A Little Bit of Hell and Heaven

Part 3

The passageway opened up into a large cave lit with golden light. Simon and Steven stopped just outside the beam of light on the ground.

"Do you wanna go first, or should I?" Steven asked.

"I'm not sure this is the right one..." Simon spoke, peering into the cave without going into the light. "I don't see a lake anywhere."

"It's probably just hidden. Come on." Steven explained, stepping into the cave. He immediately froze. His skin was blistering and his hair was literally smoking. Simon, reacting quickly, grabbed Steven by the back of his shirt and yanked him into the shadows. Steven collapsed to the ground, whimpering in pain. Simon stared at his arm. It was burned, but not as badly as Steven, and Simon could tell that it was already healing quickly.

Steven's burns were also healing, but not nearly as fast because they were so severe. Simon muttered a string of curses under his breath as he searched through his backpack to find something that would help Steven heal faster. He pulled out a small tube of medicated ointment. No way that would be enough. Still, Simon crawled over to where Steven lay on the floor and began applying it gently to his face and lips. Steven winced at first, but relaxed as he felt the ointment helping him.

When the ointment  was gone, Simon crawled back to his backpack and pulled a thermos full of coffee out of the side pocket. He poured some down Steven's throat. The caffeine would help give Steven more energy to heal faster. Now, all Simon could do was wait. He shoved all of his stuff back in his backpack and slung it over his shoulder.

Steven was nearly healed, but he was also fast asleep on the floor now. Almost being burned to death and healing yourself completely took a lot out of you, it turned out. Simon waited a few more minutes before gently shaking Steven awake.

"You ready to keep going?" He questioned gently. Steven sat up and rubbed his eyes.

"What - what happened?" Steven asked groggily, stifling a yawn. "Why does my skin hurt? And why is it so pink?"

"You walked into that cave, which is full of sunlight. You nearly burned to death."

"I... what?"

"I saved your life." Simon added smugly.

"My hero." Steven muttered sarcastically. "Let's just - let's keep going." He was eager to get away from that cave.

They went back up the narrow passage and this time, took the larger path that faded into darkness. The tunnel got darker and colder as they walked down. Simon wished he had remembered to bring a jacket. Steven, however, appreciated that the chill kept him alert. Suddenly, a blast of heat slammed into them from the left. Simon shone the flashlight in that direction and discovered a small offshoot tunnel that turned sharply after about ten feet.

"Maybe the Lake is actually a hot springs?" Steven offered.

"Worth a shot," Simon shrugged.

The two meandered down the twisting tunnel. The heat grew more intense and they were suddenly overwhelmed by the rotten-egg stench of sulfur.

"Ugh," Steven groaned. "This has got to be the most unpleasant hot springs ever."

"Actually," Simon replied, holding his nose. "A good portion of hot springs are sulfurous."

"Ew."

They emerged into the cave and gazed at the pool of water in the middle. It was steaming and murky.

"Do you think this is it?" Simon wondered.

Steven was about to say "only one way to find out" when something emerged from the pond. It was red and scaly with yellow horns and serpentine eyes. They had stumbled upon a --

"DRAGON!" Steven shrieked. He started sprinting out of the cave. He turned to see that Simon wasn't following him. Simon was still frozen in fear, staring at the giant red beast. The dragon was making a purring sound that meant it was getting ready to breathe fire. Simon was about to be roasted alive.

Steven rushed back into the cave and grabbed Simon by the arm and ran back out of the cave. Or... tried to. Simon's legs didn't move, so Steven ended up dragging him out of the cave. Not anticipating the extra dead weight, Steven pitched forward and fell on his face.

Steven stood up quickly, brushed himself off, and proceeded to squirt Simon in the face with water from his water bottle. Simon "awoke" and scrambled to his feet.

"Come on! We have to get out of here!" Steven screamed, his voice at least an octave higher than normal. They sprinted down the winding tunnel, skidding into the walls around certain sharp turns.

They burst out into the larger tunnel and leaped to the side, ending up in a heap on the floor. A few seconds later, a jet of white-hot flame spurted out of the mouth of the tunnel they had just escaped.

"That... was close..." Simon panted.

"Get off of me!" Steven grunted, shoving Simon to the side. He was breathing heavily, his heart pounding and his chest heaving.

"Jeez! What the heck, man?" Simon grumbled.

"What the heck was that back there?" Steven yelled angrily.

"You mean the dragon? You know what that was. You screamed 'DRAGON!'"

Steven let out a frustrated groan. "Not that. You! What the heck was up with you? You just froze."

"Kinda like you did in the sunlight cave?" Simon spat back at Steven. "Everyone freezes up sometimes, ok? I happen to be afraid of dragons. I was freaking petrified! I saved your life, you saved mine. Now we're even." He huffed.

They sat there in silence for a while. "I'm sorry." Steven said finally. " I'm sorry. I shouldn't've gotten so angry at you. Its just - I didn't want - I couldn't lose you, ok? And I almost did! I - I just..." Steven trailed off. His eyes were brimming with tears. He wiped furiously at his face. "Your like my only family, Simon. I never want to lose you like I lost my mom. Not when I can do something about it."

Simon rose to his feet and offered a hand to Steven, who accepted gratefully. Simon pulled Steven to his feet and into a tight hug. "I think that sulfur gas went to your brain or something," Simon joked. "You're getting all emotional and stuff." Steven laughed, sniffled, and wiped the rest of the tears off his face.

"Shut up," He groaned through a grateful smile.

"You know you love me," Simon said, ruffling Steven's hair.

"Whatever. Let's keep looking for that cave."

They walked down the large tunnel, playfully bumping into each other. Simon couldn't help thinking, I don't want him to think of me as a brother. I want to be more than that.