Kelley, L: Anaerris Code

A tiny hole in the wall at floor level was glowing a brighter orange. In seconds, she saw something that made her scream, but with no sound. The terror and shock that consumed her was so strong, she backed up against the nearest wall regardless of the heat! Was this the way her life was going to end? If so, just the thought of how she was going to die made her gag, and she begin to throw up. Dry heaving after emptying her stomach's contents, she wiped her mouth, then her eyes fixed on the tiny, thickened rivulet that was flowing toward her. It was just a thin ribbon at the moment, but it was just a matter of time that the slow moving stream of orange would grow as it wore down the rock around the tiny hole. "Why?" Gem breathed softly the one word you should never ask, because you usually never received an answer. The rivulet of brilliant, glowing orange with tiny flames erupting now and then had Gem's eyes growing large by the moment, especially when she realized what was lighting up the cave around her. "Lava?" she whispered in shock. Louder, "I'm inside a volcano? I'm in a volcanic cave with iron bars? In a cave of lava? I'm in a prison! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!" The cave reminded her of a dead, Jabba the Hut hollowed out fossil! It certainly looked wrinkled enough. That's when reality grabbed hold of her as she continued to stare at the rivulet of orange. OK. So, she couldn't ignore it any longer! Reality set into her brain, and she realized that the tiny rivulet was growing as it melted the rocks around her! It had already doubled in size, and was slowly headed for the iron bars! At the moment, she could keep out of its way, but she was certain that it wouldn't stay this way for long! Her life had just been cut short by lava! In minutes, she knew that the entire back side of the cave would be eaten through by the monstrously hot lava, and fill the cave! Looking beyond the bars, she realized that the cave that she was in wasn't actually a cave, but it must be part of even more tubes that had been carved by lava as it flowed through it in the past! Lava tubes were what they were! For the Creator's sake! Gem's heart pounded hard within her chest, and not only the roar of the lava behind her met her ears, but the roar of her blood vibrated within her body as well! Terrified of what would happen to her, she felt her "fight or flight" instinct arrive - only it would be flight! She sure couldn't fight lava! What should she do? Only one answer. "Oh, God! I have to get out of here!"