I can't believe how stupid we've been. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

We start charging just as a rust-colored claw the size of a door jumps from the shadows. The ground quakes with every step, our spirits shattering even more with every scream. I don't stop moving. The air soon becomes thick with ash until I can't see anything. Not even Fraze, who must be right in front of me. The roaring is getting closer, and closer, and closer.

Panic burns me from the inside out. What are we going to do?

I feel something grab my arm. I yell, yanked off of my feet. Between the roars of the beast and the burning of dust, I hear Niko and Fraze shocked screams, too. I stagger deep into a side crevasse, moving down all too fast.

"You need to stop being such a dummy, dummy!"

"Vivvy?" I say. "I...when did your hands get so big?"

"That's because I'm saving your ass, dumbass!"

"Elton."

I don't speak the name, I hiss it. Each syllable has enough venom is kill a man ten times over. He doesn't stop his manhandling until the air actually feels cool.

"You're a sweaty mess, Micha. Just let it be known this is a one-time thing. A one-time thing."

"Wouldn't have it any other way..."

We stop and someone lights a candle. In front of me stands Elton, face as sour as the smell in the air. Vivvy's holding onto Niko's arm, a couple of her friends grabbing Fraze and the other stragglers. I open my mouth to speak, but in a frantic panic, she shushes me, eyes saying everything.

"Don't say anything, you might attract her."

"You're speaking.

"That's not the point!" she whispers, sighing. "Everyone shush up."

We sit in a cold silence. I shiver, wiping the last glob of sweat from my forehead. Elton lowers the candle to the ground. We're in a small cavern, water dripping from off the sides of stalactites. The bellowing gets louder, rumbling down the short cavern. I clutch my backpack, noticing for the first time the eggs in my sister and enemy's hands. I would be shocked if fear wasn't a stronger emotion.

To my horror, the footsteps stop. They don't slowly fade down another hallway, they stop. Right in front of the opening. Black, pointed talons curl into the rocks. Crack. I grimace as dust shoots into the air, pebbles in the place where a small boulder once stood. Mama dragon lowers her snout, a puff of smoke wafting from her nostrils. I clamp my hand over my mouth. The others follow, crouching down to avoid her breath.

"She can smell them."

"Huh?"

I turn to look at Vivvy. She's never looked so serious before.

"She can smell her babies."

The thought feels like a thousand boulders dropped on top of my head. I let go of the straps. The egg, my dragon, twitches. I can picture them scratching their little baby nails against the shell. Scratch, scratch, scratch. In response to mama or in response to time, I don't know. But they're going to hatch soon.

"We need to get out of here," I say. "We need to get out of here now. Before it's too late. She's not going to stop until she gets her babies back."

"And what exactly do you suggest we do? Huh? Just charge at her, hope she doesn't roast the flesh off our bones? What a great plan!"

"Shush!" scolds Vivvy.

"Can we got farther back?"

"It's a tight fit," says Vivvy. "But I think we can. We'll have to crawl and I'm not sure where we'll end up if we end up anywhere at all."

"It must lead somewhere..."

"Fraze is right," I say. "We'll end up somewhere. Not here, and that's exactly where we need to be right now. Smallest goes first."

Vivvy taps one of her friends on her shoulder. She looks her dead in the eyes, fingers shaking. Vivvy nods, giving her a half-hug half-push away from us. She takes the candle with her. We watch her stumble five, ten, twenty feet before she begins to crawl. The blip that is her candle disappears.

"Well?" says Vivvy.

"It's tight, but if you take a left turn it keeps going on. It feels...really hot-"

"Then let's get going."

Elton goes next, followed by Vivvy and her friends. Then Niko, then Fraze. Until it's just me. I take a deep breath, taking one more look at mama dragon. A golden eye stares me down, squinting into the shadows. Clinging to the walls, I slowly begin to move. It's getting hotter. I can hear the others struggling. They grunt among one another, allowing themselves to be loud.

"Watch out! There's some rocks over there, it's a really tight fit! We'll have to go in one at a time!"

I see the light of the candle ahead once I take the left turn. The bottom of the cave is dusty. Pebbles cling to my knees. I can make out a figure ahead of me, probably Fraze.

"We're going to need to hand the eggs over first, and then we can move on. One at a time."

Fraze takes off his bag. With careful movements, he hands it deeper into the shadows. I hear the others speak in muffled voices from the other side of what I assume is rocks. Rocks shift. After everything settles, Fraze begins to move again. Before long he's swallowed up by the hole.

"Okay Micha," says Vivvy. "Your turn. Hand us the egg first. And be careful."

I slip off the bag, clasping it in my arms. The little guy still moves. I let out a nervous giggle. Fraze shots me a confused glare before reaching his hand out. The fabric is the same color as the rocks; Dark, velvety, cloaked in shadows. He takes it from me, the bag grazing the bottom of the opening.

"Shit, Fraze! Hold them up a little higher!"

"Sorry!"

Irritation pumps in my veins. As soon as I can, I stretch out into the hole. Rock bite at my knees, thrashing against the fabric. My shirt is pushed up, stomach lightly slashed. I struggle for only a few feet and then the cavern widens.

"Whoa!"

I fall head first down, right onto my palms. The rocks sink their teeth in. It takes all my strength not to scream damn bloody murder right then and there. I wince and get back up, only to hit my head on the ceiling.

"Ouch!"

"Sorry bro. Should've given you a heads up about that."

"Thanks, Vivvy."

Fraze hands me back my egg as I roll my eyes. The little guy's taken a break from squirming. I swing it back onto my shoulders, ready to get out of this tunnel. It's getting hotter by the minute. If these were regular eggs, our dragons would be cooked by now. We keep moving down the passageway. The candle, our only source of light, keeps flickering. Nobody speaks. Time dragons for what feels like forever.

"What's that?" says Fraze.

I squint, unsure. There's a white light creeping out in front of us. It creates a thin line. My heart freezes in place; This is just like the door that almost got us roasted. Literally. I reached out, grabbing Vivvy's hand. I don't even realize I do it until she squeezes my fingertips.

"A door, you think?"

"Not another door..." I murmur.

"C'mon," snorts Elton. "You're scared of doors now? Didn't you have to open one to get your dragon egg?"

"Let's just say it didn't go well for me. It's a miracle I still have any water left in my body. Or unburnt skin. Or eyebrows."

"Whatever."

I look over at him. Shadows cake his face, but I can still see his sneer. I conceal a grunt. How could Vivvy be so head over heal's for this guy? Rolling my eyes, I pull her just a little closer to me, both to protect her from the man-brat and the growing light. Niko is the one to open the door.

"Congratulations!"

The voice sounds familiar. He has the exact same tone as before. I squint. All I can see is blinding light, which doesn't help my stumbling feet as I exit the cave. All I can make out is a cheering crowd, a stage, and the leader of the dragons who'd led us into the cave.

"You've won the Rujan festival!"

A/N:

Ah! A properly sized chapter, from me? Must be a miracle lol. 

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