6 Idiots in a Caravan

## Chapter One

The view was breath taking. From where she stood on the cliffs, Indigo could see miles of ocean as smooth as glass. It reflected the night sky above in such a way that it was impossible to tell where the sea ended and the heavens began. The waist high grass tickled Indigo's forearms, and the fireflies flew around lazily.

"It's... It's beautiful," she breathed, staring at what seemed like endless sky.

"It is quite a view. As far as prisons go, it's certainly not the worst," a voice behind her agreed. Indigo turned fast, the instincts she had developed after years of living on the Border kicking in. But all she saw was the empty field behind her. It seemed darker, somehow. Looking up at the sky, she saw the stars had vanished.

"Who's there?" Indigo called, unsure of what she was dealing with. No creature she knew could take away the stars.

"Aww, don't you remember me, Indisatoria? Your old friend?" The voice said in a thick, sickly sweet voice. "Ironic, considering what makes you such a pain in the neck."

"What are you talking about?" My name is-" Indigo found that she could no longer speak.

"Enough," The voice said. "The name you were given in this life means nothing. You've had many others. Soon Dreamwalker's prison walls will fall, and I shall be free! And when that time arrives, your life will belong to me. None of the others will be able to stop it, this time. No matter how much they sacrifice," It said maliciously. "You WILL fall by my hand."

Indigo found her voice and spoke, the conviction in her words surprising her. "I have no intention of letting whatever you are kill me! My life is my own! If you want to make such claims, tell me who you are!" She had a gut feeling that her next words were a bad idea, but kept talking anyway. "Prove you're really so powerful, because I bet you're weaker than you claim!"

There was a hesitation, as if the voice was also surprised. "Well well, someone has forgotten their place. Challenging me? How foolish. Well, if it's a bet you're after... How about a game of chess?"

\* \* \* \* \* \* \* \* \* \* \* \*

Indigo woke up with a start. Her surroundings were lit dimly by the overcast dawn. Looking around, she recognized her room. She slid out of bed, and got changed, throwing on a hoodie and compressed leggings. Tying up her shoulder length, dark colored hair into a loose pony tail, she examined her face in the mirror. the patch of gauze on her right cheek had a red stain in the center of it. Taking it of, Indigo found that her wound from yesterday's scuffle had scabbed. She sighed, throwing the gauze away, and left her room, taking the sheath that held her dagger on the way out.

Entering the kitchen of her house, she grabbed two slices of bread, a slice of meat, and a slice of cheese, intending to make and eat a sandwich on her way to Sullivan's fort. But as she headed for the front door, something caught her eye. There was a chess board on the table. That in it's self wasn't strange, her family played the game often. No, what had caught her eye wasn't the chess board, but the pieces that rest upon it. Six of them lay on the board, on of each type of piece. None of them seemed to have come from the same chess set, nor any they owned. But strangest of all, they were laying on their sides, as if resting. All except the king piece. Indigo pocketed it, intending to ask someone about it. She then walked through the front door, out into the cold and grey morning.