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Abigail opened her eyes. Excitement flooded through her, and she got up quickly to get dressed and ready. Today was the day! She was going into the mines.
She wandered into the kitchen to eat breakfast and take the snacks her mother had prepared for her the day before. Abigail had told her that she was going on a picknick with Sebastian and Sam. The fact that she had believed her just proved how little her mother knew her.
She slipped back into her room to feed David, her guinea pig. Then she shouldered her sword, grabbed the backpack with the snacks and whatever else she might need for her big adventure, and snuck out of the house before her parents could see her. She didn't want them to worry.
The walk towards the mines took a while. It had rained during the night, so everything was wet and glittering in the rising sun light. A frog hopped away from Abigail, and she thought of Sebastian. How lucky he was to live up in the mountains - far from the town, where everyone always knew everything, yet close to the mines, always ready for exploration.
As she passed some bushes next to Sebastian's house, she heard some rustling nearby which made her jump. Don't be such a baby!, she chastised herself. But her nerves were strung very tightly. As much as she was looking forward to this adventure, finally a real one, the thought also made her nervous. This was actually dangerous and could have some real consequences! Outwardly she was always talking about seeking the next adventure, no danger to much for her, but she wasn't an idiot. She knew this wasn't going to be like the egg hunt or even the Halloween maze.
"Don't mind me. I'm just picking some berries."
Abigail jumped again. Damn it, she cursed under her breath. But it was just that weird guy living in a tent. Leonard or something… he scared her a little, but she also felt some strange connection to him. He clearly didn't fit in with the town's people, either.
He made a move to go past her, but his eyes fell on her sword.
"Are you going into the mines?"
Abigail hesitated a little. "Yes", she said.
"Be careful. It can be dangerous in there."
"Uh, thank you. I will." As she began to walk towards the mines again, she could feel his eyes on her back. That was nice. It was important to always have someone watch your back in the mines. Marlon had taught her that. She had told him about her plans for today, so now there were two people who knew where she was. Just in case.
The cave was cold and moist. Abigail shivered. Marlon had sold her a glow ring, and she could make out the entrance to the mines in front of her. Here goes nothing. Her adrenaline was up, both from the excitement and the fear, and she plunged forward.
Only to be met by a bat. It almost got tangled in her hair, and she couldn't help but laugh. That quickly turned into a scream as a whole cloud of them emerged. She stumbled backwards until she slammed into the cave wall. The impact made tears well up in her eyes. Or maybe the shock? A small voice in the back of her head asked. She forced herself to close her eyes and count while taking deep breaths.
After a while, she could feel her heart slow down and opened her eyes again. The bats had disappeared again. She mentally made a note to thank Emily when she saw her again for teaching her this trick. Abigail wasn't really into that hole meditation stuff, but this had been genuinely helpful. Time for another try. Maybe she wasn't as tough as she had thought, but she wasn't going to give up immediately.
She walked deeper and deeper into the mines. At first, nothing really happened. There were a bunch of stones lying around, and some plants she didn't care to identify growing on the wet walls. But then, the light emanating from her finger caught on something that glittered. Intrigued, she stepped closer, examining the stone. She took her mini pickaxe out of her backpack and started chipping at it, careful not to damage anything.
An amethyst! She would have to check again in daylight, but she was pretty sure she was holding a purple gem in her hands. Her first bounty, and it was one of her favourite things! This had to mean something. With renewed fervor, she packed the stone and the pickaxe into her backpack and shouldered it, venturing deeper and deeper, following the twists and turning around in dead ends.
She heard it before she saw it, but the echo made it difficult to place. Slowly, she turned in a circle to look for the source of the wet slapping sound that had drawn her attention, carefully drawing her sword. This was it. The moment she had trained for during so many nights at the graveyard. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw something small and green bouncing towards her. Before she could think, she started hacking at it wildly, fighting the urge to scream and yell.
When her arm grew tired, she finally stopped, panting heavily. Spread on the ground before her were many small pieces of what must have been a green slime. Staring at the carnage, she felt another laugh rising in her throat. Abigail swallowed. She'd done it. She had actually fought a monster and won, without even a scratch!
Deciding this was enough adventure, she turned back, trying to retrack her steps. Her stomach started complaining, so she dug through her backpack for something to eat and fished out a piece of blackberry cobbler that quickly disappeared again.
As she turned around from another dead end, she accidentally kicked a rock lying on the ground. A sharp pain shot through her calf, and she instinctively lifted her leg, only to be greeted by a rock crab clinging to it.
"Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit!" This time, she couldn't fight the yelling. She shook her leg while simultaneously hacking at the creature, trying not to hit herself. She felt resistance, and the crab finally let go. She kept hitting at it until it stopped moving. "Fuck!" That had been so close.
Abigail bent down to examine her leg. She could feel it more than she could see it, but blood was staining her black jeans, which sported a new tear. Damn it! She pulled the flap open. The wound didn't seem very deep, but that didn't mean it wasn't painful. Shit. She stared at the dead rock crab, quickly grabbed the sliced off pincer that had more of her blood on it, and then started hobbling towards what she hoped would be the exit.
The air started to change, and she felt like she was getting closer to the surface. Finally. She exhaled a long breath, relieved to be out again soon. This had been fun, and she couldn't wait to come here again, but it had also been incredibly exhausting, and she knew she was going to feel the exertion in her whole body tomorrow, not to mention the wound on her leg that she should definitely get looked at. Thankfully, Dr. Harvey was both professional and discreet, something she couldn't really say about most of the townsfolk. Her own mother very much included. It was very difficult to keep many secrets in this town.
Another flash of green interrupted Abigail's thoughts. She drew her sword again, but after two fights she could feel that she was becoming slower. Fuck, I need to train harder! She aimed at the slime and hit it, but couldn't raise her sword in time for the its next bounce towards her. Instinctively, she raised her free arm to protect her face, and as the slime made impact she hissed. Even through her clothes, some of its goo seeped through and the area started to burn. She screamed again, tried to cut the slime with her sword, and then everything went black.
"-kay? Can you hear me?"
As Abigail regained consciousness, her head starting pounding. She squinted and tried to make out her surroundings. That guy from earlier today was hovering above her, illuminated by the light streaming through the cave entrance. "Huh?"
"There you are! I had been worried when you didn't come out for so long. How- how are you feeling?" Leonard - wait, no. Linus! - said.
Abigail groaned. Linus let regarded her with a small but sympathetic smile. Trying to sit up, she said: "I'm not sure I can walk." Everything had started to spin.
He nodded. "I'll go get Marlon, he should be able to help me get you into town." He gently helped Abigail lie back down before disappearing outside.
Memories of her teenage years suddenly flashed before her eyes. Hanging out with Sam and Sebastian at Sebastian's place. Sneaking up to Linus' tent at night, throwing rocks at it and running back down. She felt ashamed. They had always made fun of the man - he usually kept his distance when they were up in the mountains, trying to avoid them, and while he did come into town for most of the festivals, he tended to stay on his own outside of the crowd. Once or twice she had seen him rummaging through the trash cans in town. But today, he had been really kind and caring, even though Abigail was sure he knew how mean they had been.
She swore to herself she was going to be nicer to him from now on. Maybe she could drop off some food for him from time to time when visiting Sebastian. Maybe they could even talk a little, he must have had his fair share of adventure and maybe even explored the caves from time to time.
"Hey there, lass!" Marlon's booming voice interrupted her thoughts. "So how was the adventuring?" He had a stretcher with him that he put down next to her, and together with Linus he carefully lifted her onto it. The two men carries her outside and down the mountain, Linus at the front with his back turned to her, Marlon right behind her head, looking down at her. She could feel he was limping a little and tried to ignore the slight swaying.
"I slayed a green slime and a rock crab!", Abigail boasted proudly, though it came out much fainter than she had planned. "But then there was another slime…" She drifted off.
"Well, certainly looks like you put up quite the fight. Hopefully this experience didn't put you off exploring."
"You bet it didn't!" Abigail grinned, and she thought she saw a twinkle in the old man's eye.
The trio finally arrived at the clinic. It was already getting late so it was closed, but the emergency bell summoned a slightly dishevelled looking Dr. Harvey. One look at Abigail and he motioned for them to come inside and put her on one of the hospital beds.
He poked and prodded at her, asking a few questions and tending to her head. "You probably hit your head when you fell down, it looks like you have a light concussion." Then he moved to dressing the wounds on her leg and her arm, the latter of which had started to form blisters. He didn't scold her, but she could still feel the disappointment radiating from him, probably thinking about how reckless she had been. But Abigail didn't care.
Linus had disappeared immediately, but Marlon waited for Dr. Harvey's diagnosis.
"You probably have a light concussion, but it's nothing to worry about. Please come back tomorrow for a check up, and try to rest as much as possible until then. Your leg and arm should heal quickly, I'll rebandage your leg tomorrow, but then you'll have to do it yourself. And don't get it wet!" He turned away to rummage in some drawers, and came back with a small container. "Here is some cream for your arm to help soothe the burns, reapply every few hours. You're free to go if you feel up to it."
"Thanks, Dr. Harvey!" Abigail appreciated that he didn't force her to stay the night, he really knew his patients. She wasn't in the mood to be confronted by her parents, that could wait until tomorrow.
"Shall I accompany you home?" Marlon offered his arm to her, and she held onto it, grateful to have something to help steady her. The dizziness had gotten less, but she still didn't feel particularly stable.
"Bye, Dr. Harvey!"
"Please take care. Goodnight, Abigail."
Marlon and her hobbled towards the exit, both with a bad leg. Abigail hoped she wouldn't keep hers, thought she was excited for the scar that was going to form on her leg. Proof of her first real adventure.
Since she lived right next to the clinic, the walk home was thankfully very short. She thanked Marlon for his help, promised she'd be back as soon as she was feeling better, and then snuck through the store into her bedroom. She closed her door behind her and quietly thanked Yoba that her parents seemed to be sleeping already. David greeted her, squeaking. She smiled at him.
Despite being sweaty, bloody and grimy, she she went straight to bed without a shower. Another thing for tomorrow. Now it was time for sleep. She threw everything in a pile, thinking about the amethyst and the crab leg in her backpack.
She slid into bed, a light smile on her lips. Best day ever! Abigail closed her eyes.