---Aaron---
A column of fire shot out sideways, catching the Evil before it reached me. I reeled my stallion back, watching as the monster roared in pain and fell onto the floor, writhing in agony. As more Evils attacked, Jason swept his arms out in an arc and consumed the entire clearing in fire.
"The forest! If it burns we burn with it!" Indigo screeched. Jason's mouth formed an O in realization, then smiled sheepishly and doused the flames with a geyser of water.
"Aaron, to your left!" I turned suddenly to my left and saw an Evil spring out of the undergrowth, its furs dripping wet. I swung my sword up in an arc, cutting it open from its stomach up to its jaws. Two others went for the legs of my horse, but Jason encased them in blocks of ice.
"Aaron, your right side! Now left! Watch out in front!" Indigo shouted, giving me the directions in which the Evils were attacking from. "Left again! Careful, there's more coming from the—ahhhh!"
Without us noticing, an Evil had sneaked up behind us and sank its claws into the rear end of our horse. With a painful neigh, our horse reared up and threw us onto the floor before taking off into the forest, the Evil still latched onto its body.
Sensing our vulnerability, the Evils all attacked at once. I scrambled to my feet and swung my sword, cutting off the arms of five Evils in three seconds. The next time several Evils approached, I sent them flying backwards into their own with a mighty gust of wind. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Indigo struggling to get to her feet. That fever must have really weakened her.
Still, I could not spare any time to help her. Twirling around, I defended the two of us from numerous attacks, keeping the endless waves of Evils at bay. However, I could only fight for so long. I am mortal, and they are not. Their wounds heal quickly if not cut with rosewood. Mine don't.
A burst of purple light in the distance distracted me for a second. In that moment, an Evil leapt for Indigo, knocking her to the floor. Her screams pierced the air. Rushing over, I vaulted into the sky and brought my sword down on its back, hard, then retracted my sword and pushed the disintegrating corpse off of Indigo. Underneath, Indigo was pale and hyperventilating, but alive.
"Are you okay? Did it hurt you?" I asked breathlessly. Indigo shook her head, her eyes wide.
"No, but—" Indigo was interrupted by a chilling scream.
"My wand! Help!" It was Ashley.
I pulled Indigo to her feet and began fighting our way through the incoming Evils towards the origin of the sound. Bursts of fire and ice told me that Jason was close, clearing the way as he rushed to Ashley's aid.
Up ahead, I could see Ashley and Katherine standing back to back, both with swords out. A few monsters were groggily getting to their feet, obviously just having been stunned. As the Evils attacked, Katherine tried her best to fight them off, although it was clear that her wound was limiting her ability. Ashley stabbed at every Evil that came while shouting out spells in the hopes that one would work without a wand. It was clear they couldn't hold on much longer.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw an Evil lunge towards Indigo, its claws poised to strike. At the same precise moment, I heard Katherine scream, her voice full of pain. The Evils must have overwhelmed her and Ashley. I wanted to rush to Katherine's aid, but Indigo—!
I made the split second decision to push Indigo aside and take her place, so that the full three hundred pounds of monster weight fell on me. I landed back first onto the dirt floor, with the wind knocked out of me. The Evil was so close—close enough for me to feel its hot monster breath on my face. We grappled on the forest floor as I tried to stab it and it tried to kill me.
"Leave Aaron alone!" The Evil froze mid-attack and disintegrated, leaving behind a nasty pile of black powder on my shirt. Behind where the monster used to be was Indigo, her sword still poised in a stabbing position.
As Indigo helped me to my feet, I looked around the clearing for Ashley and Katherine. I saw Jason running like a madman towards Ashley, shooting fire, water, ice, earth—anything, really—at the Evils in front of him. In the clearing, the Evils had surrounded the two girls and were prowling closer and closer. Ashley swung her sword this way and that, trying to protect herself and Katherine, who was on the floor, unconscious.
What happened to Katherine?
Suddenly, two Evils jumped down from a branch high up in the sky. They descended through the air straight towards Ashley, who was too busy fighting other Evils to notice until the last minute. Ashley tried to drag Katherine away from harm, but other Evils lunged out and diverted Ashley's attention.
The two Evils that descended from the air landed on either side of Katherine, snatched her from Ashley's grip, and disappeared into the forest.
"Katherine! They took Katherine!" Ashley's panicked yell echoed in the forest before turning into one of pain. One of the Evils had sunk its fangs into her leg.
Ashley stabbed the monster through its skull before falling backwards onto the ground. Another Evil prowled forward menacingly as Ashley tried to hold in the pain and scoot away.
Indigo and I were still too far away to help. The Evils kept coming at us, relentlessly, and I constantly had to pause and fight them off. But Jason was nearer. He shot blast after blast of ice and fire at the Evils, taking them out several at a time. One column of fire scorched the advancing Evil and sent it rolling back into the forest. Jason crouched down in front of Ashley, checking the wound and making sure that she was okay.
What happened next seemed to be in slow motion.
Just as I blasted a row of Evils away from our path with a gust of wind, I saw a dark figure, half hidden in the shadows near Jason and Ashley, emerge and let loose something from his hand. I shouted in alarm, but my voice was lost in the din of the chaos.
Ashley's eyes flickered up by chance and turned wide with horror. Jason turned and saw a weapon hurtling towards them, surrounded with black smoke. He shielded Ashley with his body and pushed his hands out to shoot a column of water in the direction of their attacker. The water should have stopped the weapon. It should have protected them.
Then the geyser stopped suddenly. I saw Jason sink to the ground and fall back into Ashley's arms. I saw her shake him and shriek his name, terror lacing her voice. His lips seemed to move, and then they stilled. His body went slack. The hooded figure faded into the shadows.
By the time Indigo and I reached them, it was too late.
Jason was dead.