human of the everfree

by Aljazig

Chapter 6: Starting fires with chemistry

Author's Note:

Warning, a lot of chemistry involved in this chapter, but don't worry I tried to simplify it all to a reasonable level. If you still don't understand something, feel free to ask.

I woke up with a start. After feverishly checking my surroundings, confirming I was still in the tunnel as a little girl, I finally managed to calm down and think rationally.

'It was just a dream. None of that ever happened, me and my sister got to the cinema safely and watched the movie, before heading back home. There was no crash, the road was almost empty. That dream must have been a consequence of everything that has happened.' That went on for about an hour, before I pulled myself together and continued walking in the direction of the castle.

While walking I thought about what to do about the spiders. I hoped they would still be scared of me because of yesterday's incident, but I decided not to count on it. I had to think of a way to either scare them away or, if I have to, kill them. Sadly that would pose quite a problem, if I didn't figure out why I became so strong, so I could replicate it or think of another solution.

'If I could just use yesterday's strength, this wouldn't be a problem. Maybe it was something in the tunnel walls?' As I was thinking, I just barely noticed a faint glint of something black on one of the walls. Due to the faint light I managed to find the thing that reflected the light. I was surprised when I felt the rough yet at some parts smooth texture and soon started laughing, when i accidentally flaked it into two pieces. I turned towards the entrance from where the small amount of light in the tunnel was coming from and just reveled in the sight of two pieces of black flint in my hands. At that moment I was thankful that mother would always force me to go with her to different museums of geology. Then my happiness got obliterated, as I remembered, that one of the two things I would need to start a fire would be a piece of steel, so I could generate enough sparks to actually start the process of burning.

'Huh, now that I'm thinking about fire, I just realized how warm it actually is. It must be somewhere in the middle of the summer. I guess it's just another difference from home, where it was late November. Anyway, onto more important matters of creating fire.' I kept thinking of ways to light a fire, since that was the easiest way to defend myself from the spiders.

If I wanted to use flint to make the fire, I would have to either find a piece of steel just laying around, which was highly unlikely, or, I could try to find iron pyrite, an ore that, if found in its powder form, can quickly decompose into iron oxide and sulfur while exposed to oxygen. The process is exothermic, meaning it results in an explosion. On the other hand, if I managed to find it in it's crystal form, I could easily start a fire by striking the flint against it.

'Mining for iron pyrite, also called fool's gold, because of it's golden color, would be incredibly dangerous, but maybe I could find some in crystal form on the ground, near the flint deposit.' Thinking that, I got to work, trying to spot the golden sheen of the fool's gold in the little light the sun provided in the tunnel.

2 hours later I finally managed to find something that looked vaguely correct. In my stupidity I decided it would be a good idea to strike flint against it the moment I got my hands on it. The result was as expected seeing the iron pyrite was in the tunnel for a long time. Instead of just blindly striking the two crystal formations together, I should have gone out of the tunnel, made a fire and then come back carefully with a shield. Since I didn't do any of that, the moment a spark flew into the air, the air itself seemingly ignited and the explosion started to go in all directions. I didn't even have time to do anything, I could only stand there and watch as the explosion slowly drew closer.

'Ah, I guess that is it. No way I can survive that, the flames of the explosion should be around the temperature of 630°C (1160°F) and even if I do manage to survive, I will certainly die because of high levels of sulfur dioxide that would be created.' I thought about all of that while still staring into the incoming blaze.

Then I realized. I was still breathing as normal, so either I was breathing so fast that it would be felt in this kind of moment, or something else was going on.

"Go, while you still can, I won't be able to hold it for much longer."

I could hear a voice, but it was coming from everywhere and I really didn't have the time to question, who was helping me, so I just ran, as fast as I could, towards the exit of the tunnel. I just managed to get out and throw myself behind a few nearby boulders, when the ground where the tunnel was, exploded in a raging blaze. Not long after the fire subsided, it was followed by a thick wail of toxic smoke, that would kill anything, that got too close as was demonstrated, when a bird flew from some nearby trees towards the castle and passed by the smoke. It was dead before it hit the ground.

I just cut of my only way to get to the castle for at least a day. That would mean I would have to spend the night outside, not even in a tunnel, but out in the open, where a predator might attack me at any moment. I wouldn't have that. I had to get to the castle today.

I started making calculations: 'It took me about 20 seconds to get from the point of the explosion to the exit at full sprint. From there to the spider den it should be another 10 seconds of sprinting and from there to the entrance to the castle shouldn't be more than a few meters, meaning that I would have to hold my breath for about 35 seconds, just to be safe. If I inhale even once, I am dead.'

It should have been impossible for me, especially in this body, yet something was telling me, I could do it. But I am not a moron, even though some of my actions would indicate to that. So I tested myself on holding my breath while running at top speed along the edge of the castle's ravine. I just managed to clear the 35 second mark, before almost passing out.
I was good to go and there was nothing, that could stop me. Except the fact, I would have to run blind.

I sadly realized that fact too late. As I ran towards the smoke and the entrance to the tunnel I was just thinking, I could do it, if I hurried. The moment I stepped into the smoke, I realized how wrong I was. Every open hole on my body burned, like acid was being poured into them. My eyes were instantly in excruciating pain and I couldn't see absolutely anything. All I could do to hopefully survive, was just keep running and hoping I made it.

So I ran.

Comments

[Starlight Nova]

Who's the guy in the picture?

[Krovgor Warhawk]

10029643
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Saga_of_Tanya_the_Evil

[Zlaggi]

10029643
Girl

[TheDriderPony]

Alright, no. I'm willing to let a lot of things slide for the sake of a story, but this is just nonsensical. Starting with the most egregious statement:

The process is exothermic, meaning it results in an explosion.

Absolutely not. This means it results in heat, not explosions.
But that aside, iron pyrite is not flammable. Yes, it may spark when struck, but it will not create a giant fireball. Under certain conditions it may produce a flammable gas, but I don't see Alex here slow-roasting it with a hydrogen torch.
But even within your own logic you are inconsistent. You say that finding it in powder form (how even would that occur in nature?) would be dangerous, while the crystal form would be safe. He then finds a crystal which immediately "sets the air on fire" which he somehow "could only stand there and watch as the explosion slowly drew closer" even though it started within arms reach.

[Brony of the Revolution]

10155489
I know this is a little late, but I think I can provide an explanation for the explosion. The cave in question is likely very dusty from being connected not only to a rotting old castle, but also a dusty ravine. It's also mostly enclosed (as caves tend to be) which makes it possible for a dust explosion to occur. The likelihood of this being a dust explosion goes up if we consider that the spiders have partially (if not completely) closed off one of the only two (I assume) openings, and that the spiders themselves (along with our main character) have been kicking up dust into the air. In the right conditions, all it would take is a small flame to blow everything up.
That being said, the author could have done a better job here by explaining all of this, or at the very least mentioned the presense of tons of dust.
I could also be wrong and the author intended something else, but dust explosions are the first thing that jumps to my mind when I see fire and closed spaces.

As for the slow-mo explosion effect, it's implied that some outside force is meddling here.