Kelly fought to breathe, a layer of Cosmic Dust coating her skin to dull the heat that had already begun stinging her.
By now there was no mistaking it. Wherever they were headed had to be burning. Hot, wrathful flames—so intense that even from this distance, the heat crawled toward them.
The five of them had also covered themselves with Cosmic Dust, breathing deeply as the oxygen in the air seemed to thin the farther they went. The darkness of the forest slowly shifted into a reddish-orange glow that only grew brighter as they moved.
The trees thinned out as they descended the rough, jagged slope of the mountain, the sand beneath their feet growing so hot that steam rose from it.
Because of the thick trees earlier, Kelly couldn't see it before.
But with her enhanced eyesight, she could see it now.
A distant, rumbling volcano spitting ash and lava into the sky. It was still so far away that it almost looked unreal, but she'd learned to always trust her instincts.
