Unveiling The Plot (It Was Bigger Than We Expected)



Last updated March 13th, 2019

Chapter I
Drip.

Drip.

Drip.

Red woke up to hear the sound of water slowly dripping. She stretched her four grey legs, hearing them pop and crack as she did so. The ground beneath her fur felt hard and cool, with uncomfortably uneven bumps and ridges. She forced her vibrant red eyes to open, but when she did she saw nothing; her eyes were bleary from sleep.

Red blinked a few times until her vision cleared up. However, after attempting to look around, she saw nothing except darkness. The steady dripping of water continued, much to her annoyance. "Come here, I know you're there!" she shouted into the pressing layer of unblemished black. Nothing answered. Red huffed. She stood up, only to hear something clink to the floor.

She bent down and felt around until she found the small object. She picked it up in her teeth, it tasted metallic. What in the world is this? Red took a cautious step towards the sound of dripping water. When she didn't collide with anything, she took another step. And another. She kept walking until she stepped in a small puddle. The next drop of water to drip down landed on Red's paw.

With yet another stride, Red found that the puddle was larger than she'd expected, all four of her paws were soaked now. She stepped forward again.

The stone floor rumbled.

Red stood completely still, her pulse racing. She couldn't keep standing in the pool of water forever, but she would stay put if it meant she would stay intact. The sound of rumbling continued, but it did not intensify. Red could hear her own panicked breathing over the rumble. ''I am safe. I am safe. I am safe as long as I don't move. I am safe. I am safe... ''

Red was knocked to her back by something that had barreled into her. "Hey!" she snapped, but whoever - or whatever - it was did not respond. The ground beneath Red started to shake even more intensely, and, before she could do anything about it, the stone gave way. She plummeted down, farther down than any creature would have been comfortable with, and plunged into an ice-cold river.

Chapter II
The river's icy chill wrapped itself around Red, soaking her fur and sending shivers as deep as her bones. She was at the mercy of the current, being tossed around like dice in a player's hands. It was all she could do to fight her way upwards and take a breath, but when she opened her mouth she found herself swallowing water rather than air. Her lungs were being invaded by the river. The river was trying to drown her, it wanted her to never leave its churning depths.

However, Red had never been one to consent to another's will.

She flailed her paws around her, it was still pitch black. Red felt the need to breathe rise like a scream inside of her. At this point, up and down seemed to be the same thing. She felt as if darkness and water were all that had ever existed. The merciless current carried her down the river, it filled her lungs, it was going to be her undoing. Red's paw suddenly struck something solid. It sparked hope inside of her. She mustered every remaining ounce of strength to push off of the solid object with her two right legs. Red was propelled upwards, where her head broke the surface. Red coughed up water that had flooded her respiratory system. Never again did she want to be underwater. Never.

Red gasped for air, feeling the sweet relief of musty cave atmosphere enter her lungs. She pumped her legs to keep in control, swimming along with the current. The water didn't seem so threatening anymore as it swirled around her paws. Red almost felt relaxed. Almost, meaning that she was in an underground river that lead to... where, exactly?

Chapter III
It could have been hours. It could have been days. It could have been weeks. Red had absolutely no idea how long she had been in the river, paddling along. A few times she'd found a submerged rock and used it as a resting place, digging her claws into it so that the current wouldn't sweep her away. Darkness was still the only thing she could see. Red had become fully reliant on sound, smell and touch to identify her environment, and it was working.

However, Red was fully aware of how close she was coming to completely losing it. Floating in a dark river was not good for one's sanity. She had not eaten in days, and if she had the chance to check, she was pretty sure her ribs were jutting out of her chest. Exhaustion and hunger overwhelmed her. She had done her best to stay awake, but here and there she would latch her claws to a rock and snooze for a while. She'd need sleep to keep going, though at this point she fent that the river would keep going on forever, an endless abyss of water and black. 

Chapter IV
Cold stone rubbed against Red on either side. The river's tunnel was getting narrower, resulting in Red panicking. She'd learned one thing about herself during her ordeal: she was very claustrophobic. Red held her breath as the river carried her onward, trying not to think about what would happen if the tunnel got any slimmer. She might not be able to fit. She might not be able to keep moving forwards to potential hope.

Heck, I might get stuck.

Red's breath got shallower. The walls pressed in further. It was getting more and more difficult to breathe, she wouldn't make it out...

She would die here...

Right when every last ounce of fight left Red's body, she heard the rich sound of crumbling stone behind her. Her neck ached sharply as she attempted to twist her head around to see; she gave up after the first try. Paws grabbed Red by the legs and dragged her up out of the water and onto cold, dry stone. ''Land, land, land, I'm never leaving it again. Never.''

"Is she alright?" a distant voice inquired. "Well, if she was, she wouldn't look so waterlogged, genius." The second comment was another voice, colder and harsher than the first, which had had a sweeter, gentler tone to it. Red's pulse pounded in her ears like drums announcing a war. Her breathing was still rapid, she did feel extremely waterlogged. She tried to stand up, only to crumple down into a coughing heap of wet fur. Red felt two pairs of eyes settle on her as she started retching and gagging. She felt something stuck inside of her, something that needed to come out. For a second, she couldn't breathe, overwhelmed with her need to throw up. She succeeded at last, a small silver ring rolling out of her mouth and onto the cave floor. The vile taste of vomit scorched Red's tounge. Nauseous, Red lifted her head to see two figures towering over her. The flickering light of a torch shone from behind them, the first light Red has seen in... how long had it been?

The shorter of the two figures leaned forward, now discernible as a large seal with a sleek, creamy coat and deep, black eyes. Red couldn't help but feel that perhaps the seal had traded her eyes for two obsidian orbs. An ornate golden necklace hung loosely from her neck, and a shining trident embedded with gems was strapped across her back. She reached out a flipper and slapped Red, who winced at the pain. "Yep, she's alive," the seal grunted as if it hadn't been obvious.

Red extended a shaky paw towards the ring she'd coughed up. Both of her rescuers were watching her intently, the taller one still cast in shadow. Red, whose suspicion was growing, hastily slammed her paw over the ring and slid it back towards her, silver scraping stone as she did so. The taller figure jumped at Red's sudden movement.

To be continued shortly...

'''Please do not alter the text in any way, shape or form, unless you find a grammar error. Please do not add to the story, either, it is in progress and I am working hard on the next segment. Thank you!'''

-Platypusrocks