The Edge

chapter two

i was met with a pair of violet eyes with specks of fiery red intermixed.

but these eyes were far from normal, they were grand. in fact, this creature looked massive. its head size itself hovered over the entirety of my 177 cm self. i couldn't tear my gaze away as the eyes began to glow. slowly, i succumbed to the light and felt myself lose consciousness.

--

i was laying in dirt. it was oddly warm, that much i could feel.

the creature?

i sat up and took in my new surroundings. i wasn't under the trees, i now loomed over them. a hill, no... i glanced behind me.

my body froze. a growling came from beside me right, my muscles tightened up even further. if i was right, i was at the top of a volcano, one wrong move and i could end up in dead.

the growling grew louder.

i clenched my hands and shakily turned my head toward the noise.

those eyes. they held my gaze, daring me to look away. oddly enough, i wasn't afraid. anastasia would think i was crazy, sitting on the edge of a volcano having a staring contest with what looked like a dragon from the fairytales we were told as children -except this creature looked even deadlier and enormous. it was a scarlet shade that changed opacity depending on how the light hit its scales. what a peculiar combination, violet and red.

the creature moved toward me slowly.

i had my knife. i needed to get away but i wasn't foolish enough to try anything just yet... i was unaware of the deadliness of the creature before me. it's capabilities were far from my comprehension.

it seemed to tilt its head toward the volcano's entrance.

human gestures?

i quickly glanced down and saw the same pool of lava ready to devour me if i so much as leaned to far to the left. locking eyes with the creature, it made the same gesture. did it want me to look at the volcano? no... that can't be it...

the creature stood on its legs, glanced at me, then dove into the lava. my eyes widened in realization. could it be? it would kill itself? that went against all laws of nature, shouldn't it be attempting to do everything and anything to survive?

it tore through the lava as gracefully as the professional springboard divers from the competitions i enjoyed watching back home. the heat that was meant to kill, seemed to embrace the creature as if welcoming it.

am i free?

no. i am still in an alien planet, i was lucky this creature seemed to kill itself rather than potentially eat me. i shut my eyes and hugged my knees close to my body tightly. maybe it's just all a bad dream.

again, i was wrong.

there was a rumbling down below, i peered over the edge and witnessed as the creature rose from the lava-like liquid in what i thought was a volcano -but now doubted- uninjured and clearly not dead.

it flew in circles above then descended into a space beside me, it's eyes locking on mine once more. my eyebrows furrowed in confusion. it scientifically wasn't possible but then again i didn't think me being transported to an alien planet was possible yet here we are.

the creature nudged me toward the edge and glanced down at the not lava. does it want me to jump in there?

"i can't."

the tilting of its head signaled the creature's indifference.

"no, you don't understand, i'm not from this planet, so maybe your creatures can all jump into a volcano and not die but i certainly will!" i raised my hands and pulled at my hair in frustration. "you can't even understand me so this is pointless."