Blinded

4. A Station

A station

Needless to say, we didn't exactly live within walking distance from NYC. Walking there from where we stood would take us at least five hours, and neither of us felt up to that. I had wanted to go there since I was seven or so, but had never got the chance. My parents didn't have the money for trips like that, really. For a while in elementary school I was obsessed with New York in general (Thanks a ton, Percy Jackson series...) and had learned that it was a three-hour train ride from my home to there.

"That's good," Cam was looking over my shoulder. Instinctively, I jerked away and he stepped back.

"I'm sorry," He said. "Did I scare you?"

"Yeah. I just don't like people sneaking up on me. It's okay, though." I went back to my phone, ordering the tickets with some money I had saved up. I had an allowance, but never had much of an idea of what to use it on. I guess I'd be able to re-earn enough for that once all this ended. (According to the website, the earlier the train ride, the cheaper the ticket, so I chose the earliest one I could- 6:05 AM. At the time, it was probably 5-ish, so I assumed we'd have time to get there.)

We had to walk a bit to get to the train station, so we ended up planning out what we were going to do once we got to New York. We had no better plan after our talk than before. We had so little to go on, just a vision of Grand Central to tell us the general whereabouts of our siblings.

As we crossed the road to get to the station, a snowflake hit my nose. I looked up, and some got in my eye. I looked up. The clouds above us practically glowed a light grey but to the west, as far as the eye can see, they were black and stormy. That can't be good, but it's just weather. No relation to us. I pulled my coat tighter around me as we walked.

We walked into the station, where we were greeted by screens on practically every wall, broadcasting the trains' destinations and terminals. My heart buzzed with a combination of all the muddled emotions I'd been feeling, but one stuck out, slicing through the ocean of negativity was something I hadn't expected.

Excitement. I was ready and able to save my sister from whoever- or whatever- had taken her. I smiled a bit and read the information board.

TRAINS FROM PROVIDENCE, RI

DESTINATION

ARRIVAL TIME

TERMINAL

Boston, MA (End Toronto)

5:30A (Delayed to 6:45)

3

Manhattan, NY (End Washington DC)

6:05A (Delayed to 6:15)

7

Harrisburg, PA (End Montreal)

12:20P (On Time)

2

"Well, there we go. Straight to Manhattan." He smiled. "I thought we'd run into something else- like, I don't know, having to go through Canada or something."

"Don't jinx it. Also, was that a joke?"

"Yep."

"Well." I sighed, but paused. One thing from the dreams we had still nagged at me. "I've seen photos of Central Park before, and I'm pretty sure it doesn't have forests like the ones in our dreams. And those trees weren't normal, they had all these different colors on them. Kind of like birch wood- the white one- but red, right? With white leaves."

"Yeah. I know it's there, though. I hope it is."

We walked down to the terminal and as we did, I noticed my vision getting worse. Everyone had a fuzzy glow around them, like they would disappear into mist at any moment. The headache wasn't as bad as it was without the glasses, but I could feel its pain growing. I don't think they have any stronger than this at this point. What would I do then? Just go see an eye doctor or something? If so, what would I even say? 'Oh, Doctor, I'm so magical that my eyes just couldn't handle the enormity of my visions?' Yeah, no.

Cam still stood next to me, looking a bit stressed, but I couldn't blame him. We stood on the platform as the train pulled in, releasing air that almost made me feel like I was being pushed back by a hand. Wow . I hefted my backpack as I stepped on the train.

I took a seat and checked my phone. I had one missed call from my mom, and I didn't know what to do. Do I respond? I asked myself. Or would that make everything worse?

I pressed the call button, which I almost immediately regretted. As the phone rang, I began to freak out a bit until I heard a weak, staticky "Bella?" from the other side of the line.

"Hey, Mom-"

"Where are you? I haven't seen you since the police station. The officers said you left, but didn't know when. Are you okay?"

"I am, Mom. I decided to go hang up missing posters and stuff."

"You are a terrible liar. I know you're going out to find her. Be safe."

I smiled, surprised as I was. "Really?"

"Yeah. I'd do anything for Laurie, you know. You just had the courage to get it done."

"I love you."

"Love you too." I hung up.

Cam smiled. "That sounds promising."

"Indeed it does. Now, a few more minutes and we'll be on our way. This can't go too badly, right?"