Devastation

---Indigo---

I collapsed onto the forest floor, feeling tears prick at my eyelids. Lucian had stood up and was pressing his forehead into the trunk of a nearby tree, clearly devastated. "Why?!" he cried. "Why must we be tormented this way?" He banged his fist on the tree, making the leaves shake on their branches.

I cried silently, wishing that I had stopped Aaron from going on the rescue mission. If I had gone like I was supposed to, then Aaron would still be safe. He wouldn't have to run until he was wounded and exhausted, and then commit suicide. I could only imagine his agony in knowing that he was going to die. To know that I would never see Aaron again, to know that when I saw him leave the clearing that fateful afternoon was the last time I would ever see him again broke my heart.

And Katherine…My heart throbbed at the thought that she and Aaron were gazing into each other's eyes lovingly, but I quickly dismissed that thought. Who knew if Henry was describing the scene correctly? And in any case, Katherine and Aaron were dead now. It didn't matter.

I felt sadness at Katherine's death, knowing that she had suffered pains that none of us know about. She was holed up in Lord Victor's prison for days and probably tortured for his cruel pleasure. Not only did her best friend betray her, but when she finally saw daylight again, her path ended in death. She was such a talented swordswoman and a great warrior. She didn't deserve to die so young. None of them—Aaron, Jason, Ashley, Katherine—did.

"I want to go see," Lucian spoke quietly. There was tension in the air around him, as if he could explode any minute now. "I want to climb those hills and trace their footsteps. I want to know if they really did jump off a cliff and die!"

"Lucian…" Rachel tried to talk to him, but Lucian had grabbed his backpack and was already heading towards the mountain. Rachel ran out after him, and I pulled myself together enough to follow them.

"Lucian, wait, it's not safe—" Rachel was saying and trying to talk some sense into Lucian. He shrugged her off and kept going, almost running up the mountain trail. Since we couldn't stop him, Rachel and I opted to just go along with him. Besides, a part of me still doesn't want to believe that Aaron and Katherine were dead. I, too, wanted to see the cliff for myself.

Lucian followed the winding trail, sometimes stopping to peer through the scattered bushes or to examine the soil. He found droplets of blood in the dirt, and proceeded to search for more. Then, he suddenly sped up, sprinting up a gentle slope and past an ancient tree with droopy branches. Rachel and I chased after him, but our legs weren't as long as his. Finally, we found Lucian standing in the center of the path, facing a wide chasm.

"Is this it?" Rachel asked. "Is this the cliff the soldier was talking about?"

Lucian didn't answer. Instead, he stepped close to the edge of the cliff and knelt down on one knee, examining the soil. I crouched down next to him.

"Blood," he whispered, his voice cracking. "and two sets of footprints. I think…I think this is where they…" His voice trailed off, but we all knew what he meant to say.

Rachel peered down into the chasm and then drew back, dizzy. "It's so misty," she said. "I can't see the bottom, but judging by the tips of the pine trees I have to say it's pretty deep. If they did jump, then…there's no way they would've survived the fall."

"Aaron…Katherine…I'm sorry we're too late!" Lucian cried, his voice filled with anguish. "If only we had set out sooner—if only I had stopped you from going—if only—" The hills echoed with Lucian's devastated voice, carrying all of his grief with it.

Rachel placed a calming hand on his shoulder, standing silently. Two lines of tears rolled down her cheeks and splattered silently down into chasm. I closed my eyes, feeling the tears come again. It was true. Aaron and Katherine were really gone.

The autumn wind swept through the chasm, bringing with it swirls of dead leaves and the cawing of crows. The bleak sun cast a dreary glow over the landscape, barely providing the world with any warmth. A few clouds drifted across the blue sky, casting large shadows over the land. The green slopes of nearby mountains shivered as the shrubs and trees moved with the wind. In the distance, the peaks of the Northern Mountains were barely visible, already beginning to whiten with snow.

The place wasn't exceptionally scenic, but something about it made the area beautiful. It was a nice place to die, I suppose. But to think that our friends' bodies lie mangled at the bottom, exposed to the elements and animal scavengers…

I wished I could turn back time and stop Aaron from going on the rescue mission. I wished I could rewrite the past and make it so that none of us were the chosen ones. I wished to return to our carefree days in the Academy, when our greatest enemy was too much homework. But none of that was possible.

We stayed at the edge of the cliff for a long time, paying our respects to our fallen friends. Before we left, I firmly placed my extra rock slab into the dirt a little ways from the edge of the cliff. I didn't want Aaron and Katherine to disappear from this world without a single trace. This sign will stand for years to come, telling the birds and the crumbling rocks and any adventurous wanderers what happened here.

On the front, it was a plain sign that read: 'Hero's Cliff—where two of the Rosewood Seven bravely took their last stand against Lord Victor.' On the back, it was my dedication to my friends, and their tombstone: 'RIP Aaron Kane and Katherine Lewis'.

Rachel, Lucian, and I turned our footsteps towards the Northern Mountains. I saw a steel look in their eyes and hardness in their hearts. I, too, felt dispassionate towards the world, with everything bleached of color. There was only one image in my mind—a cackling Lord Victor upon his throne in the Northern Mountains. In a matter of days, I had lost almost everyone I cared about. Even Rachel, Lucian, and I were supposed to be dead.

If Lord Victor thought that by killing all of the Rosewood Seven he would win, then he was wrong. The deaths greatly saddened us and almost destroyed us, but it has also made us stronger. Before, we were just seven kids sent out on a quest with the task of defeating an evil lord who made people cower with only his name. Now, we are the chosen ones, the Destined Three, with something to fight for besides the world. We were fighting for our fallen friends—our smart, courageous, amazing friends who fought alongside us and died way before their times. We are not only out to defeat evil, but also to get revenge.

Jason Mallory. Ashley Windson. Katherine Lewis. Aaron Kane. You might all be gone, but you will never be forgotten.

I will avenge you. I will avenge all of you.