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It was stupid. Tommy knew it was stupid. But it was his only chance.
The blizzard outside made it damn near impossible to see more than a few feet out the windows. The wind didn’t help either. The house creaked when especially hard gusts of wind slammed against the siding.
It was probably in the negatives outside, but some cold weather hadn’t stopped Tommy before. It wouldn’t this time either.
He was going to escape.
Techno was an idiot. When he saw the unexpected snow coming down, he hurried outside to check on the livestock and give them extra food. Meaning, he left Tommy alone in the house. With only his ankles and a wrist tied to the kitchen chair. There was a knife on the counter, still sitting on the cutting board from Techno preparing their lunch.
Techno rarely made mistakes like that. The storm must’ve caught him off guard. But Tommy wouldn’t complain. That was his chance at finally getting away. Everything was within reach.
Awkwardly, Tommy jumped in the chair, attempting to scoot across the kitchen floor. He didn’t care that the wood scraped against the tile loudly. Techno wouldn’t be able to hear him from outside.
It didn’t take long for Tommy to make it to the counter. And the knife was right there.
Hope was a dangerous thing. It took root in Tommy’s heart the moment Techno left and it only continued to grow the more his plan worked. Tommy clung to that little bit of hope while he awkwardly adjusted the knife in his one free hand.
It took a few tries to cut the rope on his other wrist, but eventually, both hands were free. He didn’t waste a second rubbing the sore marks where the rope dug into his skin. He didn’t have time to lick his wounds. Every second was precious.
Tommy leaned forward in the chair, sawing at the thick rope around his ankle. They took a decent amount of effort to cut through, but then, he was free.
As much as Tommy wanted to appreciate his freedom for a second, if he stuck around, that freedom wouldn’t last. It never would again. This was his only chance.
He threw the knife back onto the counter, leaving behind the chair and split ropes.
Yes. Yes. Yes. He could do it! He would make it out. He’d run away, hide in the woods or something until Techno gave up on finding him, and then make his way to the nearest city. Wherever that might be.
Techno had left an extra pair of boots and winter gear by the door. It was the stuff Techno let Tommy use when he was allowed to go see the animals.
Again, Tommy thought about how much of dumbass Techno was. Tommy would’ve escaped last time if he had the right clothes for the weather. And now, he did. Techno should’ve kept all of that shit locked up tight, but he didn’t!
Tommy didn’t bother with the snow pants. That’d take too much time. He shoved on the boots that were a bit too big, ignoring the sudden throbbing pain in his shoulder.
(He’d finally be able to go to a doctor and get that looked at! Oh, he couldn’t wait to be a part of society again).
He left the laces untied as he grabbed the thick blue coat and shoved it on. He’d zip it up later, once he was out of the house.
Briefly, Tommy glanced out the back window. He couldn’t see much with the blizzard, but he didn’t see any distant silhouette of a person or dog. Techno was probably still with the animals. Tommy hoped he had to go into the hayloft and bring the animals hay. That always took longer than usual.
But again, hope was dangerous. Tommy couldn’t rely on that. He had to expect the worse.
He grabbed a hat that was hanging on the coat hook and shoved it on his head while running to the back door.
Techno left in a hurry, meaning he left the door unlocked. Which made sense. Techno probably didn’t think Tommy would leave the table since he was tied up (and after all the punishments Techno tried to get him in line).
All of Tommy’s past foster homes could tell you the same thing: Tommy is the most stubborn, bull-headed person you will ever meet. It took more than being tied to a chair overnight and getting chained up like a dog to make him listen.
He slipped out the back door, hissing at how freezing cold it was outside. Instantly, the wind blew in his face, making his eyes water. He had to squint and use a hand to shield his eyes from the snow. He expected it to be cold, but not that cold. He could feel goosebumps rising up on his arms and legs while he started to shiver.
It was fine.
He was out of the house.
Techno didn’t know he’d gotten out.
He just had to keep going.
There were faint tracks in the snow. One belonging to Techno and the other being Steve’s. That meant Steve was with Techno at the barn. That was one more obstacle out of the way. Perfect.
There were a few inches of snow accumulated already, making it more difficult for Tommy to move. He trudged on, going as fast as he could make himself go while also fighting with the coat zipper.
Physical activity made people warm up. Tommy running in the snow would have to be able to fight off the chill settling in his bones, right? It better. Tommy had no backup plan if he got hypothermia or pneumonia again.
Tommy couldn’t see much, but he knew the layout of the yard around the house. He could follow the house to the garage, and the garage to the driveway, and the driveway to freedom.
It was possible.
Tommy could escape! Techno didn’t even know he was gone yet, and the falling snow would cover his tracks! Techno wouldn’t be able to see him in the blizzard either!
As Tommy turned around the corner of the house, his eyes landed on the garage. They then drifted to where the driveway was, in theory. Techno hadn’t left recently, so there weren’t any tire tracks to use as a guide. Tommy would have to hope he was going in a straight line.
For a second, Tommy laughed.
He’d escaped! He got out of the house! He outsmarted Techno!
The second of glee passed.
“THOMAS!”
Tommy looked back on instinct. He couldn’t see Techno through the snow, but he knew the man would be chasing after him any second now.
Tommy turned and ran the best he could.
Techno lived in the woods. He just needed to get to the tree line! He could easily lose Techno with the snow and trees.
“TOMMY! STEVE, GO FIND HIM.”
Shit.
Tommy couldn’t move easily in the snow, but Steve could. He was made for that kind of thing.
Shit. Shit. Shit.
Tommy trudged through the snow, attempting to spring but struggling. His lungs hurt from all the cold air and snow he was breathing in. His eyes burned. His shoulder hurt. But he pushed himself to keep going. He couldn’t stop now. This was his only chance to get away. He needed to make it count.
Tommy heard a dog bark behind him. Steve was too close for comfort.
Tommy’s heart raced, practically beating out of his chest. He had to go. If Steve caught him, he’d be fucked. Techno would never let him go unchained ever again. Or worse… Techno would turn Tommy into some disgustingly good stew and feed his guts to the chickens.
Tommy wanted to vomit at the thought.
The nauseating thought only encouraged Tommy to keep going. He couldn’t see the tree line that was vaguely somewhere ahead, and he wasn’t sure if he’d make it in time.
Looking to his sides, he could faintly see trees that lined the driveway. It was a risk. If Tommy got turned around in those woods, he might not be able to find his way back to the road. His plan was to go in a straight line, but that wouldn’t work with Steve chasing after him.
Said dog barked again, sounding way too fucking close.
In a split-second decision, Tommy turned left and booked it to the trees.
“TOMMY!” Techno shouted. He was further away than Steve, but he was still chasing after Tommy. His tracking skills weren’t worth underestimating. He was a serial killer. He had to be able to keep up with his victims.
Like Dream.
Like his foster parents.
Like Tommy, if he didn’t get away.
The trees became clearer and clearer, even with the snow violently whipping across Tommy’s face. He had maybe ten more feet before he would be in the woods.
When he crossed that line, finally in the wooded part of Techno’s yard, Tommy desperately wanted to stop and sigh. The hardest part was done. He made it to somewhere he could hide.
His lungs were burning up, struggling to get enough air; the freezing, snowy air only made the pain worse.
Tommy. Couldn’t. Stop.
His life depended on this.
He hopped over what he assumed were tree roots or logs and turned in random directions. He dodged and weaved between trees, hoping to lose Steve and Techno.
A thought crossed his mind when he turned slightly left. What if he got lost in the woods and froze to death? What if Techno didn’t ever find him? What if he couldn’t find his way out? What if he wandered in circles until slowly succumbing to the cold?
His body would become covered in layers of snow and wouldn’t be discovered until months later when everything melted. That was if Techno bothered searching for his body at all.
Tommy’s eyes watered; a few tears slid down his face. He blamed it on the cold air.
“TOMMY! STOP!” Techno shouted from somewhere behind him.
How was he still keeping up?!
Tommy’s legs hurt and were becoming wobbly. He stumbled a few times, tripping over rocks or sticks or god knows what. He noticed his steps becoming sloppier, but he kept running randomly.
“TOMMY! COME BACK!”
Never. Never. Never.
Steve barked practically right behind Tommy.
The blonde risked glancing over his shoulder. He could see a blob of white rushing toward him.
Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit!
Tommy screamed, struggling to keep his legs working.
“FUCK OFF!” Tommy screeched. In his panic, he didn’t notice the ground changing under his feet. He didn’t realize that he was running straight into a clearing with no trees. He just ran.
“TOMMY!” Techno was getting closer. Steve was almost on Tommy’s heels.
Tommy didn’t think he’d ever forgive himself for what he did next. He kicked his foot out dramatically as he ran, slamming his foot into Steve’s snout. The dog whimpered and stopped for a second.
“I’m sorry, Steve!” Tommy called, continuing to run into the clearing. Tommy loved the dog. He didn’t know his owner was a serial killer cannibal who kidnapped Tommy. But Tommy couldn’t let that dog be the reason he got caught and killed.
“THOMAS!”
Tommy slipped, the ground under his feet becoming unusually slick, even with the inches of snow.
He didn’t have time to process what that meant.
He pushed himself back up and pushed on.
Steve started barking again; unlike before, he didn’t stop after one or two barks. He kept barking nonstop. But it didn’t sound like he was getting closer. In fact, it sounded like he was getting further away.
Tommy glanced back, squinting through the falling snow. He could just make out Steve’s shape standing in one place, barking. He wasn’t chasing Tommy anymore. He was just standing there.
Tommy slowed down, panting heavily. Why wasn’t-
“STEVE! Did you find him!?”
Techno’s bulking figure emerged from the trees, running to Steve’s side. The dog quieted down. Techno slowly looked up at Tommy.
“Shit, TOMMY! STOP!” Techno shouted, but there was something far more urgent in his voice than the past calls. He lifted his hands like trying to calm a wild animal. He didn’t get any closer. Neither he nor Steve crossed whatever invisible line there was.
Tommy didn’t stop moving, but he decreased his speed, shifting into a stumbling, backward walk. Something cracked quietly under his feet, but he ignored it.
“TOMMY! STOP MOVING!” Techno yelled desperately. “THOMAS! I’M SERIOUS!”
“FUCK YOU!” Tommy heaved, throwing up two middle fingers. His hands were bright red, turning slightly blue at the fingertips. It was fine.
“Thomas! Stop! Just slowly walk back this way! Please!” Techno sounded… scared.
Tommy stopped walking, giving himself a second to catch his breath.
It didn’t make sense. What was in this clearing that neither Steve nor Techno would chase him? Were there bear traps or something under the snow?
“Thomas,” Techno panted. “Don’t move, okay?”
Tommy took a step backward. The snow crunched under his boot.
“Thomas!!” Techno shrieked. “Stop! You’re going to fall in if you keep moving!”
Fall in?
Tommy continued backing up. If Techno wouldn’t cross this clearing, Tommy could escape. Techno would have to go all the way around, but it’d take too long. Tommy would be long gone by the time he got around.
Techno just wanted to kill him.
“Shit!” Tommy had rarely heard Techno curse before. He must’ve been realizing the severity of the situation. If Tommy got away, he’d go to the police and tell them everything. Techno would go to jail. He was only concerned about himself.
“Have fun in prison, dickhead!” Tommy called, taking another step back.
That was his fatal mistake.
Something cracked loudly under his foot. Though it was probably fairly quiet, the crack sounded like a gunshot in Tommy’s ears.
All at once, everything clicked into place. The slick ground. The clearing. Techno and Steve not following him. “Falling in.”
Tommy was in the middle of a frozen lake. He was on thin ice. Literally.
His excitement about escaping instantly turned to fear and dread. His watery eyes seemed to get worse by the second. Tommy didn’t think it was because of the air this time. His eyes fell to the ground, not able to see the splitting ice under all the snow.
Slowly, he tried lifting his back foot, but the weight shifted to his front. The ice under his front foot cracked too.
Tommy screeched, slamming his back foot down. It only made the ice split apart more. Cold water started seeping into his boots. He panicked.
His vision was blurred by the tears streaming down his face at this point. He couldn’t breathe. He was going to die. Holy shit. Tommy was going to die at the bottom of a frozen lake.
He’d heard stories about people who fall through the ice and can’t find the surface. Would he drown or freeze first? Maybe he’d go into shock, pass out, and die while unconscious. That seemed better than scratching at the ice, holding his breath until he had no choice but to suck in lungfuls of ice water.
“Tommy!” Techno shouted over Tommy’s internal panic. “Do. Not. Move. You’ll only make it worse.”
Tommy listened. He really wanted Techno right now. Suddenly, being stuck on the trauma couch rewatching Tangled didn’t seem so bad. Hell, he got fed three meals a day and Techno gave him things to entertain himself with. Living with Techno was probably better than a foster home he’d get shoved in.
Tommy wanted Techno.
“Techno,” Tommy sobbed. “Techno! Help me! Please!”
“I’m going to help you, kid. You just need to listen-”
“TECHNO!” Tommy wailed, moving his foot to try and get it off the cracking ice. “Techno!!”
“Tommy, breathe,” Techno called out. “It’s going to be okay. Just stop moving. I need you to focus on me.”
“Tech, please. Come help me. Please,” Tommy blubbered. He couldn’t take his eyes off his feet. The snow was starting to melt around him from coming in contact with water.
Oh god. Oh god. Oh god. Tommy was going to drown. He was going to die. Why did he try to run? Why was he so stupid? He wanted to be back in the stupid cabin, even if he would be tied up for the rest of his life. At least he’d be alive.
“I can’t come on the ice. It’ll make it worse. I’m going to-”
Tommy cried loudly.
“Please. I can’t do this. I don’t want to die. Help me!”
“You’re not going to die, kid. Focus on me.”
The water was rising. It was only a matter of time before the chunks of ice supporting Tommy shattered, sending him into the icy abyss. He’d die under there. Would Techno fish his body out or just leave him? Oh god.
“THOMAS! LOOK AT ME!” Techno shouted sternly.
Tommy’s head snapped up instinctually. He could barely make out Techno in the distance. The tears in his eyes and the heavy snow made it difficult to see anything.
“Good. Listen, I need you to squat down slowly-”
“I can’t do this,” Tommy interrupted, breathing heavily. “I can’t– I can’t do this.”
“Yes, you can. Lean down. If you can get on your hands and knees, you’ll distribute your weight so the ice won’t break.”
Tommy realized how badly he was shaking. Whether it was from the cold or panicking, he had no idea. Probably both.
“Tech, please,” Tommy begged, throwing his hands out as if Techno could reach out and pull him to safety. But he was so too far away. Tommy just wanted the man to come onto the ice and bring him back to the house. Tommy couldn’t do this on his own. He needed Techno. “Please. Don’t leave me here.”
“I’m not leaving you, but listen to me!”
“I don’t want to die,” Tommy repeated with a hiccup. “I don’t– I’m too young to die. Please.”
From across the lake, Tommy could hear Techno groan loudly.
“Kid, I know you’re scared, but I need you to listen.”
Tommy hiccuped again, allowing his eyes to slowly drift down. The water was getting higher. The ice was starting to crack more.
“Eyes up here! Focus!” Techno hollered. Tommy pried his eyes away from his impending doom somehow. “Squat down. Get on your hands and knees. Can you do that?”
It would be so easy to tell Techno to fuck off, no he couldn’t do that. But Tommy really wanted to live. With a loud swallow, he nodded and began to shift his weight.
“Slow,” Techno called out. “Careful.”
Tommy bent his knees, lowering himself gradually with his hands out in front of him.
“Easy. You’re almost there. You’re doing great, kid.”
His knees wobbled, struggling to maintain the weird squatting posture. Then, Tommy’s knees gave up. He fell forward.
The world was ending; Tommy was sure of it.
The cracking of ice wasn’t audible over Tommy’s high-pitched shrieks.
“TECH! NONONONO! HELP! HELP!”
The ice under Tommy’s left foot gave up. His left leg became half submerged in water. It burned. It hurt. It stung. It felt like Tommy’s leg was going to fall off. He couldn’t do anything but scream and flail his leg, making the hole in the ice bigger.
He’d managed to land on his stomach, but the ice under his chest was also starting to crack. The bits of broken ice only grew the more he kicked his leg to try and get it out of the water.
“TECHNO!” Tommy screamed bloody murder. “HELP ME! HELP!”
Steve started barking again, drowning out Techno. Tommy's screaming didn’t make it any easier to hear his advice, but he couldn’t help that. He needed to express his panic.
He pushed off his right foot, trying to pull himself forward.
The ice under that leg broke away, causing him to dip his other foot under the water. He screeched.
Tommy blindly reached forward, trying to grab onto anything to pull himself to the shoreline. There was nothing but fluffy snow.
“ARMY CRAWL!” Techno shouted over the chaos. Tommy didn’t know how he managed to catch the words.
Army crawl. Army crawl.
Tommy frantically threw his arm out, dragging himself forward with his elbows. He moved a few inches, enough to get his right foot out of the water. The cold air only made his foot hurt worse. He let the world know as much by screaming.
“DON’T STOP! KEEP GOING!”
Tommy didn’t need to be told twice. He pulled himself forward all while screaming curses and incoherent babbles. He didn’t want to die. He couldn’t die like this. Everything hurt. He was freezing to death.
Tommy really fucking wanted Techno right now.
After a few desperate wiggles forward, Tommy got both feet out of the water. He couldn’t feel or move them, but he could see them attached to his body. That was all that mattered.
Fuck.
Fuck.
Fuck.
Tommy hated everything.
“Come on!” Techno cheered, waving his hands. “You’re almost there!”
Tommy wasn’t almost there. He had about twenty yards left to crawl before he’d be by Techno.
Seeing Techno so close yet so far made Tommy want to cry again. Techno wasn’t a big one for physical affection, but all Tommy wanted was a hug from that man. He wanted him to just hold him and promise him he’d be safe. Tommy didn’t want to leave ever again. Apart from the serial killing and cannibal thing, Techno wasn’t the worst person to live with. He (dare Tommy say it) cared about him.
Maybe he was just delusional from being inches away from death. Tommy blamed that. He wasn’t soft.
Tommy panted heavily, crawling forward. It sucked not having his legs to help push him, but he’d survive. His fingers were numb, but Tommy could still use his arms somewhat decently. His muscles were sore and tight, but that was better than dead.
“A little further, kid.”
Tommy stopped for a few seconds to catch his breath. Shortly after, he kept going, finding energy he didn’t know he had. When he inevitably crashed, he’d crash hard.
After what seemed like centuries, he crossed some invisible threshold. Techno came running onto the ice. It must’ve been thick enough to support them there.
Techno scooped Tommy up into his arms instantly, squeezing him tight.
Tommy sobbed into Techno’s coat. He didn’t ever want to let go.
Techno sighed heavily, rushing to get Tommy off the ice.
“Come on, we need to get you inside right now. You’re an idiot, you know that?” Techno scoffed. Underneath it all, Tommy sensed genuine concern. “Steve, get us back home.”
Techno speed-walked/ran through the woods with Tommy in his arms. The bouncing motion was almost soothing.
When Tommy had no more tears to cry, all the adrenaline left his body. He pushed himself way past his limits, and now he was coming down. His eyelids were heavy. There wasn’t an ounce of energy left in his body. He didn’t think he could move a finger if he wanted to.
“Tech,” Tommy muttered. The older only grunted in acknowledgment.
Tommy closed his eyes. He couldn’t keep them open.
“Don’ leave me,” he exhaled weakly.
Techno either chuckled or scoffed. It didn’t really matter which. Tommy didn’t care.
“Trust me, you won’t be leaving the house ever again,” Techno promised, not really replying to Tommy’s request.
Tommy shouldn’t have found comfort in that, but he did. With that, he drifted off. Techno had him in his arms. They were going back to the house. He’d be okay. He couldn’t feel the pain in his legs anymore.
Techno’s body heat and the swinging motion of being carried easily lulled Tommy into a deep sleep.