Far Horizons: Tales of Sci-Fi, Fantasy and Horror. Issue #19 October 2015 | Page 20

The day waned and as she reached the tree
line, so did the jungle. Clearing the last of the foliage,
Ella found herself among a wide trail strewn with
boulders. A thick fog covered the area as the active
volcano above superheated the snow.
The hair on Ella’s neck rose every time she
heard the leathery flap of nearby wings fade in and
out of the fog. She dropped behind boulders and into
shallow caves whenever the sounds came too close.
The path eventually emptied into a clearing. The fog
hung low and blocked most of Ella’s view of her
surroundings. Along with the blackened stone and ash
that she could see, the bones of countless creatures
made Ella’s lips trembled.
Ella hugged herself tightly as she moved
through the clearing. Charred armour and weapons
laid everywhere, most still protecting the burnt
remains of some brave, or stupid, soul. Ella stepped
behind a boulder and placed her back against its warm
surface. She wiped sweat from her brow and tried to
take several deep breaths. It was unnaturally hot upon
the mountain and Ella was not sure if it was because
of the volcano or the dragons.
Ella leaned forward to place her hands on her
knees when her foot kicked at a hard object in the
ash. It made a metallic clank when it struck a cracked
shield nearby.
Bending down, Ella pulled up a blackened
steel sword, the blade melted into uselessness.
“This is bad,” she said and dropped the
mangled weapon back into the dirt.
Ella moved to slip away when a geyser of hot
steam erupted before her. Falling back in surprise,
she caught a rocky edge and prevented herself from
tumbling out into the open clearing. Before she could
straighten back up, the ground shook with a violent
force as something heavy crashed down behind her.
Slowly turning, Ella found herself staring straight into
the scaled hide of a juvenile red dragon.

Ella scrambled back as close to the rushing
geyser as she could bear. Her heartbeat thrashed in her
ears and she found it hard to breathe. She desperately
fought the urge to run.
The beast spread its wings and shook. With a
push of the leathery membranes, the fog rushed back
and cleared from the area. Tucking its wings close to
its body, the dragon stepped forward, claws digging
into the ground with each step. Bones and charred
armour crunched under its weight as it moved towards
a cave now visible on the far side of the clearing. The
dragon’s tail swung out as it entered into the darkness
striking the entrance. Several large rocks crashed
down into the clearing kicking up clouds of dust.
Ella held her breath until she felt faint. Turning
and pressing her back to the stone, she gulped in a
lungful of air. She glanced over at the path she had
come, then back to the cave. Several smaller rocks and
streams of dirt poured off the mountain when the beast
moved about inside.
Swallowing hard, Ella hesitantly stepped
around the boulder and slowly approached the cave.
When another geyser blew nearby, she leapt back and
quickly stifled a scream. Ella stumbling away from
the heated jet of water and tripped over a hard object
in the dirt that clanged against a stone. At the sound, a
loud growling from the cave reverberated around the
clearing and caused more dust to pour down.
Frozen, Ella could not move until the dirt
settled again and she was sure the scaled beast would
not charge out at her. Reaching into the ash cautiously,
she pulled up a large steel lance. The weapon was
covered in soot and discoloured from extreme heat,
but still strong and solid; Ella pulled the rest of it up.
Eyes fixed on the cave, she dragged the lance behind
her when she felt her legs could move again.
Ella felt heat radiate from the cave as she
neared it. She quickly moved to the side of the dark
hole and looked up the rubble strewn cliff. Hoisting
the lance onto her shoulder, Ella started to climb the
rocks. She reached twice her height before the weight
of the lance caused its butt to clang off the rocks. The

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