Quest for the...

A storm of fire blew around us. Shards of glass cut through the air. Above the roaring of the fire, I heard something growl.
I went for my sword while Austin went for his bow. Bad choice of a weapon I thought. Though he could attack at a greater distance than me, he was extremely vulnerable. Besides, he was slow at cocking it. Austin was a bit clumsy. He was a good natured guy, and prefered a game of chess rather than a battle. He was very intelligent, but somehow he lacked the skill to wield a weapon, or run more than two without tripping. The weird thing was that he had an uncanny since of direction which proved a big help on our journey. Also, I brought him along just because he was a good friend: loyal to the end. Sure he was a dork, but generally the dorks prove to be nicer than the a lot of the other guys, you know.
Nia, a somewhat experienced fighter, had somehow come across enough money to buy a shield and sword, but no armor. I really liked her as a friend, but sometimes she did things without thinking...like spending all her money on a really expensive sword and shield, but no armor. She was always quick to battle, and slow to retreat. However, Nia was an valuable fighter, and she was my very best friend since kindergarden. She whipped out her sword and braced herself behind her shield, her eyes darting back and forth.
I chuckled. We were pulling weapons out like that could help us cut our way through this storming, raging inferno.
Something flashed behind me closely followed by a scream. I whirled around and found Austin gone; only his bow remained where he just stood. I glanced off to my side and and was relieved to find Nia still there. However, she stood petrified--nearly about to hurl--staring at Austin's bow.
"S-something dragged him through the fire!" she managed to choke out.
Tears stung my eyes. One rogue tear slipped down my cheek.
Then something dawned on me.
'something through the fire' I pondered, 'without getting burned?'
I reached out into the swirling wall of fire. Behind me, Nia gasped. "Don't--what're you doing?!" she cried.
"It's not hot!" I exclaimed leaping though the illusion.
To my great surprise, I tumbled into snow waist deep. Unlike the fire, this stuff was real--I think. Well, it felt cold at least. I glanced around me. There was nothing but a vast wasteland of snow, beautiful and glittery. I was in a winter wonderland, yet somehow, beneath the thick layer of snow, I could sense dark forces. I looked around and spotted something standing off in the distance. Just a tree. I sighed with relief. Nothing. There was nothing here. So why couldn't I stop the icy fingers of dread from clawing its way into my mind?
Nia tumbled out of the fire beside me; she fell face first. I laughed a little, for she reminded me of Austin. Then, thinking of him, tears came to my eyes.To get my mind off loosing Austin, I bent down to help Nia to her feet.
"Look!"she exclaimed as she got to her feet. "There's the castle! We're almost there!" She pointed west to the outline of a grand castle. The light cast from its windows glowed invitingly. I had been so absorbed in sensing some non existant danger that I hadn't noticed that we were almost to the castle--the finish line.
Nia broke free of my grasp and dashed off toward the castle. Two steps, then she vanished into the snow. Her sword shot up into the brisk air, glinted in the sun, then fell, hilt up, in the snow. Her shield, fell beside it with a muffled thud, and disappeared in the snow.
Now, lonliness was starting to claw its way inside me. It was up to me now. But Nia and Austin were so close to the end. The home stretch.
Without really knowing why, I took off at a pace I knew I couldn't keep up for long. I slipped, and one of my feet plunged into frigid water. I heard a crack, and then the other foot went under. I was going down. Going, going...
GAME OVER!
I took the virtual reality helmet off and glanced around the arcade. Austin and Nia were off playing Dance Dance Revolution somehere, I guessed. I started to look for them, then turned back to the machine. I got out two more quarters. I'd have another go.