INTO THE FIRE ● TWST

CHAPTER SIX: THE ONE WHERE I DIE

GOING THROUGH THE MIRROR WAS ONE OF THE TRIPPIEST experiences you've ever experienced- and you've woken up in a coffin.

You could feel every molecule of your body, every atom, and every electron physically move from one place to another. It was similar to missing a step on the stairs- your body was there, but there was a distinct feeling of not being there. So yeah- trippy.

You come out the other end visibly disorientated, and you end up having to clutch Ace for support, your vision swimming.

"That- was- awful." You say in between gasps, struggling to regain your balance, your grip on Ace's shoulder tightening.

"Weakling." Ace mutters, and you promptly step on his toes. Deuce fixes you with a worried look, which is why he was your favorite.

"Are you okay?" He asks gently, eyeing your hunched-over posture and your ragged breaths. It was weird, he and Ace didn't seem to be as affected the same as you- but you put that down to you having less experience than them when it came to such matters as teleporting.

You respond with a shaky thumbs-up, and try your best to smile effortlessly, though it looks more like a grimace than anything else. You take two steps forward, then promptly tilt forward, your center of mass shifting. Thankfully before you could nosedive into the ground, Ace had caught you in a dip, his face mere inches away from yours. The both of you make eye contact, his scarlet ones widening in surprise. You pause, your heart beating rapidly. You did not expect to be in this sort of situation. Ace keeps his eye contact, and his eyes travel down to your lips, plush and pink. He instantly colors and drops you promptly, your face hitting the grass with an oomph. He turns away, clearing his throat awkwardly. He had only known you for less than a day- why was he acting like this? Snap out of it.

Back to you- who was lying face down on the ground. Fuck you Ace. You begrudgingly push yourself up, accepting the hand Deuce gave you, pointedly staring at Ace. "You suck man. That shit hurt." Ace still doesn't turn around, opting to just walk away. Scowling, you and Deuce follow, Grim, having chosen to nestle in your arms again. "Asshole."

Thanks to Ace dropping you, your vertigo had cleared up, so you were able to take in your surroundings. You seemed to be in a deserted forest, though you could make out the beginnings of a house in the distance. The further you walked, the more you were able to picture a princess singing and dancing in the forest. You weren't sure what it was, but something about the forest just gave off those vibes.

The four of you reach the end of the forest, and the house turned out to be a cottage- bearing an uncanny resemblance to Snow White's cottage with the dwarves, but you wrote that off as a coincidence. Everything in this world was like the hyperactive imagination of a seven-year-old.

"Urgh.. who knows what's here..." Grim didn't seem to see your vision, nestling further into your arms. You stroke his fur comfortingly, enjoying the slight purr he gave when you did so.

"Look- a house. Let's go ask them." Ace said, but you were about 100% sure there was nobody there. You let him and Deuce explore that waste of time, whilst you poke around the outside. Grim hops out of your arms, claiming to be 'curious' about the inside. You see nothing but overgrown grass and weeds, confirming your theory that this cottage had been abandoned for ages. You find a dirt path leading away from the cottage, and since you have zero survival instincts- you take it, without informing anyone.

You tread the path for some time, before coming to an entrance of a cave. Using your deduction skills, you assumed it was the abandoned mine. Peering in, you see absolutely nothing. The cave seemed to suck up all light, and you shivered as a cold gust of wind blew past you. You stared deeper into the mouth of the cave, the pitch-black almost hypnotizing you. Standing there, you felt helpless and trapped in place, and the gaping hole seemed to grow larger, almost swallowing you whole. You were surrounded by black on all sides- encompassing the atmosphere and entrapping you. It seemed to wrap around you, sucking you in. The light from the moon, as well as the sounds of the trees rustling, had all faded, and all that remained was you and the darkness.