i had a similar thing happen to me recently. it was on the nape of my neck and i had to cut some hairs due to the pressure. i couldn't rip because the dread itself was so tight. i just cut it and left it alone and am letting it do what it wants from here. i knew i could potentially lose the dread but it hurt too bad to not do something about it. it's been about a month and the piece i cut that's still attached to the dread is starting to get absorbed into it. nice.
I love your description of what's going on. Anyway, you're not going to die a horrible and painful death. I'd just say, relax. Some neighboring dreads might either absorb those hairs once they grow back, or they might just grow themselves out and you could use a crocheting needle to get them in the neighboring dreads.
