Step-crunch step-crunch.
"Does snow always sound like this when you walk through it?" Frisk huffed, tugging her leg free from the white mass. After fleeing with Flowey, the snow had become deeper and the woods thicker. Flowey hadn't said anything, but Frisk was sure they were hopelessly lost. Sans knew where we were going. Too bad he isn't here now.
Her next step plunged her into the snow above her knees. She groaned and began sweeping aside the snow with her hands. Her hands had lost all feeling.
"Want some help?" Flowey asked.
"Aren't you a little small to pull me out?"
"Just thought I'd ask."
Frisk threw herself forward, counting on her momentum to pull her free. Sluuuuuurp. She fell onto the snowdrift, only to feel it crumble away beneath her weight.
"Cliff!" Flowey howled as they tumbled through the air alongside clumps of snow. A roar filled her ears as tears streamed from her eyes. A torrent of inky water rushed up to meet her. She plunged into the river.
Freezing water closed over her head as bubbles exploded in her face. She flailed against the current. Her head popped above the surface.
"Flowey!" she gasped as water slapped her face.
"Here!" he called in her ear. Her shoulder had gone numb where he was clinging. "Swim to shore!"
Shore. Just swim. The pebbled shore was only a couple of feet away. Why isn't it coming any closer?
She lurched through the river, swallowing half of the water she crossed. Whenever her head vanished beneath the surface Flowey led her back to air. He was so small that he could not do much more than offer encouragement. What felt like a millennia later she flopped onto dry land.
"That's it, get it all out," Flowey coaxed as Frisk heaved. A stream of water seeped from her mouth. "You did great."
"Hate it," Frisk said. Her teeth were chattering so badly that she could hardly speak.
"I know, but you're going to be fine. See, your body is shivering. That means it's trying to warm itself up again."
"Can't feel the cold. All numb."
"You can't feel the cold at all?"
Frisk managed to get to her feet despite how badly she was shaking. Her head felt like she'd tried to get a million brain freezes at once.
"Frisk! Pay attention!" Flowey twisted himself so that they were staring eye to eye. Droplets glistened on his face and his petals drooped like limp rags. "You've got to start walking."
"Want to warm up."
"You can, but you've got to walk so you can do that."
Flowey's crazy. He's officially lost his mind.
"I know that look. Don't ignore me! Don't think, just one foot in front of the other."
It's like he can read my mind. Isn't that weird? Everything is so slow. I wonder if this is how a slug feels.
"Frisk!"
"Mm walkin."
She worked her way into the woods again, one grudging step after another. She couldn't tell if Flowey was still clinging to her shoulder. She didn't much care. Her mind was occupied by trudging in a slow circle, always cycling back to the same thought. Can't feel my feet. They're like bricks. There's nothing around. Just snow. Where's Sans? Still waiting? Or mad? Does he hate me? Can't feel my feet.
She had stopped shivering, which made it a little easier to walk through the snow. But that didn't change the fact that it clung to her feet in clumps. Her surroundings melted into a gray haze. She could barely tell that Flowey was talking, but most of the words didn't register in her mind.
"Walk . . . I'll make a fire . . . don't think . . . listen to my voice . . ."
"Frisk!"
A new shape disrupted the uniformity. Frisk shook her head slowly and forced her eyes to focus. Sans was standing before her, eyes flaming orange and fangs bared. His voice didn't register any better than Flowey's.
"Freaking idiot . . !" Frisk closed her eyes. When she opened them Sans stood even closer.
" . . . idiot . . . what are you . . . idiots into ice cubes . . . great job you're doing . . ."
Her eyes closed a second time. An iron force grabbed her shoulders and shook her, forcing her eyes to open again. Sans was holding her with his bony fingers. His eyes burned a vibrant red as he snarled.
"Stay . . . hear me . . . dead by dawn . . ."
She couldn't fight the drowsiness anymore. She collapsed forward into Sans' arms.
When she came to again, she was propped against a tree beside a pitiful fire. She was wrapped in some sort of black fur coat. Her eyes wandered to Flowey and Sans, who were standing a fair distance away. But exhaustion was too much and the world faded again.
She couldn't even muster the energy to open her eyes as something brushed her face. Low voices floated to her as she clung to consciousness.
"I don't care. Forget me. She's going to die."
"But you're plan is awful. I can do this. Leave it to me."
"You? You were leading her blindly through the woods! She was falling to pieces when I found you."
"But you want to take her back to the monsters who want to kill her!"
"So what's it going to be? Are you willing to let her die just because you won't trust me?"
The darkness pulled her into its welcoming arms.
