Chapter 89: As Hot As A Volcano

CASSIE’S POV

I helplessly searched the darkness, but nothing came out of it.

I sighed heavily and propped myself up on the ground.

I closed my eyes, thinking. If only I had something like an axe right now. It would sure make things way easier for me.

Suddenly I heard a little ding sound and blinked my eyes open.

What was that sound?

I looked around curiously and something flashed purple on the dark ground.

I moved closer and closer to it, reached down for the object, and raised it high.

An axe. An actual freaking axe.

A smile curled up on my lips.

I went back to where the crack was with the weapon in hand, sucked in a breath, and brought the axe down with everything I had in me.

It didn’t break on the first hit, but the crack expanded. I hit the same spot over and over and over again until the crack spread more, forming spiderweb lines that signaled it was on the verge of shattering.

I backed up as quickly as I could when the ground cracked open further, and I watched as it collapsed, falling into the yellow light.

I dropped the axe and moved closer to the edge.

Looking down, my eyes reflected the red volcanic landscape below.

Shit. Am I really supposed to go down there?

I stepped back a little, breathing in and out.

Come on, Cassie. You can’t back out now when you’re so close.

Jake is down there. I can feel it.

Just remember, this is just in your mind. You’re not really here.

I gave myself an encouraging nod and bit my lip.

"Okay. Here goes nothing," I mumbled, and took a few steps back before picking up the pace. Once I got to the edge, I jumped in.

My breathing was uneven and panicky as I landed on the ground with one foot down and one knee down, with one of my hands supporting my weight on the ground while my other hand hung out sideways in the air.

Whoa. That was some sick superhero landing.

I stood straight and stared at my hands in astonishment.

I guess my agility while I’m in the mind state is advanced or something.

"Okay," I mumbled and looked around.

Everywhere was made of black stone dripping with molten lava. There was even a lava lake where all the molten rock was pooling up.

I took off my jacket and put my hair up in a ponytail. This place was as hot as a volcano, and I was sweating badly.

"Where are you, Jake?" I turned around, making sure not to miss any corners.

I thought about yelling out his name but had a second thought immediately.

If I didn’t want to be detected by the Voreth, then I mustn’t be too loud, or they’ll know I’m in here and try to stop me from getting to Jake.

I quietly checked around, corner by corner, until I saw what looked like a cage made of black metal.

My heart rate increased.

I made my way to it.

Once I got closer, I could finally make out what was inside. I saw a shade of whitish-blonde hair. It was a boy, but he had his head bent so I couldn’t see his face.

His hands were tied with shackles connected to the cage.

The boy must have heard my footsteps, because he raised his face up slowly to meet my eyes.

Jake.

He looked shocked, surprised, and confused all at the same time.

"Jake?" I called out to him.

"Cassie?"

I nodded and ran closer to him, but his expression changed. "Stop! Stay back!"

"What? It’s me," I said to him, but he didn’t look convinced.

"How do I know it’s really you?" he asked.

"Wha... It’s... It’s me... Cassie. The girl you risked your life for, just to come save me. The girl you gave her first ever real... kiss." I said to him, but his expression didn’t change.

"Look... I don’t think we have much time to debate this. I’m going to be discovered sooner or later, so I need to get you out of here so I can go help the others too." I said and went close to the metal cage.

I shook it, but it didn’t budge.

"Any idea how I can get this open?" I asked him.

"Cassie?" His expression finally softened as his eyes studied my face. "It really is you, isn’t it?"

"Duh, yeah. And I’m sorry I got you guys into this mess. If only you didn’t come for me. Maybe you wouldn’t be the ones suffering this way." I said to him, and he smiled weakly at me.

"It’s not your fault. Please don’t blame yourself," he said.

"You can tell me that again when you all are well and alive." I said and kept shaking the metal cage.

"Why isn’t this coming off?" I was getting frustrated.

"How did you get in here?" he asked me.

"You seem to forget I have awesome mind powers," I said while still trying to get the cage open.

"Right. Of course." He said and chuckled weakly.

"Is there supposed to be a key to unlock this thing?" I asked him, worry pulling at my face.

"I don’t know. I’ve been trying to escape from this place several times, but the entity keeps catching up to me and dragging me back here."

"So you’ve come out of this... cage, several times?" I asked, and he nodded.

"Well, what are you waiting for? Do it again," I said to him.

"I don’t know if I can anymore. My strength has weakened by a lot."

"Come on, you have to try."

He nodded and closed his eyes. I watched him struggle to pull the chains off his hands, and they didn’t break.

"I can’t..." he said breathlessly.

I need to help him. Somehow.

I held on to the metal bars and closed my eyes for a few seconds.

I stretched out my hand and touched his cheek.

I didn’t know what I was doing, but it sure felt like I was doing something.

I felt some energy current coursing through my head, down to my shoulders, moving down to my outstretched hand and transferring to Jake through his cheek.

I opened my eyes and took a sharp breath before pulling myself away from him.

A little bit of color seemed to have returned to Jake’s face. "Wow. What was that?" he asked me.

"I don’t know," I said.

Jake tried pulling the chains off his hands again and succeeded this time.

He reached for the metal cage and shook it open on the first try.

"Ok, wow," I muttered.

He crawled out of the cage and quickly took me in his arms.

He hugged me so tightly I almost choked. "Okay... can’t breathe here," I said, and he loosened his grip on me.

Next thing I knew, his lips crashed into mine, soft and moving with so much ease.

"Sorry. I just... I’m so glad to see you. And you just saved me," he said softly when he finally pulled away slightly to see my face.

"Technically, I haven’t really saved you yet. We’re still down here. I think we need to get you out of here first and back in the real world before we can mark this as saving," I said.

"Yeah, you’re right. Come on... I think I might have seen the real way to get us out of here. But you’re not going to like it," he said and pulled me with him.

After a few moments, we were both standing at the edge of a volcano, looking down at the molten lava.

"Do I even dare ask what we’re doing up here?" I asked nervously as I stared down in horror.

"After having spent some time alone here, I’m starting to think that... THAT WAY... might be my only way out of here," he said to me, pointing down to the molten lava, which had its middle shaped like a door of some kind.