---Aaron---
"I get why it's called Dead Man's Chasm now," I said to Indigo. "Just look at these steep cliffs and desolate landscape. No wonder it's not a popular site on the tourist brochures."
"Be careful, Aaron," Indigo warned as all the horses slowed and we paused to take in the surroundings. "One wrong step and we can all go tumbling in."
We were at the top of a dune overlooking one of the places we have to cross in order to get to Devil's Peak. It was like a desert, except even the ground was cracked and dry, with nothing but dust, rocks, and an endless view of desolation. Thousands, or perhaps even millions, of years ago this place was ripped apart by natural forces. A giant chasm was created in the ground than ran for miles in either direction below us. Rock formations weathered by time soared into the sky, looking like the jagged teeth of a beast.
The chasm had widened with time, with rough cliff-sides that plunged down to the bottom, hidden from us by a mysterious fog-like substance. Rachel said that in ancient times, there used to be a river along the winding bottom, but it had dried up under mysterious circumstances. No one ever found out what happened, and no one bothered to find out. No one in their sane minds would even come near this place, much less hike down and investigate a dried river. So yeah, we were definitely out of our minds.
"Where to now?" Katherine asked Rachel. "Do we just keep continuing north?"
"Let me consult my maps." Rachel slid off the horse and pulled out the maps from her satchel. She spread them out on a nearby rock. We all dismounted and crowded around. Rachel traced her fingers along different paths before looking up at the rest of us.
"We follow the chasm," she said, pointing at the long chasm that ran across the earth. "If we just keep going that way, where the chasm is headed, we'll reach the Desederium Forest."
"And how long might that take?" Indigo inquired. Rachel looked at her maps again and did a couple of calculations in her mind.
"A few hours, give or take, depending on how fast we travel. In a landscape like this, I would suggest we get out as fast as possible. It's giving me the creeps." In a chorus of agreement, we all mounted our horses again. With Rachel and Lucian in the lead this time, we headed down the dune.
A dusty breeze blew by every so often as we trotted single-file, parallel to the gaping chasm that ran across the land. We did not go too near the edge for fear of falling in. Every now and then, I would spot the bones of some animal unfortunate enough to have died out here. I felt more compelled to get out of here faster.
Dead Man's Chasm was creeping me out too. The place was too quiet, too eerie, and radiated too much death and loneliness. The deep gorge in the earth only added to that, because every noise was amplified in such a quiet place where only the wind howled at night.
No one felt like talking much. Any loud noise seemed to disturb the unnatural silence that blanketed the area, and that felt worse than the silence itself. The only sounds were the clip-clops of horse hooves against the hardened ground.
We must have gone about five miles or so when a clattering sound made us all jump. We all reined our horses and stopped, alert and on the lookout for trouble.
"What was that?" Lucian asked in a hushed whisper.
"It sounded like…a pebble or something," Indigo said slowly, tilting her head to one side and listening intently.
There were no more noises for a few more minutes, and we kept moving, but at a faster pace. Even the horses seemed intent on getting out of this ghostly place.
"Wait! Did you hear that?" Indigo's exclaim from behind made me stop the horse again. Katherine turned around and circled back, concern in her eyes.
"What did you hear?" Katherine asked.
"It sounded like a rock bouncing off the cliff," Indigo said. "Listen."
In the silence that followed, all we could hear was our breathing.
"There's nothing," Lucian said, taking the reins and prepared to move again. "Let's just get out of here—"
Clackity-clack. The unmistakable sound of a pebble skittering off the cliff resonated through the air. Everyone froze. We listened as the pebble bounced off the jagged cliff sides, the sound getting fainter and fainter, until a tiny plop told us it had reached the bottom.
"Someone's here?" Ashley's voice was tiny. "Is someone following us?"
"I can't see anything," Katherine said, peering at the surroundings. "It's getting a bit dusty." It was true. Everything beyond a ten feet radius was getting hazy. Even the sky took on a yellowish tint.
Clackity clack clack. A few more pebbles rolled across the ground and down the chasm. One of them came to a rest next to our horse's front hoof. The wind picked up.
"Oh no." The color drained out of Rachel's face. "It's a dust storm! We need to take shelter!"
"Where?! There's nothing out here except flat land!" Jason yelled as he scrambled to pull out a scarf from his bag and cover his nose and mouth. The rest of us covered our faces and tied makeshift masks over our horses as well.
"There's a small trail down the side of the cliff! I think if we descend, it might be safer!" Katherine called, pointing. Indeed, through the muddled air, there seemed to be a tiny trail that winded down the steep cliff.
"Alright everyone! Get off your horse, stay close, and watch your step!" Indigo took charge, sliding off the horse. "Single-file line!"
"I'll bring up the rear! Go, go!" Katherine shouted as the wind roared and hurtled dust and sand and who-knows-what-else our way. Everyone scrambled to fall into a line, hurrying down the steep and narrow path.
"Careful, Indigo!" I yelled. "Indigo?"
"Here! In front of you!" Indigo's voice floated out a few feet in front. Ack, there was so much dust I could scarcely see two feet in front of me. The wind was really blowing strong now, even as we went down the chasm. I kept my head bent, eyes focused on the narrow path. Loose rock was everywhere, and a pebble or chunk of dirt would fly down every couple of seconds. I had no idea who was in front of Indigo, or who was behind me. All I could make out were blurry shapes in the moving dust.
"Head count!" Someone in the front shouted. It sounded like Rachel. "One!"
"Two"
"Three and four!"
"Five!" Indigo shouted from in front of me.
"Six!" I called out as loud as I could.
"Seven!" Katherine's voice carried through the wind. "We're all here!"
"Great! We're going to keep going a bit further, alright guys? I'm hoping to reach the bottom and find a place to take shelter!" Rachel called out her command. "That alright with you, Indigo?"
"Sure thing, Rachel! You're in the front; you take charge!" Indigo shouted in reply.
We made our way slowly down the cliff side with frequent pauses. I'm guessing that Rachel and Lucian in the front have their reasons for doing so, but I can't make out much in this weather. All my concentration was on not falling off the thin path, because the bottom was a long way down. I still couldn't see the bottom of the chasm, but it seemed very dark and alive with rolling fog.
"Wait!" Katherine cried out. Everyone stopped. "Something's wrong, I can feel it…"
"What is it?" I turned around and squinted, barely making out Katherine's figure. She was standing stock still, her shoulders tense.
"I'm going to check something, everyone wait here…" To my surprise, Katherine scampered back up the trail, disappearing into the dusty air.
"Kath, wait!" I tried to stop her, but she was already gone. I turned back and told Indigo about Katherine's actions, who passed the message on to everyone else. We stood there, silent with anxiety as the wind howled and the dust raged on.