==Act 2==

===Chapter 7===

====Scene 1====

“Who are you?” Midna whispered, moving swiftly toward the door. The silhouette in the dark hall was barely humanoid, with a seemingly swollen body and short legs.

“I am the Goron messenger Nobuo,” said the form, and he then made a noise that resembled goro, “Is this the room of Link, goro?”

“Um, I’m Link,” said Link, getting up. He fumbled for the lantern, and when it was turned on, the form in the doorway was revealed to be a Goron, with a large muscular orange-red body and a particularly round belly. The Goron had the stereotypical rocky growths across his shoulders and back, and intertwining white tattoos that spread across the front of his body and face. The Goron wore nothing but a small white loincloth, and surveyed the room with beady black eyes set in a rounded face over a small flat nose and a wide mouth.

“The Goron chief Darnashin wishes to see you, goro,” said Nobuo.

“How does he- when did-” Link stuttered, a little stunned, “How does he know I’m here!? I arrived three hours ago!”

“The chief has his ways, goro,” Nobuo laughed, “Come with me.”

As he and Midna left the room, Link glanced toward the dresser where Valee slept. He told Midna to wait, then scribbled a note for Valee and left it on the dresser, and left it beside her. He then ran out the door to catch up with Nobuo.

====Scene 2====

The trio moved down the canyon of Kakariko, until Nobuo stopped them.

“He is in this building, goro,” he said. They entered a seemingly small building carved into the cliff face, but inside, the house was large and spacious. Link loved the idea of building that were bigger inside than they were outside.

Inside stood three people. On was Russ; Link recognized him immediately. The second was a tall man with relatively dark skin and long brown hair. His eyes flamed red and he wore strange blue form-fitting clothes that highlighted his muscular build. The third was a Goron, significantly taller than Nobuo. He was also much more muscular, with intimidating square-cut features, and the air about him could only identify him as one person.

“My lord Darnashin (goro), I have brought Link, as you requested,” said Nobuo. Link and Midna bowed.

“So you are Link,” said Darnashin. His voice was deep and booming, “I have foreseen your arrival. I have heard many good things about you from people such as Russ here,” he gestured with a massive hand (which was most likely bigger than Link’s head) toward the fiery man Link had met the previous day, “and the King.”

“Link,” said the dark-skinned man, “I am honoured to make your acquaintance. I am Renn, the shaman, or spiritual advisor, of the Shiekah tribe.” He and Link shook hands. Renn’s features were soft, but severe at the same time. His eyes were bright red and slanted. His clothes consisted of a tight fitting blue shirt with an eye symbol, a loose white scarf around his neck, tight blue pants of the same material as the shirt, and brown leather boots. His dark brown hair was tied in a complex series of thin braids that were tied into an intricate ponytail-like style.

Russ had his hair in the same spiky hairstyle he had worn at the dinner, but his clothes were much different. He wore a light brown sleeveless shirt that showed the entirety of his well muscled arms. He wore a long piece of thick cord around his waist, and baggy cargo pants.

“So…” Link was about to start saying something, but he was too scared of disrespect.

“Why have we been summoned?” Midna asked for him.

“Link,” said Russ, stressing the name, “Has been summoned to help Chief Darnashin with his troubles within Death Mountain.”

“Three Gorons found a stone staff a few days ago,” said Darnashin, “And brought it back into the mountain. Being young, they decided to play with it in the deeper caverns, and something went awry. The three Gorons died and the deep caves were frozen, forcing a portion of us to evacuate the mountain. The day before last, I foresaw you two liberating the caves, so I have come to ask of your help. I wish to ask if, tomorrow, you could remove the staff from the caverns.”

“But staff will kill us, too,” said Midna as Link digested the request.

“If my visions were correct, it will not,” said Darnashin, “But I must warn you, whatever dark power is in the staff has created monsters that have infested the innards of the mountain. It is very dangerous.”

“Thanks for the warning,” said Link, although he expected monsters anyway, “Oh, Russ, Ashia and Shade asked me to meet you here.”

“I’ll talk to you after you clear the mountain,” he said, and left. Renn watched him leave before going himself. Lastly, Nobuo and Darnashin left. Link and Midna retired to the hotel room again, and went to sleep.

====Scene 3====

When Link awoke, Valee was also awake.

“You sure seem to sleep a lot,” he said to the fairy.

“What can I say, flying takes a lot of energy!”

“Fair answer.”

Midna woke a few minutes later, and the trio (Valee included) set off for Death Mountain. Along the way, they were stopped by Renn.

“Link!” he called from his home, which apparently was the house Link met Darnashin in yesterday. Link, Midna, and Valee went over to him. Sitting on the small porch, with her legs crossed, was a girl of about Link’s age.

“Link,” said Renn, “This is Rida. I hope you don’t mind if she comes with you to the mountain.”

Rida stood up. She was Hylian, a little shorter than Link. She had mid-back length brown hair which cascaded in wisps. Under her bangs Link could see bright, attentive brown eyes that stood out stunningly against her fair skin.  She wore a simple long one-piece cloak, which probably used to be green but had faded to a pale brown under the sun, and clutched a long wooden staff with a large green orb encrusted into the top. Overall, she was a rather attractive young woman.

“Pleased to meet you, Link,” she said brightly, her thin hand extending from the folds of her robe. Link shook it, and introduced Midna and Valee to her. Midna she regarded with an exotic reverence, and to Valee she laughed, amused by the fairy’s dust.

“Rida knows the tunnels of Death Mountain well,” Renn continued, “And will act as your guide.”

As the quartet walked toward the mountain, Rida chatted.

“Your accent,” said Link, “Would you be from Four Winds?”

“You have a good ear,” Rida laughed, “Have you been there before?”

“No,” Link replied, “I met a butler in Castle Town with the same accent.”

“What was his name?”

“His name was Jeffrey; he worked in the Casa Hylia,” Link replied, using Hyrule Castle’s formal name just for the heck of it.

“The name sounds familiar,” Rida said, “But I can’t put my finger on it.”

“What exactly is this staff?” asked Midna, “Do you know? What does it look like?”

“To obtain that staff,” said Rida, “Is the real reason I’m coming with you. I saw it on the first day the three Gorons found it. It’s black obsidian, with dyed red designs streaking the length of it. Every so often along these streaks is a diamond shaped ruby, and at the top is a huge Blood Ruby. The staff itself is crooked at some points.” She described the object passionately, revealing her love of beautiful staffs.

“I knew it…” Midna whispered.

“What?” asked Link, who hadn’t been paying attention.

“The staff is one of Midnight’s three items. I need it to exact my revenge on him. Rida, I apologize, but once I have finished with the staff I will give it to you, I promise.”

Rida laughed, “I wasn’t expecting to gain the staff at all,” she said, “But I would love to have it when you’re finished. Thank you!”

“That’s Death Mountain,” said Rida after a few minutes, pointing up at the tallest peak in the near, jagged horizon. Around the top circled a ring of stormy clouds, “And at the top is the Dragon Roost, where the sky god Valoo and his followers, the winged Rito tribe, live.”

“How do you get up there?”  Link asked in awe of the Roost’s sheer height. Rida grinned at him, exposing her white teeth.

“You climb,” she said as if it was the most normal idea in the world.

“You-- you climb? That? How!?” Link was flustered by the idea.

“That’s the hard part.”

They reached Death Mountain in good time. At the base of the mountain was a small gorge, sort of like an entrance hall. Link guessed that it could be used as a kind of defence system, and Rida replied with the fact that Gorons could roll themselves into balls and hurtle down the gorge when an intruder was seen. The watchtower guards knew Rida, so they were safe.

“Ah , Link!” Darnashin’s voice rumbled once they reached the end of the gorge. The way he stood made it obvious that he had been waiting for them, “And young Rida, too! The mountain cave’s entrance is just up this path. Please, be careful.”

“Don’t worry, Chief,” said Rida, “They  won’t be hurt. Not under my watch, anyway.” Darnashin laughed.

“Then do not lose sight of them. I will await your return.”

The mountain path was steep, with many twists and turns, but eventually the quartet reached the top, which ended in a recently deserted hot spring. Beyond the hot spring was an entrance to a cave, and Link knew that this led into the deserted Goron city.

“Are you ready?” Link asked. Midna nodded.

“Of course!” said Rida.

====Scene 4====

Spectacular was the first word that came into Link’s head when he stepped into the Goron city. It was a huge hollowed out cylinder that must have gone five of six storeys downward. On each storey were bridges that led to a central disk, all suspended by cables to each other in a row. Link could see that the lower-most disc had fallen; huge slabs of stone littered the base of the city, and the stubs of bridges could still be seen on the wall. Each wall was lined by a pathway about five feet wide, and from these were openings that must have led to the homes and shops.

Standing at the centre of the uppermost disc was Nobuo, who waved to the quartet. Rida stepped out onto the bridge first and crossed it with ease, but Link clutched the railing, scared to look down. Midna crossed it calmly, and Valee, who flew, didn’t really cross it, but something like that.

“Nobuo!” Rida called, “Isn’t it dangerous here?”

“It is, goro,” said Nobuo, “But I am here to guide you into the main part of the mines, goro, where we sealed the staff. This pathway leads,” he gestured down one of the bridges, “Leads to the mining area, goro.”

“Thank you,” Rida bowed.

“Oh, and the Chief asked me to give you this chart, goro. It will help you navigate the mines, goro,” Nobuo said, giving the map to Link.

“Thank you very much, Nobuo,” said Link. Nobuo made a gesture that Rida later identified as a Goron sign of respect.

The first room of the mines was very hot. In the center was a grand staircase that was about three metres wide, and rose halfway up the wall to a large door that was barred by an iron gate. Running down the sides of the room were rivers of lava (hence the heat), with small bridges going over them to hallways which probably led into the body of the mine.

Fwooom

Link glanced up at the noise to see a tall green flame dancing and flickering from one of the torches near the staircase. There were four torches, and they were fixed to a wide stone railing down the middle of the staircase. The one that had just lit was the second from the bottom.

“Strange…” said Rida, thoughtfully. She took the map Nobuo had given her, and unrolled it, laying on the stone floor. “I think we’re here,” she said, pointing to one chamber, “There’s a green Torch icon here. There’s also a white one here, a blue one here, and a red one here.” She pointed to different chambers as she spoke. “I’ve seen this kind of device in the Gerudo Desert. Each Torch has to be lit in order to proceed.”

“To light the others,” said Midna, “We must go to each room with a Torch icon.”

“There are three of us, and three torches,” said Link, “And splitting up would make this ordeal a whole lot faster.”

“Sounds good,” Rida replied. Midna nodded. Valee fluttered around Rida, indicating she wanted to go with her.

“What about the map?” said Link, “Who keeps the map?”

“I can memorize the path to, say, the red torch,” said Rida.

“I shall find the white torch,” said Midna, studying the map.

“So Link takes the map to find the blue one,” Rida rolled the map up, “Here you go.”

“Come back here when your torch is lit,” said Link. The others nodded, and they split up.

====Scene 5====
Rida’s Path

I didn’t like this dungeon one bit. Earth is my element, not fire. Never fire. In fact, fire was somewhat of a weakness to me.

I crossed the small bridge over the lava moat. The hallway that came directly after the bridge had a red flame symbol above it, an obvious hint in the right direction.

The hallway was long and twisting. I didn’t like the twisting part, because I couldn’t see any more than a few feet ahead of me. I clutched my staff, waiting for something to leap out at me. To my general surprise, though, nothing did. Then I heard a scream, muffled, but a scream nonetheless. I jumped, looking behind me, but nothing was there. It must have been my imagination.

The hallway opened up to a large crater. I looked up, shielding my eyes from the sun. The sky was blue as ever, with the occasional puffy cloud drifting lazily around it.

Definitely the right choice of paths.

I guessed I had found a loading dock. Thinking back to the map Link had, this cavern had a crate icon, meaning my guess was probably right. I surveyed the docks. There were wooden platforms and walkways arching and spreading across the crater like a  spider’s web. Above was a large electromagnet, probably designed to lift the loaded goods mechanically.  The Gorons were much more advanced than I had thought.

Then an interesting Goron thought struck me.

Were there female Gorons?

Before I had time to think about it, an arrow whizzed past my head. I must have screamed pretty loudly, for a few boxes beside me toppled over.

“I knew there was a catch,” I groaned, ducking behind larger crates to escape more arrows.  Judging the situation, I had to weave my way through the web of paths to the other side of the crater while dodging arrows the entire time. Fun.

“Do you have some sort of long-range weapon?” came a squeak beside me. I jumped, then realized it was only Valee. I’d never heard her talk before.

“I don’t think so,” I replied.

“Those are Bulblins up there,” said Valee, “They’re all strength, no planning skills at all. If you could trick them, you’d have them beat.”

“I have an idea,” I mumbled. I rested my hand on my staff’s orb. It glowed and turned transparent, with green energy of different shades crackling through it. Then, when the spell was finished, a holographic-looking image of myself appeared.

“Good idea,” Valee said brightly, “That will confuse them.”

I took a deep breath, then ran from my hiding spot. I could see that all of the archers were focusing  on the doppelganger, and were probably confused as to how she could survive so many arrows. I laughed inwardly, which was cut short as an arrow flew past me, taking a small lock of hair with it.

“Farore Above, that was close!” I cried, as the near-impact almost knocked m down. Inwardly, I swore  much worse. They were targeting me now! I ducked behind another stack of crates. This one had a little peep-hole, which I used to survey the room, figuring out which turns to take.

After another deep breath I jumped out of my hiding spot, pleased to see that the archers had started targeting the doppelganger again, who was just running wildly around the paths. I ran down a path and ducked behind more crates. I touched the orb on the top of my staff. Show me the way, I thought. I looked up, and saw the doppelganger running toward the big electromagnet. It was an odd direction, but I knew the extent of my spells, and her way will at least get me wherever I’m going.

I ran out of my hiding spot again, this time knowing exactly which paths to take. I ducked behind crates when they came, and used these as breathers as my doppelganger held decoy. Farore Above, I wish I had learned a cloaking spell before I left! After a few more minutes of running and ducking, I reached the electromagnet. It was a tall, metallic structure that tapered near the top. At the top, a long arm extended outwards, and at the end of that arm hung a huge metal disc. That disc was the magnet. Around the tower were metal platforms at regular intervals.

I looked around to see my doppelganger above me, on the second platform. She then took a metal pathway that I hadn’t noticed, spiralling up the tower. She stopped when she reached the third and highest platform.

Psheeeew went an arrow. I yelped as the tip dug into my arm. I pulled it out, and pressed my torn clloak against the wound to stop the blood. Then I ran. I charged up the spiralling pathways to the first platform, then the second, and then the third. When I got to the top, I realized three things.

First, my doppelganger had disappeared. The spell had been broken when the arrow shot me.

Second, I now knew where exactly the archers were stationed.

Third, there was no way to get to the other side. The three pathways that led across the wide gap in the exact middle had all been destroyed.

“How am I going to cross that!?” I cried.

“The magnet!” squeaked Valee in sudden realization, “Do you have anything metal on you?”

“No…” I said, thinking, “But maybe my staff might stick…”

“Then the real question is how to turn it on.”

“This was built by Gorons,” I mused, “To be used by Gorons. How would a Goron turn it on?” Then I noticed a large square raised spot on the other side of the platform.

“Maybe that’s a switch there,” I said. I went over to it and jumped on it. It moved, but I was obviously much lighter than a Goron, so the switch didn’t move all the way down.

“Have any spells for this?” Valee asked.

“Actually, I do,” I clutched my staff, focusing on a spell. This was one pf the hardest ones to execute, so it took a bit of effort. Eventually, I heard the rumbling, and a few seconds later hundreds of pounds of earth came snaking through the air toward me. I jumped out of the way just in time as all of the dirt landed on the switch. It was heavy enough to weight it down. With a clunk and a whiiiiiiiiiirr the magnet came to life. The disc was glowing blue from the energy, and I could see a faint blue column of light, created by the magnetic pull.

I walked up to the column of blue slowly. I knew I needed to do this, but the notion of hanging from an electromagnet isn’t so inviting. Then, with another clunk, the magnet swung around to a platform on the  other side of the gap. The magnet turned off for a few minutes, the turned back on and came back. When the magnet turned back on over here, I gingerly held out my staff--whoop!!

“Aiyaah! Get me down from here!” I cried, suspended from the magnet by the end of my staff. I must have been flailing around or making noise or something, because arrows started whizzing toward me. I just held on for dear life as the magnet moved. I screamed as I began to slip, but I regained my grip. The magnet stopped moving, but didn’t turn off. Not yet, at least. Then, I heard a strange crackling sound, as if something were on fire. I looked up to see bolts of electricity snapping and sparkling around the orb of the staff, which was stuck to the magnet. Then a bolt shocked my hands, and I let go.

BAD decision.

I screamed as I plummeted a good fifty feet, landing hard on the metal loading dock below. I coughed, and a small spat of blood came out. Of course, the magnet turned off just then. I saw the staff falling, coming closer.

“Bad decision bad decision bad decision!” I whispered, and rolled out of the way just before the end of the staff stabbed into the metal at the spot I’d been a fraction of a second before. I slowly stood up, and regarded the staff, jammed into a seam in the metal. Then the pain from my little tumble there got to me, and I clutched my chest.

“Where’s that fairy!” I yelled. The fairy came twinkling over the gap toward me. I glared at her as she came over.

“What?” was the first thing Valee said.

“It was your dumb decision to drop me from that magnet,” I replied.

“Well it got you over the gap, didn’t you?”

I grumbled and went to pick up my staff. It shocked me when I touched it. I tried again. It didn’t shock me this time, but it was stuck between two pieces of the iron floor. I pulled once, twice, three times before it came out. I stumbled when it did. I looked at the orb on top in fascination. Where it had been green, it was now clear with a strange leaf-green cloud hovering in the centre, with sparks bursting out of it and crackling along the surface of the orb.

“I wonder if it absorbed energy from the magnet,” Valee mused, inspecting the orb.

“Worth a try!” I said, holding the staff at arm’s length. I gathered up my magic and BOOM! A bolt of electricity shot out of the sky, frying one of the archers, whose body fell from the ledge it was on, exploding into smoke in mid-air.

“Haha!” I laughed, “This could come in handy!” I repeated what I had just done, and in a few minutes the archers were dead and I was free to figure out my way.

“Okay,” I said. I started walking around the maze of paths, systematically figuring out the way to the other side. I could see the gate on the crater’s edge, beckoning for me, taunting and daring me to find the way. I thought I could do it. I had the time.

Well, I thought I did.

I heard a loud sploosh, and whipped around to look to where the noise was coming from. I almost cried out. Rising from the water below the wooden paths was a massive tentacle of water. I could see a disgusting eyeball floating in the tentacle, spinning around madly.

“Wh-what is that!?” I whispered.

“The Chu Morpha,” Valee replied, equally as quiet, “It looks mad.”

“I never would have guessed,” I whispered flatly. The tentacle rose up and up until it was more than 50 feet tall. It then moved toward the electromagnet tower, winding itself around it.

“Farore Above,” I cried as it bent the tower, the tip coming downward toward me. I ran. I ran down the paths, not caring where I was going as long as it was away from the tower. I ran faster as I began to hear the creaks and groans of bending metal. My chest was on fire, both from the fall injury and from the mad running. I was panting, I could feel sweat bead on my forehead, but I didn’t care, as long as I got away from the now falling tower.

And then I tripped.

I landed hard on my chest, yelling out, spitting and coughing blood. Farore Above, it hurt worse than anything I had ever felt. My staff spun out of reach, balancing on the edge of a pathway. Then there was a screech of metal. In horror, I looked up to see the tower breaking and snapping, huge sparks crackling away from it. It began to fall now; I saw the shadow around me growing larger around me; I hurt too much to move; I hurt to much to get to safety.

The tower was almost on top of me.

I covered my head and pulled my body in to get as small as I could.

Despite the pain, I took a deep breath.

====Scene 6====

Midna’s Path

Thanks to her photographic memory, Midna had perfectly memorized the path to the White Torch. The door to it was the only one on the right side of the room; Rida’s and Link’s were to the left. It began with a long, straight corridor. At the end, Midna could see red light emanating from the opening.

As she got about halfway, she began to feel heat, and as she got closer to the end it got stronger. At the end of the corridor she stopped to take off her robe. She pulled it off and rolled it into a small ball, placing it at the doorway. She then stepped in.

The first thing she noticed was the brightness. Corridor opened up into a large cavern that was a hundred feet wide and hundreds long.  The first fifty feet was rock, with a path leading to a ledge. Then, there were small islands of rock in a pool of magma. Beyond was a little more ground, and then countless bent and destroyed metal structures over more magma. The light radiated from the magma and reflected off the cavern walls.

Remembering the map, Midna knew she would have to somehow cross the pools of magma to get to another corridor on the other side of the room. She drew a breath and walked down the path to the edge of the magma pool. She surveyed the room, her dark eyes flitting. She then stepped back a few paces, and took a running leap over the magma, landing squarely on the rock island. With less space this time, she jumped to the next, landing with a grunt on one knee.

There were a few other rock islands, but the ledge on the other side was closer. She jumped, and screamed when she realized she wouldn’t quite make it. She hit the edge, holding herself with her elbows and forearms. She grunted, kicking her legs up over the ledge, rolling onto the stone. She lay there a few minutes, breathing heavily. She then got up, propping herself up on the elbow. Sweat was beading on her forehead.

She got up, regulating her breathing rate. The twisting metal structures seemed to have once been connected to the cavern walls, but were now bending and warping toward the magma. Broken metallic bridges could also be seen. The shadows all of these structures cast over the walls were… eerie. Midna couldn’t describe it any other way. Her home city I the twilight realm was full of shadows, but not like this.

She shook her head and began to think logically. The metal structures were made of a seemingly iron frame with a sort of mesh to form surfaces. One surface was always solid metal, but they were usually too bent to walk across. If the space between the mesh links was great enough, she might be able to get her fingers through, and travel across the structures either by hanging and going hand-over-hand, or climbing them from the outside.

She went up to the first structure, and tapped it to test its stability. It didn’t budge. She then gave it a hard kick. Nothing. Drawing a deep breath, she slid her fingers between the mesh links, then put the toe of her boot in, and used that to push herself up, all the while inserting and re-inserting her hands into the mesh of metal. In no time, she reached the top of the structure. The first one was relatively flat, so she just walked across it. The next one was severely bent out of shape, and only the one surface remained, parallel to the magma below. It was attached to the walls and ceiling in three places, making it sturdy. It was higher up than the platform she was standing on, but well within reach.

She crouched down, and reached over to the platform, holding onto the mesh. She then inserted her other hand in the same way, with her fingers through the mesh. With a grunt she kicked off with her legs, hanging now. Holding on with one hand, she slid the other hand out and grabbed back on further up. She repeated this, swinging, hand over hand, until she reached the end. Below her was a solid metal platform, and she jumped down onto it.

From there it was just an easy walk to the other end of the cavern. Then a blast of fire came at her, barely missing her head. Midna whirled to see a red and blue toad-like creature swimming in the lava. Midna charged a spell on her left hand, and fired it into the lave, but the Toadpoli had dove under the lava. The spell hit and made a small islet of rock in the lava which quickly melted again. The Toadpoli burst up again in a different spot, and Midna whirled, firing the same spell. She ducked, and the spell left her hand just as fire exploded on the wall where her head had been a few seconds earlier. The spell hit the Toadpoli, killing it and dissipating it into purple smoke.

As she walked, Midna took in the strange surroundings, using this as time to regain her stamina. The object that interested her the most was a large disc on the wall. It glowed orange, but the top layer was cracked, and it fizzled and made sparks.

The next room was spectacular. A giant crater, as deep as the Goron City. Midna stood on a ledge overlooking the crater’s depths. The door to the Torch room was on the other side, over another ledge. Midna looked up. Creating a makeshift ceiling was a spider web of thick metal bars, twisted and bent into seemingly random patterns. Some hung down more than others, and every so often a chain would dangle from the metal mess. There were also platforms jutting down from the mess of metal, large flat squares suspended by metal poles. The room was lit by burning torches placed at intervals around the circular cavern wall, parallel to the ledge. On the metal ceiling hung dim, fizzling orange discs.

Midna knew what she had to do. Unfortunately, this room would not be easy at all.

Midna was afraid of heights. Now, she had to face a crater hundreds of feet deep. She took a deep breath.

“You can do it, Midna, you can do it,” she whispered. The only running start she could manage was about two steps, so she used it, and grabbed on to the nearest hanging chain. Willing herself not to look down, she pulled herself in close, holding on with her entire being. She began to swing the chain slowly, then gradually faster, until she was swinging at a good pace. She then let go at the right moment, allowing her to fly through the air and grab on to a bar hanging down.

The impact hurt her hands, but she steeled herself, and swung herself by the hands. A platform was within jumping distance. As she swung, she heard a distant flapping noise. It got louder and louder, confusing her. What in Hyrule was that sound? Then, she saw little black bats fluttering up to her. One nipped her in the leg.

“Ow!” she yelped. Another nipped her hand, just as she was about to jump for the platform. She let go, screaming at the realization she jumped to early. The sound echoed around her as she flew through the air. She flailed, trying to get herself farther, trying to land on the platform safely.

She didn’t make it.