Watching as the scenery of the newest state passes by, I wondered if this was my new life. Dealing with monsters and hanging out with other kids who are going through all this stuff to end up dying in the end. What was the purpose of us doing this and going out of our way to save a place that nobody really knew existed. Looking around, watching as Avery was still in his book with Ash sleeping on his shoulder, I turned towards Ben who seemed to be looking down at his hands. Looking at his hands, I saw a flicker of a spark causing me to slap his arm.

"Ow" he hissed as he rubbed his arm. "What do you think your doing?!" I harshly whispered at him as I made sure to keep my voice "you shouldn't be trying to do anything that could draw unnecessary attention!" "But nobody is looking?" He whispered back "Besides, there isn't anything else to do." Shaking my head, I stood up and stretched as I glanced around the car to see that the other passengers weren't concerned about why a group of kids were still in the train. Catching my eye was a folded up newspaper that had a picture of our school in the front page underneath the seat next to me. Quickly leaning over to pick it up, I saw that the paper was a day or two old but it caught my attention and curiosity of what they say happened. Quickly opening the page I began to read what the article said about our school to find out that they believed we trashed the school as a prank.

As I continued reading, It seems that they're trying to get information on our whereabouts which means we can possibly get arrested. Balling up the paper, I threw it at Avery who blocked it with his book. "If you want my attention, then all you have to do is ask." He said casually as he gently pushed Ash off of him before standing to stretch. "What did the newspaper say?" Ben asked. "Well we're all apparently wanted for vandalism" I whispered loud enough for Avery to hear "and we all may get arrested." "Then we have to avoid getting caught by the police or drawing in any attention." Avery suggested as he glanced over at Ben. Before Ben could say anything, a voice alerted the passengers that we were approaching Omaha's station.

Seeing how everyone was starting to pack up, Avery returned to his seat  as the train pulled into the station before coming to a complete stop. As the doors open, everyone in our car exited leaving us behind. Thinking we were going to have the car alone until we made it to the next station, four girls walked in as they carried bags from several shopping centers. As they took their seats on the opposite end of the train, I couldn't help but to remember how it felt to have friends to hang out and shop with. Not wanting to make it seem I was staring at them, I looked ahead to see that Avery glanced or at them occasionally as if he was scared to make eye contact with them which was kind of adorable but was also a bit pathetic. Sure his wardrobe and personality could use some work but he should go man up and talk to one of them.  

Looking over at me, I tried to silently urge him to go talk to them which he quickly declined. Leaning forward I whispered "You should go talk to them, you may actually have a shot at getting one of their numbers." "I'm not interested." Avery replied bluntly which only fueled my conviction that he was. He probably didn't want me to know or was to shy since he knew he wasn't in their league. But nothing would be solved without trying or taking a leap of faith. Sitting back, I asked Ben about Avery's love life to see what I can do to help.

"You shouldn't get involved." Ben replied "Playing Matchmaker was never your thing and I don't know anything about the kind of girls he's into." "Shut up," I scolded him "I'm going to prove to him that I can be nice and I'm not going to play match maker, I'm just trying to scope out the situation." "Why?" "To get him to make the first move....or at least get one of the girls to." "I think you shouldn't do it, you're going to make him angry." "That's if I fail." I countered with a smile. Now all I have to do is come up with a plan or solution before our next stop, but what?

                       ~~~~~~~~~~~

After leaving Charleston's train station, I rode in silence as Ethan snoozed away right next to me. Across from me, Adrien was picking at his nails while Willow was also taking her nap. Seeing how smoothly everything was going so far, it didn't seem as if we were going to come across any trouble which seemed great and hopefully it would continue like this. Even though, I was getting really bored and regretted not bringing something along to keep me entertained if this is how this entire quest was going to be. Hearing my stomach grumble, I stood up and stretched allowing the stress and aches I started to feel by sitting for so many hours flowed out of me as I glanced over at the other passengers that got on from our recent station who all seemed to be whispering to one another. With the elderly people and half a dozen teens along with them, they seemed to be going out for some kind of group trip. With each one doing their own thing, there was an elderly man who I locked eyes with before waving at him with a smile which he returned.

"Where are you going?" Adrien asked casually without looking up at me. "I'm going to see if their is a snack car on this train and to stretch my legs." "Fine, but if you find anything then let us know.". Nodding, I reached for the door handle to bump into what felt like a wall. Confused, I began to reach for the handle again to press against the same invisible wall.

"What the..?" I said confused. "What?" Adrien questioned. "There's something blocking the door." I whispered to him which he gave me a skeptical look in response. "Are you sure your not pulling the door hard enough?" He replied as he reached stood up and walked over. Moving aside, I watched him reach for the door only to stop mere inches from it. Feeling around the space in front of the door, he began to mime out how big the barrier was and how much of the door it took up.

"Having some trouble?" I heard a voice call out from the other side of the train car to see that all nine of the passengers were staring our way with one of the teens failing to hide an obvious smile. Feeling a strong chill creep up my spine, I stood there thinking of what to say. We were outnumbered two to one and we didn't have any real space to defend ourselves, so what could we do. Before I could think of anything to say, Adrien spoke up.

"We are fine, you all can go back to focusing on yourselves." He told them calmly. As if on cue, they all turned back around and began chatting to one another except for the elderly man who didn't take his eyes off of us which still weirded me out. "We have to go!" Adrien whispered urgently before walking over to Ethan to wake and inform him. Seeing it as the best option, I quickly woke up Willow and told her that we have to get off at the next station. Seeing the urgency in my eyes, she nodded and began packing up her things as we readied ourselves for our leave. Making sure that we were packed, I heard something heavy hit the floor. Turning around, I saw as one of the teens has collapsed on the ground with his face facing our way I could see that his eyes had rolled back into his head. Glancing at the rest of the group, I could see that the others seemed to have collapsed in their seats with the old man continuing to stare at us as if nothing has happened. Feeling a strong Chill run down my spine I glance over at Adrien and Ethan to see that their breaths were coming out in plumes of white smoke as they rubbed their arm s in an attempt to warm themselves up. Looking back the elderly man, I saw several cylindrical black columns of smoke begin to take shape in front of each one of the collapsed bodies before taking the form of several shadowy figures whos features were shrouded in cloaks leaving nothing but the glow of their silver eyes exposed. 

"Wraiths." Willow whispered as their forms seemed to stabilize. Running towards the door, she urgently tried to grab for the door handle for her efforts to constantly getting blocked by the barrier. "What are wraiths?" I asked while I quickly pulled out both halves of my bo staff and brandished them as dual daggers in front of me. Standing beside me, Ethan grabbed his Axe Pendant  that was hanging from his necklace and yanked it causing the chain to snap before the weapon grew to its full height. Standing off with us on one side of then train car and the wraiths on the other Ethan charged forward brandishing his axe as he swung it at the wraith hovering over the body of the by laying on the floor. Making sure not to hit the body of the boy laying on the ground, he swung his axe downward striking the wraith causing it to his as if it was badly burned. With Ethan taking aa step back, I could see that their wasn't even a scratch on the creature. Brandishing his axe, Ethan was ready to deliver another blow before the wraith through its hand out causing his axe to fly out of his hand and landing at Adriens feet before the wraiths begin to advance upon him. Letting out a scream of pain, Ethan was swarmed by the wraiths in the matter of moments and as I just watched and stood there. 

"Get away from him!" Adrian shouted causing all the wraiths to back away from Ethan who's skin looked pale and seemed a bit skinnier then usual. "You all should go get some fresh air." Adrien stated as he walked calmly towards Ethan who was having trouble standing up. Within moments, the wraiths all quickly went towards the walls of the train car before phasing through it, leaving the car. Quickly running over to him, I helped him up as the old man stood up and laughed. "You were able to get rid of my coven, how amazing is that! It's been centuries since I last encountered a child of Aphrodite that I grew careless!" he laughed as he sat back down as I quickly tried to make my way beck towards the other side of the train car with Ethen in tow. "What a shame, that not even Beth couldn't have recognize her own half brother." he said as he patted the old woman collapsed body before resting his hand on it. "Just leave us alone." Adrien demanded

"Unfortunately, this body that Iv'e been using is deaf so I have no way to be certain, but what other reason is there?" He said, as if not hearing a word Adrien said only prooving the point that he's death, or at least the body he was using. "We need to get out of hear!" Adrien called back to us as the intercom went off informing us that well be arriving in savannah, Georgia's station in five minutes. "Without the rest of my members hear" the old man started again "I should probably deal with you demigods quickly huh?" as he said this, black smoke started to pour out of his mouth, eyes, and ears as it began taking shape of a muscular man with a black robes who stood tall enough to where he was a mere four feet from having his head touch the ceiling. With his rob pulled back you could see that he had a shaven head that was decorated with grey tattoos that stood out against his pitch black skin. Unlike the other wraiths his eyes were a deep crimson red and that each finger ended in a curved claw with his legs shrouded in smoke. 

Stretching out his hand towards the other collapsed bodies, the black smoke that emanated from him slowly poured out and made its way towards the other bodies before seemingly absorbing them leaving nothing but ash and the body of the old man behind him. Smiling, he through his arms outward as smoke slowly started to creep forward on against the floor and walls of the train car. Picking up his axe, Ethan swung it at the door only for it to cause it to hit the barrier as I tried to look for something to use against him the black wave of smoke began to freeze. Looking amused, the wraith continued his wave of smoke as he mumbled something which caused the ice to melt causing me to panic and hope for a miracle and  as if on cue the train started to slow down as a voice over the intercom welcomed us to Georgia. As the doors to our train car began to open the Wraith started to laugh as if finding this was all a game to him. As people flooded in, we quickly got off the train and ran towards the nearest exit. As we ran towards the front doors, I glanced back to see the same old man leaving the train with a huge smile on his face.

                        ~~~~~~~~~~~~

With my feet on the seat, I rested my book against my legs to use as a shield against Eve's eyes as well as giving me a chance to leave my hands free to either flip the page or practice. With Eve lost in thought, Ash sleeping, and Ben exploring the train I decided it would be a good time to get some practice in. Putting my hands together as if praying, I began to focus on the space between my hands as a sudden warmth spread began to radiate from them causing my to open my palms. Hovering between the two was a ball of fire as yellow as the sun but unfortunately it wasn't nearly as hot. With the heat not causing me to feel as if I was going to have a heatstroke, I started to play with the flames outside of Eve's and the other passengers line of sight. Seeing how Eve handled Ben when he wanted to practice, I don't need her coming over here drawing attention even though she wasn't wrong for what she said to him. Moving the flame back and forth between my two hands, I began to picture it moving as if it was a serpent which caused the flame to lengthen and become more serpent like as it weaved between my fingers. Sitting there as I amused myself, the flames started to change color  as the bright yellow began to take on a more duskier glow as it went from yellow to a dark ember red flame with green and tips at the end. 

'Fire time?' I heard one of my pups ask. 'Practice time.' I corrected as i completely forgotten that there were living beings in my arm 'Trying to get a handle and figure out what I can do so I won't be useless you pyromaniac.' I thought playfully. 'Was there anything new in the book about the us? ' Alpha asked me. 'If you mean binding spell then no, I skimmed and tried commanding the book to show me anything it had on it but no luck. So we're just going to have to learn as we go.' As I thought this, I began to slowly increase and decrease the size of the ball of fire until I detected movement across from me. Glancing up, I saw Eve get up and walk towards the girls at the other end of the train car causung me to shake my head. 'What is she doing' Karma asked. "Something that's going to cause trouble." I said as I watched her make her way towards the group of girls and began talking to them. Closing my book and sticking it back into my bag, I woke up ash. "What is it, are we there yet?" He asked groggily. "No, but you've been asleep this whole time. I thought our protector is supposed to protect us with his eyes open." I teased which caused him to smile before yawning. Hearing the door that connects out train car to the other one open, I looked up to see Ben walk in with a board expression on his face. "Couldn't find any where to practice?" I teased him as I glanced at Ash who had a frightened look on his face. 

"No luck." he answered as he noticed the look on our friend's face "What's wrong?" "There are monsters in here."He whispered causing me to glance back at Eve who was busy chatting away as she pointed my way. "What is she doing?" I asked Ben. "She thinks you have a crush on one of the girls so she's trying to help." Ben informed causing me to stand up and quickly walk over to them. Ever since those girls walked onto the train the air around them seemed to move which didn't make me feel comfortable. As I got closer, the air around them beganto become haizier and thicker until there was a thin layer of mist about time i was halfway through the train car as I willed myself to see past the illusion they were putting up. Before reaching them, I began to see what really hid behind the mist which were a strange combination of human, animal and machine. With pale while skin and flaming hair, they all smiled upon my approach which revealed a pair of fangs that made me think of a vampire. As I glanced down, I could see that one of their legs was made completely out of bronze while the other was of an animal that looked close to being a horse. "See something you like?" I heard one of the girls ask as I looked up at their blood red eyes. 

"Not really." I replied flately causing all three of them to giggle. "It's ok to be shy, we won't bite. My name is Lisa" said the creature in the middle. "And these are my sisters Amy and Jesi." "Why not sit down with us and talk. You look like you can use it by how unsteady you look standing there." Jesi offered me which really sounded like a tempting offer. "I can't" I replied as I started to shake my head 'What are they doing to me?' I thought as my knees started to feel a bit weak. 'Don't listen to them. You know what they look like, you must deal with them now or else!' Alpha screamed. I hate being yelled at, especially by a dog but he was right. I needed to stop listening to them since it seems their power was in their voice. Glancing over, I can see Eve standing right behind me with a huge smile on her face for being proud of doing something that could advertently get us killed. Focusing all the energy I had in my hand, I began to feel a surge of power as I looked back at the three creatures one of them began to take notice of my hand before she tried to discretely change her posture as if she was trying to ready to pounce. Refusing to take the time to look at my hand, I thrusted it forward hoping for a flood of dark flames to come out and shower the three of them.

Instead of flames, a bright violet light blasted out of my hand which temporarily blinded everyone including me as the train came to a sudden screeching halt. Quickly rubbing my e yes to regain my vision, I yanked Eve off the floor and told her we had to go now as the train car opened and the voice over the intercom was telling everyone to stay in their seats due to the train having technical difficulties. Quickly glancing around the train car, everything was covered in a thin violet energy that was partially fading. Looking at Eve's shocked expression, I can tell she could now see them in their true form as the same violet energy surrounded them as well, they seemed to be paralyzed to their seats with their faces stuck in a irritated expression while their eyes were filled with anger. "What in the.."Eve started to say. "We don't have time for this, I'm not sure how long this is going to last." I said as I ran to the others who were packing up their stuff as well "We need to go". Agreeing with me, we all hoped off the train Just outside Denvers train station. Running over and hoping up to the platform we quickly headed off towards the crowded streets where I'm sure they would loose any trace of us.