I Fight Fire With Lightning

The dragon looked us in the eyes, growling softly. In fact, it could have almost passed as the largest car in the world what with it growling like a car engine.

I need you to understand how big this thing was. This thing, its eyes were the size of a door. It's tail was ten times the size and length of a school bus. And it's chest was about as big as, oh, a baseball field.

"Alright." Jax whispered. "We scatter on the count of three. One..."

Without warning, the dragon charged, its wings flapping and its enormous jaw opening so wide it could have swallowed an entire ghast whole.

"THREE!" Jax screamed, and we all ran off in different directions.

I'd like to say that at first I was extremely brave, ran up to the dragon, and distracted it in order to let Jax and Sam pummel it with obsidian spikes and explosive arrows. But I didn't. I'm not proud of it, but I ran, slightly slipping on the endless dunes of sand.

The dragon slid to a halt, sending up a cloud of sand, and watched all of us scatter. Eventually, it made a decision and charged after Jax.

I stopped and watched in sick fascination as the enormous dragon immediately caught up to Jax, even though he was running as hard as he could.

"PILLAR!" screamed Jax.

Just as the dragon was about to snap him up, the sand underneath his feet exploded as an obsidian pillar similar to a pillar from The End burst from the ground, lifting Jax into the air.

The dragon slammed face first into the pillar, making it tilt. I saw Jax lose balance and start to slide towards the edge of the pillar. The dragon opened it's mouth, and I saw it's throat start to glow bright orange.

Before the dragon could vaporize Jax, multiple arrows hit the dragon's back and exploded. The dragon turned and sprayed flames at the same time, causing Sam, who had fired the arrow, to flee.

The dragon turned back to the pillar, held up it's claws, and slammed them into the pillar, making it tilt even more.

Jax suddenly dropped down, and my heart stopped for a moment before Jax fell into the shadow of the pillar and vanished. Sam fired even more arrows, which all blew up on the dragon's chest, forcing it back.

I felt a hand on my shoulder, and I jumped. I turned--it was Jax, who looked panicked.

"We need to leave," he said frantically. "now."

There were more explosions, and the dragon roared in frustration. It was struggling, that was clear, but soon it would get through the explosions and crush Sam. It wasn't being hurt—just pushed back. What with it's extremely armored scales, not even a diamond pickaxe would do anything.

The dragon got a bit too close to Sam, and lashed out with its claws. Sam jumped back, and the claws raked across the sand, drawing an enormous trench where Sam had just stood. As Sam ran, she fumbled in her pockets. As the dragon opened its mouth to either eat Sam or roast her, Sam pulled out an enderpearl and hurled it.

Just as the dragon blasted a stream of fire at Sam, the enderpearl landed, and Sam teleported away.

"SAM, WHERE ARE YOU? WE NEED TO GO NOW!" I screamed.

"I'M WORKING ON IT!" Sam bellowed back.

But I shouldn't have said anything. The dragon turned towards me, smoke spiraling out of its nostrils.

"Oh..." I gulped.

The dragon let out a roar that shook the earth and charged towards me.

?-?-?

Trevor sighed as he stared at the entrance of the cave.

Should I have gone in there with them? Trevor thought.

Sure, he was guilty about leaving them to wait out here. But...it was Klith they were talking about. What could he possibly have done? I mean, it wasn't like he could have actually been useful to them, right? Jax had control over obsidian. Sam was good with bows. Toni...

...well, he didn't know what Toni could do yet, but at least she went in! And she was four years younger than him!

Trevor straightened and gripped the reins of his horse. He was Sam's assistant! He could do this!

All of a sudden, a loud, echoing roar emanated from the cave, and Trevor's newfound courage suddenly left him.

"Maybe I should just stay here..."

?-?-?

Phys-Ed was never my strong point, but when a dragon is running at you full speed roaring like a cross between a lion and a T-Rex, you realize that you can run way more faster than you usually could.

That's what happened. I was running like an ocelot who'd drunken an entire bottle of Speed Six Thousand.

But even then, the dragon was starting to catch up, and the dragon's talons were now only barely missing me. One even nicked my jacket, tearing through it like a hoe through wheat.

I glanced behind me for a millisecond, only to see the dragon's neck starting to glow with flames again, and despite the explosive arrows pelting the dragon's back, it kept it's attention on me for some bizarre reason.

Then, I made the dumbest decision I could have made--and I've made a ton of dumb decisions before. I turned and ran directly at the dragon, running under the dragon's bescreaming like a madman.

The dragon could easily have sat down on me and crushed me, but it just stopped--perhaps surprised by the stupid move.

I heard the sound of crackling flames magnified a hundredfold, and a wave of orange flames barely missed me, and I ran out from underneath the dragon without dying.

Luckily for me, the thing about being enormous is that it takes a little while to turn around, so while the dragon slowly turned, I did the thing I did best: run.

I ran over to Sam, who was still firing arrows as she sprinted that multiplied in mid air to blast the dragon.

"I'm almost out of explosive arrows," Sam shouted. "We're going to have to do something soon!"

I was about to point out that we had been doing something this whole time (which was running) when the dragon blasted even more flames at us.

Jax came out of nowhere and raised his hands like the conductor of an orchestra, and a large wall of obsidian burst out of the ground, blocking the flames. Jax then threw his hands down, and the wall shattered into pieces that flew at the dragon. Most of the shards bounced off the dragon's skin, but some found chinks in the dragon's armor and pierced it's skin.

But it wasn't enough. The dragon merely shook it off and charged again.

Sweat was running down Jax's forehead, but still he summoned obsidian spikes from the ground that stabbed and poked at the dragon, but the dragon merely smashed through them. As it got closer and closer, what did I do?

Why, I heroically cowered before the night of the dragon, of course! What else?

But as I got a closer glance at my friends, I saw that they were tiring. Jax was barely keeping the attacks up. Sam was running out of arrows, and her arms were shaking.

And as I watched in abject horror, something in me broke.

Just like in the ravine, I went cold.

I had to do something.

I closed my eyes, searching for a solution. And as I opened them again, the dragon roared, revealing a deep red tongue and an enormous mouth the size of a cave.

I had an idea.

"Make it open it's mouth again." I said.

"What?" Jax said.

"Do it!" I yelled.

Jax slowly blinked, but looked at Sam. Even though they didn't get along that well, in certain situations, they could practically read each other's minds.

They both nodded at each other.

With renewed energy, they started to attack the dragon more fiercely. And as they fought, I pulled out my diamond sword.

Eventually, the dragon opened it's mouth, and it's throat began to glow again.

It was my chance.

I kicked off the ground so hard that I blasted the sand floor apart, jumping into the air at an impossible height.

And I flew into the air, flying, sailing, almost at eye level with the dragon.

Have you ever smashed your elbow on a hard surface and had your arm tingling like someone electrocuted your arm? Well, that's what I felt. Countless surges of energy running through my body.

I bellowed, and threw the diamond sword.

The diamond sword was like a toothpick compared to the dragon, but with the sword, all of my pent-up energy exploded as well. The frustration of not being able to contribute to the group, the inconvenience of my powers that went on and off, on and off, all of it went into that throw.

And the result? A super-charged diamond sword that was crackling with the power of a thousand bolts of lightning.

Spinning end over end, the sword sailed deep into the back of the dragon's throat. And as I fell back to earth, the dragon's throat lit up in a strangely beautiful display of white lightning and orange fire.

I took all of this in in a solid three seconds, and smashed into the ground so hard that the crater I'd made sank even deeper into the ground. Jax and Sam quickly rushed into the crater, Sam's expression one of awe and surprise, and Jax's one of shock.

"I'm..." I coughed violently. "fine..."

To be honest, I was very much not fine. The fall didn't hurt—it merely winded me. But despite that, I felt like I'd been running a marathon 24/7 with no breaks. In other words, every spot on my body was so sore that I couldn't even move. Oh, and I felt like I had a high fever.

There was a weak roar, and I looked back up.

Oh, right. The big scary dragon. Huh.

The dragon swayed, tilted over, and hit the ground so hard that the entire cave trembled, and clouds of dust rained down from the ceiling of the cave. The dragon thrashed once, twice, sending sand everywhere...and then went still.

I watched as the dragon's body caved in on itself, turning to dust.

There was silence.

"You killed it," Jax said in awe. "You killed the dragon."

Dust was still floating onto the ground, but something else that wasn't monster dust swirled out of the cloud of dust.

Green and yellow gas swirled around me, and flowed into my body. I gasped as I felt my sore muscles relax and my exhaustion fade. Some of it flowed into Jax and Sam, making both of them stand up a bit straighter.

"The dragon's XP," Jax said.

"That feels weird," Sam shivered. "But I also feel like I just downed a whole energy drink."

I groaned and stood. I still felt a little shaky, but I was fine now. Energized, even. I wiggled my fingers, and sparks ran down my fingers. I thrust my hand out at a stalagmite, and to my delight, a surge of lightning burst from my fingertips and vaporized the stalagmite.

"It worked!" I shouted happily. "I can finally control my powers!"

"It must have been the XP," Jax mused. "It was like…a power boost."

"Look, the dust's settled." Sam said. "And there's stuff on the ground."

We walked over, and there were various items laying on the ground—multiple red scales the size of books, vials of dark blood, small white bones, and my diamond sword.

"Dragon's blood, dragon bones, and dragon scales." Jax said, awed. "All of them are extremely rare. I can't believe they all dropped at once."

"Let me guess. All expensive?" Sam inquired.

"Well, yes." Jax began. "But--"

"Cool." Sam swiped most of the items, making Jax glare at her.

"Those belong to Toni," Jax said sternly. "She killed it."

"Yeah, and that was pretty impressive." Sam said, and turned to me. "That was cool. How'd you do that?"

"Don't change the subject," Jax snapped. "You—"

"Honestly, Jax, it's fine." I said tiredly. "I think Sam would find a better use for that stuff than me. And as for how I did it…well, it's hard to explain, but it felt like a sneeze. It built up, and then...it came out all at once."

"What an eloquent metaphor," Jax deadpanned, while Sam held up her hand for a high five. "Awesome!" She cheered. We high fived, and then laughed.

Jax picked up some of the remaining loot: a single sharp looking bone, a few dragon scales, and a single vial of blood. Sam had the rest.

Jax picked up my sword and handed it to me. "Here's your sword."

"Great." Sam said. "Let's get out of here."

As we walked out of the colosseum and back up the stone path, I noticed that Sam had a small frown on her face.

"What?" I said. "We made it out alive. We even killed a dragon."

"Yeah," Sam said, "but that's the thing. This isn't exactly Klith's lair, was it? Why would Rafi have given us a map to…this place?"

"Maybe he gave us the wrong map," I said.

"No, that's not right." Sam frowned as she pulled the map out of her back pocket. "The text above definitely said center of the…"

A small slip of paper fluttered to the ground, and Sam stopped.

Jax looked back. "What?"

Sam paled. Her eyes ran up and down the map, as if she was looking for something that wasn't there.

"What?" Jax said.

Sam couldn't respond. She just stared at the map.

Me and Jax looked over her shoulder, and I was the first one to see it.

On the map, the spot on the paper where it had said 'the center of the world' had peeled off like tape. Under it were the words "Crimdragon's Den".

Sam bent down and picked up the 'tape' that said 'the center of the world' on it.

"No," Sam said, and I was unnerved by how uncharacteristically panicked she sounded. "This…this has to be a mistake. It is. It is…"

Jax gaped at the tape Sam was holding up for a moment, and then scowled. "That's not a mistake."

"No," Sam said again. Almost pleading.

"Rafi knew exactly what he was doing," Jax said.

?-?-?

When we met back up with Trevor, we told him what happened. Well, me and Jax told him. Sam was just staring at the ground.

And of course, Jax being completely tone deaf, started going on about Rafi.

"I knew there was something about him." Jax said for the millionth time. "Of course, he was a little suspicious from the start. He spent a little too much time in the back. He probably looked for the most dangerous map in his store and then gave it to us. We played right into his hands. I bet the other map—"

"How about you just shut up, Jax?" Sam snapped, turning to Jax.

Jax seemed taken aback. "What—?"

"You're always flapping that damn mouth of yours," Sam snarled. "Maybe you should use that tiny brain of yours for things other than being a moron." And with that she faced forwards again.

Jax looked like he was about to say something, but I sharply elbowed him in the chest.

"Ow! Toni, what—"

"You might have your heart in the right place, but your people skills are abysmal." I told him. "And that's coming from an introvert like me."

"Oh, so now you're buddies with Rafi as well?" Jax argued. "Just look at the facts, Ton—"

I lowered my voice and cut him off. "I do agree with you, Jax. But it's kinda insensitive if you just keep going on about how you always knew that Rafi was the bad guy when you've known him for a day and a half."

"Insensitive? What do you mean, insensitive?"

"Sam has been friends with Rafi for a while, almost four years." Trevor quietly joined the conversation. "Imagine how she would feel."

"Injustice? Fury?" Jax suggested.

"Well, yes, but she would also be conflicted. Imagine if someone you knew for longer than you've been in middle school suddenly betrayed you. How would you feel?" Trevor asked him.

"Uh, I'd be mad about it and beat them up."

Trevor sighed and turned away.

"What did I say?" Jax asked me, who just ignored him.

Our horses had ran away as a result of the dragon's loud roar, so the journey back to Hiemx took twice as long, and by the time we got back, the sun was starting to set. Slowly, the white, snow filled scenery of Hiemx came back into view, and Sam suddenly sped up, making all of us sprint in order to keep up.

"Hey! Where are—going?" I wheezed, because all this walking had taken a toll on my lungs. Turns out the XP energy boost hadn't lasted long.

Sam ignored me and ran off.

When we caught up, we found Sam furiously pounding on Rafi's map shop's door, which had a padlock now. "RAFI! LET ME IN!" she bellowed.

Silence.

"Rafi, if you don't let me in right this instant I'm going to slaughter you!"

There was a pause, and Sam pounded on the door again, this time calling more desperately, "Please, Rafi, I just wanna talk!"

Again, silence.

Sam pulled out her bow.

"I'm not sure if—" I began, but Sam ignored me and shot the lock.

The lock snapped, and blatantly ignoring the 'closed' sign, Sam walked in. We followed, me and Trevor exchanging uneasy glances.

Sam walked around the counter and walked to the door leading to the back. She tried the doorknob, but it was locked.

"Rafi!" Sam yelled. "Rafi!"

"I mean, the store's closed and the lights are off." I reasoned. "So wouldn't he be at his house instead of his shop?"

"He sleeps here." Sam snapped at me, and slammed her palms on the door. "RAFI! Oh, damn it all." Sam took a few steps back, and ran full speed at the door.

She rammed the door as hard as she could with her shoulder, and there was a snapping sound. Sam rammed her shoulder against the door again, and the door swung open with a loud crack.

Behind the door were multiple shelves filled with stacks and stacks of maps and books. Sam charged through the shelves, and we followed. At the back of the rooms was a set of stairs that led up to a door. Sam charged up the stairs, and we all followed. At the top of the stairs, Sam threw open the door and stepped in without waiting.

"Wait, Sam!" I shouted. "What if--"

She turned and started to say, "What?"

You'd think that we'd have had enough action for a single day, but apparently not.

Suddenly, Rafi appeared out of nowhere with a chair held over his head, and smashed it over Sam's head.

Sam crumpled, and I pulled out my diamond sword, but before I could swing, Rafi picked up one of the chair legs and swung it at me.

The chair leg hit me in the chest, knocking me off balance. I frantically windmilled my arms to stay upright, almost slashing Jax in the face with the sword in my hand. Despite my best efforts, I tipped backwards and crashed into Jax and Trevor behind me, and we all went down like bowling pins.

I fell straight off the side of the stairs and onto the ground three blocks below instead of rolling down. My head smacked the cold concrete floor, and I gasped as pain exploded through my head.

Trevor rolled down the stairs and smashed into one of the shelves, causing stacks of maps, heavy books, and the shelf itself to thump down onto Trevor. Jax was lucky enough to dodge the shelves, but instead smacked his head right into the wall.

Rafi ran down the stairs and bolted towards a window, but stopped when Sam groaned, "Rafi…why…?" Sam struggled to get to her feet, but fell to the ground, groaning. Rafi gave Sam a look of fear and turned back to the window, smashing it with a book and scrambling through.

With Jax stirring feebly on the ground, Trevor buried under a bunch of maps and books, and Sam semi-conscious, I was the only one that could chase after Rafi.

I stood, slightly dizzy, and ran over to the window. I jumped through, spotting Rafi running away.

"Hey!" I shouted, but Rafi didn't stop.

And here I thought I'd get some rest, I sighed internally.

I started to give chase, running after Rafi.

I chased him all the way down the street, and he turned right into a street full of vendors and people. I didn't care. I needed to stop Rafi.

As I ran, pushing past people and causing shouts of annoyance, I rummaged in my inventory as I ran and pulled out an enderpearl that Jax had given me before we went into the cave.

I cocked my arm, aimed, and threw it at Rafi.

The enderpearl shattered on Rafi's back, and I instantly teleported on top of Rafi, knocking him down.

I tried to pin him down, but he was more flexible than I thought, squirming and punching at my body. He landed a few hits that made me grunt with pain, but I fought back, hitting him in the chest a few times.

By this time, a large crowd had gathered around us, murmuring and gasping every time one of us hit each other, rolling around like wrestlers in the ring. It must have looked bizarre: a twelve year old girl fighting to get a hold on a thrashing twenty year old man.

I finally managed to wrap my hands around his neck and pin him down with my knees. Gasping with exertion, I pulled out my sword and put it to Rafi's neck. The crowd gasped and shouted upon me pulling it out, but I didn't care.

"Why?" I yelled, my face glistening with sweat. "Why did you lie, Rafi? Why did you betray Sam?"

Rafi thrashed and pulled at my wrist, but nothing happened. Rafi gave up and slumped.

"I...just did what...he...told me to..." Rafi choked.

"He?" I asked. "As in Klith?"

"Yes…" Rafi said, his eyes darting around the street. "He…would have…killed me…"

I couldn't believe it. "So you decided to betray Sam? Who you've known for four years?"

"Had…no…choice…"

"No choice?" I said furiously. "You coward! There's always a choice! Do you have any idea how much she wanted your lie to be a mistake? Do you know how much she trusted you?" I remembered Rafi's smile as he gave us the map. "You sicko. You were relieved, weren't you?"

Rafi no longer looked like the carefree man I'd met the day before—he was pale, and sweat glistened on his face. His bottom lip trembled, and he looked on the verge of tears.

"I don't wanna die," Rafi sobbed.

"You're a coward." I said with disgust.

"No! No—" Rafi suddenly cried. "Don't—kill me!"

"I'm not going to kill you!" I snapped.

"Not you." Rafi slowly raised a quivering finger. "Him."

I turned, still keeping a hand on his neck in case it was a trick.

There was nothing there.

I turned back to Rafi, and snarled, "Nice try, but—"

Suddenly, Rafi's eyes were filled with horror, and I turned again.

Before my disbelieving eyes, a bottle of milk appeared in midair. The stopper was pulled out, and the bottle tipped, all of the milk draining into an invisible force.

And before my eyes, someone faded into existence.

He looked disturbingly similar to a scarecrow. He was wearing a lopsided plaid shirt, and ripped jeans. He had remorseless, cruel eyes, and had faded yellow hair. The crowd around us began to murmur in panic. Multiple people ran away.

I recognized this person from my dream. He was—

"Fisherman." Rafi choked.

Fisherman smiled cruelly and pulled a fishing rod out of his inventory, and started to smack his palm with the fishing rod like it was a baseball bat. "So you're the girl that everyone's so worked up about."