(Forgive me, I haven't written anything in ages.)
Leita stirred in her sleep, one hand going straight to her yawning mouth as she sat up, her eyes still unopened. "Dad, you have to get up, or you'll be late fo-" She was interrupted by a strange sensation as she put her hand back down to her side, after her morning stretch. It wasn't like the sheets of her bed, or even like the soft cotton of their couch, it was slightly... rougher.
She peeked through her eyelids, only for them to be shot fully open a second later. The world around her was dark, lit only by faint turquoise glowing coming from slithering vines and large, scattered toadstools, which were growing precariously on the black slate ground that filled the chasm she stood in. Underneath her was a large patch of moss, it glowed a vibrant, pulsing blue, and crept down the chasm walls, inhabiting the shelves as it went.
Despite the seemingly damp cave environment, it was warm. A gentle breeze carefully swept through the chasm every few minutes, blowing up to the shelves where the foliage, and Leita, stood. However the warm air seemed to carry a heavy pressure with it, the type Leita had only felt when she had been diving in deep water. And, with every breath she took, it left a menthol-like feeling in her throat, something she wanted to be rid of as soon as possible. "Well," Leita started, standing up slowly, taking another hesitant breath, "I'm definitely somewhere out of state."
She took a step closer to the edge, clinging tightly to a vine that dangled sporadically from the low roof, and peered over the edge. It was void of any light, even with the various plants that she could make out, near to what she assumed was the bottom of the chasm.
She scooped up a tiny shard of the slate, that had been chipped from the wall beside her, and dropped it down the abyss before her. She waited patiently for a ding, or a clack, but nothing happened. The shard just kept falling. That was until, it hit something at the very bottom. It echoed back, then fell silent for a few moments, before a low growl rumbled through the caves. The fungus around her started humming, glowing brighter, and the ground shook slightly. Then, everything fell completely, and eerily, silent.
Leita carefully stepped back from the edge, trying to be as quiet as possible. Whatever that was, she didn't want anything to do with it. But, in her cautious haste, she didn't see the bag sitting behind her, and ended up tripping backwards, knocking her back on a slimy wall fungus. She paused for a moment, hoping whatever creature lurked in the depths hadn't heard her. A minute passed, or maybe ten, before she felt safe enough to continue on.
"Ugh," she quietly exclaimed, her face scrunching in disgust as she watched the slime drip off her arms, onto the floor beside her. She didn't even want to think about the slime dripping down the back of her shirt. Instead, she set about wiping her arms on the moss. It wasn't long before the bag she had tripped on finally caught her eye.
When she was confident enough that she had removed enough slime from her arms, she shuffled forward and lifted the bag off the ground. Unbuckling it proved to be more difficult than necessary due to the sticky residue leftover from the fungus. But, once it was open, Leita reached inside and carefully took the contents out, one by one. Some kind of protein bar, a bottle of water, and a tin with a weird screw cap. She tried to open it, but the slime was, once again, making it difficult. Oh well, she thought nonchalantly, I can always try again later, when I find something to clean this gunk off with.
Each item fit back into the bag perfectly, though now coated in a sickening substance, and Leita flung it over her shoulder. She glanced back at the empty chasm once more, before setting off down the only path she could have, straight ahead.
After a few minutes, the foliage became sparce, the air started to cool, and the low-pressure, menthol air had almost completely gone. While it was harder to navigate in the dark, Leita was glad she could finally breathe well.
Even though she wanted to call out, to see if her dad was nearby, she was adamant about staying quiet until she was a safe distance away from the monster from the depths. Luckily, her trail of thought, or lack thereof, was interrupted by the sound of her foot hitting something, followed by metal being scraped across the stone flooring. She bent down, tapping the ground around her, searching in the darkness for the object. As her hand came into contact with the cold metallic surface, she flinched back a little, before confidently reaching forward and picking it up. The sharp edge snagged her palm a little, causing her to wince. Thankfully, her other arm, which had a hold of the handle, was just strong enough to stop it from thundering to the ground. "Is this... a sword?"
Next to where the slightly rusted sword had been, sat the sheath, made of dulled, imprinted leather. The sword itself fit perfectly into it, and it fastened well to Leita's torso.
She continued on through the black slate cave, the dripping walls threatening a noxious smell at worst, and a slip hazard at best.
She couldn't see the liquid itself, or even feel it as her outstretched arm infrequently bumped into the cold walls. But, she could hear the small droplets tumbling to the ground, splashing onto the meticulous flooring below, creating small pools in the rock.
Occasionally, she would tread in such pools, and they would soak through her crocs, leaving a sticky film throughout the rubber.
Gross, she thought, as she trunged through another puddle,
I can't wait to get out of here.
Eventually, she came towards the end of the seemingly endless, one way, tunnel. Light started to glitter across the walls, touching the surface of the rocks delicately, bringing out a deep purple that was hidden beneath.
"Wow," Leita breathed loudly, her arm slowly retreating towards her body, to join her other hand clutching the bag's strap, as she could now make out the shapes surrounding her. It reminded her of being inside an ocean wave at dusk, the way it sparkled with each step.
A small gasp drew her attention to a more important subject. "Dad!" She exclaimed loudly, running towards the light that grew brighter and brighter. "I found a really cool sword in h-"
Her sentence was cut short as she ran out into the blinding sun, onto an insanely narrow ledge. Her leg shot over, causing her to stumble back, falling into a sitting position. She breathed heavy breaths, shuffling back into the relative safety of the cave opening.
That was close...
A sharp, shooting pain spread up the back of Leita's calf, causing her to wince. "Haah, that hurts a lot more than a jellyfish sting."
The wound wasn't deep, but it did start to bleed heavily. It trickled down her leg and ankle, into her shoe, mixing with the goop that had already filled it.
"Maybe this has something I can use," she said, sliding the bag into her lap and opening it to explore the contents. She, unbeknownst to her, had the same contents as everyone else; one bar, one bottle, one tin of balm.
Unscrewing the tin unleashed a scent that contradicted her environment. It smelled almost like... "Disinfectant?"
She dipped two fingers in, rubbing the balm between her fingers, close to her nose. It definitely smelled medical, and she didn't see and reason
not to use it. As she pulled her fingers away, she noticed two numbers apparently tattooed on her palm -
69.
"Ah?" Leita questioned, hastily dropped the tin to her side, rubbing her palm with her other hand. "I don't remember getting this tattoo..."
A sharp, and very painful, throb came from her leg, distracting her from her previous thoughts. She had something more important to deal with right now.
She took her shirt off, revealing the top half of a one piece swimsuit, decorated with a turtle motif, and her original tattoos.
After gently placing the shirt her lap, she set about rinsing the stinging wound with the water in the bag, after giving it a quick sniff and a little sip, just to be sure it wasn't anything else. Then, she slathered the balm over it, quickly tying her shirt around it tightly.
She used a small amount of the water to swish the slime and blood from her shoe, before putting it back on her foot. She tucked the rest of her supplies back in her bag and stood up, setting about making her way down the side of what appeared to be a mountain.
There wasn't any kind of path, except for one at the very bottom of the mountain. However, she wasn't as high up as she had previously thought, there was a good chance she could climb down, especially now her leg was feeling slightly better.
