I was trapped in a dark, cold room made of metal. A single light from the center of the ceiling cast a faint glimmer of yellow light. My breath came out in puffs, and my paws were freezing cold. I tried keeping them warmer by picking them up, and curling my toes.

Whispers came from no where. I looked around, but there was no one there.

More whispers, but a littler clearer and louder.

"You know it is hopeless,"

"Give up."

"I know your deepest secrets; your fears, hopes, and weaknesses."

I started shivering, but not from the cold. The whispers grew louder.

I covered my paws to my ears, but the sounds were too loud. They vibrated through my skull.

I heard the screams of the ice horses. I heard the breaking of ice.

In the corner opposite of me, an icicle frosted from the wall. Several more also grew from the wall, like plants begging for water.

Their tips were sharp enough to cut yourself with. They grew rapidly, and more followed. They kept growing faster, forcing me from my corner.

The air was too cold to breathe. Icicles came from every direction; up, down, left, right.

My space grew tighter and tighter by the second. The whispers had turned into wailing screams.

"Help!"

"Stop it! You're hurting me!"

"Please! Please! No!"

"Mika, help me!"

If I could sweat, I would have been sweating. It would have frozen, though.

The icicles were everywhere. If I moved an inch, I would get kabobed. They kept growing, and growing, till one Pierced my chest.

"AAAGGGHHHHHH!!" I jumped up and screamed as if I were sleeping on hot coals.

Marsha and Kota sat up, eyes wide; but Sqalei and Jova only flinched.

"Are you okay?" Marsha asked.

I was breathing hard, but I forced it to settle down. My heart slowed too, but the image filled my head like poison.

"Yes... I'm fine." I said shakily between breaths. "Just... just a bad dream."

"Sounds worse than bad," Kota said.

"I'm fine, alright?" I hissed.

"Whatever you say." Kota said.

Marsha and him settled back down, and I did as well.

I tried to sleep, but I was too shaken by my dream. Adrenaline coursed through me. It would be impossible to sleep.

I rolled over a few times, trying to get comfortable. No matter what position I was in, I couldn't find the right one. Even if my body was comfortable, my mind was not.

I sighed, then rolled and got to my feet. I walked to the river quietly, trying not to wake anyone else.

I took another sip from the river. It tasted fine, but not as good as snow water. The river was ice cold. It would have been frozen if it wasn't moving so fast.

I dipped my toes in the water. It pushed madly at my paw, trying to get through. I took it out, and shook the icy drops off.

I heard an owl's hoot above my head. I lifted my head up, craning my neck to see it. All I saw was it's dark outline against the sparkling stars.

There were tons of them. It was beautiful, to say the least.

Then, from the water, I heard a bubbling noise. I looked down again, and saw that the river was slowing down, but it did so reluctantly. Something was making the river slow down!

I touched the water again, and frost spread over it like spilled milk. The frost extended into both directions.

Did I freeze it? I asked myself. To any observer, yes, you could easily come to the conclusion that I froze the river. But if I were to say it aloud, it would seem crazy. Of course I didn't freeze the lake; the best superpower I have is a built-in back scratcher on my tongue.

As fast as the river had frozen, the ice was broken by the rushing water underneath. As the top layer was drifting and breaking down the current, I could almost hear voices.

"With victory comes sacrifice. Are you sure you want to pay the price? You will never win, anyway."

I stood up abruptly and growled deeply at the river. "I'm tired of these messages. I know that they are coming from the ice wolf. No matter what you do, I will not give up." I said quietly.

I heard laughing. The sound of it made my hackles rise.

I went back to my spot. I didn't lay down; I just sat there.

Then, off in the distance, I thought I saw an owl, or maybe a bird. As it got closer, I quickly realized it was no bird.

It was a dragon. It had about a five meter wingspan, and a long tail. The horns atop it's head looked like sage brush. The rest of the body, looked like the sand and red rocks around.

"Guys! Wake up!" I yelled.

They stirred awake slowly. "Wait... what?" Kota said drowsily.

I started shaking them vigorously. "Wake up you guys, a dragon is coming right towards us! We have to get up now!"

That woke them up. Marsha was the first one to realize the weight of the situation. Her blue eyes were wide like diner plates as she grabbed her bag and ran.

The others followed her frantically. I sprinted after them, but I was quickly loosing breath and speed.

I looked behind my shoulder and saw that the dragon was gaining speed, and loosing altitude.

I tried leaping. Each leap shot me 30 feet ahead. I caught up with the others, but the dragon was still following us.

It was practically over our heads. It could have eaten us easily. I knew that running was no use, so I stopped and started to put my claws on.

Luckily, the dragon didn't notice immediately. But after a few heart beats, he stopped chasing the others and turned around. He was heading towards me rapidly.

He tucked his wings in, then nose-dives towards me. I latched the claws, then jumped high in the air.

Somehow, I managed to land on the dragon's thin neck. I was able to straddle it as he climbed higher into the sky.

I held on desperately as the wind quizzed past my face. My friends looked like tiny ants.

As usual, I came up with a stupid plan.

I crawled cautiously down the dragon's neck, then onto his shoulders. I almost slid off, but I latched my claws between his scales.

I slowly slid onto his wing. The leather on it looked strong, but thin enough to be ripped under pressure.

I prepared myself for death, then started clawing at his wing. It ripped in several places, causing air to shoot through them. The air made the holes bigger.

The dragon screamed like a tormented bird, then he started to fall.

I hang on for dear life as wind screamed past me. The air was knocked from my lungs, so I couldn't breathe.

The dragon landed on his stomach with a boom. My legs felt like jello, but I held them up.

The dragon stirred slightly, and I jumped off. I landed running back to the group. They just sat there like confused meerkats.

"Run! Stop sight seeing and run!" I screamed.

It took a few curses to get then moving, but they got these message and started running.

"Towards the road! We can get a ride on one of the cars!" Sqalei said.

"What?" Marsha squealed.

"I said-"

"I know what you said! How can we get on one? They're going like, a hundred kilometers!"

"We jump!" Sqalei said cheerfully, as if her jumped into cars going 100 everyday.

We raced to the road perched on the side of a hill. We raced up the hill, getting closer to the cars.

My heart beat quickened. I was surprised it was still in my chest. The cars were wizzing past, faster than a cheetah could sprint. I had never seen human cars before; I decided I didn't like them.

"On three, jump into the black truck." Sqalei said. I didn't see the car, but I hoped he knew what he was doing. I didn't feel like being squished on a windshield like a bug.

"One... two... three!"

I sprang right as the car popped into my vision. Luck had been rooting for me, since I landed in the bed of truck with my friends. Sqalei didn't quite make it in.

We instinctively grabbed him by his scruff and started pulling him in.

Most of the truck had tools in it, but I saw a dog bed and some deer antlers still connected to part of the skull. (eww.)

Sqalei started to lie down in the bed, but Kota started to sit on him. The little fox jumped away from the threat of getting pancaked.

I looked behind us, my long fur whipping in the wind. The dragon wasn't flying, but it was running and hovering when it could. I saw it shoot out a blast of fire in frustration. At the speed we were going, I thought we would be safe.

From that point on, we rode the truck. We never stopped, so I assumed the driver lived close. I prayed that the driver wouldn't see us; it would be rather hard to explain why two exotic cats, two dogs and a fox were hitching a ride without permission.

I often looked back to see if the dragon was close. It was uncomfortably close at first, but it soon become part of the landscape. The tension in the atmosphere lifted, but I felt a nagging at my stomach.

"Well, we've had quite an adventure!" Jova said, trying to brighten the mood.

We all laughed a little, but without humor.

"Who knew how hard it could be to get home?" Kota said. "We've always used portal orbs to get from place to place. We often travel hundred of kilometers a day. I doubt Zion is that far from Cedar."

"It isn't," Sqalei said with a sly grin, "I've been there plenty of times. Though, dragons never followed me."

We laughed again.

The sky brightened, but the sun wouldn't come up for at least an hour or two. I was reluctant to sleep, for fear of dreams haunting me. But the adrenaline I had gained was gone, and my body begged for sleep.

Almost against my will, my eyes closed and my body settled. I let myself sleep.

<><><><>

I didn't dream, or at least I didn't remember them. I woke up to Kota shaking me awake. "Mika! Mika!"

"Whuh?" I asked, opening my eyes.

The sun had peeked over the purple and orange mountains. Luckily, they were snow topped. White and gray clouds sat on top of the mountains like frosting. A giant white c was two thirds of the way up a mountain.

"Are we there?" I asked.

"Yes." Kota said. "But the car is stopping at the gas station to fill up. We have to get out while the driver is buying food."

I sat up, and was able to see the city. It wasn't huge, but it wasn't small. The traffic wasn't bad. We had stopped at a gas station, as Kota had said. Only the black truck and a red van were there.

I jumped from the truck, landing on my paws softly. I heard my claws click on the pavement. I then remembered that I still had them on.

I took them off. I immediately decided that I didn't like the pavement.

But I did like how the air was crisp. Frost covered whatever it could. I felt fresh; like going into an air conditioned building after a hot summer day.

Marsha didn't look too happy, though. She was shivering.

Sqalei had a smug grin on his face, as usual. A sly aura came from him.

Kota jumped from the truck, causing it to buckle.

"Where to next?" Kota asked.

"The mountain! Let's go!" Sqalei said.

He started running towards the mountain, and we followed.