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Abigail had always felt called by the mines, hidden in the mountain where her best friend Sebastian lived. It wasn’t minerals or gems that she was interested in, even if she wouldn’t complain if she were to find an amethyst or two down there. What her heart ached for was a battle with monsters, real monsters.
She was an adventurous and highly energetic girl, much to her parents’ distress. Ever since she found out about the existence of the mines, reopened shortly after the farmer’s arrival to the valley, she had been looking for an opportunity to sneak in and fight like the warrior she knew she was.
Just like every Friday, she went out to hang out with Sam and Sebastian at the Stardrop Saloon. They played around, cracked some jokes, shared a few snacks, just like they always did. Except this time she didn’t go back home at 09:00 P.M. like she usually did. She took her bag, where she hid a dagger and a flashlight, and headed to the mines.
It was far darker and dirtier than she anticipated. Having the flashlight helped, although the light could only go so far, and there still were parts that remained completely dark. She held her dagger tight and kept walking, hearing her own heartbeat in her ears.
The first couple levels gave her no trouble, but as Abigail made her way deeper and deeper into the mines, she started to regret not taking a better weapon with her. Even a rusty sword or a heavy rod would have been better than her dagger. As sharp as it was, it made her feel at risk whenever she got close to slay a monster. A couple times she even had to retreat and run away to the closest ladder.
Real trouble came when she got to the tenth floor. Abigail had no idea what time it was, but she was completely sure it was way past 12:00 P.M. Perhaps somewhere around 02:00 A.M. The floor was covered in slime, so were the walls, and all she could hear was distant dripping. There was no way she was not in danger.
Beating the first slime that approached her wasn’t hard. But then came another one, and another one, and another one, and yet another one more. It was the last one of them, a slime bigger than her that seemed to reach the top of the mine, what finally convinced her it was time to get home. The slime got to her before Abigail could find a ladder.
She was unconscious for the rest of the night and by the time she felt better and ready to fight back, she was back in her bed. She couldn’t see who went down the mines to rescue her. She couldn’t hear the worry in her parents’ voice. She couldn’t hear the lies her best friend said to hide the fact she was exactly where she wasn’t supposed to be.