I pulled out the box from beneath the bed and opened it up. The gold I'd saved from six years ago still remained where I had placed it, with only a small layer of dust. I emptied it all on the bed and started to gather the rest of the belongings I would need. Taking a backpack from the closet, I started to stuff a few of my striped shirts and sweaters in while wrapping them around the gold. I would finally get to put it to use once again and I hope that it would be enough to survive. Once that was in, there was just enough room for a pair of shorts, pants, and an extra pair of shoes. That would have to do until I got there.
I then changed out of my nightwear and into a warm pair of pants with a few layered shirts. The new shoes I bought that would withstand the hard climates were adorned next and I glanced at myself in the mirror. Six years and I still looked nearly the same as when I left. Spinning around I grabbed one more bag and began packing it, careful to get as much as possible in this most important bag.
The duffle was stuffed and every pocket was near bursting point, with enough clothes to last a few major growth spurts and diapers that would last a week before I'd have to switch to cloth ones. I'd made sure to pre-make a few bottles and get food that would last a bit so I wouldn't have to worry about her going hungry, then I zipped the bag. Finally, I dressed her in a few layers. Layers that I could easily get her out of when passing through the hotter climates of the Underground, then get her back into for the cold. Tucking her in a bundle of blankets within her car seat I sighed in relief. She slept peacefully still and I was thankful I wouldn't have to sneak out with a crying baby, when I would already have a difficult time with my hands being full.
I didn't want her to grow up here. I didn't want her to see how bad humanity could get, like I had in just six short years. It will already be hard to explain to her how her father wasn't in the picture because he raped her mother, let alone explain why everyone around seemed to only want to hurt and deceive others. No, it would be far better to teach her about monsters and how wonderful they were in comparison to the humans up here.
I struggled my way out of the building and made my way op the streets to the mountain. It was fall now and the cold was setting in from the night, so not many people were out to bother me on my trip. The walk seemed longer than I remembered but I made it just the same to the top where I had been as a child. This time though, it seemed less menacing.
The hole I fell into would be there sure, but I had exited another way in which I would use to return. Snaking up the covered path I found a side to the mountain that seemed untouched by the overgrowth and ran my hand along it. The barrier that split our two worlds, monsters and humans, shimmered under my skin. I would be able to pass though from this side, but never out again.
I sucked in the last breath of fresh surface air I would ever get, letting it fill me with determination to see those I missed for so long, and then I stepped in. The white space strained my eyes and I quickly hurried though to ease the pain. My feet met with stone finally and I released that surface air from my lungs. I was home.