Daybreak's Crest: A Zodiac Story

Chapter 13: Among the Mist

The eleven of them pushed past the initial thicket of trees to step upon thick, uncut grass that had very clearly been trampled by someone's feet – or several. Almost immediately, the fog thickened, turning everything else into shadowy shapes amidst the mist.

The only thing that anyone heard was their own breathing.

"What's with this fog?" Pisces said softly, as she followed the shadowy shape of Aquarius in front of her. "It's unnaturally thick and... sudden."

Nobody responded.

Pisces swallowed nervously and continued to walk. The silence roared in her ears and made her desperately wish for her violin to remove the thick haze of silence that had fallen over the forest. But she kept on walking, straining to hear anything – orders from Aries or Scorpio, the screaming from before, or even a shout of a bandit. Yet the thick fog had seemed to settle over her ears.

The fog...

"Something's not right." Pisces said aloud. Her voice sounded very small within the heavy mist. Again, nobody answered her, and silence suffocated her once more.

Pisces looked up to study the shadowy figure of Aquarius's back again, but she was simply gone. Pisces paused in her steps, suddenly finding her breath coming quick. "Aquarius?" She called, raising her voice. "Virgo? Aries? Anyone there?"

Something touched her shoulder. She shrieked and leaped up, feeling her heart pound as she held out her hand and her tome, the incantation for Thunder on her lips.

Libra approached cautiously, holding his hands up as he walked. "P-pisces!" He stammered, stepping into Pisces' line of sight.

"Libra!" Pisces cried, glad to hear something aside from her own voice. "What's going on? There's something about this mist – I know it! And where's Aquarius?"

"I don't know... I was following you and it was just... silent. D-did we lose the others?"

"Hello?" Someone's voice echoed.

"Who's there?" Libra shouted back, stepping forwards cautiously towards the shadowy figure that approached.

"Oh, there you are, Libra. I nearly lost you in the fog." Taurus's voice became clearer as he approached. "Where are the others?"

"I think we got split up..." Pisces murmured. "It's my fault... I'm sorry!"

"No, don't be!" Libra reassured. "There's something wrong about this fog. It feels like it's... like someone threw a blanket over my ears."

"A blanket...?"

"Well, we can only hope the others are with each other." Taurus said firmly. "Our priority is finding a way out of this fog first, then we can try find each other."

"I don't like this..." Libra murmured. "Er, Pisces, would you mind if I, um, put a hand on your shoulder? So we don't get lost?"

"That's... a great idea, actually!" Pisces nodded. "And Taurus, you put your hand on Libra... and we should hopefully stick together like this."

The three of them set off again, walking the direction that Pisces hoped was the right way. The thick bushes brushed at her knees as she walked like the fleeting touches of ghosts; Pisces quickly dismissed the thought. There's no need thinking about things like this now...! Ghosts don't exist, of course...

"P-Pisces, that's you humming – er, singing, right?"

"Huh?" Pisces blinked as she forced herself to regain focus. "Was I...?" Must've been unconsciously doing it...