Responsibilities (a zodiac story)

Chapter 14

Libra's POV

We got a fresh set of clothes the night before and had a pretty good breakfast just like the good old days. For a few seconds I thought everything was back to normal, or at least it felt like it.

We still haven't solved the mystery of who had bombed our kingdom and if our parents were still alive. We were so busy with other matters that we didn't even speak the questions aloud for a long while now..

We ate breakfast and set off to the forest of Graves. Gemini was getting worse. Pisces' healing was losing its essence and he seemed to go all weak again. But not as weak as before. Now, it was more like he didn't have enough sleep for three days straight and was just exhausted with a fever. But he insisted on coming with. "There's no way you guys would manage without me." He said.

The forest of Graves was never shown in any maps and was considered a myth itself but Andromeda seemed to think otherwise. He led us down south. And as soon as we were completely off the map, we had entered the Forest of Graves. The wierd thing is that it looked exactly like the the other misty part of the forest we went through to get to Wurro, but (if it was even possible) the mist seemed to be so thick that I couldn't even see the person I was walking shoulder to shoulder with. Everywhere I looked all I saw was grey mist.

"I- I think we should maybe go back." I head Taurus say over to my left. "Where is back?" Aquarius asked from somewhere infront of me. She sounded not scared but anxious and I fought had the sudden urge to go and try to comfort her somehow.

"Damnit I can't even see the map!" Andromeda shouted in frustration from somewhere behind me.

"Shhh! Shut it. I hear something." Scorpio hissed from somewhere to my right. I stopped walking and so did the person right nexto me. "Listen" she repeated. I looked around trying to figure out what she was talking about when I heard a low hissing sound of a snake. No, many snakes, at least fifty.

"RUN!" Someone shouted behind me who sounded like Cancer. I assumed we all sprinted away in some direction. The person nexto me was still running shoulder to shoulder with me.

"ARE YOU MAD? GET BACK TOGETHER! DONT RUN OR WE'LL LOSE EACH OTHER!" Andromeda shouted from somewhere far. "What about the snakes?" I shouted

"Where's Gemini?" Capricorn's voice came from somewhere to my left. The person nexto me couldn't be Gemini. He would be too tired to run that fast. "Gem?" I shouted I to the mist but only a soft, annoyed moan was said in return.

"Where is he?" The person nexto me aksed. Only then I recognised who I was standing nexto.
Leo.

"Gemini there are snakes!" Cancer called out. I jumped as Gemini yelped  followed by the sound of stepping on dry leafs.

"Alright, everyone calm down!" Andromeda's voice rang throythe mist as if he was very far away. "Find someone and hold their hand. Then we'll do a round up." Capricorn called. I felt someone slip their hand into mine making me blush.

I led Leo around as I used my other hand to feel around me for anyone else. I bumped into a tree or two then felt someone's arm. The girl shrieked in suprise and I thought she was gonna break my arm off if I didn't tell her it was just me. Definitely Aquarius. I took her hand while fighting the urge to suddenly run away in excitement.

This time she led the way though the mist. She came to a stop and muttered to herself "who the hell is this?"

"Don't touch me like that!" Shot Capricorn's voice which was a lot closer now. "Geez sorry." Aquarius muttered as we all got dragged by Capricorn.

"How many more to go?" Leo asked.
"Nine." I replied.

After a while of walking, bumping into things, shouting, hearing snakes hiss and tripping over a couple of times, Andromeda called a round up. "If you're holding hands with one person shout 'one' when I call your name and shout 'two' if you're holding hands with two people. And shout 'Zero' if you aren't holding anyone's hand. This way we know who is at the ends of the chain." He announced.