The Journey (Guardians, #1)

Chapter Five - Death Shadows

It was the most daunting prospect Danny had ever had to face. He had just emerged through the mist with Kevin, where they found Damian and Clarissa already waiting. They were standing at the feet of two mountains. The road between them sloped downwards into pitch-black darkness.

“What’s down there?” Danny asked warily.

“The Valley,” Kevin replied.

“Of the Shadow,” Clarissa added.

“Of Death,” Damian completed.

There was a flash of lightning in the clouds ahead, followed by the deep rumble of thunder.

“No way,” Danny said. “And we absolutely have to go through there?”

“I am afraid there is no other way,” Kevin said solemnly. From the look upon his face, Danny could tell that he was indeed telling the truth. He took the first few steps forward, and Danny followed him uncertainly. They hadn’t walked very far when a pair of bright lights were ignited right behind them. Danny wheeled around and found that both Damian and Clarissa now wielded torches.

Damian stepped forward with his torch and said to Kevin, “Those clouds look like they are about to break any moment from now. I would advise we are at the other end of the valley by the time they do.”

“Lead the way,” Kevin said.

And with that, they began the descent into the shadow. Damian led the party, Danny stuck close to Kevin’s side, and Clarissa covered the rear. The road was hardly what one would call easy to navigate, but they managed to walk it without slipping or falling. The further they descended into the shadow, the more difficult it became to see; until all that could be seen was right there in the ring of light produced by the two torches.

The descent didn’t last very long, but by the time they met with level ground, Danny was almost out of breath.

“Can we rest for a bit?” Danny asked between breaths, trying to keep up with Kevin.

“Now is not the time for setting up camp,” Damian said. “Neither is this the place. Besides, your inability to breathe properly has nothing to do with physical exertion. It’s just the way the air is down here. So the less time we spend here the better.”

“Don’t worry,” Clarissa said, “you’ll eventually get used to breathing this air.”

“Let’s just hope he doesn’t get too used to it, if you know what I mean.”

Danny didn’t know what he meant, but he also knew that he was probably better off not knowing, which was why he did not ask for any clarifications.

The party pressed onward in relative silence after that, each member apparently caught up in his or her own thoughts. Danny couldn’t help but try and peer into the darkness all around them. But he found that no matter how hard he tried, all he could make out was varying shades of black. Still, he could have sworn that he sensed movement. He also caught the guardians stealing similar glances from time to time, as though they could sense it too.

True to Clarissa’s words, Daniel found that he no longer had trouble breathing. He was now taking smooth, even breaths. This was more than could be said about the ragged breaths he’d been hearing since they set foot in the valley. He initially thought it was one of the guardians. But upon closer inspection, he found that the guardians were all breathing quite normally.

The breaths sounded so distant and yet so close. It sounded so unreal that Danny doubted it even existed. Maybe it was all in his head. But he knew it wasn’t for it ceased the second Kevin opened his mouth to speak.