The Shadows

7

Rose opened her eyes in a wide rocky plain at the base of a beautiful chain of mountains. All seemed peaceful and quiet, but that's when she saw the bodies.

Dead bodies littered the ground, bloody and broken. And they weren't just random people, they were her friends. She gasped in horror as she ran to Jack's body. Multiple arrows stuck out of his once beautiful wings, and a trickle of blood ran out of his mouth. His cold, lifeless eyes stared straight up, unseeing. As she gazed around she saw Sam and Scar, side by side in a pool of blood. Quick's body wasn't marred like the rest, but Rose could see that his neck was at an awkward angle, not like that of a living person. 'What kind of monster would do this?!' Rose cried looking up at the sky.

A cruel laugh sounded behind her, and she turned quickly. There stood Percy and the Flames.

'Look what we have here!' He laughed, a horrific sneer on his face. 'Looks like we missed one.' He plunged his unsheathed sword into her chest, and everything went black.
*******
Rose woke with a start. She still lay in the patch of grass she had fallen asleep in the night before. Carefully standing so that she wouldn't disturb Jack, who had fallen asleep next to her and was still snoring softly(Rose found this adorable), she walked over to the Draco she had chosen to ride. His scales were a burnt orange color, and his tail was slightly shorter than the others. He looked up at her as she approached and blew warm air into her face.

"Hey, Flare." Rose had named him after his beautiful orange scales. Jack had taught her how to mount and dismount quickly. Flying a Draco was pretty easy, just a bit scary at first. She vaguely remembered riding a horse, and it proved to be useful in learning how to ride the Draco without a saddle or bridle. Rose patted Flare on the neck and left him to graze.

"Rough dream, huh?" Scar asked from her watch post on a tall boulder. Rose noticed that Scar hadn't even looked at her, yet she knew that Rose was there. Rose wondered how she could do that, but thought it wise not to ask. "Come sit with me." Scar patted a spot next to her on the rock where she sat, and Rose scrambled up to sit beside her. Scar was staring into the distance, not really focusing on anything in particular.

"How'd you know?" Rose asked, looking at Scar. Scar looked at her, her intense gaze staring straight into Rose's eyes.

"I saw you fidgeting in your sleep. Quick does that sometimes when he has bad dreams." Scar explained. "You also woke up at this ungodly hour, so I knew something was up." Rose hadn't noticed that it was still night because of her night vision, but it dawned on her that she could still see the moon high in the sky. Rose looked around at the scene around them. From the rock, Rose could see a wide range of the southwest side of the arena. The mountains lay right beside them, sloping into the wide Meadows, which tapered into the distance where a large body of water lay on the horizon. To their left, the forest ran along the Meadows until it stopped abruptly at the body of water.

"Rose, could you do a favor for me?" Scar asked suddenly, shattering the silence. "Will you go and hunt for some breakfast? I saw some rabbits running around in the outskirts of the forests, and you might find a turkey or two." She looked at Rose questioningly, but Rose just became confused. She had never really been good at hunting, but Scar was entrusting her with finding food for everyone?

"Are you sure? I'm not very good at hunting." Rose whispered, trying to hint that she didn't want to go. "I'm not a good shot."

"Then do it to sharpen your skills." Scar insisted, giving Rose a bow and quiver of arrows. "I trust you, Rose. You're one of the most powerful links in this group, you just don't know it." Scar winked and turned back to continue her watch.

Rose scrambled off of the rock and headed into the forest, a new found strength in her bones. 'Scar actually thinks I'm useful!'
*******
Rose returned later to find that Scar had lot a fire and that everyone had gotten up to sit around it. Rose hauled two large rabbits and a turkey to the fire, where Sam and Jack started to prepare it for cooking.

"We have to follow where the arrow points." Jerome was explaining to Scar and Quick who sat close to him examining a small object. It was circular, and a small arrow stuck out of the center, pointing towards the water. It looked like a compass, but there were no directions, just the arrow. "The whole thing will glow once we get close. I've already gotten three pieces, so we only need to find two more."

"So ze next piece is somvwere in zat direction?" Quick asked, nodding towards the body of water that lay miles in the distance. Jerome nodded and Scar smiled.

"We might actually get out of this place." She sighed, staring off into the distance. Sam walked up and declared that the food was ready, so they all grabbed some meat and started eating.

"Great hunting, Rose!" Scar exclaimed when she saw how much Rose had caught. Rose smiled and took some turkey, savor in the rich meat. Jack had just started to congratulate Rose, when Jerome stood abruptly.

"Shh!" He exclaimed, focusing. "I hear something." They all stood in silence as a girl appeared at the top of the valley they had set up camp in. She had long brown hair, and pretty blue-green eyes. Rose immediately noticed her as Thalia, one of the girls from the Flames. She was hurrying towards the group at a fast pace, glancing over her shoulder periodically. She soon reached the valley, but was met by Sam, who had unsheathed his sword and limped towards her.

"What do you want?" Sam asked in his calm, smooth voice. He seemed the least bit worried of Thalia.

"I want to join you." Thalia stated. Scar looked taken aback, the look of hostility replaced with a look of pure confusion.

"H-how do I know that no one is following you?" Scar asked, glancing nervously at the ridge behind Thalia. Thalia just rolled her eyes and sighed.

"Trust me, Scar!" Thalia exclaimed. "Have Quick go check it out if you're so afraid." And with that, Quick took off up the slope, returning back seconds later.

"No sign of anvwone else, Scar." He reported. Scar nodded her head and turned back to Thalia.

"Fine, I accept your request to join." Scar sighed. "But if you try anything, you won't live to see the next morning." With that, she stalked away to the fire, Sam and Jerome on her tail. Rose stayed to talk to Thalia. She seemed nice enough, despite having been an enemy of hers minutes earlier.

"Why did you come here?" Rose asked her, walking with her towards the fire. "You could've been killed!"

"I couldn't stand it at the Flames' camp!" Thalia seethed. "They all praise Annabeth and do anything she says. I'm not like that. Anyways, she stole the leadership from me, so why not leave and come to her mortal enemy's camp?" She gave Rose a wide smile and Rose decided right then and there that she liked Thalia. "So what're you guys up to? Leaving the Clearing and all?"

"Vwell, um, vwe sink zat vwe found a vway out of here." Quick explained. Thalia's eyes grew wide in surprise.

"Really?!" She asked. "Like a way out of this foul arena?" Quick nodded, and Thalia squealed in delight.
"Count me in!"
•••••••
Hey guys!! I'm sorry if this chapter is a bit boring, but I really needed to add this into the story. Well, thanks for reading, and I hope you have a great day!
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-Foxstorm