Ashes, Ashes

chapter 7

-ash-

I went to school a little late from sleeping late and worrying all night. I went to stand underneath the big oak tree Aspen had picked out for a rendezvous spot. I was antsy and nervous, and apparently so was she, because when I got there, her eyes were sad and red as if she was crying before and she was squirmish.

"You ready to go?" I asked. She nodded. Chiron had given me a bag of drachmas to take with me along with rolls of mortal cash. It would most definitely be enough, I had thought when I first saw their money.

I led her over to the car i may or may not have bribed a kid to get and we got in. She rested her head back and closed her eyes. I think some tears formed around the edges. And I was sure she was pretending to be asleep. But I said nothing. And so we drove to the train station in silence.

* * *

When I parked, i gently shook her awake. I smiled.

"You okay?"

She smiled groggily. "Yeah. I had a nice nap."

"Well, now you can have an even better nap on the train. Away we go!" I said cheerfully. She laughed. Her laugh is just as beautiful as- WAIT what am I thinking?!

We got out of the car and paid for the tickets. After about 15 minutes, the train came and we got into an empty compartment, sitting next to each other. Since we were going to be here for more than four hours anyways, I decided to make small talk.

"Hey, how'd you get into the whole mess with the monster yesterday anyway?"

"Uhh... w-well, after all that info about the whole Demigods-Greek-Gods-are-real spiel, I skipped class and snuck outside for some f-fresh air and to think. Then, about, um, ten minutes later, I... sensed something? And so I started to head back inside, and I-I guess it located me and cornered me. A-and I-I... kinda got r-really scared, and then you came running out a few minutes later and... uh... y-yeah," she finished with a tremble in her voice, glancing away as if she was embarrassed.

I remained quiet for a bit, not sure how to respond or comfort her. I broke the silence after a moment, " And... uh...I wanted to ask, how did you kill that monster yesterday?"

Aspen shrugged. "I don't know. I-it came to me like i always knew what to do. I saw you were in danger and bam. Monster dead."

I thought for a minute. "Well, we can look into that later. For now, let's just unwind." I said with a sigh as i leaned back into my seat. Aspen did the same and our shoulders brushed. My heart skipped a beat. Stop it, I scolded myself. You're not supposed to be anything more than friends with the rescue-ee.

* * *

It was the most boring one-and-a-half hours of my life. Aspen came prepared, and read the whole time. I just sat there. Doing nothing. Finally, Aspen paused and looked at me, concerned.

"You've been sitting like that f-for the last hour."

I smiled awkwardly. "Yeah, well, I didn't think about the ride, so this is what I get. You should try getting some more sleep. We need all the rest we can get." Aspen raised an eyebrow, then leant her head back and closed her eyes.

At one point the train hit a stone and jolted. The car of the train made me jump and I looked to Aspen sleeping beside me. She stirred for a second and went back to sleep, her head rolling to the right and ending up on my shoulder. I blushed and looked back down at Aspen.

She looked cute sleeping, her composure peaceful. She snored softly, exhaling in little warm puffs. A lock of hair spread across her face and I gently brushed it away. It turned into a caress, my fingers brushing her cheek, jaw, and drifted slowly towards her mouth. I froze, coming to my senses, and sharply drew my hand back. I looked straight ahead but my gaze kept drifting back to her. I didn't want anything to happen to her. She already had enough pressure from having to leave her life behind so fast.

The train suddenly jolted- again- and I got alert. What was happening? I rolled Aspen's head off my shoulder, careful not to disturb her and crossed over to the other side of the train to look out the window. We were near a forest, a couple miles away from the track.

The train jolted again, this time lasting longer. The train went on for a while, then shuddered to a noisy stop. I caught the sharp scent of a monster. Uh, oh. I urgently shook Aspen awake.

"W-What happened?" She asked, looking at me through bleary eyes.

"Aspen, we need to go," I said desperately.

"What? Why?" she asked, alarmed at my expression.

I looked around distractedly. "Look, just trust me. But we need to go. Now."

Just then, the conductor burst through the door. "I'm so sorry sir, but we have to evacuate everyone due to some difficulties," he said apologetically to me. "We will pay for a taxi or hotel for you if you need it."

"Ok, sure," I said, relief flooding through me. "Come on, let's go," I nodded toward Aspen. She looked confused but shouldered her bag and followed me through the door. We got out of the train and thanked the conductor for the money he gave us for a taxi.