I checked off each turn in my mental list. I was trying my very best not to get lost. With each existing turn that I had memorized carefully a load of anxiety fell off my shoulders. The load hopped back on when I heard a yip or a screech coming from a baddie, getting closer and closer.

I felt a rush of joy as I neared the river room. The joy was replaced with terror when I took a wrong turn and saw a zombie-like creature stretching his decayed, rotten fingers towards me. I doubled back, screaming. I could deal with hordes of blood thirsty monsters, but humans made me scream in terror and hide like a tiny kitten. Not to mention dead humans who wanted to eat my flesh. I thought zombies were just a tale told to us so we wouldn't go near human villages! I thought, hyperventilating and crying.

I turned and ran for the nearest room I could find. My heart was beating so fast, I had to slow it down or it might explode. I didn't care what was in the room; I just had to stop for a second and breathe again.

The room I entered wasn't tall or wide, but it was very long. Cells made of spiked iron bars lined both sides of the room. It must have been the dungeon.

Most cells had frozen, well preserved bodies that once belonged to all sorts of creatures. Some cells had nothing in them. Some cells had shivering animals or people. Every cell had a single hole in the ground that was probably used for the bathroom.

There was something that felt much different here than the cell I had just left. It almost felt colder. The animals looked more miserable and beaten up than Krishana or I had.

Two cells down on the far wall was a wolf I knew; Deavar. He was curled up in a tiny ball, muttering to himself between shivers. I almost pitied him; he had two brand marks on his forehead and his eyes looked swollen. A gash on his back was steaming from some kind of nasty poison.

The sight of him disgusted me. Not just because of his wounds and grotesque physical state, but because he had betrayed the chasers. He had betrayed Nick. He betrayed everyone so he could end up starving in a frozen jail with no one but stray thoughts to talk to.

I've never understood such logic, but so many people live by it.

My hackles rose. He was the reason I wasn't in the North Pole training. He was the reason I had come so close to death so many times. He was the reason I couldn't help my friends.

I heard the baddies stomping down the hall quickly, chattering anxiously. I thought quickly and fell down in a corner with a pile of frozen animals. I plopped on my side so my back faced the entry way and I played dead, pretending I had been frozen mid-scream. Like most of the other frozen things.

The hair on my back pricked up when I heard the baddies crawl in the room. Their claws clicked and slid on the floor like a tap dancer's shoes. I tried my best to not breathe or shiver in fear.

"Where 'sheh? Where sheh?" One huffed deeply.

One made a clicking sound with it's tongue, like it was coaxing a cat from its hiding. Wait, that's exactly what it was doing. "Here cat, here cat, cat cat cat,"

"She tired. She takes big gulps. Quiet for big gulps." One requested with a silvery voice.

They were extremely quiet. I was quiet. I held my body perfectly ridgid. It was perhaps the most terrifying thing I had ever experienced, waiting for what felt like months while not breathing or moving.

"She don't like you," One scoffed. "She like me. She told me. She come to me."

I don't know how that thing had gotten such a stupid idea, but I don't think I would ever tell a baddie that I like them, let alone willingly come to them.

"Misk, Misk, Misk, Misk!" One called out, having trouble with my "terribly unpronounceable" name. (It's four letteres: M-I-K-A. Pronounce mee-kuh. It isn't the hardest name ever.)

I could hear one's scales rustling as it peered into the long corridor. "Nopes is here. Nopes."

"No one?" Ugh. It was that creepy one that could imitate my voice. "Okay. Whatever. Let's get out of here."

They all left. One lingered by to get a better look, but he left shortly.

I waited a long time. I waited till the last one could no longer be heard before I relaxed. I gulped in breaths of air just like that one baddie had said. Every muscle in my body was extremely tense and sore from both the run and playing dead. But hey, I was alive. A little soreness wouldn't hurt much.

I rolled back to my paws. I was about ready to go sneak to the river room, but something held me back. A little pin prick of hatred. I could have ignored it; a pin doesn't hurt much. But a pin to the heart is a different story.

I turned around and faced Deavar. He didn't look up.

"Deavar." I said. I couldn't hold back the flow of animosity.

He flicked his ear slightly. Just enough to let me know he had heard me. He raised his blue eyeballs a tiny bit to look at me. He looked bored, but his eyes betrayed him. Deavar was laughing on the inside; smiling.

"Mika." He said. Even hearing him speak was horrible. "Did you think of leaving before saying hello? I get awfully lonely and a friendly face is always nice."

"We're not friends. If this is a friendly face, then you can stick your tongue on the bar." I gestured to it with my tail.

Deavar smiled and raised his head slightly. "I'm glad we can joke about silly things. Perhaps I am starting to earn your friendship."

I growled, making sure to show each of my teeth, still slightly sharp from cub hood. "Far from it."

"But you've stayed behind in the dungeon for a reason." Deavar said. "You have so little time and yet you spare some for me. How thoughtful of you."

He was right. I was very short on time. Some baddies could have walked in at any moment. But I wanted to see the traitor in pain. I wanted to give him my prick of pain.

I was ready to tell him all about the horror he had caused me. I was ready to ask him how any living thing with a conscience could willingly cause so much pain and hurt. I wanted to make him guilty. I knew that there was no pain worse than guilt.

But my own conscience whispered something to me. It was as quiet as a falling snowflake, but the battle that went on in me was terribly loud. Why make pain for him? There is always a reason behind every decision, no matter how foolish. It said. I think my mother had said something like that long ago.

But he hurt you much worse than you could ever hurt him. He deserves pain. You deserve to be relieved of your pain.

Deavar was once a good animal. Nick trusted him once. He saved the lives of many chasers and kept Nick safe as he delivered thousands of presents to children. Maybe he deserves this one moment of kindness.

That day I found out I had a very strong conscience. My animal-like side melted away.

"I just wanted to say Merry Christmas. It's a shame you couldn't spend it with us." I said. Without saying another word, I turned around and ran out of the dungeon. I didn't want to look back to see Deavar's reaction.

The hallways looked and sounded clear. I didn't want to see another baddie for at least ten minutes, but that was wishful thinking. Realistically I had thirty seconds before a baddie found me.

When I was about to make a right turn, to my surprise, a white wolf with yellow eyes blocked me in the hallway. Krishana! She had left the prison!

"Krishana!" I blurted. "You gave me a heart attack! I thought you were in the prison. Why did you leave it?"

Her face became serious. "I crawled out. It wasn't very hard. I left a few minutes after you did." She said. "I thought a lot about what you said . . . I want to leave here. I want to try, even if I won't survive. I'm so glad you haven't left yet."

"If I knew you were coming I would have waited for you, but I'm glad you're here." I said. "We'll make it. When we get to the North Pole, I'll make sure-"

Shauna cut me off. "No. I'm not going to the North Pole. Everyone there would mock and scorn me for my father. I'll help you get through the tunnels and fight off baddies with you, but I will not go to the North Pole."

My heart sank a bit, but I was glad for her help. I smiled. "Thank you, Krishana."

She turned around and flicked her tail. "Come on, we must hurry. Someone must have caught our scent by now."

It was interesting that Shauna referred to a baddie as someone. I thought of them more as it, but she treated them like another animal or person.

I followed Krishana down the halls to the river room. I struggled to keep up with her; I was really tired. The idea of more running and holding my breath for a long time made me sick.

The river room's guards were gone; probably chasing after me. The room was very beautiful despite it's malicious purpose. A delicate sculpture of hissing snake-like monsters hung from the ceiling like a chandelier. Busts of various monsters sat in alcoves around the wall. A short throne was carved from the opposite wall. Between the entrance and the throne was a hole in the ground big enough to go fishing through. There weren't any cuffs or restrains by the hole. Did the guards hold down the prisoner with their strength?

Shauna broke the ice with her fore paws and the ice fell away under her weight, being swept away in the river. It shimmered with an unearthly reflection. My stomach twisted with anxiety.

"Ready?" Krishana asked.

I shook my head. I felt like I was going to throw up.

"Let's get it over with. On the count of three, you go. I'll be close behind." Shauna said. I jumped to the hole with her, hyperventilating. "One, two, three!"

I took a deep breath and dived into the hole. The cold water took my breath away.

I was swept underground and farther downstream. My head banged on the ceiling and my back scraped along it. To my dismay, the water filled every space available. To make myself go faster I paddled and kicked with my paws. My claws scraped on the walls of the tiny tunnel.

The river was fast, but not fast enough. My fur caused so much drag I could feel it. It did a petty job at keeping me warm despite it's length.

Within forty seconds my lungs wanted to go on strike. I panicked and kicked harder, desperate for air. It didn't come.

A minute passed. A minute thirty seconds. Two minutes. By then, everything was fuzzy. I had lost feeling in everything. It felt like someone had fried my lungs. My brain felt funny. I needed oxygen. The panic washed away. Everything felt funny.

Am I brain dead? I wondered. Do I really need air? I feel great now. There isn't any pain anymore.

That was probably when I blacked out.

I think I had a dream. Something about Noah and the flood. Noah ushered all the animals on the boat. I could see my mother and a male snow leopard I didn't know. I caught a glimpse of his blue eyes. The doors of the arc were closed before I could get on.

It started to rain a little, then a lot. It was fun at first, but then the water started climbing higher and higher. I remember the water filling my organs as it rose above my head. As I was underwater, drowning, I heard a voice. Next time will be fire. I'll let you go this time, but next time, I'll be sure that you burn.

I heard yelling from someone, but I hardly cared. They were calling my name and pushing on my chest.

The water was pushed out of my mouth and I coughed.

My brain clicked on like a lightbulb and I panicked. I rolled over, coughed and threw up all I could. I wanted the cold water out!

It felt like tubs-full came out of me. As the last bit came up, Shauna patted my back hard.

"Where are - cough, cough - are we?" I asked, wheezing in breaths of air. Wonderful air.

"In the tunnels." Shauna said. "Are you alright?"

I nodded. I felt really sick, but otherwise I was okay. My head hurt and my lungs were sore but I was starting to get feeling back in everything. The tunnels were dark except for a single floating green orb behind us. I couldn't see the river but I could hear it.

"Thanks. I could have died." I said. Shauna merely nodded. "Do you know where we are?" I asked.

She shook her head. "We have to get somewhere else. A baddie most likely heard us."

Weakly, I got up and followed her out of the tunnel. If I thought the hallways above us were primitive, I was wrong. Those were grand palace hallways compared to the real tunnels.

Orbs were placed extremely sparsely so you had to go without light for a long time. Bones of various shapes and sizes were piled up here and there. I was hoping they were trail markers, but they were too randomly placed to be anything. Some halls were covered completely in spider webs or other monster gick.

We walked for what felt like hours. Shauna uttered sounds of frustration every now and then. I thought we were walking in circles, but I didn't say anything.

"Does this look familiar?" I asked, trying to be helpful.

Shauna growled. "No. Nothing is familiar."

After lots of frustration and turns, I saw some kind of tiny blue light in a dark hallway. I thought it was the eye of a monster, but upon closer inspection, it didn't look like it was attached to a head.

"Shauna! Look at this!" I whispered, pointing down the dark corridor.

The light became closer and it jumped, like a bug almost. "It's getting brighter!" I heard. The echoes made the voice hard to identify, but I heard another one.

"Mika's close!" The voice belonged to Kota. I was sure of that.