I quickly sit up and look around with fear and awe. It was like an ocean of sand! Disbelief pulls at me as I look around for something... anything other than this hot sea of sand but I can't see anything!

Wait... the color is all wrong... when I look up to the sky, my heart nearly stops. The sky is blood red... There's only one place with blood-red skies like this... h.e.l.l. Ooooh no no no no! I grab my hair and spin around again, hoping that I'm suddenly dreaming but the heat eating away at me says otherwise.

I feel my knees weakening before I fall back on my a.s.s. How the h.e.l.l... think... think... think!! I lift a shaky hand and try to use my powers to create another pillar but the only thing I manage to make is a small, hard plate of sand that quickly gets taken away by the rolling sand.

Hot wind whips my hair around as sweat starts beading up on my face. I look back up and even though I can't see a sun, the heat beats down on me like there really is one. I won't last long out here... I need a plan.

I have no way of keeping track of time here but I know a while has pa.s.sed by the amount of sweat pouring down my back. I look back up at the red sky and decide to give it a try. I stand back up and pull my black s.h.i.+rt off before lifting my hand and using my magic to create another sand disc.

When it's large enough for me to stand on, I quickly jump onto it and ride it like a surfboard! I use my magic on the go and make it a little bigger before lifting my hand again and creating a long stick out of the sand.

I grab the hot sand stick and place it on top of the sand surfboard. I crouch low, keeping my balance as I use my magic to mend the two together. I slowly stand up and start tearing my s.h.i.+rt as I try my hardest to stay on the sandboard.

I tie the s.h.i.+rt onto the sand pole and break the sand pole off. I turn it sideways and hold it with both hands as I use my magic to make the s.h.i.+rt slightly grow. When it's finally big enough, the wind catches my makes.h.i.+ft kite and I start kite surfing the sand ocean.

If I die, I'll go out trying! I hold onto the sand pole and lean back and forth to avoid the bigger sand waves as the hot wind takes me further and further away. Now that I was just wearing my bra, it was much cooler!

When my arms start growing tired, I tap into my s.h.i.+fter side and sigh with relief when she lends me strength. I have no idea how long I've been at this but it feels like an eternity! When I start wondering if I'm kite surfing in circles, I finally see something that looks like land!

I lean all the way over, nearly touching the hot sand waves as I turn my makes.h.i.+ft surfboard to the right. It's land!! When I'm finally facing the right way, I lean back up and smile with triumph. I may still be stuck in h.e.l.l but this is definitely a step in the right direction.

When I get closer and closer, I start noticing a problem... it's not just land... it's a freaking mountain!! At this rate, I'll run straight into the thing and get pulverized into ground beef between the mountain and the sand waves!

My mind races, trying to come up with a plan as I quickly approach the large mountainside. I try to look for a lower section but it seems that it's this high for as long as the eye can see. When I get closer and closer, I grit my teeth and curse!

I quickly look up to my makes.h.i.+ft kite and use my magic to make it grow again. The wind catches it and before I have a chance to second guess my choice, I'm airborne and heading straight for this mountainside.

I try to make it bigger and bigger but it's still not enough!! I'm not high enough! With only a few feet between me and the mountainside, I use my magic to cut the fabric off the sand stick and snap it in half. My heart flutters and my stomach flips as I become weightless for a few seconds.

It feels as if everything slows down as I fly through the air, straight for the side of this mountain with nothing but my sand sticks. I lift both sand sticks and use my magic to make them as hard and sharp as possible! Time speeds back up as I hit the side of the mountain with my teeth clenched!

I hit hard but the sand sticks dig into the mountainside and stop me from falling! Rocks break loose and fall down pa.s.sed me as I hold on for dear life! When I look up, my eyes burn with determination. My teeth elongate as my s.h.i.+fter lends me more of her power.

I pull myself up and count to three. On three, I pull the right one out and swing myself up, stabbing it into the mountainside again. I pull the left out and do it again. Over and over again until I finally see the top.

When I finally make it to the top, I pull myself up and roll over on my back as I try to catch my breath. My arms shake as bad as my heart when I think about how high up I am. If I had fallen from that height, I wouldn't have to worry about being killed by the sand waves...

I feel the nonexistent sun beating down on me so I force myself to roll over and get up. I need to find shelter or water... water would be great right now. When I see nothing but dry, empty land in front of me, I feel like crying.

Instead, I try my hair up and start walking. I'm going to kill the one who brought me down here...