Chapter 2

Ah, Our Unannounced Guest

The small, white, monster child cried as his sweater was caught up against a tree branch. He wondered why his journey had taken him here of all places. He had always been told the ruins were forbidden. But to see them up close was a treat on its own. He would have never agreed to go alone, and the stranger who insisted he be there led him on, making sure he was farther away and out of sight but still following.

"Are you sure that it's this way?" The small monster's voice trembled without wanting to. "What am I supposed to look for?"

There was a soft whisper, the monster that had been leading the boy did not want to be heard but by only the child. He pointed towards an archway from the darkness. There was only a blotch of light to be lead forward, but the little monster made his way through the crumbled archway and grabbed at it, securing his position on his dark journey.

The small child wanted to cry out and go home, he wanted to admit that he wasn't brave. It was true that the circumstances that arose for him to be there in the first place were odd, but most adventures had to have some sort of dilemma. He realized he was still clutching to a dusty pillar.

The small monster shook his head and made a whimpering sound. He sat down next to the pillar and averted his eyes from the little light there was with his warm sweater.

The soft whisper from behind spoke again, this time harsher than before, the monster always pointed towards the light, he spoke of greatness and fulfillment, an oath that needed to be kept in the family. When the child did nothing the monster in the darkness looked not with anger at the child, but stared only blankly. The tall, robed monster whispered things that terrified the child. The tall monster stepped back into the deepening abyss and could not be seen anymore.

The monster child wiped away a few tears with his arm. He was alone. He didn't know it yet, but what he feared most in life was the thought of being abandoned, with no one to care for him. It was at that moment he knew he had to run back home to his mother. Others might laugh, but what was that to him at that very moment? It did not help that he could barely see, and that his knees were shaking.

There was a scream.

The monster child violently looked towards where he thought the yell had come from. He closed his eyes, perhaps he had imagined it, but he only spooked himself further and opened them again. The boy weighed his options, he was terrified, every molecule in his body pulled him towards the way he came. But someone was in trouble. It would be the right- no, it was his duty to help those in need, as his father always told him. "It sounds like… it came from… over here…" His voice was shrill and rather shaken.

Even as perturbed as he was, the little boy took a few steps forward, closer to the light. His furry hands rubbed against themselves anxiously. He tried to speak but only a peep came out. His heart thumped hard against his small chest, a sensation he had never felt.

"H-he-hello?" He tried to speak but stuttered the question instead. He could feel a rhythmic beating on his temples, which he thought was his brain screaming to him when there came no answer. Closer and closer did he get to the light, he saw that it shined down onto a patch of mud and dirt. He stopped when he could see that something lay on top. "Oh!"

The small child ran towards the patch and noticed a strange looking monster, its head face flat on the mud. He reached for the stranger and picked it up by its arms. He heard it gasp loudly and it looked around, clearly confused at its surroundings. The small child looked up at the light and saw a small hole where a sliver of a root of a tree could be seen. "You've fallen down haven't you?" He tried to converse with the strange looking monster.

But to no avail, it only looked around with its mouth agape and gasping for air.

"Are you okay?" He tried to console the creature.

But it did not respond. Perhaps it did not understand when he spoke. That would be odd though, all monsters spoke the same language. The small child offered his other hand and said, "Here, get up."

The strange creature looked up at the small child and seemed to understand that time. It looked at his hand for a moment. And for a while it appeared as if he pondered something that had no real comprehension. But it finally took his hand and got up. They seemed to be about the same height.

"Where am I?" The strange creature wondered, eyes wide and mouth still open. Its voice sounded feminine.

The small child realized he still held hands with the stranger, blushed, and pulled his hands away lightly. "You mean, you don't know?"

The stranger shook her head. She had straight brown hair which complemented her also brown eyes, but surrounding them was red skin as if it was irritated. Her pants seemed torn and her shirt was ripped, exposing her side.

The small child noticed this and quickly took off his yellow and green striped sweater, "Here, put this on." He handed her his sweater.

The strange creature took it but reluctantly waited to put it on. She looked back at the small child's dark red eyes. They glimmered expectantly and even happily under the light.

She began putting the sweater on while the small child noticed something on the ground close to where the stranger had fallen. It was shiny and sharp.

"Thank you." She said, her gasps becoming normal breathing.

"Yeah!" The small child yelped unexpectedly, "Um, so," he hesitated, "You do know that we're in the Underground… right? I mean, you're a monster aren't you?" He said so uneasily as if he might know the answer.

Her eyes widened at the mention of monsters, "The underground?" She shook her head, "I'm a… human." Wearily she averted her eyes and looked around again.

The small child considered this a moment, "I guess I figured that." He smiled nonetheless, "What's your name?"

The human stranger looked up and lightly gasped. She was in shock for a few seconds, and the monster wondered if she even wanted to respond. "Chara." She said letting out a soft sigh.

"Chara huh?" Surprisingly the monster child smiled more widely than before, "That's a nice name." With the Underground's confidence he said, "My name is Asriel Dreemurr."