Perfectly, Imperfect

#26 They Just Don't Learn

(Preston's POV)

      "Hey Jerome", I awkwardly laugh. "What the hell are you doing here, Preston!? You haven't been here since we were little, right?", He splutters, getting up off the floor. It's a little awkward with him at first, but our shared past binds the six of us together. No one else is quite like us. "Yeah..... um, I've been here for a while", I mumble, "But these people have been studying me for years! Everything I'm around is made of obsidian these days".

     "I would have come back..... I should have", Jerome growls, now standing next to me. He's a good three inches taller. "I understand why no one did", I reply. I understand why no one was willing to come back to this place; it was easier for them to assume that I was free. It kinda hurts to think that Jerome made it, and didn't come back for me. I did it for them. I should be happy, but I have to push down a stab of resentment towards Jerome. I don't want to be angry at him. I have to bite my tongue to keep my warming skin from shifting into lava.

"Do you know why we're in here?", Jerome asks me. "Yeah, they'll probably do something like-", I try and say, but an arrow suddenly flies out of nowhere. I yelp and dive in front of Jerome, my arm instantly melting from how I had been angry. Looks like it's a good thing I have a fiery temper. My arm turns to lava quick enough that the arrow hits me, then simply burns away. "Something like that" I finish. "Damn, you're basically invincible", Jerome awkwardly laughs. "Nah, it takes time to heat up like I did. It's hard to stay hot enough to melt things on will. It's easier when it comes with some emotion", I explain, "plus, now I'm just a little bit smaller then I was before".

     A clicking sound echoes out in the obsidian room, and slots open up on the ground. "Fudge", I mumble, right before lava starts filling the room. "Preston!? What's happening?", Jerome asks, panic in his voice. "Umm, I've seen this before. It's how they've forced people to attack me in the past. Land a hit on me, and the lava stops rising", I ramble, "Get on my shoulders". "What? You do realize that I weigh, like 280 pounds, right?", he says in disbelief. "I'm made of a liquid! Just get on so your fur doesn't start burning!", I argue back. Jerome sighs before stepping on my hand, that way I can boost him up. I'm still fighting to stay cool, my panic making it worse.

     "Wait.... I think I have a plan", Jerome says from above me. Lava is up to my ankles now, making my legs heat up as well. It's hard to focus on him when I'm trying not to melt him in burning hot liquid. "Do it fast", is all I can get out. "I'm going to try and smack through the glass up there", he says, pointing to a one way mirror near the ceiling. "Are you crazy!? That obsidian glass! I can't even melt it", I scold him. "Got any other plans?", he snaps back, "Can you get me higher up?". I grumble while looking around. The lava is now up to my knees, and not stopping. This is usually close to the part where they bring out the buckets of water. They'll turn the lava all the way on the other side to stone, but I'll feel the pain. I can't drop Jerome or heat up all the way. I don't want the water to be near me.

     "Ok, we only have one shot", I sigh. I stop paying attention to my surroundings, more focused on all the lava that I can feel. It's hard to be big. I lose myself when I'm too big. It's even harder to make only half of my body bigger, while keeping the other half cool. I'm not very good at this, but I have to try. This has to be quick. I suddenly shoot up into the air, Jerome yelping and clinging to my shoulders. My legs are four times as long as they were before, and I struggle to keep the shape, balance Jerome, and not melt his flesh off. "Go already!", I yell at him. Jerome suddenly leaps of my shoulders, sending me off balance and crashing back into the lava pit.

     My vision is instantly gone, along with any part of my human self. I am the lava pit. My thoughts fly around in circles, not understanding the complex thoughts of a human. But I do still understand that I'm trapped. No one traps me. It's impossible to trap me when I burn through everything I touch. I can feel the cold air coming from above me. The lava pit suddenly surges up, smacking against the smashed opening in the wall. The already screaming humans now run in complete terror. The furred animal is against the wall with bloody claws, staring at the wave of death. "Preston?", he asks, the scorching heat scaring him. It doesn't want to stop. It wants to melt this place to the ground, even with other people like it still trapped. But that name....

     I'm suddenly spluttering on the other side of the broken glass, a giant splash of molten rock behind me. My skin is completely molten and I feel my thoughts scattered and half formed. "Jerome?", I ask the furry animal. Lava slowly cools, and my head is clearing. "Preston! Are you ok!? What happened?", he asks me, sounding very concerned. "Uh.... oh! Yeah, I'm fine, totally fine!", I gush, parts of skin appearing on my face and arms, "Lets go.... do whatever we were doing". "Are you sure that you're ok?", he asks again. "Fine", is all that I say, still trying to sort my scattered thoughts.