It's a beautiful day outside. Birds are singing, flowers are blooming…
Or rather it was?
I slowly opened my eyes as I felt a few raindrops fall on my face. My whole body was aching, through my blurry vision I saw crimson stains on the flowers next to me. I did my best to move from that spot, because the cold rain was the last thing I needed at the time. Once far enough for the water to not reach me I took out a first aid kit from my bag and started treating several not deep cuts on my legs and arms. My dad, being in the army, told me some stories about him being in a few situations like this and taught me a thing or two about survival. Smiling, I mentally gave him and a thumbs up with a quiet "good job" and "thank you".
The treatment was quite unpleasant, so I tried to sort out my thoughts and memories to distract myself from pain.
The reason for my little adventure was to find my little brother, Frisk, who went missing 2 days ago. It's been 7 years that I've been taking care of Frisk by myself. After mom passed away we only had each other, since dad almost never was home. And now the most important person in my life was gone. The police was doing their best, at least that's what they told me. But I couldn't shake off the feeling that it wasn't gonna go as they planned, so I decided to search for myself.
Frisk liked to explore the mountain we lived next to, Mt. Ebott. It was the only place I knew a lot better than the police did, since I pretty much spent my life there, besides I knew where Frisk liked to play and all the little paths he could've taken and even the ones he didn't yet know about. I didn't want to waste any more time waiting, so with all the necessary supplies in my bag and the army knife that dad gave me on my belt I headed out. I was climbing for about 30 minutes when I reached a cave. As I was getting a bit tired I decided to take a break in there, but the moment my foot touched the ground a seemingly bottomless pit opened up. The next thing I knew I was falling into pure darkness.
"All done" I muttered to myself getting up and looking around.
The hole I fell through was too high up and there was no way to climb that cliff. There was no connection to make a call either, so I had no other choice, but to explore the cave I was in.
The first thing I noticed was the bed of flowers I fell onto. It probably softened my landing, but that sure as hell wasn't enough to keep me from breaking a couple of bones, or a couple of dozen of them, let alone keep me alive.
I couldn't really figure much out, so I decided to just appreciate the fact that I'm alive and well.
From the little light there was I could see the far wall of the cavern and a path in the middle. As I was getting closer the clouds blocked the sun completely and I could hardly see anything in front of me.
"So… the time had finally come for my flashlight to shine!"
"Why did I say that?" – The fallowing facepalm was inevitable.
"Well… time to lighten up the mood" - I said as I flicked the switch turning on the flashlight. Now that I could actually see my surroundings clearly I went on exploring everything there was to explore. One of the walls was covered in weird symbols and ancient glyphs, it was pretty to say the least. I stared at the wall for at least 10 minutes before turning away. At the end of the hallway, on the opposite side was the only way out: a massive gateway covered in similar symbols. On the very top I could see a crest of some sort… I had no idea what it was, or what it meant, but it looked neat.
As I went through the gateway I found myself in a big hall. In the middle there was a lone golden flower peacefully resting under the rain. A few weak rays of sunlight that were able to break through the clouds were shining at it, I felt a bit lonely myself seeing that.
I didn't think much of it at first, but as I got closer I noticed something weird. The flower seemed to have… a face.
As I approached the flower moved a bit and looked at me. I flinched a little but stayed calm. Now I could clearly see a face with black eyes and a tiny mouth. I would call it adorable, but given the circumstances and the fact that I was in reality and not in an animation or a video game, it was creepy.
"Howdy, I'm Flowey. Flowey the flower." - A weak voice could be heard from the flower as a wide smile appeared on its face.
"… Sup" – That was the only thing I could come up with, as I started to back away slowly trying my best not to show that I'm actually freaking out.
I was about to leave when the flower gave me a piece of information I needed so much.
"You're new to the Underground, aren'tcha? You must be really confused, I guess I'll teach you how things work around here."
Flowey stopped talking looking a bit confused himself when he noticed my most beautiful "not giving a single shit" expression.
Flower or not he was my only source of information at the moment. I needed to know what's going on, and most importantly I needed to know if Frisk was here.
"What about the underground?" – I asked trying to, at least seem kind.
Flowey gave me a brief explanation about how there was a war and how humans sealed monsters under this mountain centuries ago.
"I have another questions if you don't mind" – I was smiling to not scare the flower, but the tone of my voice turned out a bit too serious. After a moment of silence the flower nodded, so I continued.
"In the past couple of days have you seen a child fall here? A little boy…"
Flowey flinched at the question, fear was now clearly visible in his eyes as his expression changed with my detailed description of Frisk. At that point I didn't need an answer so I went on.
"Where is he?" – I asked trying to stay calm, yet terrified of the answer I might hear.
"He left the Ruins… I don't know where he went. I don't really know what's beyond that point. All I know is that it's too dangerous and once outside you can't come back."
"How do I… get there?"
Flowey's expression changed from scared to desperate with a tiny hint of anger.
"I'm telling you, it's too dangerous! The monsters are on hunt for humans right now. They'll kill you on the spot!" – Flowey almost yelled, but it didn't bother me one bit, neither did his words.
"Do you really expect me to just stay here in safety, knowing my brother might be hurt right now, or… worse?"
Flowey was now looking at the ground, he didn't look at me, didn't say anything. I didn't either as I started walking towards the second gateway behind him.
"You don't have to worry, I can find the exit myself… monsters don't scare me" – That last part came out as a whisper. Of course it wasn't true. I was terrified for my life, but more than that for Frisk. But I knew I had to stay strong, I couldn't let this get to me if I wanted to get out of here. If what Flowey said about the monsters was true I had more reasons to stay calm and collected.
I closed my eyes, took several deep breaths to calm myself and took a step forward.
As the purple shades of the next room met my gaze
I could feel my heart fill with courage.
note:
Hey everyone, I'm sorry the first chapter was this short, I promise they'll get longer.
This is the first story I ever wrote, so any tips and constructive criticism would be appreciated. I hope everyone enjoys this journey.