Chapter Text
There were sirens going off. Evan blinked in confusion and looked out the window, but he could hardly see anything in the dark room. He walked closer to it, pressing his hands against the glass.
Another siren went off, and with it, some lights turned on. His eyes widened and he stifled a gasp when he saw his brother standing in the middle of the room, fear on his face, with a giant claw resting in front of him.
Evan slammed his hands against the glass.
“Michael!” he shouted. His brother didn’t hear him, backing away from the scooper slowly. Evan looked around the room he was in- this should be the control room for the scooper, right? He should be able to turn it off from in here.
He didn’t see any control panel. He banged on the glass again, trying to get his brother’s attention.
“Michael! Mikey, you need to get out of there!” he shouted. “Please! You’ll die!”
Mike stopped moving. There was another siren, and Mike’s shoulders relaxed, his face taking on a look of… of resignation.
Evan’s breathing picked up and he felt tears forming in his eyes. He banged on the glass harder, hoping to break it. If he could break it, his brother could hear him, he’d hear him and he’d move and he’d live-
“Mikey please! Move! Move please, you have to live, please! You can’t- “
Evan slowed down. He slid onto his knees and watched, helpless, as his brother closed his eyes, waiting for the inevitable blow. Evan’s hands clenched into fists. He brought them up to the sides of his head, pulling his knees up to his chest.
“Y-you can’t… you can’t give up… p-please…”
Another siren. A twang of metal, and then Evan jolted up in bed, panting and gasping for breath. He clutched at his chest, shutting his eyes tight and wishing that the image of his brother giving up would leave his head. He… he didn’t want to see it anymore.
Shit. That nightmare made him wish that he was still repressing his emotions- it wouldn’t scare him anymore.
But… but if he had it and he didn’t feel anything towards it, would that mean he didn’t care about his brother anymore?
Shit. SHIT.
He groaned and threw the blankets off, nearly falling back over again due to how shaky his legs were.
Mike. Mikey, you’re ok, I know you’re ok-
He forced himself over to the door and nearly fell through it, his legs guiding him mindlessly down the hallway until he reached his brother’s bedroom. His hand was shaking so bad that he could barely grasp the handle. After a couple moments of trying, Evan’s panic-induced brain made him slam his body against the door, sure that his brother was in trouble and that if he didn’t get through this door his brother would surely die.
The door opened suddenly, and Evan fell onto someone, their arms wrapping around him immediately. They slid down so that they could make eye contact, the bright purple stunning him for a second.
“Ev? You alright?” he asked worriedly. Evan felt a hand on his forehead, and it was pleasantly warm against his skin. “You don’t have a fever… wait we’re dead you can’t get sick, but then why are you shaking? Are you cold? Are you sick?”
Evan shook his head, pressing himself as close to Michael as he could, wrapping his arms around the older boy and feeling his brother stiffen slightly. It didn’t take long for Mike’s arms to wrap themselves around him again, warm and comforting and reassuring. He felt one of his brother’s arms rubbing up and down his back and relaxed in the embrace.
“...bad dream?”
Evan nodded. He felt his brother nod, too, then felt his brother’s arms shift to pick him up.
“Come on. If you still wanna sleep, you can try in my room,” he suggested softly. Evan nodded again, listening as Michael shut the door behind them. He brought him over to the bed, sitting down first before gently setting Evan down next to him. Evan shifted a little bit so he was cuddling with his brother. He relaxed again when he felt Mike’s arm rest across him and pull him close.
The dream didn’t bother him again that night.