Page 46 of Shinji Takahashi: Into the Heart of the Storm

“Well, it’s either jump or go for a magma swim,” he called back.

“Shinji, come on,” Lucy urged, looking like she was almost in tears. “The lava is almost there.”

Shinji’s back blazed with heat. He didn’t want to look down to see how close the magma was. Instead, he crouched on the ledge and jumped as high as he could, holding out both arms to the hands reaching for him.

The tips of his fingers brushed theirs, and both grabbed for him. But then his fingers slipped through their grasp,

and Shinji dropped back onto the ledge, nearly losing his balance as he did. For a second, he teetered on the narrow outcropping, flailing his arms wildly, as Lucy screamed.

Pressing himself into the rock, Shinji closed his eyes. His heart pounded, but he reached inside himself, calming his mind as Phoebe had once told him to do, and searched for the power within.

Opening his eyes, he jumped.

There was a rush of wind through the cavern, and a strong gust caught Shinji just as he leaped into the air. He felt his clothes snap as the gust lifted him up, and for a split second, he felt like he was floating.

Then hands gripped his wrists tightly, fingers clamping over his skin, and the wind died away. Gasping, Shinji glanced up to see Roux and Lucy holding his arms as they all dangled over the edge of the pit. Looking down past his feet, Shinji watched the red-hot magma spill over the ledge he’d been standing on and swallow it completely. A magma bubble popped, lava droplets landing inches from his shoes.

“Pull me up!” Shinji yelped, swinging his feet wildly. “Guys, pull me up!”

“Hang on,” Roux gritted out as he and Lucy pulled. Rocks scraped Shinji’s knees and chest, tearing a hole in his shirt, but the other two dragged him over the edge and onto solid ground again.

“Too close,” Lucy panted as Shinji finally got his feet under him, staggering away from the hole. His legs shook,

and he nearly collapsed to the rough stone beneath him. “Are you all right, Shinji?”

“Yeah,” Shinji rasped. Looking up, he met their pale, worried faces and suddenly realized that the two of them had just saved his life. Another few seconds, and he might have been half submerged in molten lava. “Thanks.”

Before either of them could answer, a red glow blossomed in the air behind them. With an ominous burbling sound, the lava reached the edge of the hole and spilled out of it, crawling slowly toward the three like a giant ooze.

“We can hug it out later—let’s get out of here!” Roux said, and they sprinted across the cavern, which was quickly spilling over with lava. Magma bubbled up from cracks and crevices and spread across the floor, following Roux, Lucy, and Shinji as they raced toward the exit. Rocks continued to rain from the ceiling and crash around them, and they had to leap over streams and pools of lava that flowed into their path.

“There’s the tunnel!” Lucy gasped, pointing across the floor to the passage that had led them in. “We’re almost out!”

As she spoke, the cavern shook, and another huge spike dropped from the ceiling right above the exit. It crashed to the ground, blocking their way, and a rain of smaller rocks followed, piling up in the tunnel. Shinji and the others skidded to a stop in front of the huge stone, and Roux let out a curse.

“Oh, come on! You gotta be kidding me!”

“Help me move it,” Shinji said, stepping to the side of the stone and putting his shoulder against it. The other two followed, and he took a deep breath. “Push!”

They pushed, grunting and straining against the rock, but it barely moved. Rocks and chunks of ceiling pelted down around them, and the lava oozed ever closer, but the stubborn boulder refused to budge more than a few inches.

“This isn’t working,” Lucy panted as they finally slumped in defeat. “We’re not strong enough.”

“Is there another way out?” Roux wondered, looking desperately around the collapsing cavern. But the only other tunnel Shinji could see was the one back through the lava. Unless they could swim through molten rock, there was no escape.

The slowly rising carpet of magma crept closer. Now it was just a few yards away, and the half circle of rock they were standing on was shrinking by the second.

Suddenly the boulder moved. They spun, wide-eyed, as the enormous rock shook, rocked from side to side, then with a slow grinding sound, rolled out of the way, revealing a familiar face on the other side.

Lucy gasped. “Mano!”

Shinji sighed in relief as Mano peered in at them. Then Oliver’s face suddenly appeared as well, his expression relieved and exasperated at the same time.

“You know, I admit I’ve done some crazy things,” he said, stepping aside so they could all dart through the doorway. “But this…this might top them all. What in the name of Poseidon’s beard were youdoingat the bottom of the volcano?”

“Um…”

“Ocean,” Mano snapped, taking a step away from the door. “The lava is still flowing while you stand there and

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