We Can't Tell You

---Indigo---

We combined two tables together to sit all seven of us. Uncle George brought out more food, and it was just the sound of chewing and wolfing down food for the first fifteen minutes. Even though I was pretty much full, seeing more food made me hungrier. Katherine and the others looked like they haven't eaten in days. Lucian and Jason almost had a fight over who gets the drumsticks.

Finally, our hunger was satisfied and the table was filled with empty platters. The girls helped carry the bowls and plates back into the kitchen while the guys threw the trash away. Uncle George brought out a strawberry cheesecake for us as dessert. My mouth began to water the moment I saw it. Uncle George's strawberry cheesecake was so delicious it shouldn't even belong on earth. It should be in heaven with the gods.

Soon everyone had a slice, and murmurs of content arose.

"Gosh, this cheesecake is so good!" exclaimed Lucian.

"I love cheesecake, and this is the best cheesecake I've ever tasted," Katherine stated.

"Indigo, you are so lucky to have an uncle who makes the best food on earth and an aunt who makes the best apple cider," said Ashley enviously. I smiled as Uncle George laughed.

"Well kiddos, you're welcome to stay with us any time you want. I'll feed you all food so good, you'll never want to eat any other food again," Uncle George joked. Then he got serious.

"Why are you kids so far from home anyway? Aren't you supposed to be in that academy of yours? And what's with all the weapons and looking like you're about to die?" The sound of forks clinking against ceramic plates stopped. We looked at each other, and everyone's gaze landed on me. I cleared my throat uneasily.

"Jason, would you go outside and check if anyone's still around? And shut and bolt the door afterwards?" I asked. Jason nodded and stood up.

"Uncle George, are there any other guests living in your inn at this time?" I turned to my uncle. He shook his head.

"No. Business is slow these days. All people ever do is eat a meal here and leave. Hardly anyone lives at the inn anymore," he replied. Jason returned.

"Not a soul is outside right now," he reported. "It's completely dark and silent."

"Where's Aunt Jenny and the cousins?" I asked my uncle again.

"Upstairs. I think they're getting ready for bed."

"Okay. Ashley?" I turned to Ashley, who immediately understood. Muttering a spell under her breath, she pointed her finger at the door. A thin blue ray of power shot out and sealed the door with an anti-eavesdropping spell. As my astonished uncle watched, Ashley did the same to the door leading upstairs to the bedrooms.

"Indy, what is going on?" Uncle George asked with the slightest hint of fear in his voice. "Is that…magic?"

"Uncle, you must promise not to tell a soul. Not even Aunt Jenny." I said solemnly. He quickly nodded. I took a deep breath before continuing. "So, the seven of us are on a mission …"

I told my uncle that we, as the top students at the Academy, were selected to carry out a mission. We had to find something, I explained. Something that might help fight and defeat the Evils. We were also born with special powers and abilities, like magic. Uncle George listened with wide eyes. "But the thing is, no one is supposed to know about it except the Elders and our parents," I said. "So I'm sorry, Uncle George, but I can't tell you everything."

"I understand," my uncle said. "But surely you can trust me?"

"It's for your own protection, sir," said Katherine before I could make up a reason. "In case anyone tracks us down and finds you, they can't get any information out of you because you don't know anything. That way, our identities and whereabouts are hidden and it won't implicate you or your family." Uncle George looked shocked.

"Implicate us? What do you mean?" He turned to me. "Who's going to be after you kids? What do they want with you all?"

"It's really complicated," I said. "But just know that there are bad guys out there who want to get their hands on the thing we're looking for, and they will be hunting us down if they get word of where we are. So the less interaction and the less you know, the better."

"But, Indy…"

"Uncle, we've put you at great risk just by coming here. I didn't want to, but Northbell was the nearest village, and you're the only person I trust out here. We almost died coming out of the Aurora Forest, uncle. And the world's only hope is us." Uncle George looked saddened at this.

"You're all only kids," he murmured. "Just kids. Why you guys? Why my Indy?"

I smiled sadly. "Because we are the chosen ones. We are the only ones who have a chance at doing this."

Saying it out loud, after a long day of running for our lives, made the whole save-the-world thing seem a lot more real. We had to do it. We had to try. No one else was going to, because no one else even stood a chance.

That night, everyone got their own room to crash in. I really wanted to discuss and come up with a plan, but everyone, including me, was so exhausted after our eventful day. And it's only been one day.

As I lied on the bed, staring up at the wooden ceiling, the whole situation finally began to set in. Everything suddenly became real. All at once, I realized that we were alone out here, with no one to turn to except each other. We, a group of sixteen-year-olds, were going to have to somehow defeat something that has plagued Crystallea for hundreds of years.

Thinking back, I realized the Elders never told us what specifically we had do. They just sent us all on this mission saying, "You seven are the chosen ones, all the world depends on you, now go and save the world, bye." What are we supposed to do? Where are we supposed to go? I tossed and turned, thinking, before exhaustion finally took over and I fell asleep.