when Dream opened his eyes again after someone gently shook his shoulder. Quickly he flinched back, covering his head with his hands, looking to the ground. He could feel how he was soaked in freezing water. For a second he found himself back in the prison, when Quackity decided to put ice cubes into the cauldron and see how long Dream could hold his breath, but before his mind could dive deeper into a panic attack, rough tongues brought him back into the present time.

A few dogs sat in front of him and Dream recognized the injured dog from earlier again. The white dog with the grey snout. He reached out with his bandaged hand and let the dog sniff him. The friendly animal quickly head butted his hand and demanded pets, this time Dream could provide.

“They are gone now. They didn’t find you anywhere, I hope they are convinced that you are not here” The voice of Technoblade echoed over him, forcing Dream to look up. The piglin hybrid threw a big shadow over him, because he was standing between him and the sun, leaving him shivering in the cold wind. “I’m glad my plan worked and Steve and the dogs piled on you. For a few seconds I was afraid your body wouldn’t be able to take it and Sam and Quackity would discover you. But I’m glad everything worked out just fine.”

Dream just nodded, hands busy with petting various dogs, even Steve wanted some attention.

“Thanks” Dream mumbled. “For c-covering for me.” He didn’t look at Technoblade, trying to avoid his eyes. Maybe this was too stressful for them and Technoblade and Philza decided that Dream would only bring danger to their little cottages and they just couldn’t risk that. He would understand if Technoblade were to throw him out, he really did. He was a liability after all.

He can’t really work, they had to look after him, feed him, clothe him, bring home more materials because of him, Dream used up their resources when he needed food or new bandages, and he couldn’t do anything for them. He didn’t replace the materials, he just used them.

“You don’t have to thank me for that. Thank Steve and the dogs. They did all the work.” Technoblade laughed and held out his hand. “Let's get you inside. You need a bath, you look like you are about to freeze to death.”

Dream gladly accepted his hand, being pulled up quickly. The hand of the piglin stayed in Dream’s hand, unsure if he were to fall. His knees were still shaky but they had calmed down and he was able to make his way towards the cabins.

“I hope that you know that you will be responsible for feeding the dogs and Steve now. Let’s just make you feed all the animals. They seem to love you all.” Technoblade laughed and gently hit him on the back. Dream tried not to show how much that little shove upset his balance.

“W-what do you mean they l-love me?” Dream had started to shake terribly, once he left the warmth of the animals, already missing it. It was hard for Dream to imagine that the animals… that something living could actually love him.

“The dogs are usually pretty wary of anyone new coming and I was a tiny bit concerned when I made you feed them… they can be a lot sometimes. And they are war hounds after all, if they wanted to, they could have ripped you to shreds but they all seemed to like you very much. Same with Steve.” Technoblade opened the door for Dream and led him through. “Steve usually stays all by himself, sometimes he allows some dogs around him. But today he accepted the presence of all the dogs to protect you.” He suddenly started laughing. “I don’t even know if he would have done this for me.” He chuckled and went into the kitchen.

“I’m going to make us some tea.” Technoblade offered without waiting for Dream’s answer.

Suddenly there was a whine coming from outside. Both men made eye contact, then looked back at the door. It was one of the dogs who was scratching the door from outside.

“Sit down, I will check.” Technoblade said after putting the kettle on the stove.

Dream did as he was told and sat down on the couch, eyeing the blanket next to him.

“You can take the blanket if you want.” Technoblade seemed to have seen Dream’s inner struggle whether he was allowed to take the blanket or not.

The door was opened and before anyone could do anything, the dog with the grey stripe on his snout which was stretched back to the tip of his tail, came running towards Dream and jumped on the couch. There was a loud “heh?!” coming from the doorway when Technoblade had failed to stop the dog.

But the dog with the injured side and leg quickly curled up on the soft couch and rested his head on Dream’s lap.

“Guess you have a dog now.” Technoblade mumbled. “I could try to get him to leave you alone but from the look of it, you don’t mind.”

Dream couldn’t hear what the piglin hybrid had said because he was too focussed on the animal in his lap. He didn’t understand why the dog liked him even though he was a monster deep inside, the dog still seemed to… accept him. Maybe even like him.

It didn’t take long for Dream to start petting the dog and a few minutes later, both Dream and the dog were asleep.