Surrounded

---Indigo---

As Katherine's group thundered down one path, I led Jason and Ashley down the other. The wind whistled past my ears. Sharp thistles snagged at my legs. The sky got darker as the Evils got closer.

Left, then right, then two left turns, followed by two right turns, double back…even I was getting dizzy from all the different directions. Eventually I deemed that the Evils have been left far behind, and we continued traveling in a straight line with the sun in front of us.

Every once in a while we would head in another direction just to throw any pursuers off. But everything seemed ok. The cloud dissipated a little. The feeling of danger subsided. I didn't notice at first, but all three of our horses went from galloping to a nice leisure walk, now that danger was no longer imminent. This part of the forest was actually quite nice. None of us ever been this far in, and we all looked around curiously, trying to take in all of the scenery.

Jason spotted a stag and its doe foraging for food. Ashley pointed out a species of bird that she'd always wanted to see: the blue-throated nightingale. "It's only found in a few parts of Crystallea," Ashley explained. "So few are left in the wild, people thought it went extinct. The last documented sighting was over twenty years ago. I can't believe there's a population in this very forest, and I got to see one."

I paid more attention to the flora than the fauna. Though it was autumn, the weather seemed to be stuck in the transition between summer and fall. There were flowers still in full bloom, and leaves hadn't started to turn yellow yet. The part we were passing through was full of maple trees and shrubs. I had always been an outdoors person. Riding my favorite horse Willow through the forest was bliss.

We paused at the river for a short break. While the horses grazed nearby, Ashley and I dug out a plate of sandwiches and some apple juice for us to share. Jason pulled out a map to look at our position. Judging from our current path, we would have to go through an area of dense evergreens and then an emptier plain dotted with a brushes. Then there's the road to Northbell, which would take at least forty-five minutes for us to arrive.

"We'd better go if we want to get there by nightfall," said Ashley, brushing the crumbs from her jeans. "I don't want to navigate the forest in the dark."

"You're right," I said as I began packing up. "The Aurora Forest might be pretty, but it's going to be scary at night."

We picked up the pace after crossing the river. In the midst of tall pines and oaks, the temperature felt cooler and the lighting was darker. Crickets made their racket as occasional bird trills would pierce the air. Somehow, this area felt dangerous. I urged Willow to go faster, eager to get out of here.

"Just where do you think you're all going?" snarled a voice. An Evil leapt onto the path in front of me, scaring Willow so bad she almost took off into the underbrush. I pulled out my sword, its tip coated with rosewood, and pointed it at the Evil. The Evil seemed to flinch as the rosewood aligned itself with the monster's twisted heart.

"You can't kill me," scoffed the Evil. "I am invincible!" Its boast was cut off as Ashley shot a spell at the monster from behind me. I ducked, and the gold ray of power flew over me and hit the Evil right on the chest. It began to convulse as the golden power seem to wrap itself around the Evil and slowly strangle it.

"Come on!" I shouted as Willow leapt over the dying Evil and took off as fast as she could. "There are probably more! We need to get out of here, fast!"

I was right. More dark shadows appeared behind bushes, from the trees, in front of and behind us. Soon, the three of us were back to back and surrounded.

"What do we do now?" asked Ashley as she hefted her spear and prepared to shoot another spell.

"I have a plan," answered Jason. "When I say so, we're all going to try and break through the barrier, okay? The fire won't last too long."

"Jason, what are you going to do?" I asked suspiciously. "Don't you think−?"

With a shout, Jason and his horse shot forward. Before we could call out to him, he waved his arms around in a complicated pattern. And then, the ring of Evils around us was encased in a circle of fire.

"Now!" Jason shouted. Ashley and I galloped forward, waving our weapons, and barreled into the Evils in front of us just as the fire began to subside. While the Evils were still recovering from the initial shock, we were hacking and yelling and fighting a bloody way out.

Ashley fired spells as she twirled her spear. I sliced with my sword, trying out all the different spells I remembered from what Ashley told me, regardless of if they actually worked or not. Behind us, Jason used different elements to keep the Evils at bay. I felt the whoosh of wind, the cackling energy of lightning, and the misty spray of water as Jason hurled whatever he could at those relentless monsters.

Somehow, we broke out. Urging our horses to go faster and faster, we took off running for our lives. It didn't matter where we went; as long as it got the Evils off our trails it was good. Ashley took the lead this time. My mind was blank except for one thought that continuously circled around: RUN RUN RUN RUN FOR YOUR LIFE THE EVILS ARE COMING RUN OHMYGOSHWE'REALLGONNADIE.

As we hurtled down yet another path, I realized that it was filled with trampled grass and splintered branches. Someone, or something, had hurried through here before. They made it a little easier for us to go through as they had pretty much flattened out a path. Was it Evils? Or was Aaron and the others?

My mind spun to Aaron as I followed Ashley blindly. Aaron, the guy that I secretly had a crush on. Was he alright? Did his group also get attacked? If so, is he alright? Once again, I found myself wishing that Rachel had put Aaron and me in the same group. I knew that if she had more time to think, she probably would've because she knew about my crush on him, but the biggest priority at the time was split into the groups that gave us the largest chance of survival. I just hope that he and Katherine and Rachel and Lucian were alright, and that we would get to see each other again tonight. If we all made it out alive.