Finn wheezed his way up the stairs as his pampered and underdeveloped leg muscles valiantly tried to keep his feather-light frame aloft, every new step feeling like a mountain to cross—then, in the distance…light! Finally! After twenty four whole seconds of pain and fear and loose hair strands falling into his watery eyes, Finn took one last shaky step forward and emerged into open air.
He stood very still and blinked a couple of times, taking in his new gloomy (but not as gloomy as before) surroundings: large, ivy-covered stone walls towered on both sides of him and some straggly trees. Opposite him, he could see the beginnings of what appeared to be a courtyard peeking from behind the right wall's corner. Not enjoying the proximity of dead foliage and lurking mold spores, he decided to patter onwards, even when his bare feet wrinkled in revulsion as they made contact with the dirt on the ground. A crow that was perched on one of the dead trees' branches—unseen by Finn because he was concentrating too hard on walking in a continuous direction—became spooked by his ghostly paleness as he passed underneath it and flew away loudly with fright. This made Finn upset again, as it reminded him of the thing in the cellar, and he very nearly sat down next to the wall to calm his sky-rocketed blood pressure but a worm was in the soil there so he just kind of squatted instead.
This rest was very short-lived as his legs began to wobble only seconds after, so he just said "Blast it…" and went into the courtyard instead. An old castle now loomed before him, making him think of Harry Potter. There was even a big old tree there, too, except this one didn't move when he went near it. Beyond this there was a kind of fountain with…what, is that water? Was water supposed to be green? Finn didn't really know. He assumed water was always supposed to be blue, but, then again, his mother had once given him orange-coloured water to drink before. It had tasted delicious. Standing next to the fountain with a look of absent-minded fascination on his face, he seriously considered the idea of him drinking some of the water, just to see what flavour it was. Sadly, the thick bushes which surrounded the fountain proved too dense to wade through, and all he was able to get after all his hard work was a thorn stuck in his pinky toe.
Cold and miserable, Finn began to yearn for the comforts of civilization. How many hours—or days—had he been stuck here? How much time had passed since he had seen his parents? When was the last time he had eaten!? The horrible cruelty of it all descended upon his feeble psyche and he started blubbering again quietly, little diamonds falling from his long-lashed eyes and making dark spots on the exposed earth at his feet. Turning away from the fountain in complete anguish, through tear-clogged eyes he managed to see something he hadn't noticed before; was that…it couldn't be…ANOTHER STAIRCASE!? Oh, how the universe was punishing him. He couldn't even imagine having to climb up another one of those things so soon with the last ascension's pains still fresh in his mind.
"But stairs usually mean people," said a small voice of semi-reason deep inside of him. He stared blankly ahead, not really getting the statement's point.
"What do PEOPLE mean, Finn?" the voice added.
Finn thought very hard before he spoke: "…Food…?"
Yes. Yes, that sounded right. The thought of food instantly evaporated his woe and gave him new strength. He smiled for the first time since waking up.
"Yes, good boy," the voice in him whispered,"go up the stairs. Enter the castle. Soon…I will be free…."
"Huh?"
"What?"
"What…what was that last pa—"
"Nothing. Nothing at all. Just…just go."
Finn heard a little "pop" in his head and the voice disappeared.