Dragon Seekers

Chapter 9

It felt hot.

That's all that Jamie could think about.

It was hot.

Sweat coated Jamie like a second layer of skin. It made it hard for him to breathe, like there was a pressure on his chest. The smell of smoke and fire overloaded his sense of smell. The ground was rough and hard. It was the complete opposite of the forest grounds that Jamie thought that he had landed on. Something was clenched tightly in his hand like a lifeline.

Jamie found it difficult to open his eyes. It was like someone had glued them shut. It was almost painful to open them as he struggled to adjust to the light. After what felt like an eternity, Jamie felt like he could see a lot better. He could see dark, menacing clouds above him, but his peripheral vision was full of flashes and brightness.

Feeling like he could finally move again, Jamie carefully sat up. He knows that this was a bad idea, considering that he didn't know how badly he was hurt, but he didn't know what else he could do. When he looked around him, he felt like all of his breath had left his body. The forest, the only place where he felt safe, had been dramatically replaced.

The ground was hard and cracked, the cracking glowing brightly from the magma under the earth. The ground was also hot. Not hot like Jamie was touching the sun, but like he was touching the sand in the Sahara desert. There were lava pools and rivers flowing all around the boy. The clouds above Jamie seemed to be more like swirling, black smoke. The smoke came out from volcanoes of different shakes and sizes. The whole area made Jamie feel like he was on a level where he meets the final boss in a video game. Only this was real.

Jamie felt like he was going to pass out as he suddenly struggled to breathe. He was in a forest a minute ago. He was in a safe space. That's when Jamie remembered the tree that was shaped like an archway and the way that the wind had sucked him into it like a vacuum cleaner. Did it act like a portal? It brought him to this place? This can't be real! Jamie needed to go home. He didn't care how toxic it was for him to be there, he needs to make sure that Jasmine was okay. She's probably freaking out about him not being there when she needed him. She might be in hospital or had been badly hurt because of Carl. She needs Jamie to be there with her.

Jamie looked around, trying to find a clue as to how he could get back. There was nothing around him, except this blistering hot wasteland. There wasn't even any sign of anything living here. Jamie looked down at his hand as he finally realised that he was clutching onto something. The dragon statue laid in the palm of his hand. He had been clutching it so tightly that it had left indentations on his skin. Jamie glared at what he thought was his treasure. This was all his fault. If he had never found it in the first place, this would never have happened.

Jamie pulled back his fist. He aimed for the lava river. He wanted to be rid of this thing. However, something stopped him from throwing the statue away. It was like a part of him, an important part of him that he couldn't live without was inside the statue. Jamie willed as hard as he could to throw it away, the thing that kept holding him back was getting stronger. It kept telling him that he couldn't get rid of something that he now connected with. What was he doing?

Jamie brought his fist down. He looked down at the statue. It stared right back at him. He can't bring himself to throw it away. Besides, if it brought him here, maybe he needs to use it somehow to get back home. Jamie slipped the statue as best he could into his jean pocket. It fitted almost perfectly. It only poked out of his pocket a little. So long as he didn't do anything reckless, he should be okay.

Wiping the sweat from his forehead, Jamie started walking forward. He struggled a little as he realised that the soles of his trainers had started to melt. If he doesn't find more appropriate footwear, he'll end up burning his feet. He tried not to think about it, but it was becoming difficult to do so. Jamie felt heavily dehydrated, he couldn't even swallow. It took a toll on his body. He struggled to breathe as the intense heat and the atmosphere made it all the more hard to move. If anything was living in a place like this was clearly adapted to it. Nature takes it's course through evolution, all living creatures evolving, adapting, to the environment that they live in. If there was anything living, chances are that they're all hiding from Jamie, too scared to approach, most likely, the first human that they have seen.

That's what Jamie thought until he heard something. He whipped around, trying to find the source of it. It sounded like something was moving. He scanned the area as carefully as he could. He didn't know what it was, but something told him that it wasn't good. He tried to play it off as something like a rock moving due to a tremor or something like that. That's what he thought when he saw a bunch of rocks falling from a cliff. However, something still didn't feel right, the bad feeling that Jamie had increased. The rocks didn't land randomly. Instead, they fell perfectly into a pile. Jamie tried to play it off as a coincidence, but that died almost immediately. The rocks started moving on their own. Magma slipped through the cracks in the ground. It moved on its own too, seeming to meld with the rocks. Jamie watched in shock and astonishment as they formed into a shape. A hulking body, larger than a polar bear, stood up. The rocks seemed to make up the body, legs, arms and head, while the magma seemed to hold it all together. The head was in the shape that reminded Jamie of a bulldog. The creature glared at him with blazing eyes made of magma.

Jamie felt his body shake as he saw this creature towering over him. He took slow steps back, trying to stay calm. However, his heart was beating so quick and so loud, that he was sure that this magma creature could hear it. The magma inside the creature seemed to flare up as it growled.

That was a warning.

A warning to run.