The Warning

"Why?" I asked.

"It's hard to say. It's just a feeling. I've learned to trust my gut, and right now my gut tells me that I should be concerned for my friend." Rachel poked at the dirt with the front of her shoe.

"I'm worried about her too," I admitted. "I think this quest is taking its toll on us. At the end of the day, we're still kids. We're still clueless and young and naïve who have no idea what's in store for us. We can barely survive."

"Well, there's no use being dejected. We have to toughen up soon or we're all going to die," Rachel took a deep breath and said matter-of-factly. "This place is dangerous. The sooner we get out of here, the better."

"When will Katherine be well enough for travel?"

"In a few days, if there's a miracle. But there's no time to wait." Rachel stated. "I'm afraid we'll have to get moving even if Katherine and Indigo aren't fully recovered."

I looked back at Indigo's sleeping form, then at the tent where Katherine laid resting, unconscious. I looked at Rachel's tired form, with dark circles under her eyes and worry lines across her forehead. When had we all become like this? Why must we be the ones who have to suffer? As if guessing my thoughts, Rachel summoned a weak, reassuring smile.

"It's okay, Aaron. Everything will be alright. We'll make it out of this forest, and we'll defeat Lord Victor. Then we can all go home and worry about our math tests again."

"Don't remind me," I moaned with exaggeration. "The math tests! Oh, the horror!"

"Remember that one test where we all failed? Remember your face when you saw your score?" Rachel chuckled. I laughed quietly.

"Oh yeah, totally. But I still got a higher score than you."

"Shush Aaron. Only because you're a smarty pants and I'm not." Rachel huffed with feign disdain.

I bumped her shoulder with mine playfully. She looked at me sternly, before dissolving into giggles. I laughed at her sudden change in expression, feeling the grin spread across my face.

Even if the world was grim, I still had my friends with me. Together, we can get through anything.

* * * * *

The scream rang out across the clearing, waking me from my slumber. Groggily, I sat up and looked around, trying to get a bearing. A pile of smoldering coals was next to me, still giving off a small amount of warmth. On the other side of the fire pit, Indigo slept on her sleeping bag and and tossed around fitfully. The day's events came rushing back to me. Now, who screamed?

Rachel emerged from the tent she shared with Ashley, holding a lantern aloft. Seeing that I was awake, she walked towards me briskly.

"Did you hear that?" she asked in a hushed voice. I nodded. "Who was that? Indigo?"

"No." I tossed a glance at Indigo. "It wasn't Indigo."

"It wasn't Ashley, and probably not the other guys. It definitely wasn't me. So, the only one it could be is—oh no." The process of elimination left us with only one candidate. Without another word Rachel spun around and ran towards Katherine's tent. I got up and followed closely behind, worry clouding my mind.

We burst into Katherine's tent and saw Katherine wide awake and breathing heavily, her eyes darting around wildly.

"Katherine? Are you okay?" Rachel knelt next to Katherine, who nodded weakly, even though her face was too pale to look okay.

"Kath, what happened? Did you scream?" I asked, settling next to Rachel. Katherine's gaze found me, and she seemed to relax a bit. After a few more deep breaths, she finally managed to calm down and talk.

"Yeah. That was me. I'm sorry I woke you guys," she apologized. "It's just…" her voice trailed off uncertainly.

"What?" Rachel and I asked at the same time.

"Now that I think about it, it was just a nightmare, but I thought…I felt…" Katherine seemed to be talking to herself, debating over the believability of whatever happened. Rachel placed her hand over Katherine's.

"It's okay, you can tell us. We won't judge. We're awake, anyway, so why not just talk about it?"

"I guess." Katherine looked at us. She took another deep breath before talking. "I think Lord Victor was in my mind again."

The room suddenly felt too cold. I saw Rachel tense up. "Lord Victor? In your mind?"

"Well, not like at the inn, where he was trying to take over my mind. This was more like a vision, or a warning." Katherine frowned, trying to put her experience into words. "I'm not too sure. All I saw was a vision of some sort, then a dark figure enveloped me completely. It was suffocating, and it hurt. So I screamed, and woke up."

"What did you see?"

"Evils." Katherine answered immediately. "They were in the forest; they found us. We tried fighting, but it was no use. I think…two of us were killed, and the others were wounded and taken away as prisoners. I was the only one left. I tried to chase after everyone, but this dark figure came towards me while laughing manically. Suddenly, I was frozen in place. I tried to move, but I couldn't. The figure surrounded me with darkness and started to suffocate me. It hurt so bad, especially around my abdomen wound. That's why I screamed."

Rachel looked at me, her expression unreadable. "Aaron, what do you think?"

"Well…" I looked at Katherine, who was trembling slightly. "I don't think it was just a bad dream. Like Katherine said, maybe it's a vision, or a warning. The Evils were following us, weren't they? It's possible they have picked up a trail and are looking for us right now."

"Perhaps. Anyhow, we've been here too long anyway. It's time to move." Rachel stood up. "Aaron, you stay here with Katherine while I go and wake the others."

After Rachel left, the tent became heavy with awkward silence. My fingers idly played with the edge of Katherine's blanket and tugged at the threads. Katherine watched me with a look I could not understand.

"How's your wound?" I nodded at Katherine's bandaged abdomen in an attempt to make small talk.

"It's okay, I guess. I think my healing magic helped stop the bleeding and all," Katherine replied. "It still hurts if I move around too much or too suddenly. It'll take a while for this to heal."

The tent descended into silence again. We both racked our brains for something to talk about, but neither of us knew how to start the conversation again.

"How's Indigo?" Katherine finally asked. I looked up from the threads I was pulling out of the blanket.

"She's okay… I mean, she had a fever and all, but I think she's better now." I explained. Katherine nodded along.

"That's good." A few more moments of silence. Katherine seemed to be debating whether or not to say something again. "What—what happened after Indigo—after I was stabbed?"

I told Katherine how Indigo came to her senses and realized what she had done to her friend. I told her how Indigo ran away, afraid that she'll hurt the rest of us too, and tried to take her own life. I told her how I found her and tried to stop her, paying the price of a lifelong scar across Indigo's face.

Katherine was silent for a long time. Her hand rested on her bandaged abdomen. "I was rash too," she said quietly, not meeting my gaze. "I was angry at the things Indigo said, and I engaged in combat with her when I should not have. I knew she was possessed by one of the blue orbs, but I still let my emotions get the best of me."

"Kath, if you're trying to say that it's your fault—"

"No, not that. It's the forest's fault. Everyone who enters will be driven to insanity. It's only a matter of time." Katherine raised her clear gray eyes to mine. "Indigo's a good person, Aaron. You have to take care of her."

"Yeah, of course. She's my friend. Of course I'll take care of her." I looked at Katherine weirdly. Why was everyone telling me to take care of Indigo?

Katherine saw my confusion and smiled a little. She opened her mouth to say something else, but Rachel barged back into the tent.

"Guys, we need to get out of here, and fast. The Evils are near, but not only that—they're combing through the forest inch by inch to make sure we don't escape."