Shattering Crystals

The entrance is opened.

Lynda was right. This place should definitely not exist.

The first thing I notice is the overwhelming stench of poisonous gases that causes me to gag, nearly throwing up in my mouth. But the shield must protect us from gases as well as heat. Otherwise, we'd be dead.

The room is huge... if you could call it a room. It's round, made entirely of the same ashy volcanic rock as the lava tube, and piles of jagged rocks lay everywhere. We're standing on a ledge that goes all the way around the outer perimeter of the room and hangs over a steep drop into the abyss below. The room is strangely bright for a cavern that is supposedly in a volcano, but we can't find any source of light. Lorraine extinguishes the small ball of light she'd conjured before.

I stand at the back of the crowd, keeping my distance from the large hole. But my eyes were still searching for some hidden clue. Why are we here? Ash in the air clears up and I can see that in the middle of that hole is a pillar rising up from the darkness. And on it, a girl.

"Who - who's that?" Lorraine asks, her voice higher pitched than usual.

I squint my eyes, trying to get a good look at the figure lying on the stone. A mass of golden blond hair covers the face, but the subtle shape and curve of the body tells us that she's female.

"Is she - is she even alive?" Elise asks, trembling as she looked at the still body.

"Can't tell," Dean says quietly.

"She's gonna be fine," Aaron says, putting an arm around Elise to comfort her. "We have to find a way to reach her..."

Dean steps forward, walking a few feet to the drop. "You might want to see this," he calls to us, looking over the edge.

Everyone takes slow, hesitant steps forward, their curiosity warring with their fear. I follow closely behind and move up about three feet before stopping behind everyone else. I stand on my tiptoes and peer over the edge.

The sight makes my stomach drop, like someone threw it down over the side of the ledge. Molten rock swirls beneath our feet in a way that could only be done by magic. Cody backs away first.

"This is crazy," he says, trying to find logic. "How are we supposed to get there? Swim in the lava? I don't think so... Maybe it's better to leave her here to die. She's probably already dead anyways..."

"Maybe we should leave you here to die," Connor says to his brother. "Then you'd shut up."

"Well I'm glad we're not feeling this heat," Lorraine says, breaking them up before anything happens. "But we still need to figure out what to do."

"I can just fly over there, you know," Aaron says, taking steps right up to the edge. "Nothing to be afraid of really." He shrugs his shoulder carelessly, in a manner that only he can pull off. He’s flying over a hundred foot chasm to rescue a probably dead girl, but he makes it seem like nothing. I would never be able to do that.

His form shimmers in its familiar silvery way. A few seconds later, the bright red bird stands before us.

"Be careful," Elise says softy, her eyes wide in fear. Dean looks away, and I know how he must be feeling when he sees Elise look at Aaron so tenderly. They say everything happens for a reason...

Aaron rolls his eyes, but the action looks strange on a bird. He turns away, spreading his wings and gliding easily over to the huge pillar.

As he carefully positions his talons as so to not harm the girl, I wonder what we would do without him. And how it would be if he wasn't a bird of fire.

He grips her body around the waist, and dangles her in the air in what looks like the most uncomfortable way. But I know Aaron won't hurt her. He knows when to be careful.

In spite of this, I still hold my breath when he flies over the pit of molten rock. I wonder if anyone can hear my heart pounding in my chest. It would be so easy just to drop her in. It takes only one mistake for something permanent to happen...

But he reaches us safely and places the girl gently down beside Elise, then stands at the head of the group. I release the breath I had been holding and take a deep breath to make up for it. I wrinkle my nose, as I had inhaled the sulfuric air. Aaron's body shimmers again and he reverts back to a human form.

"See? Nothing to worry about." But Elise embraces him anyways.

Lorraine brushes the hair off of the girl's face. It's a face worthy to be a model and I feel the twist of jealously once more.

"She's alive," Lorraine sighs with relief. "But we have to get out of here right away. Take her somewhere safe."

"Wait just a few minutes," Aaron says. "It's not everyday you're inside a volcano. Or, well, whatever this is, anyways."

"Fine," Lorraine says in her commanding tone, "but after that, straight to the hotel. I just don't know how we're going to get this girl back without anyone noticing something's up..."

"Figure it out," Aaron says, walking right up to the edge and staring fearlessly downwards. "This really is amazing if you think about it. We're never gonna be able to see this again, probably."

"It's dangerous," Lorraine says, still attempting to revive the unconscious beauty. "But what ever floats your boat. Just make sure the boat is lava-proof."

"I think she's waking up!" Ashlee exclaims. I rush over to see her, to meet her. Ashlee's right - the girl's fingers are twitching, and her expression changes from relaxed and oblivious to tense. Her eyes stay closed.

"Hello?" Lorraine says. "Are you okay?" The girl’s lips move, but no sound comes out.

"Hey, Aaron, get ready to go," I say, eyes still on the girl who is starting to stir. She coughs and her eyelids start to flutter.

As her beautiful orange-red eyes open, the floor starts disintegrating beneath our feet.