The Rift

--10-- Fire

The plume of smoke rose higher and higher above the trees. The fire did not seem to be spreading but it was definitely not safe to be camping without it being watched. Ashes were swirling to the ground in a maelstrom. And the cinders were popping over the canopy of the jungle like popcorn in a napalm inferno.
"Alright" Phoenix finally said "I'm going to check that out to see how fast, that is, if it's spreading."
"I'll go with you" Romulus said.
"Alright" Phoenix agreed biting his lip. He didn't want anybody getting hurt of killed on his behalf. They went in the ship to put some gear on and didn't come back out for another fifteen minutes. Once they finally did withdraw from the ship they just walked into the forest without any parting words. They slapped leaves out of the way and fought through vines and heavy plant-life until they arrived in the clearing where the fire was burning. The flames were nearly forty feet tall and were looking as though they were trying to burn the sky. They were in a hole about ten feet wide and twenty deep which added another twenty feet onto the forty. It was obviously created by something sentient and it created a hole and started a fire in it one way or another. The fire wasn't normal though, it radiated a very strange spiritual feel and there was also the telltale sign that it was a dark cobalt blue. Phoenix and Romulus stepped closer to the flames it was eerie, they didn't give off any heat. And it wasn't spirit fire because it wasn't white and hadn't melted them. Romulus drew closer to the hole and looked down the hole. As soon as he cast a glance into it a shadowy figure dashed into what appeared to be a door in the side of the wall.
"Phoenix," he called
"Yeah," Phoenix replied gazing up at the tongues of blue fire.
"I just saw something down in the hole," he continued beckoning Phoenix to him "Let's go down and check it out"
Phoenix hesitated
"Alright" he finally said worriedly
They worked their way down the hole carefully stepping over the lose gravel lest they slip. Phoenix couldn't believe the precision whatever made this took in making it a perfectly round and symmetrical circle. When reverend finally reached a blank point in the wall he looked baffled in a sense
"I don't understand," he said furrowing his eyebrows "this is exactly where it went."
"What did it look like?" Phoenix inquired
"It was dark and looked either as if it had a cloak on or no arms at all."
"You were seeing things mate"
Phoenix and Romulus decided to head back to camp. They weren't as careful on their way up and they stepped on gravely rocks far too often, Romulus was joking with Phoenix when he misplaced his foot. He heard a crunching noise and he fell backwards. Phoenix saw it all happen in slow motion: Romulus clasping his ankle then falling backwards. He hit his head on a large grey rock and crumbled to the ground with a thud. Blood trickled from the back of his head and his ankle was twisted in and odd angle. Phoenix rushed down to him and picked him up in a fire mans carry and from there he struggled out of the hole.
***********************
"Where had they gotten to" Beatrice wondered. They'd been gone nearly an hour and a half when she finally heard heard heavy footsteps coming their way. Phoenix emerged from the jungle carrying Romulus. He was limping and had an enormous gash in his back, Kate and Mai ran forward and took Romulus from him.
"What happened?" Beatrice yelled
"Romulus slipped and hit his head on a rock and I had to carry him back,"
"Yeah we can see that," Kate said "what happened to you?"
"The commander wasn't lying about those mutated animals," he said frustratedly
Mai took Romulus inside to the infirmary where she splinted his leg and put bandage around his head, while Kate stitched up Phoenix's back and put a bandage around his knee. Later that night Phoenix built a fire and shared his news about the fire.
"It wasn't going anywhere it was in a huge twenty foot hole." He said "it was weird though, the hole was a perfect circle, whatever made it wasn't human, and it felt like spiritual magic." It definitely wasn't a good omen. They still had to find the Shores of Time, if they even existed and they had no idea where to look.
The days went on and Romulus still was sleeping. Every one took two hour shifts looking after him and nothing happened until one night when Beatrice was on watch:
"You're really stupid," she said, no response
"Why do you always let your curiosity get the best of you," no response "in all the time I've known you, you've always run straight into things as though they were nothing," no response
"If you hadn't of fallen because you went down the hole chasing....," she paused
"And that's why I love you I suppose," she leaned forward and kissed him gently on the lips, when she pulled away his eyes were open a crack.
"I love you too, goodnight."
The next morning Romulus was up in his bed. He rubbed his eyes and tried to remember last night. He remembered Beatrice and how she smelled good. He remembered her blonde hair swishing on his face and tickling it lightly he remembered kissing her or her kissing him, something like that. But he'd seen something in his coma that he'd tell everyone and in the dream every thing was spoken in the language of spirits. He remembered a blank white face or mask. It had no mouth or nose just two dark eyes. When it spoke it translated to "we know your quest, find us and we will aid you," it said and that was all. After surprised greetings from the rest of the group he told them his dream.
"Well it's out only lead," Phoenix said "and besides,"
"Besides what?" Said Kate
"I think it's time we opened the armory,"
A/N thanks for waiting, if any of you are still interested in this book. I decided to leave you with that. Fun thought of what the next chapters going to be. So if you want to leave comments, suggestions, predictions (about who's going to die) and whatever else. It's not like the comments section is locked so you can't give me your feedback please feel free to say what you need like that Beatrice is annoying which I totally agree with. Anyway thank you so much for reading and taking your time to read a book by me of all people I love that I can find ways to enjoy writing and to make you enjoy reading. Thank you again so much and as always see you next time
-OMW