Your name is John Egbert, and though you may be freezing cold and trapped under a tree during a raging storm, it isn't doing a thing to dampen your mood! You and your cousin Jade had spent the entire day in Downtown Prospit with your best buddy Karkat! You'd visited a ton of the shops, trying on ridiculous clothes, stuffing yourselves silly in a restaurant for lunch, and occasionally getting kicked out of shops when Karkat couldn't censor himself. While you were having an amazing time, you had decided to wrap up your hangout session when the sun started creeping under the horizon—your dad was never happy if you were late for dinner.
Anyways, you and Jade live near each other, so you had both said farewell to Karkat and headed home together. Five minutes into your walk, and a giant storm had appeared out of nowhere, starting with heavy sheets of rain attacking both of you. You had kept walking, managing to pace halfway through a shortcut (the local park) when there was a monstrous clap of lightning and Jade had yanked you under the nearest tree. Now, you're soaked to the bone and shivering. Both of your phones had died hours ago, wasted on taking tacky videos of doing things like putting stupid hats on Karkat. You hope your dad understands why you're going to be late for dinner.
You and Jade have been standing in a comfortable silence for a while now, and you're itching to do something to warm yourself up from the chill that's creeping up your spine. You prod at Jade, hoping for a reaction.
"What're you doing, John?"
"I'm bored. Entertain me." She gets a devious look on her face when you say this. That can't be good.
"Okay then!"
With this statement, she shoves you from underneath your momentary shelter and back into the rain. You gasp as the cold water seeps down your face and neck, but you quickly come to your senses and realize that the only acceptable response to Jade's action is sweet, sweet revenge. Your eyes lock onto your target, who is currently racing for cover behind the tree. You sprint to catch up and give her a taste of her own medicine. Turning sharply around the tree, you manage to take one giant stride and then trip on a root and fall flat on your face. This is pretty disorienting, to say the least.
What takes up the majority of your attention though, is the fact that about a foot from your face you can see the gaping entrance to a hole, partially hidden beneath fallen branches. It's a foot or two wider than your shoulder-width, and it looks impossibly deep. From what you can tell, it goes straight downwards, with no slope whatsoever. You're still staring when Jade appears from around the tree and spots you on the ground. Being the concerned cousin she is, she laughs at you and skips around merrily. She's still prancing when she realizes that something has caught your eye; she follows your gaze to focus on the hole. She finally goes silent.
You've decided you've spent long enough soaking mud into the front of your bright yellow Prospitian shirt. Getting up, you spot Jade kicking the branches aside and creeping up to the mysterious gap. She has a stick in her hand.
"What the hell are you trying to—"
She tosses the stick into the hole, and leans forward to listen. There's a stretch of silence before either of you hear the clattering below. Jade lets out a low whistle. Your suspicions that this hole is deep are confirmed, apparently.
The playful mood you both had minutes ago has diminished and has been replaced with growing curiosity. You wonder if anyone else has found this tunnel before. You're still pondering when Jade taps you on the shoulder. In a mock whisper, she says,
"Hey. Hey John!" You roll your eyes, but decide to humor her and whisper back in an equally goofy whisper.
"Yeah, Jade?"
"I dare you to stick your head in that hole!"
"What? That's stupid, Jade!"
"Aw, c'mon! The hole's RIGHT THERE, we're bored, and I'd be there to grab you the entire time!"
"That doesn't make it any less stupid!"
"Aw, is John a fraidy-cat?"
"I'm not afraid!"
"What was that? I don't speak wuss!"
You know she's trying to egg you on, and it's working. She's tauntingly sticking her tongue out at you and how the hell are you two even related you're way more mature than her. You're fighting the urge to prove to her you're not a wimp… and miserably failing. Practically fuming, you stomp over to the tunnel and get on your hands and knees. You lean forward and poke your head in, then shout as loudly as possible,
"JADE IS AN EVIL WITCH WITH THE MATURITY OF A TEN-YEAR-OLD!"
You're swinging your head up to give Jade a satisfied smirk when your hands slide, slippery with mud. They shoot right into the gap, and all of your weight pitches you forward headfirst. You would laugh about falling twice in the span of ten minutes, but you're too busy letting out a startled cry. Behind you, you hear a shriek accompanied with an iron grip around your foot.
This is a position you never expected to be in; upside-down with your hands scrabbling against the sides of a deep dark hole for purchase while your cousin grips your shoe- which is your only chance of not falling into what seems like an endless tunnel. Neither you nor Jade had considered the mud and rain, and now you're paying the goddamn price. You can already imagine reading what the headlines of tomorrow's newspaper will say: "John Egbert, Raging Idiot, Falls Down Hole After Accepting Dare and Dies". Your head is pounding and you feel like throwing up. Instead, you squeeze your eyes closed and pant for breath before shouting,
"DON'T LET GO!"
You know that this precarious moment won't last. Even now, you know that Jade's losing her grip on you; her hands are slick with sweat and rainwater.
All the pressure of her hold is focused on the tip of your foot, and suddenly, it vanishes. What little hold you had on the walls of the tunnel is gone with the force of gravity pulling you down. You're letting out a string of curses but it's lost with the rush of air hurtling into your already-dry mouth. You can hear Jade screaming, though the dull light of the cloudy, almost-dark sky above is now only a pinpoint. As your last glimpse of the sky disappears with a wink, you fleetingly wonder about what you were going to have for dinner tonight.