Behind the Shadows

There was a cold chill that lingered in the woods. Sapphire was not sure whether it was due to the lack of sunlight or if it was something else. Something she did not wish to think about. Lottie and Will were visibly shivering and Sapphire was sure that she could her Lottie's teeth chattering.
After the Nymph left all three of them had set off further into the woods to collect their missing friend. None of them were prepared for a battle and the worry and uncertainty was clear on her companions faces. Will gnawed on his bottom lip deep in thought and Lottie kept on darting her eyes to Sapphire as though she was looking to her for reassurance. None would come though because even Sapphire was unclear on what they were walking into. In the silence that had formed Sapphire found herself wishing Annabeth was here. She would know what to do and if she didn't she would be able to come up with a plan. A good strong plan that would not fail. The thought of leading her friends into danger made her hate herself.
"I don't know what we are walking into, but know that I have your back." Sapphire states as she steps over a fallen branch. This place was a death trap with the darkness making it hard to see. "I have a sword and I know how to use it"
"You also know how to fight with a shoe" Will grumbles with an amused smile. Lottie giggles and with that the tension lifts slightly. "Why would they take Jake? What do they want with him?"
"To eat him probably" Lottie answers with a worried glance at Sapphire who was currently glaring at the girl. "Thats only if it was the monsters that took him. If not then I am sure he is alive and well" Lottie nervously gulps and turns her eyes to the ground.
"Didn't the nymph say that humans made those monsters?" Will asks. "What if they took Jake for their experiments?" Sapphire stumbles over her footing and looks over at Will with wide eyes. She steadies herself and takes a deep breath.
"Then they will be sorry that they ever laid eyes on him" Sapphire replies with venom in her voice.
"Your sword can't hurt humans though"
"No human can breath in water" Will and Lottie gasp in union and gawk at Sapphire in shock. "Or we could try talking to them I guess" Sapphire clears her throat and walks on past them. She was no better than the monsters that prowled these woods. Jake would be ashamed of her if he knew what she had just said.
The trees were becoming more spread out the further they walked. The birds constant chatter ceased and the cold chill increased. It was like the season had changed to winter. It was cold enough to snow. Even now with the widespread trees providing more sunlight the chill remained. Eyes followed them as they progressed on through the wood, but they did not approach like they had before. They just watched as though they were waiting and assessing. Sapphire twirled her sword nervously in her hand as she caught one of the watching eyes. An audible hiss came from it and then it darted back into the shadows. Will fiddled with his armor and kept on stumbling as he did it. They all wore armor, but it was just the armor from camp so it was only made to withstand training and minor monsters. Lotties was too big for her and made a swishing noise every time she moved her arms or quickened her pace.
Sapphire paused and looked at the ground. She hadn't noticed how worn it was until now. It wasn't uneven and overgrown like it had been before. This path must be used a lot. By what she was unsure. Trickling water could be heard to her left and a crow's caw was screeching in her right ear. The worn path went both way but did not carry on straight ahead. A choice. She needed to decide which way to go. If she went right she was likely to climb a tree and throttle the crow to silence it. Going left made her feel more safe. It meant she had water on her side.
"We should go this way and follow the river" Sapphire mutters and begins walking left.
"What river?" Will questions but Lottie and him follow anyway.
Lottie screams when they break through the trees and come across the river. Will is quick to clamp a hand over her mouth. Nausea burst through Sapphire and she takes a deep breath to settle it. She places her hand under nose so that she does not need to smell the awful stench. Her eyes take in the rotting flesh and blood that flows down the river. It was never ending. So much death flowed through the water and it made Sapphire sick the stomach. How had this happened? Where did it come from? Crows silently sat on rocks as they pecked at the decay. Lotties sobs were the only sounds that could be heard over the fast paced river. Will still had a hand over her mouth but he too could not take his eyes off the horrid sight before them.
"Do you think this could be a part of the experiments?" Will asks. Sapphire turns her head and looks at him. He is deathly pale and looks like he might hurl.
"By the gods. I hope not" Sapphire states with a shaky voice. Her legs wobble as she takes a step forward. Lifting her shaky hand to point her hand in the direction she knew they should go "We should keep going"
Lottie sobs are constant as they walk along the side of the river. They were heading in the direction that the bodies were coming from. None of them spoke and Sapphire knew that if she did she might throw up. The stench only increased the closer they got and the flow of blood stained the water red. Sapphire kept on reminding herself that she was doing this for Jake, but all she could think about was camp and wanting to be there. She knew that what she was seeing would forever haunt her and where they were heading would give her nightmares. If Jake could withstand it then so could she. The water was getting louder and no crows could be seen. On the other side of the river the ground lifted up and formed a rocky hill. It blocked out the sunlight and left Sapphire and her companions to walk in the hills shadow. Goosebumps rose up on Sapphires arms and she could not stop shivering. Looking at her friends she saw that they too were in the same condition. Lottie kept her head down and sniffled quietly. Will kept close to her and his hand was now on his weapon with his eyes scanning the area looking for a threat. Sapphire was doing the same but there was no threat in sight and it worried her.
Water spilled over the hill and splashed against the rocks and met the flow of the river. Sapphire stopped when they reached the waterfall. She stared at it with assessing eyes. Will and Lottie stood beside but did not seem to be putting the facts together. No blood or bodies were in the water that flowed over the ledge at the top of the hill. It was completely clear of it. It all seems to come from behind the veil of water. Sapphire approaches the falling water and stops just shot of the towering hill that towered above her. The hallow echo the greeted her caused her to smirk slightly. She had found the cave. Unfortunately the cave was the cause of all this death. She now completely understood why the nymph wanted this place destroyed and she would happily oblige.

Notes

I have not updated this in ages and I am so sorry for that! Life got in the way but I have no intention of leaving this story behind.
I really do appreciate everyones feedback and I love knowing that people actually do enjoy reading this even though my spelling and grammar is terrible. I am going to be editing the whole story because the characters at the start are rather messy. This will be done by re-uploading them due to not being able to get into them on the website when I click edit. I'm not changing anything in the story so don't worry