I shouted, "Run!"

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Tuma gulped, squeezing Sqakron in his arms. "It's gaining on us!"

Panchu snarled, "it can smell us … and knows these caves very well." He stopped at a second fork and turned his snout right. "This way, Triblings. Stay close to the wall. There is a cliff on the left side." He glanced up at the enormous butterfly. "Make sure you brighten their path."

Sapphire nodded and swooped out in front of us, her wings fluttering bluish-green, causing the cave to illuminate.

Onwae looked over her shoulder and eyed the golden-orange orb that tailed her. "Hello, there!" She smiled warmly, reaching out a hand. "Have you come along too?"

I stayed at the rear and waved a hand for them to carry forward. "Watch your step."

"Falling to your death is not that bad a way to go," Mowak snickered.

Tuma's eyelids peeled open. "You mean go out there?" He whispered, looking upon a crevice that fell into a black abyss. "But I'm afraid of heights …" I swung my spear and smacked his arm. He shrieked and rubbed. "What was that for?"

"For whining all the time. Now would you rather this or to be ripped to bits?" I asked. Tuma stood and pondered longer than I liked. I smacked him again.

"Alright!" He waved his hands. "I'm going … I'm going—"

Rocks the size of boulders plummeted from the roof as a roar echoed throughout the chambers.

It's getting closer, I thought, gazing behind my shoulder. I glared at Tuma. "You best hurry or you won't get a choice!"

The orb pulsed orange and gold behind Onwae. She giggled. "You're cute! What's your name, little guy?"

Mowak grimaced and said hollowly. "How do you know it's a boy?"

"I can sense these things." Onwae lips curled. "I think he's scared and lost … maybe we can help him get out!"

"It's just a stupid orb!" Tuma yelled, gripping against the wall.

Sqakron turned his head gazed at Tuma with his large, right eye. "You alright, master?"

Tuma snapped, "Fine …"

"Got any seed—"

"No, I don't got any seed!" He grabbed the creature by the throat and shook. "I'm going to kill this thing!"

Roar!

The cave shook as boulders fell like meteors. Tuma stepped away from the wall and looked up. His mouth hung, eyes wide, watching a massive stone drop, targeting him.

"Look out!"

I crouched and lunged forward, my momentum carried me into the boy. We collided and groaned as we flew over the edge. Plummeting, the wind screamed in our ears. The darkness all around us as we were swallowed into the abyss.

Tuma screamed and Sqakron shrieked. Their voices drowned as we hit a pool at the bottom. I sunk and spun like the boulders splashing and sinking around me. Their weight caused the water to whirl. When I found myself upright, I kicked, pulling my arms downward until I broke the surface, gasping for air.

Tuma snorted and gasped, screaming and flopping. Sqakron resting on his head, shivering.

Golden-orange orbs sat suspended in the air. Hundreds of them. Lighting the enormous chamber around us. Water trickled down stone into the black pool. And the smell of a thick, rotten air filled our nostrils.

We paddled towards the edge.

"They're everywhere!"

Sqakron twitched his head right and gazed upon an orb. Cock-a-doodle-doo! He then looked left and screeched at another. Cock-a-doodle-doo! Then behind him. Cock-a-doodle-doo—

Tuma yanked the creature and shoved him underwater. Then pulled him back out, shook, then glared. His face red as fire. "We're already awake!"

"My apologies, master—"

Tume reeled back his arm and threw it forward. Sqakron twitled into the air and splashed as he darted under, quickly resurfacing. The dragon rooster slithered through the water.

"Intolerable!" Gobble. Gobble. "This is intolerable!"

We reached the stoned bank and pulled ourselves up out of the water, rolling onto our backs, gasping. I narrowed my eyes, blinded by the many glowing orbs.

"They must be trapped here," I said. "Just like the one following Onwae."

Tuma sat up and shook. "Who cares about those darn things! You nearly killed me!"

I shot up, grabbed him by his robe, and shook. "If it weren't for me you would've been crushed!"

He yanked away, "so instead you'd rather us plummet to our deaths? We were lucky there was a pool down here."

Sqakron shook until his feathers were dry. He turned his head and blinked several times. "Um … master?"

I stood to my feet and squeezed my fists, "you ungrate toad! I wish you'd never came with us!"

Tuma climbed to his feet and stuck out his chest. "I wish I had too! Seems like ever since you bound to Panchu you've made only stupid decisions!"

"Master?" Gobble. Gobble. "I'd hate to interrupt but—"

"I've made poor decisions? Look at you? You can't even get your dumb bird to shut up!"

"He's not dumb and he's not a bird!" Tuma shrieked. "He's a cocktrice—"

"Mmmmaaasssttteerrrr!"

Tuma and I turned towards the dragon rooster and yelled, "what!"

Sqakron snapped back, blinked wildly, then raised a talon. "What are those?"

Tuma sighed, "What are what?"

I looked away from the creature towards the direction he pointed. My eyelids stretched. Throat tightening, gazing upon the piles of yellowish-white bones and skulls. Some of beasts. Most of tribe folk.

"What did we fall into …"

Tuma turned around and followed my gaze. After he took in the sight he yelped, "we're in the monsters lair …"

From above, a bluish-green light faded into view, expanding larger and larger until four wings, a skinny, oval body, and two antennas came into view.

I waved a hand, "Sapphire! Over here!"

The guardian dove through the bright orbs. Each one clearing a path for her. She glided over to me, gently flapping her wings. "Kai! Tuma! Sqakron! You're alive!"

Tuma grinned and shot up his arms. "We're saved!" Sqakron raised his front talon, mirroring his master.

"Sapphire, I need you to fly back up and tell the others we're alright," I said. "Tell them that we'll need to find our own way out."

Tuma shook his head, "why can't she just fly us back up there?"

"We're much too heavy." I insisted. "She can't carry us all."

"One at a time!"

Gobble. Gobble. "I call first!"

"Shut your beak!" Tuma kicked at the creature. "You're lucky I don't turn you into Cockatrice soup!"

I sighed. "We'd still be too heavy." Then turned towards sapphire. "Please, let them know we'll find our own way out. That they must all stick together."

Sapphire spun and said, "Will do!" She looked at me with her black, round eyes. "Kai. You can use your totem to call upon Panchu. He can find his way to you through his spirit form."

I raised my eyebrows. "How does it work?"

"When a guardian is called to return they can go into their spirit form … and in that form they can see which direction their spirit tribling is in. Then they can float through trees, walls, and even cave boulders to return their spirits back to their masters."

Tuma chuckled. "He'd never do that. Panchu is one stubborn bear."

"Thank you!" I said, nodding. "Take care, Sapphire … we'll see you soon!"

"Be safe, young warriors!" She said then looked at Sqakron. "Would you like me to put him to sleep?"

I shook my head. "No. We may need him ..."

Buh-cock! The creature shrieked. "Need who? Me? Of course you do!"

Sapphire glared at the Cockatrice, whirled around, and faded off towards where she'd come. Once she was long gone, I turned towards Tuma. "We need to find a way out?"

He looked between the piles of bones, "where do we start?"

"If this is the creature's lair then there must be a way it can get out." I said, squinting to see beyond the piles. "It has to be somewhere around here—"

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Tuma's lip trembled as he pointed upward. "W-what if there's no way out … what if it climbs?" His eyes were filled with terror.

I twisted around and looked beyond the orbs. Out to where the light met the darkness, clinging to the wall, was a silhouette that moved between the threshold of darkness and light. It hissed and screeched as it descended downward, clinging to the wall with four legs. A long spear-tipped tail whipping behind it.

I glanced at Tuma, "hide!" He picked up the Cockatrice and pinched his beak, and together the three of us tiptoed between the pile of bones, keeping to the shadow of the mounds. "In here," I said, pointing to a tunnel between the bones, made from the ribs of a large beast.

The orbs light casted upon the creature as it drew further and further down into the chamber. Greenish-orange scales covered his horned head and horned tail while a giant shell sat on his back.

At first, I couldn't make out his eyes, but soon I found myself drawn to them; black slit irises between golden and brown circular patterns.

"Can you identify it?" I asked Tuma who was surprisingly knowledgeable when it came to lizards. "What do you make of it?"

He squinted and trembled beside me. "It looks like it's a cross between a snapping turtle and a croc," he whispered and threw up a digit. "See the beak and the shell … that's part tortoise … the tail, head, and eyes are part croc."

I nodded and swallowed. "That's a good assessment. But I've never heard of croc in our territory. Nor have I seen that or a tortoise climb a rock wall."

Tuma's voice trembled. "It's feet look like it could be part salamander …"

I nodded.

The creature's breath grew heavier the closer it got to the ground. Long, growling breaths that echoed throughout the chamber. The piles of bones rattling. Boom! Boom! Boom! Rattle! Rattle! Rattle! It hissed and screeched, drawing closer and closer.

"We're going to die!" Tuma wrapped his arms tightly around the dragon rooster. "It's going to rip through us then swallow us whole."

"It's not a giant snake," I whispered. "You sure it would do that?"

He shook his head quickly. "You ever seen a turtle with teeth? It'll use that beak or it's tail to knock us unconscious, then send us down it' throat, to be cooked in itss belly acids."

"At least we'll be unconscious," I gave a crooked grin. "We wouldn't feel it if that were the case."

"Just depends on how it wants to consume us. It may just break our bones so we can't get away."

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The creature climbed from the wall, hissing.

Each step taken drawing closer and closer to where we hid. The bone piles rattled and down the mountains.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Sqakron pulled his beak from Tuma's hand. "Master!"

"Shhh!" Tuma and I placed a finger to our lips.

"But I think," Gobble. Gobble. "There's something out there ..."

"What gave you that impression?" Tuma snapped. "You're even dumber than I thought you were."

"Not the monster, master." The cocktrice shook his head. "But something else. Something that smells like you."

Tuma and I exchanged twisted expressions.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The creature stopped behind our mound of bones. It was silent for a time, and I felt myself trembling. I tried to stay still and keep quiet. Suddenly a loud, harsh hack came from the beast. And a smell of hot, acidic stink burnt my nostrils.

"Gross ... did it just vomit?" Tuma choked, trying to keep from hacking himself. He grabbed his nose and held his breath.

There came two more coughs and hacks, one oddly human and the other from a beast. "Disgusting creatures!" Came a low, haunting hiss. "You taste dreadful."

A hollow voice replied, "Well your insides were a disgusting place to be ..."

Tuma scratched his head, "I know that voice ..."

"It's Mowak!" I said, trying to peer through the bones. "Keep quiet!"

"I can't eat you," the creature hissed, "But I have other plans for the two of you. Just stay put while I finish off the others."

"You best hurry, or they may already have escaped ..."

"For your sake, you best hope not." The creature hissed and shrieked.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

It halted. Tuma, Skaqron, and I froze. Three breaths were taken by the creature. His enormous head on the other side of the ribs cage we hid beneath.

"Do you smell something?" He hissed. "Something ... living?"

Mowak replied, "all I can smell is the stink of your insides all over my robe."

Through the bones I could see the silhouette of the beast's head. Larger than any boulder, and as big as the piles of bone. The creature took three more breaths, drawing his beak closer to our hideout. My hairs stood, and my heart pounded, the fear growing in me like a fungus.

"Times running out," Mowak said. "Best you hurry."

"I think you're right." The creature's head pivoted and there came a woosh.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

And without another word it was off scaling the walls. The sound of it's footsteps fading, and echoing throughout the chamber until it was lost to the trickling and of water in the pool.