Hope her boots hold up

Crossing barefoot was out, and the risk of landing in the coals and falling was entirely too high for her tastes. Better to risk her boots than any physical damage. Glancing behind her, she listened for signs of the beast's release, but could hear none.

Max turned back to the coals, swallowed, and stepped into the coals. Her boot sizzled as it made contact, and she immediately set off as fast as she safely could for the far side of the coals. With every step, her boots sizzled, muffled pops announcing that the soles were melting fast, creating air bubbles. She could feel the heat transferring through the boots, her feet beginning to feel like she had stuck them in an oven. Sweat poured down her face as she crossed.

The heat grew worse, her boots now hot almost to her knees, her feet burning within her boots. As she took another step, she could actually see a small fire on what was left of the sole of her boot. The leather was dry and cracking from the heat, seams showing where there should be none. "Just a few more steps. Just a few more steps." The mantra rang through her mind as she covered the last of the distance through the shifting coals. A few feet away from the edge, as she lifted her left foot from the coals again, she gasped, as she could suddenly feel the heat of the coals against her bare foot. Swearing, she pushed off with her right leg, hurling herself the last couple of feet to the stone floor beyond.

She landed, hard, on her stomach, rolling over as fast as she could, fingers clawing at the laces of her hot boots. Releasing them, she frantically kicked her boots off, sighing in relief as her bare soles hit the cool stone. They were tender, maybe slightly burned, but nothing she couldn't deal with. Her boots were a different story. The soles were all but gone, thin and riddled with holes, and the leather was shot, with multiple splits running back and forth near the bottoms of the boots.

Abandoning them, she turned and dashed through the exit to the room, bare feet slapping against the cold stone. She rocketed into another room with three exits. Behind her, she thought she heard a brief, muffled roar, and she assumed the beast was free.