Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Another day began at the small town of Ebott, the sun rose from behind the mountain and the birds had already woken up. But Far away from the city, Chara was still in bed. The sun rays shone through the window, but her body wasn’t ready to wake up yet. “urgh” she moaned, rolling in bed and feeling her soft sheets. She could see the light brighten up her room from her closed eyes, but she forced them shut, ‘I should buy some curtains,’ she thought, trying to fall back asleep, but she knew she never remembered to do so.

Eventually her back began to sore, and Chara could feel her pillow getting hotter and the blankets starting to itch. She grunted and pushed her blankets off the bed and began sliding off the former. She stayed there like this for some moments, back still in the mattress and legs hanging out, she stared at her stained yellow ceiling for a bit, wondering if living was really worth it.

She had bills to pay, so it kind of had to.

The girl sat up and stretched, feeling her joints pop and her back pain starting to go away. She got up and headed to the small bathroom on the right side of her room. It wasn’t anything fancy, the walls were made of white tiles with some yellows and pinks, there was a tub with a shower and a toilet with a sink. All the furniture had this weird look to it, as if someone tried to modernize an 1800 house with little to no knowledge, which in this case is what happened. She took off her pajamas and headed to the shower. The bathtub was big enough that she could just lie and sleep there, and she almost did, before the icy water slapped her in the face. “I hate this shower” she grounded shivering, it had been broken for some weeks by now and she didn’t know how to fix it. So, she was stuck with cold water. ‘Next time I go to the city I’ll buy a new one’ she kept chanting it in her head trying to make it stick, it didn't.

She finished her business in the bathroom and started dressing up. She opened her wardrobe and picked up her classic farm attire, a yellow and green button-up shirt, big black boots and brown overalls. It was a bit old, but she couldn’t bring herself to throw it out, it was the first thing she bought when her parents left her the farm and it had been her favorite ever since. Near the foot of her bed there was a chair with her freshly clean uniform. A simple white shirt, black pants and green overall. Even though taking care of a farm should be a full-time thing, she didn’t earn near enough to sustain herself, so she found a job in the city.

Chara walked down the stairs and made a beeline to the kitchen, it had a yellowish tone on the walls and the floors were made of white tiles, a hassle to keep clean. The woman went to the fridge and picked 2 eggs and some butter. Her kitchen was a bit small, but it had all the essentials, a white fridge with a 50s style covered in magnets, a black stove with an oven, a sink and some cream-colored wood cabinets where she stored her pans. On top of the sink there was a window with the curtains open, there she could see the forest that surrounded the farm and the mountain. Part of that forest was also hers, but the rocks and trees were too hard to get rid of.

The forest was big and dense. It started with some skinny trees but soon began to darken as you walked. The tree trunks were tall and robust and had a grayish brown tone, they were covered in a green moss that would sprout yellow flowers in the spring but that now were starting to rot. You could only see their leaves if you looked up. The foliage covered the sky forming patterns like a puzzle that only let the smallest sunshine rays pass through. It was easy to get lost there as the dirt path was dark and confusing, leading you to the middle of the mountain and ending right after the top. There was a reason Chara’s parents kept her inside as a kid.

Chara opened a drawer and grabbed a small pan. She broke the eggs, added butter, salt, pepper and began scrambling. She looked out of the window and admired the horizon while her eggs cooked. The sky was gray with rain clouds. The wind danced with the dry leaves in the ground, the sun could be seen poking from holes in the sky, it looked like a classic fall morning.

She finished her eggs and put them on a piece of toast, rolled it on a napkin and it was time to go. She walked to the living room and out the door and made her way into the barn on the right side of the farm. The grass was spiky and badly cut, the bald patches on the grass showed years of walking made by her family. The place was as old as her parents. Chara’s mom once told her that it was built by her great-great-great grandfather, who after a war needed a place for him and his wife, so they built this place as a symbol of their victory.

Eventually she arrived at the barn. It was a bit smaller than her house, painted classic red and white. That's where Chara stored all the things that didn’t fit in the house. She opened the heavy wooden door and got inside. The floors were made of a dark wood, the walls were old, and the ink was already peeling off. The ceiling was high and full of spider webs and abandoned nests. On the left there were some wooden boxes filled with construction tools and on the right, she had the animal’s food. “What the-” she said seeing the barrels fallen on the ground, “for god’s sake, again??” she walked to the barrels annoyed. Both food barrels were fallen on the ground covered in scratches and nibbles, something tried really hard to pry them open. “That's the last straw!” she screamed to the barn walls “Today I’m bringing some rat poison!” She spoke to the little holes in the walls, where the little things would come at night “Enjoy your day cause it’s going to be the last!!” she kicked one of the tiny holes near the ground, but whoever lived there didn’t seem bothered.

The girl sighed, picking the barrels up, “I hate these things” she muttered “so much food outside but they still try to steal mine….” Chara lifted the last barrel. She cleaned her hands in her apron and felt her phone in her pocket, picked it up and turned it on ‘I’m gonna be late at this rate…’

~

Chara worked fast. She fed her chickens and bunnies, cleaned their little areas and changed to her work clothes. Soon enough she was climbing into her truck, ready for work. Chara turned on the engine and started driving. Her truck was one of those small farm trucks with a cargo back, it was painted a baby blue and was full of stickers on the rear. It usually took about an hour and a half for her to get to the city, while on the road she liked to listen to her tunes and admire the horizon. The first 30 min the road was made of dirt and surrounded by the forest. The tall trees cast a shadow on the road and it got dangerous when it rained. Sometimes if you were lucky, you could see deer running around and trying to cross the road. After that the road was paved and you could see the vast flower camps where animals came to graze. You could also see the mountain if you looked back, bit and green in all its majesty. It is said that long ago creatures lived on that mountain, but after a war they all disappeared from everywhere. It was one of the most well-known folktales in the region, also one of the biggest reasons they had so many tourists in the summer. ‘bullshit’ Chara called it the first time she heard that, ‘how could a whole species just disappear in thin air? They could at least make it more believable’ she huffed out of the window.

She kept driving as the trees passed by, humming with the song on the radio. It was tiring to drive for so long every day, but she enjoyed her time alone. She already had too many social interactions in her daily job, enough for the whole week. Finally, she arrived in the city. It was a classic tourist city, not very big but with a lot to do. She worked at a coffee shop in the middle of the city, a very fancy business that underpaid the employees. Chara arrived and parked, she took some minutes to mentally prepare herself before starting her shift. The store was big, it had a big kitchen on the back and a lot of tables near the window on the front, like a 90s style cafeteria. She could already see the usual customers, an elderly couple that liked to sip some coffee while people watching, a blonde woman with an office look and some teenagers skipping class.

“You are late” a bald man stood behind the counter staring her down. “There was some traffic ok” she lied, “it's only 7 minutes” she grabbed her work hat, it was green with the store logo on it. She went behind the counter and started taking the clients orders. It was a bit boring and tiring, at least most people didn’t like to chat that early, Chara also was not the most charismatic one and didn’t like talking to people. Her parents always found it a bit worrying, it was one the reasons they didn’t want to give her the farm. An isolated area where she would be alone for 70% of her day? A nightmare!

As the day went on the line grew and grew and eventually, they had to call another person to be cashier. ‘Why do people like coffee so much?’ she asked herself while counting the money a client gave her.

It was a coincidence she got to work here. Some years ago, when she had just got the farm, she was looking for a job to help with the bills when she stumbled in the shop. It wasn’t like this when she started but as it got popular the owner made it ‘fancy’. ‘another word for expensive and mediocre food’ Chara laughed at her own joke. “Excuse me? Are you listening to me??” Chara was snapped away from her own thoughts by the lady in front of her, “oh uh, yes” she tried to remember the order “it was… a latte, right? A Grande” she looked at the cup in her hand “I said a MOCHA, are you even paying attention??” the lady grunted, crossing her arms. “I’m sorry ma’am, your mocha will be ready in a few minutes” Chara sighed and finished writing on the cup.

And the day went on, she got yelled at, talked to some nice people and made enough coffee to smell like one for the rest of the month.

~ 

It was around 7:30 when she arrived home, her feet were sore from standing for so long and she smelled of coffee and caramel.

Chara got out of her truck and walked inside, feet dragging on the ground as she made her way upstairs. ‘One day I’m gonna get so much money I’ll be able to scream at whoever I want’ she said, already yawning. She flopped in her bed face first, still in her uniform not bothering to change or take a bath. Her eyes were heavy, and she could feel her pillow calling her name, slowly she crawled to it and rested her head against the soft cushion. She took off her shoes with one foot and reached for her back to take off her bra. The girl sighed with relief and soon enough she was in a deep slumber.

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Chara was in her room sitting in her bed. It was dark and the curtains were open, letting a faint light come in. The shadows danced around corners of the room and she couldn’t find her door. On the right side of her bed there was a bedside table with a clock in it, “3:30” she read out loud, but the voice didn’t come from her. A shadow crossed her room in a blink, ending in the corner where her door should be, it was a blob of black mass that fused with the darkness. It pointed outside of the window where the forest started, “I should go for a walk” Chara said, but her mouth was closed. Slowly matter got bigger and bigger, it mixed with the shadows around the room, as if to surround her. A white face appeared in the middle of the dark, like a full moon, it opened its mouth and gave a smile as dark as the night, “I’ll go after him”.

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Chara felt herself fall and then hit the ground with a loud THUD. She was tangled in her blankets and her sheets were falling off the bed. “What the fuck…” she rubbed the sleep off her face, feeling herself sweat. “what was that…” she rubbed her neck, sitting up.

The dream was already starting to fade in her mind when she got an uneasy feeling. For some reason, she decided to look at her bedside clock, “ 3:07…” she spoke softly. she thought for a second, looking at the corner where that thing was, remembering that face, white as bone. Didn’t she say something? about someone? Was it even her? Where was it pointing at?

The clock now was 3:08. She knew she couldn’t just go back to sleep now. The girl untangled herself and got up, her eyes stuck to the window. Outside, near the end of her property there was the trail leading to the forest and the mountain. It looked fairly normal, a unused dirt path that would lead you to the middle of the tall trees and make you get lost, but her odd feeling stayed.

At 3:11 she was walking out her door still in her work uniform, with the addition of her knee-high boots and a coat. She began walking, following the dirt path and using her phone as a flashlight. Soon the sky was hidden by the trees and the lights of her house were mere pinpricks in woods. It was now 3:15

~

By her measurements, she was almost at the end of the path. That odd feeling kept growing as she went further and further inside the forest. “What the fuck I am doing, that’s how people get eaten by bears” the girl huffed, out of breath, she was running at this point. And then she reached the end, 3:30 am.

The path broke into smaller dirt paths that would end in a clearing. It was surrounded by big rocks covered in moss and the tall trees circled it leaving an opening for the moon light. It looked almost magical. “Ok, I’m here” she looked around “there’s… nowhere else to go” she spoke louder, maybe to someone.

She waited some more minutes in the clearing, the wind wasn’t as strong up there but the trees made the air much colder. ‘GOD WHAT WAS I THINKING’ she shoved her hands in her face, covering her shame ‘ I’m gonna fucking FREEZE here, why did I even come here for????’ she hugged herself, shivering.

She started walking to warm up, there had to be something here, ‘ NEVER in my life have I climbed this mountain, why did I decide to do it now??? Out of nowhere??? Because of a DREAM? I don't even know what it was about!’ Chara started running in circles around the clearing. She looked between the rocks, around the trees, searching for something, anything that would make her feel less crazy. Suddenly, her feet stuck on something, and she fell. She stretched her hands to grab her fall and protect her face, but her hands got caught in the gravel . “Great” she felt her palms Hurt.

The girl slowly got up, her hands were red had little nips where the rough ground had cut her. “This night only gets worse and w-” she looked down to where she had tripped.

There on the ground, hidden by the rocks.

Covered in vines and moss, was a corpse.

“…” she stared, mouth agape and paralyzed. “Oh my god” she whispered, taking some stops back. “Oh my god I found a body” she stared at it, thoughts running wild.

As if she remembered she was alone and far away from any ears, she screamed “ OH MY GOD I FOUND A DEAD GUY. WHAT DO I DO? WHAT DO I DO???” She ran in circles around the deceased. “Should I… should I call an ambulance??? The Police?? What if they think I killed it??” She desperately searched for her phone but forgot where she put it in her panic.

Her eyes were brought to the dead body, her phone was resting face down, right on the person's arm. She thought for a second, “I’ll have to call someone anyway…” she said crouching. She kneeled down and reached for her phone, finally giving a good look to the corpse. It… was a skeleton. The face was white and smooth, no skin or meat in sight. It also… didn’t look human. Not fully. The face was too round and the mouth was fused shut, with bone-y cheeks around it. “..weird” she finally said, “ at least it’s not actually a rotting corpse” She sighed in relief, touching her chest. Chara then stretched her hand in the direction of her phone, and when she finally had it, her finger glazed the skeletons radius

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It was about 3:40 when deputy Huntsman saw the explosion. He was circling the town, doing his last patrol before the end of his shift when he saw a red explosion. It lit up the mountain Like dozens of fireworks without any smoke, and then it faded. “Uh, Jorge” He called in his radio, “ we might have to go have a look in the mountain” he said, still looking at the spot where it happened.

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Chara woke up with a headache, her head was pounding and her whole body was sore. Her chest especially, it felt like it was ablaze and she thought she was gonna puke. A light was coming from her torso, red and bright, but it disappeared when she moved.

“Ah…” she tried to get up, but her arms felt like jelly. Eventually she got enough strength to sit. The sky was already lighting up, the sun barely visible. “What… what that…” she held her head, waiting for it to stop spinning. ‘Did I step on a landmine… or something..?’ She looked around, but there was no sight of destruction. “urgh ….I'm gonna call in sick, i can deal with that later” she said, patting herself down for her phone. She then remembered ‘fuck it’s with the skeleton’, her brain was a bit Fuzzy. She decided to not mess with the body anymore, someone is gonna look for it eventually, and if they don’t, better yet.

She looked around for it, whatever knocked her out also threw it some feets away. With the help of a nearby tree she got up her feet again. Chara limped to the body, still with the phone somehow. She then reached for her hand and actually got it this time. “Ok, bye skeleton” she said, waving.

But then.

it moved.

It was subtle, if Chara wasn’t looking directly at it she would have missed. The skeleton’s chest went up, waited, and then down. It was breathing (somehow). 

Again, Chara was paralyzed. Her face contorted in a mixture of confusion and annoyance. She kept looking, to make sure she wasn’t imagining things, but then it happened again, up and down. She sighed, already regretting waking up in the first place. She should have stayed passed out. Chara then threw her phone in her pocket and approached the skeleton. It looked like it was wearing an armature. He had a chestplate on its torso, dark pants and metal shoes. Only its right arm was covered with iron, but both hands were protected. Under all of it it looked like it was wearing chainmail. It all looked a little rusty. On the right side of the skeletons chest was a weird symbol, some triangles and wings. ‘I think I saw it somewhere...’ she thought.

Well, I'm already here anyway. 

Chara put her hands under the skeleton and lifted it, bridal style. It was surprisingly light.

She then went down the dirt path making her way home, but this time with a corp-skeleton in her arms. She didn’t have any close neighbors, but she begged heaven to not bump into anyone on her way down. “The mountain was… surprisingly ok” she said, “maybe mom was exaggerating” she walked as the sun rose in the sky. 

Without her noticing, the dirt path behind her began to fade, being covered in grass, as it had always been.