My Life as a Rock 2

     Terror coursed through me and it took all of my self control to not scream and flail around. My heart beat rapidly against my chest. Faster and faster until I felt like it would burst from my chest. My eyes, wide with fear, darted to behind me to see my other friends being taken from their prison too. I closed my eyes, the air slick with fear, and prayed that we would be all right.

     Then it happened. A bat dropped a twig alight on fire on the bat carrying me in its iron, vise-like clutch. For a few moments, the little twig seemed suspended in the air. Then it was on us. The tip of the twig hit the bat's back and flames rose up, licking hungrily. Soon the bat's wings were aflame. Whirling crazily in a tilt, the bat careened into another and plummeted. I screamed as wind rushed past us and tears came to my eyes as the violent, whooshing air stung me. I closed my eyes. Screeching in pain, the bat, its entire body on fire, let go of me. I dropped and squeezing my eyes tighter, landed on something soft and furry. The back of a bat. I snapped open my eyes as we tilted dizzily earthward. The impact had unbalanced the bat, and  it struggled to regain control of its flight. The port wing of the bat dipped and I felt myself slipping. I was in the open air again. The ground came up fast. Too fast for me. I would be crushed on impact. I would never see my mother again. Nor my friends. Fat tears rolled down my cheeks as I closed my eyes in despair and waited, bracing myself, for the impact. Falling, falling. The wind buffeting me. Plummeting to my death.

     Excruciating pain. Agonizing pain. Searing through me. The heat. Burning, hot red flames. Surrounded by hot red flames, lapping hungrily at me. Roasting me alive. I forced my eyes to open, but they refused to budge. Tears welled up in my eyes, but they vaporized the very moment they first saw the world. A world of fire. Fire everywhere. All around me. And the pain. The horrible pain. Flashes of my memories came back. A little by a little. Falling though the air. Wings of flame reaching up. Up to a sky of stone. Of dark black stone. Then the impact. Landing in a wreath of flame. It was as if all the pain in the world had decided to barrage me. My entire body ached with it. Opening my eyes to a slit, they screamed with pain. And then they widened in surprise. I was on fire. Waves of flame danced across me. I opened my mouth to let out a scream, but nothing came out. My mouth was dry. Terribly dry, and I yearned for water. Oh, how I longed for water. The taste of it. The feel of it. That cool liquid that gushes down your throat. But I forced myself to get up. I had to for my friends. My mind flashed back to the plan we had devised in the skull prison.

 “We’re next.”Sapphire had said in a timid voice.

      “What will we do?”Amber had wailed, “A guard will come in any moment.”

     "When a guard picks us up, we can bite their claws or something. Just find a way for them to release us. Then what we could do is hide in all the brush and bones. They're too large to fit in the bones. Then one of us can go free the other stones and rocks held in the prisons. Coal, can you do that?" I had rapidly explained the plan that was currently forming in my mind.       
     "Sure." Coal had agreed readily.
     "Then the rest of us can go free the rocks in the pyramid. One of us will make a distraction. A big one. So that they will not be looking at you when it happens. I could set fire on this place. The cannibals have covered the floor with a layer of dried leaves. That could be the distraction we will need. Then when Coal and I are done, we will go to the pyramid to help you. What do you think?" I had finished, gasping for breath.
     "I think it's a good idea. Well, at least it's the best we have." Amber had spoke up first. 
     "Okay. Let's do it." Sapphire had said determinedly.  
     Painfully, I got up, my every limb creaking. I rolled out of the sea of quickly spreading flames, dodging towers of them. Well, I didn't need to set the cavern on fire anymore. I thought with a smile. Some clumsy bat had already done it for me. I had to dodge plenty of frightened bats that were winging their way to the tunnel’s entrance. The flames had spread more rapidly than I had thought. It was already eating its way to a nearby pile of bones.  I rolled faster. I didn’t have much time left. I could already feel the heat on my back. I was getting closer to the pyramid. I could see the scared faces of the rocks clearly now. The structure was tall with stone terraces and beautifully carved walls. I could make out the silhouettes of Sapphire and Ember trying to free the rocks. Dried mud was holding the rocks together. What could break the mud? Water of course, but the water would extinguish the fire and where would I get water? I had arrived at the pyramid already and I exchanged a few words with Ember.

“How are we going to free the rocks? We don’t have time to break each one out.”Ember asked desperately.  

“Water is the answer.”I said.

“But where do we get water?”Ember sighed resignedly, about to give up.

“Water sometimes fills up in a different room of a cave. All we need to do is to blast a hole in the wall.”Sapphire suggested hopefully.

“And how do we do that?”Ember questioned.

“Um…we could find a crack in the wall and dig in deeper?”I didn’t know what to say.

“I don’t know if it’ll work, but we could try.”Sapphire said.

I went to the wall of the cave to search for one. Cracks or thin parts of the limestone would work. I felt along the wall in search of one, but I didn’t find anything.

“Dusk!”Sapphire called from the other side of the cave, “I think I found a crack.”

I made my way over to her and examined the crack. It was deep and ran along the wall for a foot or two. I grabbed a sharp bone with a serrated edge and chiseled at the crack. The crack widened and it got deeper. Ember had rushed to us with a spear she had found on the ground. I stepped aside and let her work on the crack. After a few minutes, I felt a steady spray of water on me.

“It’s working!”I yelled to Sapphire.

Meanwhile, Coal was freeing the rocks in the skulls. The fire was much closer now. He could feel the flames scorching his back. He worked faster. He didn’t want to disappoint Dusk by not doing his part of the plan. Dusk and the others had probably finished their part and were waiting at the entrance of the tunnel for him. Just a few more skulls and he would be done. He was surprised that nobody interrupted him or tried to stop him from freeing the rocks that were supposed to be part of the pyramid. A bat had flown right past him without noticing anything. He had been so scared that they had been found out, but it was just another bat on his or her way out. The rocks he had saved had muttered a word of thanks and had fled right after that. Now he was on his last skull. Coal slashed with his bone one last time and the skull fell open. The rocks inside said their thanks and fled through the cave. He rolled over to the tunnel and waited for the others. What was taking them so long, he wondered. The fire was already blazing toward the tunnel entrance and it blocked his view of the pyramid. Bats were fleeing around him, pushing and shoving their way inside. For a moment, he was tempted to follow the growing crowd of bats and save himself. All his instincts told him to flee for his life, but he knew he couldn’t. Dusk and the others would wait for him, so he should too. The thought kept on repeating in his mind. Finally, he decided to go see what happened at the pyramid. Slowly and carefully, Coal rolled over to the pyramid of stones. He was cautious to not step on the flames on the ground. The heat was roasting him. The cave was heating up like an oven. Pretty soon, they would all be burned alive. Unexpectedly, water started to gush out of the wall of the cave, extinguishing part of the sea of flame. It poured over the pyramid, making the mud become runny. There was sucking sound and all at once; the rocks in the pyramid were released. The water started spread around the room, extinguishing the fire. Wave after wave of roaring water streamed out of the crack in the wall and flooded the cave. The water was already up to his mouth and Coal almost choked as he cried out, “Dusk, Sapphire, Ember, are you guys okay?”

As soon as the first streams of water gushed out of the crack, I had rolled over to the pyramid to warn the rocks stuck in it. By back was warm. Very warm. Curious, I turned around and gasped. The fire had already reached the base of the pyramid! I just hoped that the water would put it out fast enough.

“We’re trapped.”Sapphire panted.”I went around the whole pyramid, except it’s surrounded by fire!”

“We’ll have to wait for the water to help us.”I shouted above the din.

Just then, a huge bat with a four-foot wingspan swooped down on us. His face had an angry appearance and he shouted at us for breaking his plan and destroying his colony’s home.

“I am Murk, the leader of the Bone Bats. This is our place, and you little rocks refuse our rule. I had consulted Vampryma, my god, and she had said that if one million rocks can be made into a pyramid dedicated to her before the summer, she would give us the power to annihilate you all.We were perfectly fine until you meddling rocks. And now it is ruined!”the bat roared.”You puny underlings will have to pay for it!”

I backed off just as he lunged for me and missed. Sapphire rolled over to help, but Murk just swatted her aside with his enormous wings. Then, he turned back to me again. He opened his jaws and the sharpened fangs glistened.  My heart thumped hard against my chest as he reared up and crashed down on me. I tried to dodge, but one of his fangs gouged into me. Pain seared through me. The crash and roar of the water in the background gave me an idea. I would lure him to the mini waterfall the water had created. He wouldn’t stand a chance. It was dangerous maneuver to do because he could easily trap me against the wall and finish me off or if he didn’t get me, the water would. As he slashed at me with his jaws, I stepped back and slowly moved toward the water. My plan was working. I saw a gleam in his eyes as he thought he was cornering me. I moved backward again, my back almost pressed against the wall. Murk smiled as he reared up. I took a step to the right just as he launched himself at me. He didn’t have enough time to move, and he plunged head-first into the waterfall. He was crushed instantly.

Just then, a voice cut through the pounding of the waterfall, “Dusk, Sapphire, Ember, are you guys okay?” It was Coal.

    The water was filling up the room quickly, quenching the fire that had raged a moment before. Sapphire had gotten up again and had recovered from the blow Murk had given her. Ember splashed over from the place where the pyramid had once been. Now it was just a heap of watery mud. The rocks had been freed and were already on their way to the tunnel. It was time for us to leave.

“Let’s go to the exit as soon as possible. The cave is already filled up to the belly of a bat.”Ember said hurriedly.”We need to get out of here fast.”

“Are you okay?”Coal asked again.

“Yes, we’re fine.”I replied.

I started to splash toward the tunnel and the others followed.

The cave was filling up fast. I could barely breathe already. The tunnel loomed up in the distance. We were almost there. It was a few splashes away. I could feel the fresh air blow against my face. I burst out of the tunnel with Ember, Coal, Sapphire, and Amber. There were bats all around, trying to get airborne, but there were too many of them and they kept on bumping into each other. It was easy for us to slip out. No one noticed us. It was still pouring outside and the tree branches danced in the rough wind. I was so glad to feel the wind in my face and the cold raindrops the size of acorns pelted me, but I didn’t care. We were outside at last. All around us bats were soaring, getting as far as they could from the cave.

“Come on, let’s get out of here.”I said.

We headed toward the outline of the rising sun. It was still raining, so we went to shelter in a cave nearby.

“Let’s stay here. It’s pretty nice here.”Sapphire suggested.

“Sure,” Coal, Ember, Amber, and I replied in unison.

The cave had a high ceiling and no bats inhabited it. It was wide and had a spring of cool water off to the side. There were plenty of space and nicks in the walls to sleep in. My friends and I stayed here for so many years that we lost count. The group of hominids had gone.

Sunlight filtered through the cave’s entrance in the morning. I stirred. There were sounds of footsteps outside. That was unusual. The hominids had left. Who else walked on two feet? I yawned and stumbled to the entrance. I stopped suddenly. Ten pairs of long legs stood before me. I raised my head to look at these creatures. They were about five feet tall and were quite stocky. I turned my attention to the shallow hole they had dug in the ground. They were lowering one of them in it, but I didn’t see why. Were those their sleeping places? No, I decided. They were pouring soil on their fellow creature. That would certainly suffocate him or her. They plucked some wild flowers and laid them on the mound they had created. Then, the thought struck me. They were burying their dead!

“Ember, Coal, Amber, Sapphire!”I yelled as I went back in the cave.”The hominid creatures are back!”

“What?”Ember said, in the middle of a yawn.

“Those horrible creatures are back.”Coal answered for me.

“What shall we do?”Amber was wide awake now.

“I think we should leave immediately.”I replied.

“Buy what if they’re just passing? We don’t want to leave such a good home.”Sapphire queried.

“I don’t think I want to take a chance.”Coal said.

“No, we should stay. They are probably just passing by.”Ember yawned again.

“But…”I tried to talk them into leaving.

“It should be fine.”Amber interrupted.

I didn’t want to leave by myself, so I decided to stay, too. The next day, the creatures were still there. They were spreading some kind of poultice or ointment on a wounded hominid. A group of people came back carrying rabbits and birds to eat. They must’ve gone out to hunt together.

Months passed and the hominids had not left. I decided to try to convince my friends again.

“We should really leave.”I said.”They have stayed here for months already.”

“Yes, I think we should leave too.”Sapphire agreed.

“Me, too.”Coal said.

“I’m too old to leave.”Ember said.”Who cares if the hominids live here? Have they hurt us? No. I’m staying.”

There was a brief silence and Amber spoke up.”I want to leave.”

Ember was outvoted, so we left the cave at dawn. We headed for a lush forest in the distance, where I had been born. I wondered if my mother would be still there. After many days, we finally arrived. I rushed to the ancient tree my mother and I used to live beside. She was still there! Warmth flooded through me as I recognized the familiar shape.

“Mother!”I called.

“Dusk? Is that you?”my mother was so happy, tears coursed down her face.

I lived with my mother at the tree from then on. My friends lived in a nearby tree stump and every day I would visit them. Now, many young rocks go to me to listen to my adventures. The hominids had evolved into humans. They used mush more advanced tools then the past ones, and now I enjoy watching their machines in the fields at sunset, when the dying sun disappears in the horizon and the last rays of sunlight reach the earth.