I'm not one of you <Frans>

CHAPTER 15: The Woods

Time: unknown.
First day in the underground.

I ran my hands along the crevasses of the old brick buildings, feeling the gorgeous detail and brushing the ivy with my fingertips growing along the walls. Everything here had grown so deserted, what had looked like puzzles all throughout the ruined area; looked frantically solved and sloppily thought through. As if in a rush. Lots of mistakes lied in puzzles, obvious errors.

What happened here? I would hope that children didn't have to go through these alone.

Every few yards or so would lie another dust pile, heavy dust that had the same chemical readings of LOVE. There were 2 other substances inside most of them that caused an ERROR to appear on the small device I carried. Standing up from another pile, my lips were brought to a flat line, and I huffed, frustrated, out of my nose. I couldn't understand! What am I missing?

Despite all of these buildings, not a single civilian could be seen in sight. Did they move out of the ruined area and into a different area? They must have! Or something! This place looks abandoned, only about 3 weeks ago. Does this correlate to Chara?

Thinking about her hurt something inside of me. I was quickly becoming thirsty from all of this dust and walking. Dehydration was inevitable at this point.

Passing by yet another puzzle, the ruins were growing toward a close, or so it Seemed. The dust piles were growing more frequent, and I neared what appeared to be a house. A dead tree at the front, but the lights were on. The door was open, a dusty trail of dust lead it's way into the small cottage. "Oh! Finally!" I sighed in relief. I ran towards the house, knocking on the open door, and entering. "Hello! Anyone here?" I asked.

The house looked deserted too, only the furniture was new and only slightly covered in dust. Actual dust. Not this weird, Gray substance I keep seeing around in piles. "Hello? Anyone home? I need help!" I called. My voice carried through the house easily, and the thin walls echoed my voice, despite all of the furniture. "I'm trapped down here!" I called, towards the kitchen, after seeing a fireplace in the passing living room.

There was a book in the chair, along with reading glasses, neatly placed atop of it. '72 uses for snails'.

Looking in the kitchen, a large, cold, pie was placed on the counter, only partially cut. The knives were missing.
On the ground lied yet another pile of dust, only this one, a purple dress with a strange symbol lied on top of the large pile. This one was larger than any other pile I had ever seen.

What is this?

I asked my self over and over again, picking up the dress, and holding it up. It was obviously way taller than me, and bigger. Fit for an old, elderly woman. "It's official," I mumbled to my self. "Something strange is definitely going on. These strange piles of dust can't be just a coincidence." I mumbled to myself again, dropping the dress back down and into the dust.

Reaching hopefully over towards the sink, I was soon disappointed by the empty, squeaky sound of the faucet nozzle. Nothing but just came out of the neck of the sink. "So much for some water." I grumbled, turning the sink back off, and continued to sigh, looking at the mold growing on the pie. "So much for the food too." I said, my stomach growling.

Turning back into the living room, I quickly noticed the stairs leading down and towards the darkness of a basement. My curiosity got the better of me, and before I realized I moved my foot, my hand was touching the railing of the steps. "Hello?" I called into the darkness.

It didn't look like there were any lights on, but soon my hands started to glide down the railing, drifting down the wood and feeling the smoothness of the bar. With each step, I defended deeper, and darker into the basement of this stranger's house.

I need to know what happened to all of these people! If I could just get any clue! Any clue at all?!

My heart was beating fast, I held my device out to detect any readings. Nothing at the moment. This entire area was just so dark and desolate. "Okay. Just keep walking." I sighed to my shaking limbs. It wasn't the fast that I was shaking from fear, but rather, the sudden drop in temperature. It was well below freezing as I trekked further into the basement area.

"H....?" I tried to call out, but stopped myself as I neared a large, open door. The snow had pushed past, and into the corridor way, or so it seemed. Snow wouldn't have been able to push open those large doors, so what could have? "Snow?" I asked, obviously in awe at the marvelous sight. "Snow!" I called, running towards the snow in glee.

Snow means ice! Ice means water! Water means hydration!

As I ran up to the snow, I stopped myself, analyzing the situation. "If I'm in a basement, how the hell did it snow?" I asked myself, looking up at the well defined CEILING. Reaching down, I touched the snow, it was obviously in a liquidated form after melting in my hands. "Maybe something is producing some sort of micro climate?" I asked myself.

"Or maybe it's just ground water that seeps through the ground, and due to the coldness of the depths of this place, it condenses? Maybe even forms small clouds? That would explain the precipitation part." I said to myself, licking the snow off of my hands with wide eyes. "So good!" I laughed, licking the snow. "Oh! How I missed you! Water!" I laughed once more, standing up and brushing the snow off of my knees.

This way is probably the way out. Or even something. I wonder why this took Chara 2 weeks? I should have walked through at least a quarter of the mountain already. It hasn't even been an entire day!

Looking at my phone, which I quickly noticed was dead, I relapsed I didn't have a sense of time here, and my body was exhausted. How long had I been walking? How do you tell the time here?

I continued to walk through the doors, despite the coldness, I was able to deal with it by shaking and rubbing my arms. The walls of brick quickly turned to thick evergreens, reminding me of Christmas. In the snow ahead of me, I could see footprints. Round, oval-shaped ones. "Hello!!?" I called into the dense, wooded area. "Hello!? I'm lost! Is anyone there?" I asked, walking even more forward, climbing over a large, fallen tree branch, and towards what looked like a bridge.

I sighed, reaching the bridge finally, and crossing it. The footprints stopped. A gate that looked too big to stop anyone was placed around it, and beyond it, a broken lamp, and a destroyed wooden pile.

I haven't seen any dust piles yet. I wonder if that was really just the ruined area. This place is more desolate and quiet than where I just was!

Suddenly, my device begins to act up, and create lots of noise, despite it not pointing in front of me. I brought it out, pointing the small item in front of me, only to see it had went silent. With a questioning look, I turned back towards the thick forest, where the readings spiked in LOVE once more. The device started beeping rapidly, making loud noises that echoes through the desolate place.

"Hello?" I asked, the readings were getting bigger and bigger. The noises were getting faster and louder. I could see nothing in the forest. It was black. "Is someone there?" I asked, looking into the forest. I took a step forward, crunching loudly inside the snow, towards the direction of the readings. My heart was beating fast.

The readings stopped. And the device went silent.