River of styx: Water turned blood (Book 1)

Chapter 9

They were miles away from their town. The cave in which Sara saw a while ago was just some distance away. Lesley became anxious as the boat was moving nearer to the cave. Sara was glad and desperate to know everything about the river. The cave wasn't their final destination but the cave is somehow linked to the river.

"Paddle faster Lesley!" Sara cried
"I'm paddling as fast as I can" Lesley responded

"Chill out Sara, we will still reach there" Bryan said
Sara didn't give any response. She kept on paddling like the world is about to end. It was getting really hard to see where they were headed. The sun had completely disappeared and nightfall was coming. Bryan pulled out a torch from his backpack. His forehead furrowed due to the insects that kept on flying across his face.

He then pointed the torch in the direction of the girls.
"Well, I believe this will be of help to you both"
He said
"Yeah, thanks Bryan" Lesley replied warmly
"You should be the one paddling, not us" Sara said furiously

"Miss, you aren't blind!. Our hands are obviously sour" John interrupts

"Don't be a baby, you are a guy. You should know how to endure the pain. Arghhh!" Sara rolled her eyes.

The river was scary when it was completely dark. Bryan tilted the torch in search of anything that could hurt them. He could sense that there was another presence around the boat.

Bryan couldn't say but could feel something odd. He heard a slight gurgling sound from near his side of the boat and immediately pointed the torch in that direction.

"Hey! Turn that torch back here" Sara yelled

"Didn't you guys hear that" he said

"Hear what?" John wanted to know. They all faced Bryan waiting for his response

"Well, what did you hear" Lesley asked calmly

Bryan thought if no one else heard the sound except him, maybe his mind was playing tricks on him

"Hmm, it's nothing"
Sara sighed
"Stay focused guys we are almost there"

The cave was dark and daunting from afar. As they were sailing nearer, Sara's eyes brightened so as she could see how the cave was.
"This cave is freaking me out guys" she whimpered

The opening of the cave was a narrow hole between two rocks. It was high and its shape was creepy. The boat sailed between the narrow hole and they all couldn't help but gaze at the mighty height of the cave. Beneath this mighty rocks, it was coated with greenish algae.

They both dropped the paddle and allowed the boat to sail into the dark cave itself. All of them held a torch which was pointed to the narrow entrance of the cave. They were astonished by the shape of the cave but can only wonder what lies inside.

They remained silent as the boat sailed into the cave.
"OMG" Lesley whispered
She looked around tilting her touch to get a clearer view. "Where are we" her eyes brightens
The boat sailed in slowly because no one thought of paddling. They all had mixed emotions on what their eyes were seeing. Drops of water from the top of the cave dribbled on Bryan's silky hair.
"What the...." he paused and placed his hands on his hair. He pointed his torch up to see where the drops of water was coming from. As he raised his head, Bryan saw the top of the stalactites and the drops of water coming from it.
"Arghhh!" He yelled

"What is it?" Sara asked silently

"I got stalactites water all over my face" Bryan replied

"Stop whining and shut the fuck up" Sara said

After sometime, they found a dry place and it was close to midnight. They decided to rest and continue when they have a clear vision of where they were heading. The boat wiggles as they got off it.
"We are in the middle of no where" Lesley sighed

"Keep your voice down" Sara whispered

"What! I wasn't even yelling"Lesley was confused
Sara was too cautious of everything they did and she was get overbearing
"You just yelled now" she said

"Forget it, you have a problem" Lesley rolled her large doe eyes while shifting the strands of her wavy Brunette hair that were sitting on her forehead. She laid her sleeping bag and laid back slowly. Lesley couldn't take Sara's attitude anymore and just had to rest her head before Sara does something annoying.

"It's dark in here, we need to make a fire" John suggested

"Where are we going to find woods in a cave or maybe we should use you to make a fire"
Sara whispered sarcastically

"We will just switch on all the torch" she said

They all laid their sleeping bags and slept off. Bryan was too scared to sleep and his eyes were widely opened.
"Anything could be coming for us!" He kept on saying to himself

At some point, he sat upright and plugged in his ear pods to distract himself. This made him relieve a bit. He forgot what he was thinking.
Suddenly,he felt a sudden wind passed him. He unplugged one of his ear pods and turned his head back but didn't see anyone.
"Maybe it was the wind.. he said to himself"

He plugged back his ear pod and few moments later, he felt that someone tapped him
"John! What do you want" when he turned his head, John was asleep

Bryan was getting really scared.. his heart began to pound faster. He stood up holding a pocket knife and his torch firmly

"Is there any one there!" He yelled

No one responded to Bryan

"I said... is there anyone there!" He repeated

He then heard a squeaky sound. He turned the torch around he didn't see anything. He was too scared to think of waking the others.

His breathing rate increased. Sweat trickled down his cheeks. An image appeared abruptly but this image passed by so fast. Bryan now was sure something was lurking in between those rocks.

He walked slowly to check behind a rock. As he leaned forward to see, nothing was there.
Bryan took few steps forward and he saw the back view of a man wearing a black robe. His mind told him to go back to sleep but his legs kept moving forward

"Hello! What do you want" he said as he stretched out his hands. Before he laid his hands on the man, he turned to Bryan and he withdrew his hands. Bryan was aghast as he saw the man's face. He was a very old man with winter-white hair. His crooked fingers was wrapped around a long staff. His robe was hairy and dusty. It was obvious he had been in the cave for a very long time but he didn't seem like a normal person.

"What are you and your friends doing in this strange cave. This isn't a place you are meant to be during this late hour" his voice sounded hoarse and weak

"Hmm...we.. our town is suffering from a death plague and we are here to put an end to it" Bryan said with intermittent stutter

The old man scoffed
"Young man, it'd been better if you go back to your town. What you are dealing with is the demons of the river."

"But if we don't do something fast, everyone in our town will be wiped out in no time" Bryan stood on his words

"Go home, young man. Go home!" He insisted

"But...". The old man interrupted before Bryan could complete his words

"If you stay and push further, the end of your town will come sooner. Tell your friends and leave as soon as possible.

Bryan took a quick glance at where they were all sleeping. When he turned back to look at the old man, he had disappeared.

Bryan was about the ask where the man was form and his name but he was no where to be found.