CounterPart

32 | The end of everything

Just as the sun was beginning to struggle over the hurdle of the horizon, Squid, Clay and Sunny finally came within landing distance of the volcano, which towered over the three of them like a great indestructible pillar.

The ground below them was anything but indestructible, as it gave out great rumbles and groans under the heaving effort of staying together.

Splits and chasms could be seen littering the landscape: evidently Peril had gotten there before them.

But if so ...

... The top of the volcano was churning out copious amounts of smoke and ash.

"Sunny! We can't keep flying, the ash will suffocate us!" Squid called, choking as he glided.

"Just - I don't know - let's find Peril!"

Though Peril was not a dragon who wanted to be found.

After a while, all Squid could think about was the way his wings ached with every beat, and his lungs burning as he sucked in the acrid air. The ash was everywhere; clinging to his scales; coating his throat, making it impossible to breathe. Very soon he thought he may not be able to speak at all.

He squinted through the thickening haze, searching desperately for a flash of orange among the blackened landscape below.

But there was nothing. Just endless smoke and the tremors beneath them.

Peril! Where ARE YOU? We ALL want this to end, even you, don't pretend! I know what you're feeling! He thought, verging on anger and panic.

Squid's heart pounded in his chest, breathless terror rising with each labored breath. They were too close to the volcano; too deep in Peril's ash cloud. The air was suffocating, heavy, drowning, pressing in from all sides.

"Sunny!" Squid rasped, his voice barely more than a croak. He could hardly see her through the swirling gray, but he knew she was struggling too. Even Clay was faltering, his wings beating slower, his massive form starting to sag.

Squid could feel the ash settling inside him, like a weight dragging him down. His mind was clouding, thoughts slipping away as the heat and smoke overwhelmed his senses.

PERIL, you're being selfish and delusionate! We're going to DIE here trying to HELP YOU!

I don't want to die without spending another moment with Sunny.

The fissures below looked ready to swallow them whole ... the ground had been rendered a dangerous maze of cracks and steam vents that screamed DON'T COME NEAR, I'M DANGEROUS.

Squid's heart sank. They weren't going to make it. The ash was in his head now, muddling his thoughts, blurring the line between the world and oblivion. His wings stuttered and he felt his strength almost gone. He was going to fall, and he couldn't even muster the energy to be afraid.

"Squid..." Sunny gasped, from what sounded like the distance but couldn't have been, for she was clutching his talons as she hovered. "Squid, it's all or nothing, now."

"W- wh-at?" He choked back.

"It's all or nothing. I want you to know that I would've spent forever with you. I would've flown here three times if it was your life on the line."