NovaTale

Chapter 1 - Alone

'Do I really wanna do this? Maybe if I wait back in that other room, someone will come and rescue me...'

Yes. For once in her life, she was going to do the smart thing. Backtracking, Frisk finally settled down where she'd  started. She tried calling for help. Tried waiting..... Eventually she'd been sitting there for what seemed like hours, hoping soon, someone would find her. Huddling up against one wall, legs pulled into her chest, Frisk wrapped her arms around the front of her calves and buried her face between her knees. Someone would find her eventually......

.....wouldn't they?

But nobody came.

Now, she was faced with a dilemma. 'Fuck it. I'm not waiting anymore. I'll end up starving to death before anyone even thinks to come looking for me.' she thought, rising to her feet once more and walking, ever steadily, down the corridor to the next room.

A heavy silence drummed at her, leaching from the walls to join the shadows that fled from the steady stream of light in the center of the room. She quickly walked through, reaching the next unfamiliar area with hesitation. Each scuff of her foot against the ground resounded through the room in an eerie cacophony of sound. There were several buttons on the floor and a plaque on the wall adjacent to it, joined also by a large closed door that she soon found was locked. Frisk walked up and knelt down, pushing down on one of the buttons. It depressed with a loud clack but did nothing else. 'How curious.' Her expression mimicked that thought before she rose and walked over to the plaque. It read "A square is the key." She eyed it confusedly. The only square she knew of was that square of flowers back in the first room, but she'd inspected it completely before leaving and hadn't found anything. Could it have something to do with the buttons on the floor? Turning around, Frisk studied the pattern made by the buttons and finally looked to the center. Yes. She could make a square by depressing certain buttons. That had to be the key. Walking back to where she'd first noticed everything upon coming in, she made her way to the first button. It was already depressed, so she moved to the second, rounded to the third and finally, the fourth. The door made an audible click to which Frisk smirked. She'd never been any good at puzzles, but riddles were another matter.

Pulling the handle, the hinges screeched loudly, doubled in volume by the cavernous walls and empty expanse of the space. It slammed behind her the moment she let go, causing her to jump nearly out of her shoes. Oddly, when she pushed against the door now, it wouldn't budge. A shadow of fear crept over her still frame, reminding her that a locked door meant she couldn't go back to the quiet safety of any of those rooms....

.....Lovely.

Pressing on, Frisk noticed this space wasn't near as dark as the others. Maybe someone else was down here after all? Stopping short, she stared at the rows of spikes that blanketed a bridge, blocking her way across. Frisk exhaled. How was she going to get through that? Another plaque hung on the wall to her left. "Outside, there is a road less traveled." She quirked a brow inquizitively. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?" she muttered, staring from the spikes to the plaque. "Okay. Outside is the key word here. But what would outside mean in the context of the riddle? It has to do something with these spikes, but what-..." she trailed off a moment before a thought occurred to her. "Wait... Maybe the outer edges?" Walking toward the spikes, she placed a careful foot atop one and it slowly slid down to become flush with the metal grate. When nothing catastrophic happened, and she obviously wasn't dead or injured, Frisk let out an audible sigh. Still, she was very cautious when pressing each spiked block down thereafter to walk upon it. When she'd finally passed the ocean of death, she turned back. This wasn't so bad! It was actually kind of fun... in a creepy, somebody could jump out of the shadows at any moment and kill her sort of way. Vines grew on the walls now, adorned with the same blue flowers from before. This time, Frisk picked one, placing it in her hair. It's scent was nearly intoxicating. Buttons on the wall with arrows that depicted where she should press, she went on to do so. The small spikes that lined the threshold of the doorway to the next room gave another audible clack. Each room gave her more and more confidence. She could do this. Yeah.... and she'd get out of here in no time! A few more rooms after, Frisk noticed what appeared to be a small star. It hovered brightly against the dark backsplash of the hallway. Hesitant fingers reached out to touch it; compelled. The star grew brighter the closer her hand came, and the moment she actually touched it, a glowing mist seemed to surround her, two boxes floating in front of her. One read 'Save', the other 'Reset'. Confused, Frisk extended her shaking fingers toward the save button. If this was referring to her journey thus far, she certainly didn't want to start over. Everything swallowed her in a wash of light, but she could swear she saw two black hollow spaces like eyes, one having a strange orange glow before....

Frisk sat up in her bed, panting. Sweating. She felt clammy from her head down to her toes. What was that? Flopping back into the pillow, one hand raised to fall over her eyes, covering them as she breathed deeply. It was just a dream.... but it felt so real. Oh well. It was over now, so there was no need to dwell on it. She had far too many things to do today rather than delving into what terrors were rooted within her subconscious. Sliding her legs over and off the bed, she got up to ready herself for a long day of dealing with obnoxious customers....

.... Yep. Work. What a wonderful idea.