[ 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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~ ☼ ~
Alec was staring at me.
As I slowly came to, I remembered that I was on the train to Norfolk - a nearly 9 hour trip - having almost just died in Princeton. I wiped the sleep from my eyes, trying to forget about my throwback of a dream, but it was hard when Alec kept looking at me like I had two heads.
"What?" I snapped at him. "Take a picture, it'll last you longer."
"You talk when you sleep," Alec replied with a chuckle. "You kept muttering things about flooding and violins."
I groaned, tilting my head back and staring at the ceiling of the train car. "When did you wake up?" I asked without looking at him.
"Like, 10 minutes ago." I faced him again, and he gestured to Riley, still dozing away next to him. "Riles, on the other hand, has been sleeping since her head hit the headrest. And hasn't said a single word."
"Hmph." I crossed my arms. "Whatever. I'm hungry."
"We just ate!"
"Like 4 hours ago!"
"Okay, touché." Alec dug in his pocket for a second, then passed a 5 dollar bill across the table separating me from him and Riley. "Go get something in the dining car. And can you get me a water while you're there?"
"Sure." I pocketed the money, then made my way through the shaky train to the dining car, 3 cars ahead.
It was noticeably hotter in this car. Three women were sitting, waiting, at the bar, but there was no bartender, nor any cashier. I came up next to them, peering around to try to find an employee.
"There's no one here," one of the women, tall and blonde, said to me. "We rang the bell-" she stopped to gesture to a bell for service - "a few minutes ago, but no one has come."
"Oh." I pursed my lips.
"You'd think they'd have better service," another woman, this one with white hair cropped close to her head, said. "Considering the amount of godly - or partly godly, in your case - people we have on the train!"
My eyes widened. Gods, not another monster! I thought. What is up with my luck with strangers?
"Ha, ha, yeah..." I said awkwardly, backing away slowly before pivoting and speed walking the hell - Hades, sorry - out of there.
As I walked back to my car, I kept my head down, wondering who those women were. They'd said godly. Were they... gods? What gods would just be riding a random train from Princeton to Norfolk?
Or maybe it wasn't random. Maybe they were here for us.
When I got back to our seats, Riley was awake and stretching her arms, nearly punching Alec in the face in the process.
