Shattering Crystals

"I officially declare that it is too hot."

Lorraine reaches for the thermostat for the fifth time today, turning it even lower. She pulls a chair over to the wall, positioning herself to get the full blast of cold air.

"You said it was nice just two weeks ago," I point out. "There isn't much of a difference."

"Yeah," she says, fanning herself with a brochure advertising a volcano tour, "it wasn't as bad 'cause we just got here."

"Don't people usually get more used to things like heat?" I ask, nibbling on a melting chocolate bar and lounging on the bed. "Seems like you're the opposite."

"That's because I am." The air conditioning spreads throughout the huge suite and Lorraine starts leafing through the brochure. "Maybe we should go on a tour."

"Maybe," I say, popping the last bit of chocolate in my mouth. It definitely won't be good for my skin. "But we have to stay focused."

"Not like we're getting any leads," Lorraine says, skimming through. "We haven't detected any magic at all since we got here. Are you sure we're in the right place?"

"I'm definite," I state, but I'm not sure if it's a lie. "The map won't lead us anywhere else."

Lorraine gets up from her cushioned chair, adjusting her ultra-short miniskirt. She pulls back the thin curtains and stares outside at the ocean. "This is a beautiful place," she says, "but I don't want to waste any more time here if we don't have to. What if your map's defective?"

"It can't be," I say, reaching over to the nightstand for the map. "It's lucky. And besides, it would be our magic that's defective, not the map."

"Maybe so," she answers. There's an urgent knocking on the door and Lorraine goes to answer it. She doesn't ever bother to ask me, knowing that I would probably groan and just not get up.

"Found a lead," Aaron's constantly loud voice says. "Come and see."

----

"Almost there," Aaron says, as the bus slows down to a stop.

It took nearly three hours to round up everyone. If we all had our cell phones then it might have been easier. But as it had been necessary to ditch them for tracking purposes, all searching had to be manual.

"Where are we even going?" Lynda asks, in a tone that she never would have used a few months ago. "You cut my shopping time."

Aaron rolls his eyes. "This is more important, I think. Anyways, the tours for a small lava tube have been canceled. I wanted to go see it. And... well... you'll see."

----

"This is the weirdest thing that has ever happened to me," Elise says, taking in our surroundings. "And when you regularly used drugs, a lot of weird things have happened to you."

"Like what?" Ashlee asks, doing the same as Elise and swiveling her head around.

"Oh, you know, just trips to La La Land," Elise says dryly. "I'm just glad I quit before I met you guys, or I would probably be going crazy."

"You know what I'm glad for?" Lorraine says. "This heat shield. Or we'd be roasting."

"It's not that bad, the heat," Lynda says. "It's not like we're inside the volcano."

We're inside a lava tube. One of those really old ones that hasn't seen any volcanic activity since... forever. It should come to an end, sealed off with rock and completely safe for tourists. And it is.

But the moment Aaron touches the wall at the end, it crumbles away into black, ashy dust.

"This place shouldn't even exist," Lynda says, coughing a bit from the dust and shaking her head back and forth. And she's right.

Before us is another tunnel, sharply angled downwards. It's dark and nothing can be seen.

"Do you think that this is a good idea?" Ashlee says, biting down on her bottom lip. It's clear that she's scared, uncertain about this expedition. But I'm glad that someone asked before me, so I wouldn't have to.

"What do you think, Dana?" Aaron turns to me.

"I, uh-" I don't tell them what I'm really thinking. Why don't they ask Lorraine? She's better at magic and being a leader. Why not leave me behind? I don't want to die.

"Well?"

"I guess we should go," I answer quietly, too much of a coward to object, but speaking softly enough to hope they mistake my answer for a 'no'. But everyone hears my words in the dark, cramped passageway.

"Right, then." Aaron continues forward, leading the group and holding the heat shield. "Let's go."

We walk down the tunnel, everyone madly shaking their hands but Connor and Wessley. When we neared the lava tube after getting off of the bus, our magic sensors went haywire. It was almost like the time we met Aaron, but a thousand times more intense.

The tingling is unstoppable. It makes our hands go numb, like the sensation of pins and needles from a body part falling asleep. But the sensation stays and irritates us all.

We hit another wall. Lorraine produces a small ball of light from her fingertip while I pray that no one is claustrophobic.

"There's a number here..." Lorraine says, leaning forward with the dim light. It lights up everyone's features in an ominous way. "Five."

"Five people?" Dean asks. "Maybe we have to touch it, like with that other wall."

Aaron, Elise, Dean, and Lorraine reach out and press their palms to the rough, dusty-smelling wall. Ashlee strays at the back of the group, hoping not to be seen. "Dana?"

I hesitate. But then my arm moves through the darkness in a way that is not mine. The horrors of this situation flash through my mind in a blur. What could be behind the door? Instant death? Torture? My stomach turns in the most sickening way as my hand makes contact with the wall.

It crumbles away.