Young Writers Society

Tyrin

The wall began to glow and Karana began to read what the runes said.

"Go to where the fire burns, there will be the key..."

We all looked at each other.

Luna shrugged, "The dragon is made out of fire isn't he?"

I laughed grimly, "Easy enough, just go and steal the key from the inside of a burning dragon who is probably even now thinking of the best way to cook us! If we try to get that key there won't even be enough of us left for a 'proper' cooking."

I sighed and slumped against the hard wall. We had to think...and fast.

PS: If you want me to do this differently just PM me and I'll change it. It is kinda wierd...

"We can't just go ask him for it?" Warren suggested, watching Luna pace the room as she thought.

"Go ahead and try that Warren; but try not to get burnt." Warren glared at Luna, and clammered back up to the main room. "What if there's another fire around here, and we're just not seeing it. I mean, there's quite obviously some source of light down here."

"But, where's the light coming from," Julia continued, catching on to what Luna was saying. Warren came back down the trap door, looking quite pleased with himself.

"I didn't get the key," he announced. "But, I did get a hint."

"And that would be?"

"We'll have to close the trap door."

"No!" Luna exclaimed, and everyone looked at her like she was completely insane. "If we close that door, we will more than likely be trapped in here for a very long time!"

"Ryouku's out there, he can save us," Karana replied. Luna thought about this for a moment.

"Alright then, I guess this is worth a shot." She climbed up to the opening, and grabbed the door. She looked up at Ryouku quickly. "If we're not back out in ten minutes, open the door and make sure we're alright," she ordered.

"Wait!" Julia exclaimed. "Shouldn't one of us stay up there, so that if something happens, someone who can fit through the door is able to help?"

"You are wasting time, Julia," Ryouku said. "You need to hurry and finish this before time runs out." Julia opened her mouth to say something but Ryouku stopped her. "You can trust me. The fire dragon said that you will not die before the time runs out."

"Is that supposed to be comforting?" Julia asked.

"No, now get going."

Karana shook her head and sighed. "Remember, ten minutes."

"Be careful down there," Ryouku said before she closed the trap door. He turned back to the fire dragon once they were gone. "Go to where the fire burns, and there will be the key? Any dragon knows the answer to that riddle."

The fire dragon actually smiled. "But they are not dragons, are they?"

Julia

I was scared. I didn't want to admit it but I don't like the dark. As I watched the trap door close, I shut my eyes, trying to convince myself that I wasn't in a dark place, that I was outside, back in the forest under a bright, bold sun. Light flickered beyond my eyelids. At first I thought this was just my imagination or the strength of my desire but when I slowly allowed my eyes to flutter open, I gasped and stared in disbelief.

"But how did we miss it?" Luna mused, staring at the faint glow. Together we crossed the room and reached out. I reached further and further towards the light and finally my fingertips brushed against the smooth, glacial wall.

"That's impossible!" Warren objected. "It should be here!"

"Wait, perhaps it is," Karana declared. "We couldn't find the door earlier but this light, maybe it's coming through a tiny crack? Maybe if we push? Or pull?"

"Push," Tyrin decided and together we all leaned against the wall. As I strained against the possible door, I felt as if the dark were closing in on me on all sides. Our bodies blocked that flash of light and I could take the overwhelming abyss no longer. I needed the light. I thirsted for it and with a last push against the wall, I phased through and found myself within another room. Turning, I could see a perfectly ordinary door and taking hold of the handle, I pulled it open.

"I really wish we would have thought of that earlier," Luna commented as Julia opened the door and let the group into the next room.

"Me too," Warren agreed, looking around.

"It looks like jsut another room," Tyrin commented.

"No, look," Luna said, pointing at the small fireplace at the far end of the room. "Go to where the fire burns and there will be a key..."

***Sorry, I'm having creativity block***

Julia

"It can't be as easy as that," Tyrin mused.

"You call sticking your hand in that fire and retrieving the key easy?" Warren asked.

"Well actually, it will be," Luna responded, "and I think he's right, there has to be more to this." As she crossed the room, her body began to glow and burn as fiercely as the fire until she appeared to be made of molton lava, at which point she reached inside the hearth and rummaged around until she found a small bronze key.

"We have it!" I exclaimed happily but as the key was withdrawn from the fire, it melted, forming a silvery puddle on the floor.

"What?" Karana exclaimed in disbelief.

"Look. There's another one," Tyrin noted. I directed my eyes back to the fire.

"There's lots of them," I gasped.

Karana

Great. Now to find the real key...but, what if there were none?

What if this whole thing was a trap? What if there was no key? What if that dragon was just buying time and delaying us? There had to be some catch...

Luna continued to pull out keys, each of them melting when they left the fire.

I looked at Julia. "What do you think of this? Isn't there anyway to find the real key? To...reveal it?"

Hopefully our time would not run out.

Julia

"I was thinking about that actually, what if when he said key, he meant a metaphorical key?" I mused.

"How do you mean?" Warren asked.

"I think she means that we're looking in the wrong place and our time is running out," Karana sighed.

"Well, we're trying to qualify for admission into a library full of valueable knowledge aren't we? And why would finding somestupid key make us worthy of that?" I asked.

"She has a point," Tyrin admitted. "But what would make us worthy of such an honour?"

"Maybe that's the point...the key is here, but we're looking for the obvious answer," Luna said, reaching up in the fireplace to a point where she couldn't see anything. She felt a ledge.

"Are you sure about this?" Karana asked as Luna pulled the key off of the ledge.

"Apparently she is," Warren said.

"Our times almost up!"

"Come on!" The ran back out of the small room. "OPEN THE DOOR!" They cried, trying to get Ryouku to hear them.

Julia

"Ryouku!" Warren shouted, pounding on the door.

"Forget this, he can't hear us!" I realised. Phasing through the others, I made my way up the ladder and through the trap door to find Ryouku having a conversation with the other dragon.

"Yes but that's not possible," The other dragon declared.

"That's a rather weak defence for any arguement," I noted as I tugged at the trap door.

"Indeed," Ryouku agreed with a small smile as he took the handle in his mouth and lifted it with one light tug.

"It's about time," Karana grumbled as everyone filed into the room.

"Here's your key," Luna said, presenting the small, shiny object.

"Well, even for humans, you are quite sharp."

"We're not all humans," Luna pointed out as the fire dragon made to open the door to the real library.

"Well, for mortals then, you are quite sharp. I don't often give that compliment...of course, I don't often go without dinner either..." the dragon chuckled to himself at the sick little joke. Luna cringed, and grabbed Warren's hand nervously.

**Sorry this is so short**

***No!!! AA is dying...*posts so it doesn't die****

"Go ahead then, you've earned it," The fire dragon gestured toward the large door that he had just opened. Luna stepped foreward, still holding onto Warren's hand as she walked.

"Be careful," Ryoku warned, bringing up the rear of hte group. Luna nodded and stepped through the doors.

"Something's wrong..." she commented.

"What?" Julia called from the back.

"There aren't any books..." Warren answered. The rest of the group filed in, all of them looking around in utter confusing.

"A library without books..." Karana muttered. "That certainly constrews as something wrong."

**AAH!! NO!! No letting this die, peeps!!!**

Karana

Then I realized it. That challenge wasn't the real challenge...that was only a test.

"We shouldn't be here," I muttered as the ground began to shake, a deep rumbling filling the silence. The dark room burst into light as a crevice appeared in the ground - which was dirt and rock - fire leaping through the gaps.

"We definately don't need to be here!" Julia agreed, taking a few steps back with me.

Ryouku just bared his fangs and growled, a sound I'd never heard before. It terrified me.

"Ryouku?!"

Julia

"What's going on?" I asked, turning to the large dragon at my side. He did not respons but merely growled louder.

"Ryouku?" Karana repeated, backing away another step.

"We have to get out of here," Tyrin declared, eyeing the fire warily as it continued to sprout from the ever widening crevice.

"Every creature for himself!" Seeker announced, taking to the air and spiralling towards the high ceiling. Suddenly the ground rumbled again and fractured creating more cracks that ran from the centre of the floor, right to the edges, dividing us into two small groups, all trapped on different pieces of land. Luna, who was on the far side, transformed into a dragon and waited while Warren and Tyrin climbed on her back.

"How do we get out?" Karana demanded as I pulled her onto Ryouku.

"We phase through the wall," I told her. "But everyone has to be touching each other."

"Are you sure you can manage that?" Warren asked.

"We've got to try something," I replied.

Karana

I glared after Seeker as he flew higher and higher towards the speck of light.

"Wait! Look!" I cried out, pointing at the source. "A way out!"

"Aw, dang...this is a volcano!" Julia confirmed my fears. "A volcano that's about to erupt!"

A creature's enormous paw gripped the edge of the crevice that had formed. I gulped.

"With a little friend to greet us, too."