[https://img.wattpad.com/story_parts/1256501451/images/173f6b2edd194521303660246580.png]
Once they had made their way past the sphinx, the students couldn't help but worry about the beast that the dragon Noskra had warned them against. Some kind of beast that even a full-sized dragon wanted to avoid at all costs – what kind of awful creature could that be?
Some kind of beast that even a full-sized dragon wanted to avoid at all costs – what kind of awful creature could that be? [https://img.wattpad.com/9641b05a98af28347cea0b0ddddd40afec894221/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f4153316c4d30696e557747537a673d3d2d313235363530313435312e313730633236313834613637306331323531393833353738343731362e706e67?s=fit&w=1280&h=1280]
The kids came up with all kinds of ideas. Perhaps it was a demon, a five-headed hydra, giant bears with massive claws, flesh-eating stone monsters with razor-sharp teeth, or maybe a slime monster.
Sophie wasn't as occupied with Noskra's warning as the other kids. Instead, she kept thinking about some of the stuff Elva had said. And she wondered, had she herself been just as unwilling to go along with other people's ideas as Elva had been back with the sphinx?
Maybe Sophie DID get so caught up in her own ideas that she forgot to listen to anyone else. Probably because, up until now, no one had ever been willing to listen to her before.
Does Elva feel the same way that I felt at all of my old schools? Sophie wondered, looking back over her shoulder. Elva was no longer leading the pack – instead she had slunk to the back of the group. Sophie couldn't work out if it was because she was angry, sad, or embarrassed, but she certainly wasn't happy.
The kids had now reached the end of the tunnel, but it opened up into a cavern that was at least twice as large as the dining hall.
Lots and lots of other tunnels seemed to open out into the room as well. Tunnels of all types lined the walls: small ones, big ones, bendy ones, thin ones, crooked ones and twisted ones.
Near the middle, a deep and wide chasm split the cavern in two. The only way to cross to the other side was on a thin stone bridge that connected one side of the cavern to the other.
The kids looked around at the countless tunnels. There was no way to know which way to go. There was nothing they could do except to ask Elva.
"Oh, so NOW you want my help?" Elva said sullenly.
Mek gave her a strict look.
"We always wanted your help. We just also want you to work WITH us."
Elva snorted angrily, but she still put her hand against the wall and closed her eyes.
Vix and Rok had wandered over to the edge of the chasm. Fearfully they looked down into the deep. It was like looking into a hole with no bottom.
"I h-hope it's not one of the t-tunnels over on the other s-side," Vix said nervously. Rok nodded in agreement.
"We need to go through the middle tunnel over on the other side of the bridge!" Elva declared.
Vix and Rok both swallowed something.
"D-drat."
Trom walked over to Vix and Rok. He pushed back his frizzy, purple troll hair to keep it out of his eyes and regarded the small stone bridge that ran across the pit.
"It doesn't look particularly sturdy."
"Don't worry!" Fiff said cheerfully. "Beto and me can both fly..."
"Well, that's nice for you guys."
"Just let me finish, Trom! So, if the bridge starts to crack, we'll be there to help you."
"Who wants to go first?" Beto asked and turned himself into a bat.
The rest of the students all looked nervously at each other and then at the bridge. It really didn't seem particularly safe, but that wasn't going to stop Sophie. Boldly she stepped in between Fiff and Beto who hovered at her sides, ready to catch her if anything happened. Sophie stepped out on the bridge. A few rocks shook loose from the underside of the bridge. She took another step. This time nothing broke off.
Just go one step at a time and keep looking ahead, Sophie kept telling herself.
Both Sophie and the rest of the class held their breath as she moved across the small bridge. Just three more... two more... one more step.
She'd made it across. She breathed a sigh of relief. It had been all right. The bridge had neither creaked nor cracked on the way over.
Next up was Trom. At first, he said he didn't need Beto and Fiff's help at all, but when he stepped out on the small bridge, he admitted that it'd probably be nice to have them nearby. He made it across without any problems as well.
Then it was Varis' turn. What he really wanted was for Rok to throw him across the chasm, but thankfully he listened when the entire rest of the class insisted that that was a terrible idea.
After Varis came Vix. He took tiny steps across, and the chattering of his leg bones rang out throughout the cavern as he shivered with each step. When he was halfway across, his shivering became so intense that he asked Fiff and Beto to push him across on the final stretch.
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When he was halfway across, his shivering became so intense that he asked Fiff and Beto to push him across on the final stretch [https://img.wattpad.com/91304decd7990aa48b8e758b9f637bb2cd02d3ef/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f704f7047517571616a6873786b673d3d2d313235363530313435312e313730633236303334393066353361633734343830323537353337362e706e67?s=fit&w=1280&h=1280]
The next person to cross was supposed to be Elva, but she insisted on letting Rok cross first. Rok was actually supposed to be the last one to cross, since he was by far the biggest and heaviest of the kids, but Elva wouldn't hear of it.
"Rok is afraid of heights, and the longer he stands here waiting, the more nervous he's going to get. He needs to get across now, while he's still got the courage."
The rest of the class reluctantly agreed. Rok looked even more nervous than Vix had been, so getting him across as quickly as possible would probably be for the best.
Sophie thought that was very kind of Elva, but she couldn't help but wonder if Elva would have done the same for her. Fiff had mentioned that Elva seemed to respect Beto and Rok because they were the most 'proper' of her classmates. So maybe that was why she was taking care of Rok.
Mek agreed to let Rok cross the bridge before her. He got ready to cross, with Fiff and Beto each grabbing onto one of his shoulders. They immediately started flapping their wings, trying to make Rok as light as possible. Rok stepped out onto the bridge.
The sound of rocks cracking could be heard throughout the cavern. Sweat was dripping from the brows of both Fiff and Beto as they flapped their wings even more frantically. They heard another loud crack. It sounded like the entire bridge was about to collapse, but it stayed whole and Rok made it across to the other side.
Fiff and Beto fell exhausted to the ground. Luckily, the only ones missing now were Mek and Elva.
Sophie was quite impressed with her classmates. Each of them had wanted to cross the bridge in their own way, but they'd all listened to each other and worked together.
She looked over at Elva. Maybe that was what the two of them needed: A willingness from both sides to work together.
"Do you guys hear something rumbling as well?" asked Varis, whose ears had perked up.
They all went quiet and listened. And then they heard it. A low rumbling was felt throughout the room. It came from one of the larger tunnel entrances on the side of the cavern where Elva and Mek were standing. It got louder and louder, as if something was getting closer. It sounded like footsteps.
"Th-the beast!" Vix gasped.
The kids all froze, staying quiet as the grave, hoping that the noise would just go away. It didn't. It was coming closer. Carefully, Elva put her hand against the wall and closed her eyes. She instantly pulled back her hand as if she'd been burned.
"Hurry! Get to the other side, Mek!" she yelled.
Mek didn't hesitate and immediately started running across the bridge. As she ran, larger stones started dislodging from the bridge and the cracks in it grew even larger. It wouldn't hold much longer.
Mek made it to the other side. Now they just needed Elva to get across. A deep, cruel voice rang out throughout the entire room. It sent shivers down the students' spines.
"I smell human blood."
The whole class turned to look at the tunnel where the voice was coming from. The inside of the tunnel was covered in a thick darkness, but two glowing red eyes were staring out at them from within the dark. The hairs on Sophie's head stood on end. She knew those eyes. They were the same eyes that had stared at her from outside the bus, and it was the same glow that had appeared in Drim's eyes. Two horrible white pupils stared out from the center of the glowing eyes.
A gigantic paw suddenly appeared out of the darkness, hammering down on the rock floor [https://img.wattpad.com/d59a139d3dbcc190be15f4b146e62885abd3350d/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f48544b543057376b2d4a496933673d3d2d313235363530313435312e313730633236306635613461656636643238393338353335343338372e706e67?s=fit&w=1280&h=1280]
A gigantic paw suddenly appeared out of the darkness, hammering down on the rock floor. The beast stepped into the light.
A gigantic wolf appeared. Its teeth and claws were razor-sharp. Its fur was dirty and bristly. Its eyes were glowing evilly. The entire class stood nailed to the ground as the wolf drew closer.
"That's... the great wolf – Fenrir," Beto whispered, horrified.
Fenrir spotted Elva and prepared to pounce at her.
"Run!" Sophie yelled, and Elva suddenly jerked awake.
Fenrir jumped, and Elva threw herself to the side, just in time to avoid the giant wolf. She got back on her feet and ran across the bridge.
As she ran, the stones of the bridge started coming loose. The bridge was falling apart, and at any moment it could pull Elva down with it. Fiff and Beto immediately tried to fly to Elva's rescue, but Fenrir simply blew at them, sending them flying backwards. Elva kept running as fast as she could, away from the wolf and across the collapsing bridge. She was almost there. Just another few steps and she'd have made it. But suddenly she lost her footing. The bridge's collapse had caught up with her. She fell.
Sophie threw herself out on the last remaining bit of the bridge and grabbed hold of Elva's arms.
Sophie threw herself out on the last remaining bit of the bridge and grabbed hold of Elva's arms [https://img.wattpad.com/3d89a50348e9be52ae44a7ee90e6d8dfe60a251a/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f7851556174465970634b37554c413d3d2d313235363530313435312e313730633236323636323464666134623136363432313437343137322e706e67?s=fit&w=1280&h=1280]
Elva stared up at her in disbelief, as if she couldn't make sense of the situation. Sophie held onto her with every drop of strength that she had.
"There you are, human child!"
Sophie looked up. Fenrir had his hungry eyes aimed straight at her. His nostrils flared, as if he was taking in her scent.
"I know the smell of your blood," Fenrir said with a nasty smile.
He lifted up his paw and forcefully slammed it into the ground. The entire room shook, and the last bit of the bridge, the part that Sophie was lying on, started to crack.
"You're the child of Marco and Colette Somera! That useless satyr couldn't catch you, so I had to come for you myself! Finally, I'll get to taste my sweet, sweet revenge!" Fenrir yelled triumphantly, smacking his lips.
Sophie forgot everything going on around her and stared at Fenrir. So he HAD been controlling Drim to catch her.
"How do you know my parents' names?" Sophie asked, but Fenrir just ignored her.
"Just fall, little girl, little daughter of Marco and Colette. Fall into the deep, where I'll gather up your remains!"
Once again, he slammed his paw into the ground. The room shook. The rest of the class kept trying to reach Sophie and Elva, but every time they tried, Fenrir would blow air in their direction, forcing them back. Fenrir raised both of his front paws.
"Oh, how they'll cry at the loss of their daughter," Fenrir laughed. With all his strength, he hammered both paws down into the ground.
The sound was like an explosion. Stones fell from the ceiling, the walls started shaking, and a loud crack was heard throughout the room as the last bit of the bridge collapsed. The last thing Sophie heard was the panicked yells of her classmates.
"NOOO!!"
Elva and Sophie fell down into the darkness.
Elva and Sophie fell down into the darkness [https://img.wattpad.com/83128f2e7847fd6e840732ede50fb1b9f6803e0a/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f354b5a5064536d7371506e7438673d3d2d313235363530313435312e313733663662333164316261346461323137333737313734323136352e706e67?s=fit&w=1280&h=1280]