I awake to the smell of burning flesh and sulphur, my ears are ringing from the agonising screams surrounding me. Unable to pinpoint the location they are coming from; fear instantly grips my stomach like a vice; I open my eyes, only to be blinded by the orange light in front of me. Panicking my breathing becomes short, it is only now that I notice the air is thick with ash. My lungs begin to burn, my throat and mouth quickly start to dry up. Instinctively I cover my mouth with my hand. I manage to force one eye open. The hot, ashy air instantly dries out my eye socket. Using my free hand, I rub any ash that has settled on to my lashes and eye lids. I squint into the light in front of me and notice that it is coming from a large pool of bubbling lava, barely a foot below where I sit.  I edge back to avoid the getting hit by the splashes created by the exploding bubbles.

I hit a wall. The sharp points of its face, digs into my back causing me to shy away.

Facing the wall, I look up, I cannot see any light coming from above, the wall is burnt black from the heat and ash. The only light I have available, is from the bubbling pool of death behind me. I look to my sides and realise that I am on a platform about 7ft wide, I have nowhere to go.

I slowly lean back against the wall, being careful to avoid its sharp points.

I take a moment to gather myself.

Where am I? Where are my clothes? Why am I completely exposed? … More importantly Who Am I?

Astonished that this sudden realisation, I quickly become aware that I have no idea of who I am, where I come from or how I got into this situation. I look down at my hands in contemplation, trying to find any information I can recall from my memory.

A few minutes pass, something catches my eye in the distance.

I notice something is moving in the Lava.

‘That’s not possible, any living thing would die in that heat!....So what the fuck is that thing?’ I ask myself. I follow the path of this creature, watching its shape slither through the surface of the lava. I quickly determine it is heading towards the platform I am on. As the creature reaches the edge, I scramble to my feet in a desperate attempt to prepare myself for the oncoming danger. Everything goes still, the only movement present is ripples caused by the exploding bubbles. I daren’t move, my legs are frozen solid. The fear that gripped my stomach has now spread to every extremity of my body. I daren’t even blink. The hot air is stinging my eyes, but one blink and I will miss it.

Impatient, the creature starts to slowly lift its head out of the lava. The lava slides of its brilliant, orange scales, like rain drops on a window. The crown of the creature’s head, smooth with small ridges around the eye; raises up exposing the large, horrific face that was hidden. The obsidian eyes lock on to me, the snout is short but wide. The creature flares its nostrils at my scent; drooling, it opens its mouth, displaying rows upon rows of thin, sharp, needle like teeth, long enough to pierce through bone with one bite. A pungent smell of burning and rotting flesh lingers on its breath, it sticks a large, black, forked tongue in my direction.

Deciding i am worth the effort, the creature starts to climb on to my platform. I am shocked at the size of this thing. With only its two, front legs now out of the pool, the creature towers above me, standing at around 8ft high, my eyes want to follow the length of the body hidden in the lava but I daren’t look away from its gaze, should it strike at me. The creature’s scales are smooth much like a snake.

‘Shit…Shit’ I spit out through gritted teeth.

I reach out behind me to find the wall, the sharp points dig into my hand, slicing tiny cuts along the tips of my fingers, as I run them along it. What I can I do? Shit! Think!

I let out a sigh, the only thing I can do is attempt to climb the wall. I take a quick second to scale the wall with eyes. I spy a small ledge above me, high enough to get out of reach from this creature.

Noticing I had dropped my gaze, the creature starts to move towards me.

Slowly……. stupidly slow.

I smile at the creature, realising that the size of this thing on land impairs its movement.

‘That’s why you waited for me to approach the edge’ I thought out loud.

Taking this opportunity, I turn to face the wall. Running my hands along its body to find a hand hold to pull myself up with. ‘Gotcha’ I whispered. I eagerly pull myself up, scratching my body against the rock face. My feet scramble the sides to find a groove to continue my climb. My other hand reaches out above me to find the next hold. My body feels lighter than normal. I manage to gain pace and rhythm with my climb.  I look down over my shoulder and notice that the creature is now out of the pool, with only its tail still submerged, the vibrant yellow and orange of its scaled body, reflects the glow of the lava making it perfectly camouflaged. The creature looks up at me and begins to climb the wall. ‘You’ve gotta be fucking kidding’ I snarled at it. I look to find the ledge above me, it seems so high, I panic, worried I won’t make it in time. I clumsily quicken my pace, sweat from the heat and the exertion starts to affect my grip. My body is starting to bleed from the multiple shallow cuts. ‘Come on… I can do this’.

Using what little motivation I have; I regain my pace, constantly looking over my shoulder for the creature.

Once I reach a point of exhaustion. I press my body to the wall, holding on to the sharp grooves for support. I take another look over my shoulder, to my relief the creature has ended its pursuit and slumped back into the pool. Letting out a loud sigh, I look up to find the ledge again. ‘Is it me or does thing keep moving further away’.  My body is starting to feel weak and heavy; my lungs are on fire and my eyes are coated in ash.

I must get to that ledge, it is pointless going back down, that thing is waiting for me!

With a deep, painful breath, I continue at steady pace.

With what seemed to be hours of climbing, I am now in reach of the ledge. I pick up my pace to end this agony. Tired, bloody, and out of breath, I haul myself up on to edge. I lay face down from exhaustion, relieved to have finally made it. After a few minutes I sit up, looking around from this new angle, I may be able to find a way out of here. The screams which first awoke me are now louder. Looking up, I still can’t see any light from the top, but that is where the screams are coming from. I look across to the opposite side of the pool and notice something climbing the wall. It’s another person! Excited I rush to the edge of the ledge to get a better view. Like me they are also naked; I wince at them, feeling the pity for that person climbing against that rock face. The thought brings me to my own body, I look down at my hands and notice the extent of the wounds. Thousands of small lacerations across my fingertips and palms. Following the marks up my arms, across my chest, down my torso and to my legs. I look at the soles of my feet; they are shredded, blisters have formed on the balls of my foot, along with multiple slices. I take a moment to thank my adrenaline kick to mask the severity of the pain.A pressurising wave of tiredness comes over me, oddly enough I do not feel hungry nor thirsty, despite the heat tightening my throat. I feel the blood and sweat drip down of off my body, I run my hands through my hair, smoothing out the loose strands that are annoying me. I lay back down on my side and allow my body to rest.

A few hours have past and I am suddenly woken up by a loud scream that is close to me. I sit bolt right up, grimacing at the pain that has finally appeared. My skin is tight, and my muscles are sore. I force myself to move. Each movement rips open half healed scars that are patterned across my body. Breathing through my teeth, I move towards the edge of my perch and peer down below.

I could have sworn that scream was close. Looking around I notice the shape of the creature in lava, but there is something else, something thrashing. The scream hits me again this time it is blood curdling, I suddenly realise that the thing thrashing in the lava, is a person. I try to shout out to them, but my throat is tight, all I am able sound out is a hoarse, high pitched, squeak. I watch in horror as the creature, that once thought I was tasty, closes in on this poor soul. Before I could react the creature dives deeper into the lava, the human continues to thrash, suddenly the jaws of the creature lock around this person’s chest, the blood curdling scream intensifies. The creature drags the human under the surface, and all falls quiet below. I sit back on my knees, horrified of what I had just witnessed, a lump form’s in my throat and a hollow feeling hits my stomach.

Taking a deep, burning breath, I search my surroundings for my next course of action.

I catch sight of something on the wall below me, it is climbing up. Curious, I move closer to get a better view. It is a man, my heart leaps, finally some answers, maybe he knows what is going on.

I wait for the man to climb to my perch, I approach him and hold out my hand to help him up.

I lock eyes with him, something is wrong. His eyes are a pale blue with glassy look to them. He doesn’t seem to notice me. ‘Grab my hand’ I shout at him. But there is no response.

He continues to climb on to the ledge of his own accord. I move back allowing him space, he turns to look at me. His eyes wide.

What’s wrong with him? I puzzle.

He is a middle-aged man, with grey hair, roughly 5’9, also exposed like me, embarrassment hits me, and I make failed attempt to cover my breasts and dignity.

A few seconds pass in silence, the man continues to stare through me, unblinking….

HIS EYELIDS! WHERE THE FUCK ARE HIS EYELIDS?

Unnerved by his stare I move back... my movement caught his attention…Shit!

His face contours into an evil mask, he makes a quick motion and grabs my arms, pushing me to the ground on my back, the pain from my scar’s sears through my body. Thrashing, I kick him in his ribs. He doubles back, never dropping his stare. He launches for my ankles and grabs them forcefully, dragging me to the edge; He aims to push me off my perch, I slam my feet to the ground, breaking his grip, and I anchor myself. He makes another attempt to grab my arms, as he leans over me, I push my foot into his stomach and propel him over my head using his weight and gravity against him. The man tumbles over me and falls over the edge above my head. I quickly get to my feet and peer after him, the man is screaming and thrashing in the lava.

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‘How has he not, instantly burnt to death?’ I questioned.

He was beginning to slowly sink, much like an animal trapped in quicksand. His thrashing attracted the giant lizard, I looked over the pool and saw it pick up speed in his direction.

I turn away knowing what was to come, I hear his horrific scream bubble in the lava, as he was dragged under.

‘What the F was his problem? And where did I learn that move?’

‘not to mention his creepy lack of eyelids’ I spoke out loud, hoping someone will clarify my concerns.

Sighing, I step back from the ledge, my blood rushing from my recent tussle. I search the area once again, to view my choices. From above the screams are more constant, I squint to see if I can make out any shapes in the looming dark. Something is falling, the pale burr plummets into the pool below, and another, and another. People! people are falling out of the black mass straight into the pool, screaming as they fall.

‘At least Tiny will be well fed’ I smirked slightly, feeling a slight pang of guilt from my remark.

Turning to face the wall behind me, I run my eyes across its shear side, above and to the right of me are two people climbing. ‘How I have I only just noticed them’ I murmured, concluding that the events of this past hour have somewhat preoccupied me. Pulling a face of disgust at the wall, I reluctantly admit that there is no other option but to climb. I follow the path of the two bodies climbing ahead of me, hoping they have some form of direction, my body stings as my existing wounds tare at my skin, I can feel new cuts forming every time I gasp at the wall. Although my skin is on fire, my breathing becomes slightly easier, my eyes are slowly adjusting to heat, granted, I may be blinking as if I had a nervous tick, but I am able to hold them open for a longer period. As I ascend, my weight becomes lighter, making the climb a little easier.

Hours pass, my body is starting to reach its limit. Looking up at the two in front of me I notice they are both feeling the same, the women, who is leading, takes some time to rest by pushing her body to the rock face. I copy her example, taking a quick break to reserve what energy I have, keeping a close eye on the women should she start moving again. The man following behind her, continues his climb, slowly he arrives at the women’s ankles. Stopping, he glances up at her, she doesn’t seem to notice how close he is. A strange groan comes from the man, he grabs hold of the women’s calves and starts use her body as a climbing frame, baring his obese weight on her, the women screams as he crushes her body to the wall. A chilling laugh comes from the man, as he continues to climb over her, her scream is high pitched and hoarse.

‘Hey!! What the fuck do you think you are doing? Hey!!’ I shouted as loud as my throat would allow. They both ignore me. I begin to climb towards the women to offer some support, ‘Hey!!’ I continue to shout each time my foot finds a new hold. Again, they both ignore me, the man is now parallel to the women, using her skin as grips. She screams in agony as his weight continues to crush her body. I have to admit she’s got good strength to bare his weight as well as her own, closing in on them I shout again ‘Hey you! Fat twat! What the fuck is your problem!’ He doesn’t hear me; the man has now managed to climb on to her shoulders, I hear the crunch of bone as he stands on her. Her back is now visible, a pattern of bloody, nail marks are dug deep into her skin from where he grabbed her. Infuriated, I climb to get closer to them, above her the man turns to look down, his face has turned into the same mask that my attacker wore. My eyes widen in horror, I shout at her to move to the side, but it falls on deaf ears. His grin beaming, he begins to kick the women in the face and hands, I notice his eyes, also like my attacker, are not blinking. I hear her nose break, her crimson blood slides down the side of the rock face pooling in the small ledges. ‘Stop!! What are doing? STOP!!’ I shout, no response. Her agonising scream pierces my ear drums, her hands are covered in blood has the man stamps on them, her knuckles are grounded, she loses grip with one hand. Laughing, the man continues to beat her, ignoring her pain. ‘STOP!! Hold on I am coming!’ I yell but is too late, the man stamps on her remaining hand, snapping her fingers into an awful angle. Her hand falls away from its grip, like slow motion I watch her topple down the side of the cliff, hitting the jagged rocks as she falls. She eventually slams into the platform I originally awoke on. The fall would have killed her.

Glued in place, I stare at her limp, naked, beaten body, hoping that she somehow survived. What is wrong with the people in this place, I thought. Fear slowly creeps over me, the notion of kill or be killed comes to mind. I drag my eyes away from the corpse below, to look for the man, I watch him as he continues his climb as if nothing had happened. I stifle the urge to cry, this is not the time nor place for useless emotion.

Gathering my senses, I continue the path I was climbing, making note that the cold-blooded killer is just ahead of me; I move to left, away from him, best to avoid him as much as possible in my current state. Looking up, I spot a tiny flat surface protruding from the rock face, just large enough to sit and rest on, also far enough out of the killers’ path to avoid him. I change my direction slightly and aim for the new ledge, my body is feeling the extent of the climb, my emotions are swirling, and my mind is unfocused.

Half an hour passes and I manage to reach my resting spot; dragging my legs on to the flat ledge, I release the tension I had felt. I scan the area to ensure nothing is heading my way before I relax my body. Rubbing my eyes, I notice how dry they are, the thought takes me back to my attacker. Why didn’t he have any eyelids, his eyes must have been pain, given the extent of the heat. I cringe at the thought. Taking one last look around for safety, I let my head fall back against the wall and close my eyes, the constant sound of the screams above start to muffle and I slowly delve into sleep.

I’m walking down a corridor, the walls are painted a pastel blue, small tubs of hand cleaner are placed outside each room, a boarder of painted, white daisies follow along the wall, I smile feeling at ease. People around me are rushing in and out of the rooms scattered along the path, some are dressed in casual clothing, the majority are covered in blue scrubs and white coats. I’m in hospital! One room draws my attention, an entire family is waiting outside with worried expressions staining their faces. I hear the noise of a high-pitched beep. Someone has flatlined. Nurses and Doctors rush into the room before I have a chance to peer in. I reach the doorway and the door slams shut in my face.

My eyes snap open, the hot air instantly stings them, blinking I take in my surroundings, it was a dream, a very vivid dream, I could have sworn I was in the hospital. Frowning I accept that I am still stuck in this never-ending volcano pit. I let out a sigh of anger and frustration.

Resting my head back against the wall, I start to doze, still tired from the previous climb, my muscles ache from the exercise, the scratches on my skin have closed, leaving my skin marked and feeling tight. My hair is stuck to my back from the sweat, a thin layer of grime, containing blood, sweat and ash covers my body. I scrunch up my nose in disgust, at the apparent state I’m in.

I really miss clothes, and a shower, I would kill for a shower, I thought to myself. I lazily open my eyes and stare into the distance contemplating my history, what is my name? Do I have a family? Does anyone even know where I am? I wonder if I own a shower?

A hand appears in front of me, halting my train of thought. I slowly raise to my feet and watch carefully at the body climbing to meet my ledge. Pressing myself to the walls edge I hold my breath, the body starts to climb on to the surface, I recognise that hair, it’s grey and spotted with streaks of blood and ash. The man’s head follows past the ledge. My heart stops... it’s my attacker.

‘You’re dead, you can’t be alive, I saw you get swallowed up by Tiny! How? … How is this even possible?’ I ask, expecting an answer.

The man’s glassy stare meets my eyes, he starts to laugh, the same way the killer laughed when he beat that women. The thought crosses my mind again, KILL OR BE KILLED.

Without hesitation I mimic the killer’s movements, stamping my blistered foot into the man’s face, he lets out a dry groan, unable to blink, he scrunches his face at the pain.

I stamp again, this time I feel his nose break under my foot, blood gushes down his face.

Almost zombie like, he claws his hands against edge of the cliff for grip. I stamp on his hands to loosen his grasp, one hand breaks, now for the other, I repeat the action, desperate to survive the man holds on, his knuckles turning white. I raise my foot one more time to slam down on his hand, a panicked noise escapes his mouth, drawing my attention to his face, as I bring my foot down on his remaining hand, I see his face change, a look of fear has appeared, even his unblinking stare seems to have dropped its threatening gaze. I feel a shiver shoot down my spine, as my foot contacts his fingers, they snap, like the women he descends at a rapid pace to the pool below us. A sudden urge to vomit comes over me, I am no better than the man that I avoided. I sit back down against the wall, in a state of shock, my hands shaking, I continuously swallow in hope to push this feeling down. I am a killer, just like him, I killed that man in cold blood. My memory takes me back to that climb, no, no, I’m not like him, he carried on as if nothing happened, whilst I sit here shaking. I did what I needed to survive, just like last time when I propelled him over the edge. It doesn’t mean I’m a killer…right? The thoughts swell around my head. I stumble back on to my original question.

‘How was he alive?’

Using fear as my source of motivation, I search the rock face for my next path.

I must get out of here; what with the giant, man-eating, lava lizard; the swimming pool of death and zombies with an intense stare, I’m not sure how much longer I will survive. My only hope is, that above me, maybe, just maybe I will find help.