[ the first book in the drops of sunshine series ]
For some, being a hero means saving a life. For others, it means making your mark on the world. For AJ Hood, it means being sarcastic and fighting monsters while illegally skipping out on your cult...
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~ ☼ ~
It took 5 minutes for us to realize that we weren't in the woods at all.
We'd barely walked anywhere at all before the trees parted to show a road buzzing with cars, and, across from that, a few majestic looking buildings made of stone and brick, rising above more treetops. The architecture was classic, like it'd been built a long time ago. Some college, I presumed.
"Well, look at that. Land ho!" I said jokingly. Riley smiled, surprised but relieved that we had found civilization.
But Alec... all color had drained from his face. He didn't chuckle, didn't smile, didn't even blink. He came to a stop at the edge of the verge, his jaw going slack.
"Alec? Are you all right?" Riley asked, coming up beside him. He looked at her, then at me, and quickly shut his mouth.
"I'm fine." He said, a bit gruffly. "I just... I know where we are."
"Where?"
"Princeton, New Jersey." Alec shook his head, seemingly in disbelief. "My hometown."
———
Turns out Alec knew exactly where we were - in a small park, outside of the Princeton University campus. He said he'd driven by it innumerable times before, when he was younger.
"I thought you'd said you lived in Brooklyn?" I said.
"I do," he replied. "I moved to Brooklyn when I was 8. Before that, I lived here."
Just like when the subject was first brought up at the strawberry patch earlier that day, Alec's voice was flat. He obviously didn't want to talk about it. I shouldn't push, I thought to myself.
I glanced at Riley. She just mouthed, "Don't ask."
"And because of that," Alec continued, his voice's strength slowly coming back to him, "I can safely say that the best way for us to get south is via train."
"Why's that?"
"Because the train station is literally right there."
He pointed, and sure enough, through another layer of trees, I could make out the sight of a station and a train riding the rails directly in front of it.
"Huh." Riley said. "Well, that was easy."
"Too easy," I muttered, narrowing my eyes.
Alec chuckled, but this time there was no happiness in it. "That's true. Quests aren't supposed to be this simple. You don't just reach your destination, fight, then come back. At least, that's what I've heard."
"Yeah, that's right." Riley put her hands on her hips, her blue kimono cardigan sweeping in the wind. A coil of her hair fell in her face, and she fruitlessly tried to blow it away as she said, "And I have this weird feeling in my stomach that something is about to go terribly wrong. And usually, my feelings are right."
