A Dangerous Mistake

---Aaron---

The horse I was leading snorted and pawed at the ground. "What's wrong?" I asked, petting its head. "Why are so you restless?" Looking into its eyes, I saw fear pooling in its depths. Its ears perked up and its nostrils flared, clearly nervous.

Katherine returned after a few minutes, her voice a hoarse whisper. "Aaron, there are Evils." I nearly dropped the reins.

"Evils? Here?" My voice rose with surprise and panic, and Katherine hurriedly shushed me.

"Shh! Don't catch their attention. They haven't found us yet, but they will soon. Tell the others to keep moving, silently but quickly!" I passed the message to Indigo, who swiftly told it to whoever was in front. The line began moving again at a much urgent pace.

We were about halfway down when the dust storm died off. There was no time to shake off the sand and dust from our bodies. The sky was darkening with the unmistakable presence of Lord Victor's minions. Meanwhile, the lower we got the foggier it became, despite the dry climate. Now the danger was not dust blocking our view, but fog and darkness. Still, we persevered, slowly traveling down the chasm. Once, I accidentally tripped over a stone and kicked it off into the chasm, where its landing echoed in the silent ravine. Everyone froze, but there didn't seem to be anyone or anything that noticed it. I continued a lot more carefully after that.

After what seemed like years, we finally reached the bottom. It looked just like the top, except there were bushes that grew sparsely and wildly. Along the center was a wide, cracked riverbed, littered with stones and the bones of fish that once swam in its waters. The mysterious fog provided us with a good cover, but it was making everything take on an eerie appearance. We kept walking until Rachel found a shallow cave. We tied our horses to a bush growing nearby and gathered inside, sitting on the hard, dusty floor.

"Now what?" Rachel asked in a quiet voice. I listened to see if her voice echoed. The sound wouldn't carry if we didn't speak too loudly.

"There are Evils up there," Jason said, rummaging through his bag, probably to find food. "So we can't stay here."

"It's dark and it's creepy," Katherine pointed out. "I wouldn't recommend trying to find a way out in this mist. We should probably just stay here and wait it out; for all we know, that path might be our only way up or down this chasm."

"Katherine's right," Indigo said, bringing her knees up to her chest, rocking back and forth slightly. "It's getting late anyway. We should just stay here for the night and continue when the Evils leave and the sky lightens."

"What if the Evils don't leave?" I asked. Indigo looked at me with a worried look in her eyes.

"Then we either stay here forever or fight our way out," Jason answered lightheartedly, pulling out a package. "Cookies, anyone?"

* * * * *

It was the first night we spent out in the wild, without an inn to stay in. I slept fitfully, often waking up in the middle of the night. We had all brought blankets and pillows, so at least we didn't have to sleep on the cold dusty floor, but space was limited. Nobody wanted to sleep outside, even if Jason boasted that he had fit two entire tents inside his magical satchel. We managed to arrange ourselves in a way that fitted all seven of us inside the small cave without being too close to each other. I woke up early the next morning with a cramped back and sore legs from the restricted space.

Everyone else seemed to be still asleep. I got up quietly and stepped over the arms and legs to head outside, where there was at least more space. Everything looked as it would on a typical overcast day, except anything too far away was hidden behind a veil of mist. I tried to look up and search for any signs of movement, but the fog hid any clear indications of Evils up there. Looking back at the sleeping forms of all my friends, I decided to go up the way we came down and do a quick scout of the surrounding area for Evils or any other foes.

The chasm was eerily quiet, and my footsteps were magnified in the empty place. If there were still Evils up there, I was sure that they would hear me. I found the narrow path and began to climb up. It was steeper than I had remembered, and by the time I was halfway up, I was already drenched in sweat and tired.

I rested for a few minutes and then urged myself to keep going. The fog was less dense up here, and I could see a little bit over the edge of the chasm in the distance. There didn't seem to be any movements.

A loose pebble skittered and rolled to a stop at my feet. I froze, and my hand flew to the hilt of my sword that was secured around my waist. Someone, or something, was up in front of me on the path and heading down. I held my breath and pressed myself against the rocky wall of the chasm, praying that the minimal fog there still was would hide me.

Whoever was up ahead took another step down. I shrank back into the walls, debating whether or not I should run back down and alert everyone else, before some Evil finds me and kills me. No. I can't do that. I can't put everyone else in danger when I could just get rid of the Evil in question right here, right now. I have to be brave and start acting like one of the heroes in the legends and storybooks. If I can't even face an enemy alone, how will I face Lord Victor if it came down to me?

The figure came closer. Through the light mist, I could make out the outline of a person of average height who moving with quiet, even steps. It must be a scout sent by the opposing side to see if we're down here. I was now determined to strike out before the person noticed me, in a surprise attack that would push him off the narrow path and down to a grisly death below.

Whoever it was paused and looked back. I held my breath and pulled out my sword silently, tightening my grip on the hilt. The person seemed to reach a conclusion and continued his descend downward, unaware that he was walking right into an ambush…

Twenty feet. Ten feet. Five feet. I held my breath and waited as the person came closer and closer. Now.

I jumped out and swung my sword with all my might, using the flat of the blade to knock the person off balance and into the chasm below. The person let out a high-pitched, blood-curdling scream that pierced the lazy morning air, scaring a murder of crows into flight, squawking their surprise. Wait. That scream… it sounded feminine and oddly familiar.

The person's arms cart-wheeled, trying to regain their balance, but she were already toppling off the cliff. A light breeze blew the mist apart, revealing the features of the person. Our gazes locked.

Too late, my brain registered the neat chestnut hair, the panicked honey-colored eyes, and a familiar face painted with shock and fear.

"Indigo!!"