Frisk stood nervously at the foot of Mt Ebott forest, fiddling with her stripped sweater. She was all alone and was as miserable as a old man in a nursing home.

That morning, when she woke, she had confidentially said to herself, "This is the day. I will enter the forest and prove to all of those other kids that I am not afraid of Mt Ebott" It seemed so easy when she thought about it. Just walk out there and take small steps at a time. Not thinking about the monsters that lurked inside, hidden deeply in the forest waiting for their next victim to rip to shreds. Just set her sights on opposite side of gate and enter.

The confidence stayed with her for a while, she munched on a sandwich and drank some fresh water from the near by well. She smiled as she dressed herself up and helped her mother cook breakfast. She laughed as she walked past her friends, imagining how surprised they'd be when she told them how she ventured through the forest of " no return." The laughter faded as she passed through the two trees which signalled the edge of the village. There were small signs littered around the entrance, warning off anyone who was either brave or stupid enough to go in, probably the former rather than the latter. Rumours say that years ago, 6 children entered the forest of Mount Ebott, and were never found again. Rumours also say that the villagers spotted a goat-like monster and that it had killed the first child to go missing. The monster never made an appearance after that, but people are still afraid to get close to the cursed mountain. Frisk knew that thinking about the legends would only make her more doubtful, but her mind wouldn't let her pass without reminding her of the poor souls who died. When she saw the bold, big writing: KEEP AWAY! her stomach tightened and she moved a bit quicker.

She walked less confidently after that. But she was Determined to continue, the sun was sizzling, no clouds in the sky. All the monsters would probably be too hesitant to show themselves in the day. As long as she stayed in the open no harm could befall her. As she continued walking she noticed little wooden crosses buried deep within the earth, consumed by moss and mould. Frisk cringed and looked away quickly, feeling her head spin. Every child in the village knew that she was terrified of Mt Ebott forest, none expected her to ever cross the gate, others had done it before either as a dare or a trick and they would always come out bragging how brave they were or how scary it was. But today she'd prove them wrong! Frisk knew in her soul she wasn't a coward, last year, a little boy accidentally dropped his ball down a steep cliff, and frisk had climbed down and collected it. When she fell and cut her arm open once, and the blood was pouring out like wine, she hadn't cried, not even when the nurse stitched the cut closed, pushing a long curved needle in and out of her flesh. There was almost nothing physical frisk was afraid of. But monsters... Huge, blood thirsty... Beasts from the other world.. They were a different matter.

It was silly she knew, the monsters were dangerous, everyone agreed about that. Nobody ever let their children outside once the sun had set and most made sure they got back at least an hour earlier before night time. But no monster could roam freely by day, they are forced into the safety of the shadows, in the bushes and in the hollow stomachs of thick trees. As long as you didn't venture too deep into the forest, and stayed out of caves and other dark places, you were perfectly fine. All the children said so. And the fact that most of them came back, alive and uninjured at the end of each day, was proof that it was true. But frisk was scared despite all that. She could sense the monsters slithering through the earth like impossibly long, vicious snakes, scratching at the surface from beneath, always yearning to escape... capture... torture... kill...

Two claws scraped the back of her neck.

Frisk screamed and whirled around. Panting heavily, she skimmed through her surroundings spotting nothing but low hanging branches. She could practically hear the trees laughing at her. Shut up she thought angrily. Frisk took a deep inhale and exhaled slowly, not so certain now that she could continue. Frisk stared miserably at the forked branch that touched her, then at path, then down at her feet. She told them to move. A toe twitched, but otherwise her feet ignored her. She looked up at the path again, it looked ominous and sinister and it was pulling at her soul but she didn't move.

"I have to do it," she muttered. "They'll make fun of me my whole life if I don't."

Summoning all of her DETERMINATION, frisk forced her right foot to rise, then move forward. it hovered in the air and then came down... on the soils of Mt Ebott.