Chapter Text
"Yeah?! Well you can shove that stick you have up your ass even further and suck my dick, ya milksop!"
"Yeah I bet you'd enjoy that, wouldn't you, you slut?!"
”Go eat shit and die!"
Making a bee-line for the door in the bar you no longer worked for, you turned around and flashed a middle finger to the douche who used to be your Manager and slammed open the doors.
“Have fun dealing with rush-hour without me, you pillock!” You yelled out to him, anger flashing in his eyes but was cut off by the slam of the doors. Still seething between your teeth, you snapped your head around and glared at the people who stared in shock. Those who made eye-contact quickly looked away and went on with their day, not wanting to deal with someone who looked like they'd just escaped from an insane asylum.
You huffed and turned to your motorcycle (250cc Retro Style, Ghost), which was parked in the alleyway between the bar and another store.
Was it illegal? Probably, but the cops never gave two shits about anything in the town anyway so it didn’t really matter.
The sight of your baby calms your nerves a bit, tension easing from your shoulders.
…
Heaving a sigh, you stepped over to the vehicle and gave the handle bars a loving pat.
“Hey sugar, we’re gonna go and take a loooong ride, yeah?” Smiling tight lipped, you grabbed the helmet decorated with assorted stickers and put it on, flicking the visor up so you could find and insert your keys more easily. You tugged on your finger-less gloves, rubber padding the palms and flipped down the visor again before turning the keys.
…
The familiar thrum of the bike was food for your ears, quickly kicking it into gear and pulling into the highway- but not without a certain someone’s final word.
"I'm gonna sue your entire bloodline, you bitch!"
You spotted Dale, your ex-manager standing on the sidewalk and glaring holes directly at you. He sported a pretty bruise on his jaw, and you had to say- It might have been your finest work yet.
You really didn’t like getting into fights, but you’d be damned if you let some people walk all over you. But, in your defense, you always waited for them to swing first.
As long as you stood one step ahead, they and their lawyers couldn’t do shit to you.
And that included Dale and his slimy hands.
You promptly gave him the bird and sped away, making sure to go the speed limit and watch out for other drivers on the road.
Just to be clear, you weren’t violent. If anything, you were polite most of the time and only got spikey when someone pushed you too far. It’s honestly just what any normal person would do.
…
The air that rushed upon your skin calmed you, adrenaline finally seeping away from your bloodstream.
…
A ride with Sugar always helped you calm down from, well- anything. It was like the air that flew past your head took your worries with it. Grinning wildly, the engine roared and you sped faster.
Soon enough, you were out of the small town of Ebott.
…
You didn’t exactly have much of a home to go back to, hotel hopping until you found the next place to go. The only reason you'd even picked up a job at Bottle Grounds, the Bar you’d just escaped, was because you were low on cash and needed it fast. They were pretty desperate for a worker so you got the job without even a glance at your resume. It seemed like a pretty sweet deal- that is until Dale decided that feeling you up would be a good idea.
You were sure that the bruise begged to differ on his ugly mug.
============
The road you cruised along is a long one, leading up and over the mountain called Mount Ebott, hence why the town below was also named the same. The town itself was small, population just over 1000. It didn’t seem like a small number by just looking at it, but taking into account that around 300 were teenagers and another 100 were kids, everyone knew just about everyone. Chances were that if you talked to a local, they would be related to half the town by cousin relations.
In hindsight, that was probably the reason you’d gotten so many odd looks from the older generations, seeing as they didn’t even remotely recognize you. You hadn’t minded, they were nice either way as long as you were polite.
…
It’s was nice day out today, you noticed. It wasn’t too hot, nor too cold. Just right. The wind was refreshing, the mountain air having just what you needed after the day you’d had. The sun was just crossing the high noon angle, though clouds blocked the rays from hitting you directly. You noticed that the highway went from concrete to a dirt road, but you didn’t think too much on it.
…Clouds?
Slowing down, you breathed in deeply through your nose. The scent of far off rain and wet earth hit you like a brick wall. It was going to storm soon, and most likely pretty hard. Shit. You weren’t anywhere near any shelter, and you didn’t want to leave your motorcycle out in the rain- it was bad for the leather seat.
You swivel your head around searching for any sight of a decent place to park and wait out the storm. Nothing but towering pine trees passed you, and soon enough you began to feel the drizzle of rain water flick your face.
Just when you were ready to groan in frustration, a dark, decently hidden trail appeared to your right up ahead. It was barely noticeable, grass having overgrown the small path but you were willing to try anything. Carefully, you slowed and turned into the trail, making sure to pay attention to where you were driving.
The trees seemed to almost cave in towards the path, creating an almost cavern-like roof over your head. Drops of water hit your face every now and again and it wouldn’t last if the storm got bad, but otherwise you were mostly dry. The trail became more and more overgrown, but you continued on. You were already this far in, might as well see where this path once led to.
Hopefully some shelter.
…
You weren’t sure when the trees became walls, or when the roof became stone. You’d only noticed when a large crack in the cave you were now inside shone light above, the storm raging outside with cracks of thunder and lightning. Taking a look at your surroundings, you saw why you hadn’t noticed the change of scenery. Vines, small plants and a few golden flowers decorated the caves inside. Moss layered the ground, and a few patches of grass revealed themselves here and there.
It.. seemed almost magical.
You turned the key to your bike off, the motor no longer making the purring noise you loved so much. You were left with the sound of rain pittering and pattering outside, as well as the whistle of wind between stones. Swinging your legs off of the bike, you were careful as to where you stepped. Despite being in a place where the outside could not touch, the moss was wet and most likely slick. You’d be pretty fucked if you slipped and split your head open on some random rock. You didn't know how far in the mountain you were, but it was a pretty desolate area. Your body wouldn’t be found for months, if at all.
Making sure you had a good foothold, you stepped off of your motorcycle and wandered around the closed area.
It truly was a beautiful place.
You’d always held a soft spot for nature, specifically for those areas that hadn’t been touched by human hands. It felt nice to know that places like this still existed, even in the booming economy era that seemed to rage all the time.
Looking closer at the walls, something glistening on the other end caught your eye.
“What.. is that?” Thinking out loud and squinting your eyes, the object was too covered by vines to be able to tell. You hummed and started walking towards it, soon seeing that it was some sort of vibrant, pink crystal. It seemed to almost.. Glow, even. Stepping closer as to move the vines aside, something inside told you that it was a bad idea.
But when have you ever listened to your survival instincts?
Maybe today would have been a good day to start.
As soon as you stepped closer to the gem, the moss gave way underneath you with cracking vines and dirt going down with you. Your stomach plummeted and you let out a sharp yelp in surprise, grasping to the nearest thing you could reach.
It seemed like whatever hole you were falling into was wider than you had anticipated, because whatever you latched onto came down with you. Fear crawled up your throat, stopping only when the thicker of vines halted your fall. Breathing heavily, you gripped the trunk-like ropes with enough strength to make your knuckles pale.
“H-holy shit- huff, holy shit. ”
Your eyes widening, you snuck a look below your dangling feet.
Darkness met your sight, not even a single pebble to be seen at the bottom. Terror shot up your spine once again, knowing you weren’t out of the woods yet. You were still hanging like a clutching koala above the pit, death showcasing itself quite prominently.
What a pickle you’d gotten yourself into this time.
Swallowing whatever fear you had down, you slowly- slowly, placed a hand in front of you. Shifting just as slow in a crawling position, you paused to make sure you were still secure.
When nothing moved or creaked for a moment, you pulled yourself closer to the edge of the opening. One hand after the other, you took your time as carefully as possible. It was difficult with your shaking hands, but you willed yourself to keep going. Thankfully, the vines themselves weren’t as slick as the moss was, so you had a fair amount of grip.
Your arms were starting to burn from the exertion being placed upon them, but you ignored it to the best of your abilities and grabbed another vine to pull yourself up. The edge was just an arm's length away.
A crack of thunder welted across the sky, and rain began pouring on you. Whatever had kept the water from leaking in was no longer there, and the crack in stone above you now pelted plops of rain on your skin and greenery around you.
Great.
Determination fueling your movements, you continued to army crawl towards the edge.
But, it seemed you greatly miscalculated how the rain would affect the grip of the vines around you to the edges.
The vine you’d grabbed and pulled slid from its place as you were about to rest on it again, heart tossing itself into your throat. You tipped forward, and you scrambled to find another object to hold onto, but nothing met your hands. Gasping, your body fell out of the cradle of vines that had just a minute ago saved your life.
Life was a bitch sometimes, wasn’t it?
A shrill scream ripped from your throat, echoing on the walls as you went into a free-fall down into the dark caverns below.
Soon, everything became dark,
Darker,
And yet, even darker.