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The swampy colors of fall all blended together in a collage of muffled orange and yellow. The warm mid afternoon breeze carried the earthy smell of the coniferous woodlands. If Chara had been older than she was, she would have appreciated the brief serenity of these forests. A host of sparrows uproared in a cacophony overhead, darting from tree to tree. With a youthful chuckle, the child began to run after them. Her feet carried her smoothly over the forest floor as if, even at this young of an age she memorized every groove in the earth here.
She weaved through the undergrowth, leaves playfully crinkling under her tattered shoes. Branches and brambles, the alleged culprit to the scrapes on her arms and legs, tugged at her sweater but she tore past them. Her eyes blinked the sunlight away as she peered at the small brown bodies, fleeting in the distance. She lacked the breath to call for them to slow down. Though she knew this place like the back of her hand, that didn’t stop the thick root of a tree from catching under her and making her trip.
A spray of leaves erupted around Chara as she fell. Dirt smeared her cheeks, in her mouth. After the initial shock faded she lifted her head. The light from the sun slowly grew more bleak as a dark cloud rolled over it. The child's lip began to quiver, but she refused to cry. She remembered what dad used to tell her whenever she got teary eyed; stiffen up and be tougher than whatever’s dragging you down.
She dusted off her pants, finding a tear at the knees that wasn’t there before. Mom was going to be angry, but she knew she should head home anyway… What was so sunny before now looked like dusk, even bringing along the unwelcomed cold that bit her goose-bumped skin. Hanging her head low, Chara began to walk back in the direction of home. Twigs snapped under every other foot fall. Paranoia began to make her mistake the vines twisting through the ground as venomous snakes. She began to check behind her often, as she swore she felt the phantom burn of eyes peering into her skull.
The wind picked up, whipping her auburn hair into her eyes. She rubbed at her arms, sniffling up the boogies that threatened to hang from her nose. “Who!” Chara jumped and screamed at the sound, whipping around fast enough to get whip lash. The bug eyes of a horned owl stared at her from the hollow of a tree. “Hoo! Hoo!” It took to the air flew until it became a dotted silhouette.
“Chara.” A hand, cold as death touched her shoulder. Large, bony, and stern it turned her around.
“Uncle Ramus!” Chara squeaked.
Uncle Ramus looked nothing like her fathers growth. His face was angular, long. His cheeks were always red and his breath smelt of smoke, his lips and teeth had deteriorated from chewing tobacco. Of course not knowing this, Chara simply assumed his mouth was a home for worms to burrow in and out of. Big blue eyes bulged from their sockets and strings of ginger hair clumped unevenly on his head.
“What’re you doin’ out this late suga’?” He put his other hand on her shoulder.
“It’s not late it’s jus-”
“Mom and pip are worried sick…” Guilt washed over the small child. “‘Tween you an’ me, I heard mama gettin’ real angry too.” Then fear hit her in the gut. Mom was scary when she was angry.
“No!” She whined, tears welling to her eyes that she tried to fight. “But I w-was only gone for -”
“Shh…” He brushed a large thumb across her bruised cheek slowly. “No buts little lady, you comin’ home right now.” His voice was chillingly strict. Chara hid her face in her hands and began to bawl.
Uncle Ramus stood up, straightened, pet the sandpapery stubble that sprouted from his chin like weeds. “Hmm…” He droned. Chara sniffed and looked up at him. “Well it’s a cryin’ shame to see ya like this.” A smile pulled to his face that showed his forked tongue. “I’ll let you off this once, okay?” His knees popped as he bent down beside her again, looping a gangly arm around her.
“Really?” The child chirped.
“Mmhmm.” His eyes raked over her as if his large pupils were black holes, sucking up her clothes and staring at the not-even-developed body underneath.
Chara tilted her head slightly, a ball of unease beginning to roll in her stomach. She glanced down at her clothes to see what had transfixed her uncle's eyes to her chest. The man pulled her closer, lifting his other hand and setting it on the hem of her sweater. His fingers curled underneath, caressing the soft skin found there. Her stomach began to churn faster, feet shuffling backwards but the arm around her back stiffened and kept her from moving.
“What’s wrong?” His voice cooed, admiring eyes scanning her face as it began to shrink with ear.
“What are you doing?” She mumbled, pushing away at the hand that was crawling up her ribs.
“Seeing how much you’ve grown… I’m only doing what any doctor would do, Chara.” He rasped. His hands pulled higher, fingertips brushing her petite nipples, eyes brightening.
“I don’t like it!” She yelled, forcing his hands back down. His touch made her skin crawl, it made her heart wretch.
Uncle Ramus looked surprised that the child held the tenacity to refuse. His brow lowered, and with a quick glance behind him he shot his hands out, clasping his fingers around her ankle in a vice grip that turned his knuckles pale.
“Ah!” She wailed, tears quickly resurfacing.
“You’re gonna shut your fucking mouth and let Uncle Ramus have his way with you, Chara!” His face turned back around, except it was not the face she recognized from before. He looked like a monster…
He quickly pulled on her leg, sending her feet shooting out from under her. Her head crashed against the Earth and for a moment the world was a blur. The ground crumbled, giving way, plummeting her down into a dark abyss. Screaming, she watched the light from above grow smaller and smaller and smaller.
“Fuck!” Chara woke up, heart racing and forehead glossy with sweat. Wild eyed, she looked around, the room bathed in the creamy light of dawn. At first she mistook the shadows of baggy clothes in the corner as hunched over bodies. Only after a few eye rubs did things start coming to her slowly, the nightmare buzzing around in her head like a nest of mosquitoes - but i was just that, a nightmare.
“What is it Chara?” A bed-head ridden ball of white fur rolled over, blue eyes stretching open. Still regaining her breath, Chara shook her head.
“Nothing…
Her stomach was twisting with the noxious remnants of last nights sweet tooth. Maybe that’s what brought on the terrors. Mom had warned her, but she was so adamant in ignoring her. Chara slumped her head back down on the pillow, turning slightly to look at Asriel.
“Nightmare?” His floppy ear twitched.
“Nothin’ I don’t have any other day…”