The boats continued, going down streams. It was a quiet ride as the skeleton that was steering the boat did not speak. Quietly pushing the boat, the mysterious aura of the skeleton ferryman brought an unusual uncomfortably.

Everyone who had made it on the boats wondered if the skeleton would drown them or kill them. But as time ticked by, the ferryman did nothing but move his large stick.

Some of them were brave enough to poke at the skeleton a few times, which did not end up too well. The skeleton smashed it’s steering paddle into the one who caused it annoyance, flipping them into the water with a loud splash. A young man was floundering around, yelling out for help.

The people inside the boat quickly rushed over toward the side, trying to pull him up. It didn’t take long for them to pull the man back up onto the boat. Drenched, cold, and filled with anger, the man pointed a finger and shouted. “You wretched skeleton!”

One of them grabbed a hold of his arm.

“Let me go!”

“This is not the time to be fighting against it.”

“I don’t care. That thing was trying to kill me!”

One of the girls on the boat snorted at him. “You antagonize it. Look around you, did we try to do anything to it?” She raised an eyebrow at him. “None of us got kicked out but you.”

The man opened and closed his mouth, unable to say anything back.

“Now sit down and stay quiet. I don’t want to be caught up in your stupidity.” She growled.

The others, who were holding him down, nodded. Nobody wanted to get pushed or thrown into the river. They all knew what was living in it and what it could do to them. Plus, they had just escaped death multiple times in a short period. Jumping into another fire pan wasn’t on their agenda.

Snow saw the whole thing play out. She was glad she didn’t destroy the skeletal ferryman and sat silent. Also, she didn’t know where they were headed too.

For the next few hours, everyone was silent, and nervously waited. The scenery drastically changed. The grey area became black and molten with lava. Heat raised up from the cracks of the ground, making the air around them hot and muggy.

Breathing was becoming itchy and difficult. Snow pulled back her hair into a ponytail as streaks of sweat seemed to cover her face and body. Even with her high tech armor on, it still wasn’t cool enough to keep the hot air from affecting her.

The skeletal ferry snapped its head to the right. It’s eerie green eyes glowed even brighter, and its teeth continue to chatter loudly, announcing their arrival. Snow followed their gaze, quietly watching and wondering what the skeleton was seeing. Was there going to be another group of skeletons waiting? She wasn’t sure.

Snow squinted, looking straight toward the direction that they needed to go. It looked like a small bone village. The boat easily made it to the edge of the river, where there wasn’t any eerily green seaweed or skeletal remains moving in the cold water.

A sense of relief washed over Snow, realizing that they must have made it to a possible safe area. With a quick hop out of the boat, a loud splash catches everyone’s attention. A shock of cold that quickly changed to a more mild warmth welcomed her. The sudden change of temperature temporarily threw her off. She took a moment to make sure that she wasn’t crazy. When she moved her right foot a few times, the swishing of the water was still the same temperature that told her that nothing had changed.

Finally, she let such trivial thoughts go and continued onto the beach.

When the people saw that Snow was out without the fear of the water snatching their feet, they quickly followed after. Nobody wanted to stay in the boat any longer for fear of being ferried away to the unknown. Plus, all of them were glad to be on land.

Snow walked forward. The wind brushed against her white hair, making her squint. It was pleasant as it was hot and muggy, bringing with foul air that made her nose crinkled. If she didn’t know any better, she would have assumed a dead body nearby, rotting in a previous or being cooked in one of the molten lava pits.

Luckily, she saw large boulders that were shaped around a ring shape. Some were broken, others were still well perceived. It reminded Snow of the Stonehenge that she had seen in pictures about.

In the middle of it, all was a large slab of stone with someone laying on it.

Snow squinted. Her eyes became sharper as magic was injected into her eyes. Her eyes became wider.

Snow frowned when she saw the Pope lying on the stone slab. His hand was crossed on his chest and his eyes closed. He was sleeping silently in the middle of the Stonehenge. How did he even get there? The better question was, why here and not locked away like the rest?

“It’s the Pope!” The priest and priestess yelled out in happiness when they saw who it was. To see their Pope, not harm, brought a sense of relief. Everyone rushed forward in the hopes of seeing him.

Something was not right. Snow could feel it.

The magic in the air was heavy. Even a normal person would be able to sense that something was in the air.

Snow carefully stepped forward, testing the air for any particularities. So far, the magical energy in the air did not reject her or fluctuate at her entrance. She continued to step forward and stop in front of the Pope.

His black hair that was neatly covered half his angelic-looking face was peaceful. It was odd to see such a young Pope sleeping on the slab of rock as if nothing was wrong. It looked straight out of the fairy tale.

Thinking about it now, the first time she had met him, he did seem a bit older. Why was it now that the Pope looked to be in his mid-twenties? Snow furrowed her brow.

Was there magic cast on him? She leaned over.

His eyelashes were really pretty for his small face. There were no blemishes anywhere.

“Is he okay?” Jay asked. He was the second one near the Pope, looking down with worry.

“I don’t know.”

“He might have magic cast on him.”

“For sure.”

“What can we do?” Jay hoped that she knew the answer. The others came rushing over,

surrounding the Pope. They all wanted to know what to do to wake him up, but the answer wasn’t as simple as they thought.

There was something more to this than they thought. Everyone could feel the heavy pressure from the air that brought about an uncomfortable feeling. Nobody knew what kind of magic was placed around the Pope, but they didn’t like it.

Suddenly, Snow heard a ruffling sound from behind her. She snapped her head toward the direction with her sword in hand. A loud voice chortled from above.

“Snow!” Mike shouted. He twisted a few times, trying to get out of the rope but was failing. Mike, Dairen, and Levian were dangling upside down gagged. They were tied up on a wooden beam not too far away from the Stonehenge.

How did she not see them?

The large Stonehenge was covering their body, making it impossible to see past a certain point.

“Getaway!” Mike flailed.

In alarm, Snow pulled out Black Widow. The black hiss of the sword poison dripped out onto the ground, leaving behind a hole.

The ground rumbled, causing everyone to fall onto their knees.

Snow slammed the sword into the ground, trying to keep her balance.

Out of the corner of her eyes, Snow saw the ground move. A large shark fins erupted out from the ground, swimming around them in a circle.

“Monsters?!” One of the priestess yelled. She then screamed at the top of her lung when the creature burst up, gobbling her in one bite.

It was a giant snake creature that was three times larger than the Stonehenge. It’s red eyes, golden scales that were close to shimmering sunlight fading into the sunset. Numerous spider-like legs were present in the front of the body, while rows of fins were down its back.

Even its tail was club-like with spikes, giving it a very intimidating look. One would have mistaken it for a snake if it wasn’t for the spider legs that looked as if it was glued to its body.

A dangerous acidic smell lingered in the air.

A powerful spat of acid flew toward Snow.

Snow dodged, rolling out of harm’s way. She could hear the loud hissing sound behind her, eating up the ground. One hit would cause her bones and skin to melt in seconds.

“Watch out!” One of the priestesses, who was a step late, was doused in poison. In an instant, a petrified scream echoed out into the crowd. Horror doused the other face when they saw how badly the priestess was turning. Her skin was turning black and blue, melting off little by little, until she coughed up blood herself.

In seconds, she fell onto the ground-- Dead.

Snow dashed forward. Her sword swung to the side as she smashed it into the demon snake’s side.

With a hiss, the body was sliced an inch deep, pouring out acidic blood. Suddenly, the blade in Snow’s hand throbbed. The energy in Snow’s hand shook with excitement. It slurped up the acidic blood like a vampire, causing the Snake to thrash. Its tail whipped around, aiming to crush her in one go.

Its tail smashed into the ground, missing her entirely.

Snow danced out of harm’s way, slicing again against the body. The body shivered as its blood was once again being sucked away, leaving behind a grey spot as if it lost a portion of its life. The golden scale turned dull.

“Snow!” Mike came over to assist.

Snow didn’t have time to think of how he got out, but she noticed out of the corner of her eyes. Jay was helping with a group of other priests, cutting him down.