Chapter Text
Cold.
Why is it so cold?
The cold seeps into your limbs, making it impossible to move.
Your fingers are numb.
Why is it cold?
Why can’t you open your eyes?
Open your eyes.
Open your eyes!
Open. Your. Eye-
You gasp and open your eyes. All you can see is white. The cold from your dream is still there, making you regret wearing shorts. Slowly, you sit up and look at your surroundings. You were lying face down in a fresh layer of snow, which explained why you only saw white. Trees surround you. Huge conifers that you can barely see the tops of. Why are you in a forest? The last thing you remember was falling asleep on your couch. Now you’re here. Only you don’t know where ‘here’ is. ‘Okay’, you think. ‘Breathe. Either you’re dreaming right now or.. Who knows. But there’s no point to freaking out. Just breathe.’
Slowly you stand up and look to the sky. Or rather.. The lack of a sky. What looks to be a cave wall is all you can see when you look up, not the familiar blue you’re used to. ‘What cave has snow and an entire forest inside it?’
A shiver runs down your spine. It’s really cold. And while you are wearing a long sleeve shirt, it’s thin and does nothing to block out the wind. (How is it windy in a cave?) Not to mention, you’re wearing shorts and socks. No shoes as you were in your own house sleeping. The snow seeps into your socks, freezing your toes one by one. It’s probably best to move around and try to warm up, rather than become a human popsicle. You decide it would probably be best to not walk through the trees, and rather continue down what looks almost like a path. The path is empty, save for a branch in the middle. Strange, you feel like you’ve seen this path before. Although you decide to dwell on the weird feeling of deja-vu after feeling returns to your limbs.
You walk slowly, trying your best to ignore the feeling of pins and needles in your legs. The snow crunches softly beneath your feet, but you’re not sinking into it too much. Thank god for that. The last thing you really wanted right now was to be wading in snow that went up to your knees. When you get to the branch you stop. It feels eerily familiar, although you’re not sure why. You try picking it up. Holy christ it’s heavy! Sure you’re not the strongest person in the world but you were sure even someone like you could pick it up. Oh well, guess it’s staying on the ground. Pity..
You keep walking. At the rate your body is freezing up, you’re worried you won’t last more than another 20 minutes before dying in the cold. You hug your body as you walk, hoping that’ll help stave off some of the cold. You can only hope that there’s something nearby that will help you warm up. Although you’re not sure what that could be. If only you had cell service. Wait..
You put your hand into your shorts pocket. Bingo! You must’ve put your phone in your pocket before falling asleep. You pull out your phone, but not without feeling a sharp pain in your finger. You inhale sharply and look at it. Blood is trickling down your index finger. Carefully you put your hand back into your pocket. There’s something flat, smooth and cold in there. Carefully you take it out. It’s a razor. Blood shines lightly on the edge. You shudder slightly before pocketing it again. You don’t remember putting that in your pocket, but you’re definitely keeping it there for now.
You hear a low crunching sound from behind you. You spin around as quickly as you could, but see nothing. No footsteps either. Only the branch a good 10-20 feet away from you. You shrug before turning around and continue to walk. Must’ve been your imagination playing tricks on you. That and the cold. You check your phone while walking. As you expected, no service. But it does say the date. It’s the same as the date from when you were at home. At least you’re not stuck in the future where everyone you love is dead or something, which is a slight relief.
You hear the crunching come from behind you again, before a low voice starts talking.
“h u m a n. . .”
Startled, you turn around quickly. Immediately you realize why the stick was familiar. Why you seem to know this area even though you’ve never been here before. Before he can say anything else, you open your mouth and speak.
“Sans?”