by Laura Mae
“Gia,” Sydona called and shook her shoulder. Giovonna suddenly moved and opened her eyes. The noise woke up Willow as well.
“Is everyone alright?” Sydona asked while helping Giovonna out of her seat.
They nodded, but each movement they made caused them to moan and grumble in pain. Giovonna struggled with unbuckling herself, but Sydona helped her with it. They told Willow to stay put, fearing she would fall and crush Giovonna. Giovonna cried out in pain as she put her scraped up arms around Sydona who pulled her out. Tears streamed down her smooth caramel skin, and her eyes were bloodshot with pain. Sydona led Giovonna to a patch of soft wet grass where she tended to the bloody wound on her leg. Her jeans showed damp, red patches near her calf. Sydona barked at Raoul to help Giovonna while she went to help Willow.
This was going to be a challenge. She guessed Willow weighed close to two-hundred and fifty pounds and was dreading lifting her out. The seatbelt that held her in place made getting her out extremely difficult. With the door opened, Willow gripped the side of the car and tried to pull herself out as Sydona tugged on her clothes. She could tell Willow was in serious pain because her arms shook as she tried to lift herself up.
“Raoul!” Sydona yelled back at him. He was tending to Giovonna still. She motioned her head towards them, hinting that they needed his help.
“Can you dust her?”
Raoul looked wide-eyed at Sydona as he glanced back and forth between her and Willow.
“...I’ll try.”
Raoul then sprinkled his red and orange fairy dust on Willow. Afraid of getting the dust in her eyes, she squeezed them shut, but the magic dust disappeared as soon as it touched her skin. After Raoul was satisfied that he gave her enough, he gave his approval to Sydona to try lifting again. Raoul flew over and unbuckled her as Sydona held onto Willow. With another tug and grunt, Willow’s weight felt more like a small child’s, and Sydona pulled her out with ease.
Finally, Willow was out.
“I feel like air!” Willow exclaimed.
Sydona smiled at her reaction to the dust and helped her down off the SUV. She still landed with a thud, but Willow couldn’t tell the difference.
“How long this stuff last for?” Willow asked Raoul with amazement.
“Never as long as you want it to,” Raoul laughed.
“That’s a shame. Could I fly right now?” Willow looked up at the sky.
“No, and please don’t try,” Raoul warned. Sydona knew it wasn’t the first time he dusted someone who wanted to fly. Last time, it ended very badly.
Sydona grinned and headed over to Giovonna who was fixing herself up.
“How are you feeling?” She sat next to her in the muddy grass.
“Not as good as Willow,” Giovonna said.
“Yeah, it’ll wear off soon, and she’ll be feeling her injuries more,” Sydona said and laughed as she watched Willow try to jump. She knew she would regret it soon. When she looked back, she found Giovonna staring at the ground and crying.
“It’s all my fault…” she whimpered.
Sydona’s stomach twisted; she felt uncomfortable around weepy people. Between the deer and the slick road, the accident probably would have happened even if Giovonna hadn’t distracted Willow.
“It’s no one’s fault. These things just happen,” Sydona said.
“But if I would have just turned it down, Willow wouldn’t have been fighting with me, and she would have seen it.”
“Everything happens for a reason,” Sydona said. Even though it sounded cliché, that’s how she felt about many things in her life. Sometimes there was no way to control anything that happened. As an adult, she knew this, but understood at Giovonna’s young age, it was hard to accept.
Giovonna scoffed and wiped her cheeks. “Yeah. Whatever,” she mumbled as she slowly stood back up and limped over to the vehicle. She followed her back to the car at a safe distance. Her words didn’t comfort Giovonna like she hoped they would, and it somehow made her feel sad.
Willow was patching herself up and had a big white cotton square on her forehead covered by tape. Raoul was busy organizing everything and getting the medical supplies back in the first aid kit. Willow searched around in her oversized pack for a pill bottle, and once she found it, she took one pill for herself and handed one to Giovonna.
For the next hour or so, the group gathered up their items and decided what they could bring and what needed to leave behind. The SUV was too badly damaged to try to fix. Willow was very upset that her car was totaled, but she was less angry than Sydona anticipated.
“So where do we go from here?” Raoul made himself comfy on Sydona’s shoulder as she sat on a log.
“Well, we can’t drive there anymore!” Willow yelled and kicked a tire.
“I think I remember seeing a sign for a train station just a few miles from here,” Giovonna said as she adjusted her yellow headband.
Sydona laughed softly and then louder the more she thought about her suggestion. “I needed that, thank you.” She sighed and began hiking up the hill to the road. Raoul flew off her shoulder and stayed back with the others.
“Why is that funny?” Giovonna asked after her.
“Because it’s a joke. Jokes are supposed to be funny, right?” Sydona said as she kept walking.
“Honey, do you know where we are?” Willow yelled angrily enough to slow Sydona’s walk and make her turn her head. “We ain’t even to Wyoming yet. And you wanna walk the rest of the way? Huh-uh. No way in hell.”
Sleeping the whole ride pulled the wool over her eyes. They were much farther away than she thought, and she clenched her fists. Standing on the edge of the road next to the bent railing, she looked down at Willow and Giovonna who had their arms crossed. Even Raoul was on their side, and she felt like the outsider. She didn’t think she was being that unreasonable by not wanting to board a train with dozens of passengers and no way to escape. It was suicide.
The vote was three against one, and she wondered why she was always on the losing side. So much of her wanted to leave on her own because she felt like she was the only one being smart and rational. It was as if they couldn’t grasp the seriousness of the situation, and she was trying her best to avoid people on the way there. But in a world where humans populated ninety-nine percent of the planet, she was bound to run into them at some point.
After fighting with herself, she couldn’t bring herself to leave Raoul and Giovonna. Willow she couldn’t care less about, and she knew she could handle herself.
“Let’s get going then,” she finally said and walked back down the hill. The group stayed back in the forest but still close enough to the road to look out for signs.
The woods were still soggy, and they had to maneuver around puddles rippling from the raindrops in the trees. Willow hung back while Giovonna and Sydona walked side by side. Raoul hitched a ride on Giovonna’s fluffy, curly black hair. Even as the sun was going down, the humidity hung in the air, making it miserable and hot. Mosquitoes took advantage of the humidity as well and latched onto Sydona’s arms and caused her skin to become itchy.
The sun was getting ready for bed, and Sydona was getting tired as well. She was now much farther in front of them. Giovonna and Willow held onto each other and limped along. As much as she wanted to walk faster, she felt that telling them to hurry before the sun went down would be too harsh. She already felt like the bad guy and the only one who didn’t trust people. Maybe she should try to lighten up. Just as she was internally mustering up some kind of small talk, Raoul called back to them about seeing the edge of a town.
“Thank god!” Giovonna gasped.
“What’s the name of this place, Raoul?” Willow spoke up, clearly out of breath and ready to pass out.
“Norrisville!” Raoul exclaimed, happy to be done, too. Although, he spent most of the time sitting or lying on Giovonna’s head.
“Come on, you know the drill,” Sydona said to Raoul as they were in sight of buildings and h
ouses. Raoul reluctantly dove into her bag.
“Let’s get some damn tickets, shall we?” Willow said as she limped up to the front of the girls and took the lead. Sydona took over as Giovonna’s crutch as they crossed the rusty railroad tracks to the lonely train station. The town appeared smaller than Mayfield with very few buildings around, and the ones that were still standing seemed run down and abandoned. A porch with a few stairs introduced the train station. Skinny metal columns held up the roof, and the railing was rusting in several places. Trash was tucked away in the corners. It obvious that the station wasn’t used very much or well taken care of. A tattered wooden bench stood next to the entrance with a dated newspaper box next to it.
Following Willow to the entrance of the station, she led Giovonna over to the bench to rest. Willow went inside to purchase tickets as the rest of them waited outside. Sydona peeked inside the newspaper box, and even though the box looked old, the paper was to date. The headline read: 10 ‘Fliers’ Found in Cellar of Private Home in Seattle, WA.
She closed her eyes with disbelief and hung her head low. Rubbing her eyebrows softly, she leaned against the railing of the porch and gave a slight laugh.
Giovonna, who sat across from her on the bench with her leg propped up, mimicked Sydona’s laugh. “What?”
“Am I crazy?” she asked softly.
Raoul took this opportunity to exit the tote bag and join the conversation. He quickly caught on that she was referring the headline on the newspaper hiding behind the dirty glass.
“I dunno. But if you’re crazy, I guess I am, too,” Giovonna said.
Trying to keep her mind light, Sydona grinned and decided to change the subject. She noticed Giovonna wincing as she tended to her leg.
“How’s it doing?”
“Hurts. Still.” Giovonna visibly clenched her jaw in pain.
Sydona nodded and tried to think of a story to get Giovonna’s mind off the pain while they waited for Willow.
“When I was seven, we had this awesome tire swing set up in the backyard. My dad had just rigged it up for me, and it was so much fun. Well, I, being an impatient seven year old, wanted to try flying before I was supposed to. The swing went really high, and I thought it was the perfect platform to try it out. I waited until mom and dad weren’t around because I knew as soon as they saw me on the top of the swing, they would try to stop me. So I went for it. And of course, I didn’t fly. But I did break my arm in three places when I came crashing down. My dad was maaad. Needless to say, they took the swing down after that.” Sydona laughed.
“You were such a little rebel!” Giovonna giggled. “I can’t believe you actually thought that would work.”
“I know!” Sydona said. “It hurt sooo bad. Never been in that much pain before.”
“Where was Raoul when this all happened?” Giovonna turned to him.
“I wasn’t born yet. Otherwise, I would have kicked her butt!” Raoul belted.
“I think my broken arm was punishment enough,” Sydona said while rubbing her arm and reliving the incident.
The mood felt lighter and made Sydona relax a little more. The train was becoming more desirable and practical the more time went on. She was starting to open up more to Giovonna, and it felt like a big step for her. Never in her adult life would she think about being friends with a teenager. But times were changing, and she needed to try to change with it.
“Alright y’all, the train should be here in ‘bout five minutes,” Willow announced as she stepped back outside on the porch. Raoul hid himself back in the bag without being told, and the girls went inside. The train station was small and fairly quiet. Small rows of benches for waiting passengers lined the center of the lobby. One of the two ticket windows had a closed sign, and the other held a bored-looking older woman leaning back in her chair and lazily admiring her manicured nails.
Sydona wrinkled her nose at the old, mildew smell of the station. The old building clearly had history, but it didn’t seem to be kept very well. Dust lined the open-brick walls, and cobwebs hung from the ceiling like Halloween decorations. The train schedule was not electronic but written in yellow on an overused green chalkboard. An old TV hung from the ceiling facing towards the benches. They were broadcasting an episode of Leave it to Beaver, but the volume was muted. A single vending machine rested against the opposite wall.
“Ooh Oreos!” Giovonna limped over to the flickering snack machine while pulling out a dollar from her blue velcro wallet.
“Where is this going?” Sydona asked as she looked around the station with her arms crossed.
Willow looked at the tickets again and handed one to her and Giovonna. “Temple. Closest place I could find to, ya know ,” she whispered the last part because of the ticket master staring curiously over at them.
“Okay, so how close is it?” Sydona asked.
“Uh, not very. But it will get us farther west. Just more north than I would like,” Willow rubbed the back of her neck and groaned. “I don’t care as long as we can take a break from carrying all this crap for a while.”
Sydona sighed. “Well, I guess it’s better than nothing.”
At 7:35 sharp, the train screeched to a halt in front of the station and the doors slid open as the breaks sighed and expelled steam from underneath. For a century old train station, the train itself looked fairly new, which helped Sydona feel more at ease. Willow was in the lead again while Sydona helped Giovonna into the train. Even though she knew Giovonna could walk, she felt guilty for pressing ahead in the woods and wanted to make it up to her. The entrance to the train was narrow, and Giovonna insisted that Sydona go in front of her. Dreading the fact that she would be in the middle, trapped almost, made her nervous again. She then felt a knot in her throat and rested her hand on her knife for security. Giovonna nudged her forward as gently as she could, but it made her trip over herself, and she suddenly noticed the train was almost completely packed full of people. Sydona scanned every single passenger and felt all of their eyes glued to her. They all moved their heads in unison to follow her as she walked past them down the hall. This was it. She was done. They knew. They all knew. It was a trap! Why did she fall for this?! She squeezed her eyes shut as negative thoughts ran through her mind.
Sydona then hesitantly opened her eyes to see the passengers looking forward or down at their laps. None of them seemed to care about her in the least. She then caught a glimpse of a man wearing a jacket with the Sparrow wing embroidered on his arm. The sight of this alone helped her relax, and her heart began to beat normally.
Finally arriving at their seats, she sat next to the window while Giovonna sat opposite her across a mahogany colored table. Willow flopped down next to Sydona, barely fitting in her own seat. The girls piled all of their belongings on the table, including the tote Raoul was in. She built a barrier to block any kind of passersby from seeing a fairy sleeping on a sweatshirt. Raoul fluffed up a part of the blue sweater, lay down facing the window, and fell asleep before the train even started moving. Sydona nervously tapped her fingers on the armrest and tried to only look out of her window. The train whistle blew again, and they all shook in place as they took off to their next destination.
Chapter Nine
It was pitch black outside, and Sydona was only able to see her reflection in the mirror from the lights on the train. She had never been to this part of the country before and hoped she could catch a glimpse of the new landscape. Glancing through darker areas and trying to see out, she kept looking back at herself and eventually at her eyes. With everything going on, she had almost forgotten they were a different color. She looked away, still unsure about seeing herself that way. Although, it did seem to be working. No one on the train seemed to look twice at her, and no one seemed hostile. She felt a little embarrassed that she had not thought of this before or even knew colored contacts existed.
Across from her, Giovonna peacefully read a book with a robotic looking face on the cover. It looked intriguing, and she was u
nsure if it was a fiction book. Willow was passed out next to her and sitting in a position that pressed Sydona against the window. With every big bump they came across, Willow’s snoring echoed through the cabin. Sydona did her best to push Willow off of her, but she kept sliding back towards her. And of course Raoul was sound asleep, wrapped inside a sweater and out of sight.
It was so quiet. Despite Willow’s snoring, the clacking from the rails below was soothing in her eardrums. There was little conversation amongst passengers as most were either sleeping or reading. After a while she heard a man talking on a television in the distance. It seemed to be a news story of some kind.
“Yeah, did you hear about that?” Giovonna was suddenly looking back and forth between her and the television.
“What?” Sydona asked as she tried paying closer attention to the story.
“That news story about a father drowning his ten year old son in a kiddie pool. I mean, what kind of psycho would do that? And only ten years old! Just insane… this world. Make it sound so easy to take a life…” Giovonna shuttered.
“Oh my god. When did that happen?” Sydona asked, wide eyed as she looked at the program again and saw shots of pictures from the crime scene. One was of a blue little pool in the backyard of a run down house and then another of yellow tape crossing the area off.
“Sometime last week. It was down in Florida.” Giovonna shook her head.
“Yeah… I can’t imagine anyone doing that to a child,” Sydona mumbled as she suddenly remembered a dark memory as a child. Her stomach twisted at the thought of this being brought up again and how much she wished it didn’t happen. She couldn’t help but to relive the painful day that happened only weeks after her parents had been taken away.
