Tommy woke up at the crack of dawn once again. Old habits will die hard I guess.
He knew he couldn't stay there for long, with how dedicated Techno was he knew that if he stayed it would only be a matter of time before he was found. He couldn't risk that.
What if he had stayed?
What if he had stayed at Techno's?
What if he had let them help?
Would he still be like this?
Would he still be trying to kill Dream?
Or would he have given up?
It was best not to think like that.
It was dangerous in fact.
He couldn't linger on what could have happened. If he did he would never try and change what will happen now.
And so he left.
He carried on walking through the forest, past trees, lakes, animals and more.
He may have had golden apples but those shouldn't have to be used for a basic food source. He chose to kill some of the cows and sheep he passed, collecting from them what he needed before continuing to walk.
'Nearly there. We're nearly home'
Tommy hesitated. He had nearly forgotten about the voices, he had gotten so used to them in such a short time that he forgot they were always there. Always talking.
"Nearly where? Where is home?"
'Safe. Home is safe.'
That sounded quite nice to him.
Safe.
He hadn't really been safe for a long time.
He never got a chance to just sit and relax. To take in the world around him.
He was dragged into a war for something that belonged to HIM, that was stolen from HIM.
No.
No. It wasn't stolen from him.
It was stolen from Tommy.
He wasn't Tommy.
Not anymore.
He wasn't anyone anymore.
But that didn't matter now. He was nearly safe. He could finally be free.
It was almost evening by the time the voice told him to stop. There wasn't much around.
Trees, caves, animals. That was it.
How was this place safe? This place was useless. He couldn't do anything here.
'Down.'
'Dig down.'
And so he did. He dug a stair case, blocked up the entrance, and used his limited supply of torches to light the way. He passed a cave system with died out torches but he knew that wasn't where he was meant to be.
He could feel it now.
A pull.
Dragging him further down into the core of the world.
He didn't know what it was.
What was pulling him.
What was driving him.
But he knew he had to find out.
He had gone this far.
He couldn't back out now.
And so he dug.
He dug till he found hit bedrock.
'Behind you.'
He turned around and started to dig in that direction. It didn't take long at all, not even 5 minutes. But he could feel the pull getting stronger. His mind felt fuzzy as he got closer. His vision clouding over.
His lungs felt heavy.
His body moved on its own accord.
It didn't scare him though.
He felt calm.
He-
He felt safe.
As another block broke Tommy soon found himself in an old stone carved room. Dusty hollows used as shelves filled with relics and old texts, some still holding an enchanted glow.
How long had this place been here?
How had no one seen it before?
Did anyone even know it existed?
The silent pull that had been so prevalent before had now subsided.
The feeling of security however, did not.
He felt safe here.
Like no one else in the world could find him.
Like it was just him.
It was-
It was like he was-
'home'
'Yeah. Home.'
He was home.
He was safe.
He was...
He was happy.
For the first time in SO long. He was finally happy again.
There was no stress, no fear, no sadness.
He felt happy.
That thought alone was enough to make him cry.
The voices had gotten louder.
Consoling him.
Making him feel better again.
'It's okay'
'You're safe now'
'It's alright'
'Home'
'We're home'
'Safe'
'Happy'
'Your happy now'
'We're safe'
'It's going to be okay'
'We're going to be okay now'
'All of us'
'We're safe now.
You're home.
You're free.'
A sob ripped through his chest, his eyes stinging with still falling tears, a smile still evident on his face.
"I'm free"