An Ambush!

---Katherine---

"Keep the sun in front of you", Indigo's voice echoed in my mind. Well, the sun was too slow and the forest too dense to do that. We went straight for a while, then turned to the left, then right, then left, left, right, left, right until I couldn't remember where we've already been and where we haven't. It wasn't until we burst out of the trees and into the same clearing we left that I realize we went around in a big circle.

"That was so confusing; I'm sure the Evils got lost," said Aaron as we paused to rest for a second.

"I don't know about that," I said uncertainly. "We should keep moving."

This time, Aaron led the way. Soon, we reached the river that Indigo mentioned. The current wasn't very strong, and it certainly looked very shallow. Aaron urged his horse in to test it out. It barely went up to the horse's mid-calf. In a single file we walked upstream, trying to keep track of the time. When the scenery around us changed from dense oaks to shrubs and pines, Aaron deemed that enough time has passed. With Rachel taking the lead, we headed west with the sun in front of us.

Somehow, it didn't feel as scary as before. Maybe it was because the only sounds around us were bird chirps. Maybe it was because we'd gotten used to the surroundings and didn't feel like we were going to die any second now. Maybe because it was quiet now. Too quiet.

Before my brain had registered the fact, a dark shadow lunged out at Rachel. Her horse reared back in alarm, nearly throwing her off. Aaron, who was behind her, pulled out his sword and stabbed at the monster. I notched an arrow on my bow and fired, while muttering a spell that Ashley had taught me.

Poof! The monster exploded in a shower of black dust. An Evil had just been vanquished. But now I could see more shadows looming out in the surroundings.

"Let's try to lose them again!" I shouted before urging my horse forward. "Don't let them get to you!" We galloped in a diamond shape, with Rachel in the front, Aaron bringing up the rear, and Lucian and me on either side. If anything showed up around me I shot it down with my rosewood-tipped arrows while saying the spell that activated the rosewood. Aaron, with his control over the wind, knocked Evils down with powerful gusts. Lucian managed to burn several Evils into crisps with fire, and Rachel concentrated on trying to lose the Evils.

Right, left, left, circle back, left, left, right, right, turn around, right, turn back, left…..I was getting dizzy. Our jobs were to keep the Evils at bay while Rachel's sole mission was to get us out safely. But more Evils appeared. I was running out of arrows. Lucian and Aaron were getting tired. How could there be so many? Before we went into the forest, there was only one group of Evils pursuing us!

I had to conserve my arrows. I opted for a spear, its tip also coated with rosewood. Lucian pulled out his sword. Aaron managed weak flurries of wind that whipped up fallen leaves and branches to attack with. We fought our way through the forest, twisting and turning, trying not to die.

It seemed like hours before we finally managed to shake the Evils off our trail. We didn't dare slow down to catch our breath. Commanding our already tired horses forward, we raced to get out of the dangerous forest.

"Ah!" Rachel couldn't halt in time and went tumbling into a river, horse and all. Quickly dismounting, we pulled them out, all dripping wet.

"Another river?! I thought Indigo said only one!" exclaimed Lucian. "What if we crossed the wrong river earlier?"

"There's supposed to only be one river in the forest," I said quizzically. "The map said so."

"You have a map?! Why didn't you say so sooner?!" said Lucian angrily. "Could've save us some time!"

"If you didn't notice, I was busy saving your sorry butt from Evils with my arrows," I shot back, glaring at him. "I wasn't aware that we had time to sit down, have a nice chat, and pore over a map!"

"Guys! Calm down, please!" Rachel got between us and held up her hands. "This is what the Elders warned us about! We need to focus on the task at hand. We can't be breaking apart when the quest barely started!"

"Yeah, Lucian," I muttered as I sat down on a rock and began digging through my pack for the map. He huffed and turned away to throw pebbles into the river, making small angry plops. I took out the map and some sandwiches for us to eat. All that running and fighting had made all of us hungry. Within seconds, the sandwiches were devoured.

"Any more food, Katherine?" Lucian asked, smacking his lips. "I'm still hungry."

"Why didn't you bring your own food?" I retorted, still grumpy. "I brought these for me."

"I have food, okay? Can't you guys make peace?" said Rachel, irritated. She dug out some muffins. "If you apologize to each other you guys can have some." As if to demonstrate an incentive, Aaron reached over, plucked a muffin out of Rachel's hands, and started chomping on it with exaggerated relish.

"Mmm this muffin is so good," he taunted through a mouthful. "So, so delicious."

"Fine. Kath, I'm sorry for yelling at you earlier," said Lucian gruffly.

"And I'm sorry for snapping at you," I said grudgingly. We stared at each other, then broke into a sheepish smile at the same time.

"That's better," said Rachel. "Here, eat a muffin." As we munched away at the treat we studied the map. I pointed at the thin blue line snaking across the forest. "That's the river. And see, there's only one."

"Where are we right now?" asked Aaron. Rachel studied the map and turned it at a certain angle, aligning it with our current position.

"Here." Rachel pointed at a part of the blue line just after a bend. "See that boulder? It's that one over there." We followed her finger to see the same boulder just past a grove of trees.

"So where did we cross before?" Lucian wondered.

Rachel traced the blue line with her finger, stopping at a section way downstream. "I think here. See how the trees changed farther up? That's where we went to the other side. We crossed the river about fifteen minutes downstream from where we are now."

"What do you think Indigo meant? Do we walk upstream again or just cross and keep going?" I pondered.

"Well if you look here," Aaron stabbed his finger at the symbol for a village. "That's the first village you would encounter once you get out of the forest. I'm assuming that's Northbell, where we're supposed to meet up at." Moving his finger diagonally down, he stopped where we currently were. "We're here. I think the shortest path to go would be to head upstream again, cross, and then exit the forest to the road. What do you all think?"

"Hm, I think you're right," said Rachel slowly, tracing the path herself. "Because if we cross the river right now, we would have to go through dense thickets and lots of trees. Those are great hiding places for Evils. But if we head upstream and then cross, we go through plainer areas. Easier for our horses and more open. Less places to hide."

"Okay. Sounds good," I agreed. Two of the smartest kids in the Academy were making decisions; I certainly wasn't going to argue.

"We should get moving. I want to get to the town before nightfall," said Lucian, standing up. So we remounted our horses and splashed into the river, once again heading upstream. Alert and tense for any suspicious movements, my head buzzed with questions. Where were the others now? How were they doing? Did they get attacked? When will we meet again? I didn't want to think about this one, but will we see each other again?