"…?"
You wake up on a bed of gold-colored flowers. Your vision is strained and your limbs are twisted uncomfortably in ways you've never seen, but you do your best to recollect what has happened here. The last thing you remember… is playing hopscotch with friends near the top of Mt. Ebbot. You knew that it was against the rules that your parents had set. In fact, it was against the rules that your town had set and the ones your school had set, too. And yet, you had been the one to draw the hopscotch grid with chalk on the mountain's slate-covered peak.
You couldn't resist, though! You wanted to hike to the very top and look down at the twilit view of your hometown, and you had. It was cold, but the setting sun had cast your town in a shade of lovely golden-yellow that you'd felt like you'd remember forever. Pink clouds had dotted the sky, reminding you of summer cotton candy. It was only March- it'd be a while before summer vacation. You missed the beach.
Someone dared you to climb to the edge. While the adults warned you about steep cliffs and other immediate dangers, nobody said a word about a gigantic hole in the mountain. It was like a volcano! Except… instead of magma bubbling in a heated cavern, you couldn't see the bottom. It was like a void. You tossed a rock the size of your hand down there, and you couldn't see it land or even hear it hit the bottom. The thought of that perplexed you a bit. Maybe the adults did have proper reasoning of one sort or another to keep you from playing at such an altitude.
You recall a thorny vine catching your sneaker by the bow-tied lace. You were simply going to look down to see what else was there- if, perhaps, there was a fire, a light, water… anything at all to look at before you left. After all, what sorts of strange creatures could be dwelling in such a dark, wide cave? It could be bats, it could be lizards… it could be anything, really.
And now, thanks to your clumsiness… you were about to discover just that- in the up-close-and-personal way. Now that you reflect on your actions, this was probably your fault. You were the one who egged your acquaintances to come up here and disturb the peace and break the rules.
Now, you get to your feet. You're all dusty with soil, so you wipe off your denim pants. Something hurts badly- the foot where you lost your sneaker is swelling up near the ankle, having been caught and strained by the vine. You're worried at first that it's broken, but you find that you're able to walk well so long as you don't put as much pressure on it as usual.
You look to the sky.
Well… what's left of it, at least. All that's in your line of sight aside from relentless shadow is a little circular pocket of gold light.
Your cheeks flush a little and your eyes fill up with tears. You know you did something bad, but… how were you supposed to get home? How would the matron react? What were your friends thinking, up on the surface? Besides, you couldn't miss school! You had a science test tomorrow! Afraid, apologetic, and most of all, alone, you head into the abyss in search of a way out. A way home.
You grip a cricket bat in your hands, now holding it close like a plush toy. You had originally brought it in case your friends would want to play a ball game up there as well, but now you're planning to use it in case a bear or something attacks you.
Do bears… live inside mountains? You're not really sure. Yet, for now, it gives you some determination to just pretend that this is just a game or something. In your head, you come up with figures for the bat.
CRICKET BAT- ATK 5. GOOD FOR WARDING OFF CRICKET BALLS AND DANGEROUS BEASTS.
Either way, you proceed very cautiously. You register that you're walking on grass- it's audibly swishing in some kind of breeze (despite the fact that you are veritably underground), and something like fallen leaves is crunching under every step you take.
There's a light up ahead. Anxious to see what might be in front of you, you step into it and look up once more. All you can see is simply another pocket of light, shining down to illuminate a patch of grassy floor.
"Howdy!"
Something greets you in a chipper voice. Your head jolts up and you find yourself staring at… a flower. A flower, complete with expressive little beady eyes and a sunny grin, is speaking to you. You're… not quite sure of the appropriate reaction to a situation like this, so you simply raise an eyebrow.
"Hey, there! I said 'howdy', didn't I?" repeated the flower, giving you a slightly condescending but still amicable grin. You reply with a nod.
"Well, how's about you greet back, huh?" it asked. "I'm FLOWEY. FLOWEY the FLOWER. You're a human, aren'tcha?"
You nod again.
"Oh, I see! I see! You must have fallen from that crater up there, down here into the Underground. Are you hurt anywhere?" queried Flowey, expression still chipper. You're moderately disturbed, but slightly more relieved to see a friendly face.
You nod. "My ankle is twisted… I can't really walk okay right now." you reply in a hushed tone of voice.
"Huh. Yeah, it might be a strain. Say, buddy- we magical talking flowers happen to have a special brand of… healing abilities. If I touch one of my magical healing leaves to your wound, I think it should be able to patch it up! Good as new! Just close your eyes for a minute or so."
Something about this seems kind of sketchy. Familiarly sketchy. But you can't place it. You nod cautiously.
Flowey suddenly retracts under the ground, before re-sprouting right beside your injured foot. You take a seat on the ground, raising your pant leg- gee, it's uncomfortable. You put the cricket bat aside.
You feel a stinging sensation when the leaf touches your wound. Your expression scrunches up in moderate pain and you shut your eyes tightly. If 'magic healing' always felt like stinging nettles and poison ivy, you weren't sure you wanted to be in a video game world at all!
Yet, suddenly, the pain cools. You're greeted by a sensation of numbness. Your expression loosens, and all you can feel is a slight tingle.
"Can I please open my eyes?" you ask. It's less unpleasant now, but you're a little worried about the state of your ankle. You hear a sound like sloshing water and apples being mashed into applesauce.
You… feel lightheaded. You suddenly feel a lot like sleeping. All you need is just a nap to regain your bearings.
SHNK!
You cry out- suddenly, something sharp claws at your good foot and both wrists. Something that smells a little like fresh-cut roses.
"You iiiidiot." whispers a demonly rasp. You jolt open your eyes, only to see your limbs entangled by swirling, spiky vines. What was once the visage of a friendly-looking, almost cartoonish flower with a face has been replaced with hollowed-out eye sockets and a gaping, fanged maw.
"Ten more seconds. Ten more and I'll have absorbed one human soul! I can escape this place, finally. Go to sleep."
Your vision is getting foggier and foggier.
What… should you do?
(Thank you for reading the first chapter of Above! If you enjoyed it, please leave a review! All criticism is really appreciated!)