Atherton #3: The Dark Planet (No. 3) by Patrick Carman Page A

by thousands of the deadly creatures.
    Edgar's mind raced. What could he do? He looked every which
    way and saw nothing that might be of use to him. He gazed
    back along the distance he had come. It was quite a long way to
    the opening, but already a fog of firebugs had halved the
    distance. They were merrily dancing toward him without effort.
    Edgar tried to remember what Isabel and Samuel had said
    about the Inferno. He knew he couldn't let firebugs touch his
    skin, but his legs and arms were exposed. He didn't have
    anywhere near the amount of clothing he would need to cover
    himself completely.
    "There has to be a way!"
    Firebugs by the thousands were coming in a soft wave within
    twenty feet of him, glowing through the middle of the tunnel. The
    force of gravity was having a very real effect on their journey as
    they lolled along in the center of the cave. They were thick as a
    cloud at the level of Edgar's feet, thinner like a light fog at his
    eyes, and--what was this? At the top. At the top!
    Edgar's mind raced with an idea that might save him. At the
    very top of the cave, in that last one or two feet, there were no
    firebugs at all. Gravity was pulling them down, and this provided
    Edgar with a chance.
    With a swarm of firebugs ten feet off, Edgar leaped into action.
    He began scaling the side of the tunnel. It was scraped and
    grooved all around, and it would have been easy to climb if it
    hadn't been for the heavy weight of his own limbs. It took all of
    his effort to climb up to where the tunnel curved at the top, to
    clench his toes into a crevice and hold on with his fingers.
    Hanging on to the ceiling of a cave was a nearly impossible
    task, even for Edgar, but it was made twice as hard by the
    constant pulling of gravity from beneath him. The cave wanted
    Edgar on the floor, not on the ceiling, and it pulled relentlessly.
    And then there was the heat. The river of fire ran slowly in a
    ribbon down the middle of the cave, five or six feet away, but it
    was still ghastly hot where Edgar held on.
    The first of the firebugs flew beneath Edgar. They, too, seemed
    to struggle to stay so high in the air. They didn't appear to have
    the ability to see or hear anything.
    As the swarm of swaying bugs moved under Edgar, his fingers
    and toes started to slide. It was quickly becoming painfully
    difficult to hang on, and he had to constantly reset his hands.
    He craned his head around in the foot of space he had and
    watched. The sea of firebugs looked like cool, misty water he
    could fall into and be refreshed, which made it the worst kind of
    temptation. If it were possible to die a thousand deaths in a
    matter of seconds, Edgar would do just that if he let go.
    The procession of glowing blue was beginning to thin and he
    could see the last of them working their way up the tunnel.
    There were new sounds coming from up there as well. Zap!
    Zap! Zap! Firebugs were being devoured amid the snapping
    sound of something big and menacing.
    There were only a few bugs left now--easy enough to dodge--so
    Edgar climbed down the side and rested his aching hands and
    forearms.
    "I wonder what's up there," said Edgar. Seeing the very last of
    the firebugs disappear, Edgar followed slowly behind. He
    climbed up and into the rising part of the tunnel and watched as
    the cloud of firebugs continued in front of him.
    When Edgar crested the top he saw that the river of fire over his
    head grew wider, closer, and unbearably hot. The whole ceiling
    of the tunnel was clear like glass and every thing behind the
    glass was molten lava.
    I shouldn't be here, thought Edgar, terrified by the power of the
    place he'd stumbled into. This is no place for people. Whatever
    this place was, though, he was certain a lot of energy was being
    created and stored.
    Directly ahead was the end of the tunnel, where a giant,
    eyeless creature was gulping down thousands of buzzing
    firebugs. It was the same as the stone-encrusted monsters he'd
    seen