My feet feel heavy. It takes too much effort just to move further down. We stay close, sure of our choice but wary of what it's consequences hold. The candles begin to thin, spreading out more and more the farther we travel. I begin to rely on the patter of my footsteps, gauging how close that hissing sound is getting. The smell of sulfur is overwhelming now, forcing me to breathe through my mouth. We move in silence for minutes, sweat piling on. Minutes turn into what feels like hours, though I know it can't be more than forty minutes. And we keep going down, down, down....

"What's that?"

I squint my eyes. There's a pale light slightly down the tunnel, off towards the right. It forms a simple line, like the crack underneath a door. A hidden room? Maybe that's where the dragon eggs are! I rush over, leaving the others behind in the dust. I hear them call for me. I'm at the light source before I know it. It appears to be, in fact, a door. Light peeks out from underneath the wooden frame. I push it. Slowly, it opens, the material heavy.

"Guys, check this out!"

"Be quiet," scolds Niko. "Someone else, or something else, might hear you. Let's try not to alert the entire Tenth grade that we've found a door, alright?"

"You're so dramatic."

It's hard to make out, but I think he rolls his eyes at me. I stick out my tongue. We stand together, ready to take out first steps into the doorframe. At first, I see nothing but white. Blinding, hot white. The door slams behind us...as if someone has just pushed it. I blink rapidly, stammering around the space. My hand touches the wall. It feels bumpy and wet, like the rest of the cave sides probably feel. It takes a moment of two until I can see again.

"What...what is this?"

My thoughts mirror his reaction. We all stare in disbelief. The room is circular, the ceiling extremely low. The cave formations remind me of jagged teeth, all pointing towards the raging fire in the center of the room. It's spreading, creeping along towards both sides of the cave, forming a wall of bright red. It doesn't seem to have a source or any fuel for that matter. Only a color deeper than blood, so hot I feel dizzy. My throat screams for help. My tongue begins to taste the smoke.

"Maybe we should turn back."

"Right."

We turn, only to find the door somehow locked. Niko pushes against it, pulls on it, again and again. 

It refuses to budge.