The New Faces (A Percy Jackson Story)

The Voice is Back

The New Faces

Chapter Twenty-three

Abby's POV, west of Atlanta Georgia:

We have been trudging along for a few days now, and yeah I know what you are thinking, "How could you have gotten to Atlanta from Long Island so quick?" Well, if you wait a second I'll explain. Jasmine had told us when we got into the city that she knew the train routes and that there was a non-stop train that went from New York all the way to Atlanta. Well, it did go to Atlanta but I wouldn't say it was non-stop.

The first one got all the way to Maryland then we had to catch another one that went to Virginia, after that was the one to south-east Tennessee. That one got us to Atlanta on the old train tracks, but just like it was in the old days all train tracks lead to Atlanta! Thankfully we only got found by the engineer in Tennessee, but he took pity on us because I said, using a spell at the same time, "No we are ridding with our parents permission. Don't worry we won't take up any space at all, now why don't you go drive the train?" After that he left us alone and I got major points with Zack and Jasmine for my skills.

But back to what's going on now. We are in the little town west of Atlanta that I used to call home.

"So what do you think this place is called?" Zack asks, knowing that I am from Georgia so I have to know what every town is called.

"It's my hometown. Down this highway is my middle school, and down there is where I went to Elementary," I say pointing down old highway 61 which has only a hand full of buildings along it; a BP gas station, a Baptist Church, my elementary school, a police station, and the original elementary school from the late 1800's. Zack nods and says, "Know anywhere we can sleep?" I shrug then remember one of my friends telling me about the Elementary school being under construction during Christmas, last time I visited.

"Come on, I think I know somewhere." We walk down old highway 61, turn left down a dirt path beside the police station, and then walk to the back of the one story brick building. However now behind it where the little kids used to play during recess is now a two-story building still partly under construction. I walk past a small stump where there used to be an awesome climbing tree, then a small dirt hill where my friends and me used to play hide and seek, and right where the base of the building is there was the spot that I remembered my best friend buried a time capsule. I smile at the thought and make a note to get it before we leave.

We climb the pre-built stairs up to the second story. Zack start to make a small camp but I just look around till I feel like I am about to cry. I had hated the school, I had hated most of the kids in it, I had hated many of the teachers in it, but this is where my only semi-normal memories were. This is where I learned how to make friends, where I had races, where I scrapped my knees thousands of times, where I made jokes with my friends, where all of my good memories of this town are. Middle school was Hades, I hated it, none of my friends were the same and they had all become horrible people in the course of a summer. This place was the golden age of my childhood and it was being destroyed.

"Abby?" Jasmine asks me.

I jump thirty feet in the air and yell, "Holy Hephaestus! Don't sneak up on me like that!"

She chuckles and Zack calls from across the room,

"She didn't, we have been saying, 'Abby, Abby, Abby, Abigail!' But you didn't respond so she decided to sneak up on you."

I smile and Zack comes closer, "Are you, crying?" I rub my cheeks to remove the un-noticed tears away.

"Why are you crying?" Jasmine asks me.