Chapter 95: The Light At The End Of A Tunnel

CASSIE'S POV

I looked carefully around the darkness with more confidence than I had the last time I was here.

Probably because I was getting used to it now.

"Okay. Cara has the fire Element. So I just need to find a clue of something relating to fire, right?" I kept mumbling to myself as I searched.

I kept walking into the darkness until I felt the air get warmer.

"Gotcha." I smirked.

I moved around, trying to locate the hottest spot I could find.

When I did, I looked down and saw what looked like a metal door built into the ground.

I quickly squatted and lifted the edge of the door. I pulled my face back once the heat hit me.

That is fucking hot.

"Okay. Here goes nothing." I stepped inside and pulled the door closed above me.

There was a ladder. I climbed down one rung at a time until I hit the bottom.

I quickly took off my jacket, tied it around my waist, and put my hair up in a ponytail.

This jacket has to be magic too, because it always comes out looking brand new no matter what mind I jump into.

"Okay Cara... where are you?"

~

I passed several things on the ground that looked like broken shells. But that couldn't be right. They were way too huge to be shells.

Unless... they were shells of something equally huge.

I shook my head. I couldn't even bring myself to think about what could come out of something that big.

I passed by a familiar pool of bubbling molten lava and shuddered, remembering jumping into one a few hours ago.

The heat kept getting worse the deeper I went.

Where’s the freezing cold when you need it, huh?

I stopped in my tracks when I saw what looked like a metal cage suspended in the air.

Oh my god.

Cara. She was inside the cage.

Her light blonde hair was dirty and her clothes were torn and worn out. She looked like she was asleep.

I walked closer and heard her breathing pick up. Then her eyes flew open.

Her eyes were wild as she stared down at me, gripping the bars. "Cassie?" she called out in a shaky voice.

I nodded and stepped closer. I could barely reach the cage. It was right at my eye level. "Yeah, it's me. I came to save you." I gave her a small smile.

"How? How are you here?" she asked.

"Well... don't freak out, but... we're kind of in your head right now." I said. She still looked confused.

"This is my mind? How? I'm being kept in a literal dungeon. How can that be inside my mind?" she asked, still dazed.

"It's a long story. I'll tell you everything after we get you out of here." I said, shaking the bars to test how strong the cage was. The metal rattled, and the sound echoed through the whole underground.

"No, no, no... what are you doing? You're going to wake it up!" Cara said, panicking.

"Wake what up?" I asked.

Just then I heard it. A distant roar, and footsteps so heavy they shook the ground as they got closer to us.

"What is that..." I whispered, panic rising in my chest.

It couldn't be another snowman again, could it?

"That," Cara said, looking behind me. "Is what's been tormenting me ever since I got here."

I turned around fast, my eyes dragging upward.

My heart almost dropped out of my chest.

Yeah. I think I'm completely out of my mind now.

A dragon.

A freaking gigantic dragon was blowing steam from its nostrils as it came toward us, one heavy step at a time.

"You've got to be kidding me," I muttered.

"Yep. Welcome to my world," Cara said.

~

"We have to get you down. Now." I looked around for anything sharp to break the lock with.

Luckily, I spotted a thick, heavy stone. It might do the job.

I slammed it against the lock over and over, and somehow, it broke free. Cara unhooked the bolt and dropped down from the cage.

"Now we run like hell!" I grabbed her hand.

We ran and ducked behind a giant rock.

"It's still coming this way!" Cara hissed.

"Shit," I panted, trying to catch my breath.

"Come on, we need to keep moving." This time it was her turn to drag me.

We ran until the tunnel ended. Dead end. A solid wall in front of us and nowhere else to go.

"Oh, this is bad. Very bad. And we can't go back either — that dragon is still after us." My chest was rising and falling too fast.

"Just calm down. Let's think. Can you explain again how you got in here?" she asked.

"I told you. Through the mind. My mind powers."

"And you can't get us out the same way?" she asked hopefully.

"No. I don't think it works like that."

"Okay. Let's take a minute. There's has to be a way out of here."

"Yeah. It usually has something to do with the most dangerous place. But in your case, the most dangerous thing is literally chasing us. And we're stuck. So we're basically easy snacks for Mr. Scales when he catches up." I mumbled.

"Don't talk like that. You told me you saved my brother and Damon, right?" she asked, and I nodded.

"Then it's going to work out here too. Just... take a second. Think."

I took her advice. I sat down and forced myself to breathe.

And that's when a weird idea hit me.

"Hey, Cara?"

"Yeah?"

"We're at the end of the tunnel down here, right?"

"Yes. What are you getting at?" She suddenly looked interested.

"You know back in the mundane world, there's a saying: 'There's always a light at the end of every tunnel.'"

She frowned and stared at the wall.

"Yeah? Well, the end of THIS tunnel is a solid wall, and I don't see any light."

"Exactly. There's no light coming from it." I agreed. "But that doesn't mean it isn't there."

I walked up to the wall and ran my hands over it. Suddenly, I felt like I was being pulled in. Cara yanked me back just in time.

"Uhh... oh my god. Did you... see that?" I gasped.

"Yeah. What was that?" Cara asked.

I looked at her and smirked. "The light at the end of a tunnel."

I turned back to the wall. "Our way out."

~

"Are you ready?" I asked, holding her hand tight.

She nodded frantically. "More than ready."

"On the count of two, we walk through."

"One."

"Two."

The both of us stepped straight through the wall and out of her mind trap.

~

I gasped the moment my eyes opened.

I was back in the Great Hall.

"Cassie... Cassie? Are you okay?" Jake asked, worry all over his face.

It took me a second to speak.

"Y-yeah. I'm... fine." I stammered.

"Are you sure? How many fingers am I holding up?" He held up one finger.

"Ten." I said. His eyes widened. "Kidding! Just one, silly." I chuckled at him.

"You almost got me there," he said, but his voice was still serious.

"Sorry." I touched my pounding head.

"Who? Who did you bring back?" Jake asked.

My eyes flicked briefly to Damon. He was already staring right at me. Then I looked back at Jake.

"Cara," I said.

~