~Chapter 8: Homesick~
The moist cold lingered in the feeble air, raising mild goosebumps across my pale skin. It was a chilly night, black and empty. The thin mist that cloaked the black asphalt road ahead added a mysterious feel to the rural environment. Not a single car on the road, not a single soul in sight.
"This is Ashville?" I inquired, stepping off of the stone steps of the entrance-way. Anna had began leading me down the wide cobblestone walkway, revealing a small white garage adjacent to the large modern house.
"Just outside of town," She rejoined. Her footsteps were light and airy, ceasing before the large white door. With a single flick of her nimble finger, the large door rose up, disappearing under the flat square roof.
What dwelled in the small garage wasn't anything too surprising. Numerous chromatic cans of paint littered the space, stacked up high against the dingy walls. In an empty space just big enough resided the small white van.
"This..." I asked, stuttering my eyes from the mild scratches that sheathed the vehicle to the slightly dented grill. "...is your van?"
"Yeah," Anna grinned, shifting a can of paint to the side before she opened the passenger side door for me. "I call it my mortal way of transportation. I got it because of my day job as a painter,"
I nodded, sliding into the black leather seat and shutting the cold metal door behind me. I placed my backpack between my lap and sat in silence. The inside of the van still had that new car smell alongside the aroma of fresh paint. The interior was a bit stained but nothing too noticeable.
Anna jumped in beside me and put in the ignition key, bringing the vehicle to life. "Where to?"
"Riverview," I answered remembering the four hour-long bus trip from the school to the campsite.
"That far?" She sat quietly in her seat for a moment. "That should take us about a half hour,"
"What do you mean a 'half hour'? It took us about four hours to drive here,"
Pulling out of the garage, we began driving on the silent slick road. "It's a method we Spellcasters call passive teleportation. You can get to your destinations a lot faster if you don't think about it too much,"
Without responding, I buckled my seatbelt and gazed through the surrounding emptiness. I was still depressed from the idea of leaving everything behind. I wanted to force myself to believe that I was having a vividly intense heinous nightmare, but I've witnessed too much to believe that lie. I was stuck waist-deep in all of this.
A feeling of discomfort settled in my belly. I crossed my arms over my stomach hoping to ease the sensation. Anna's attention shifted from the road to me. She studied my face, frowning before focusing back on the road.
"I know it sucks," She tried to empathize. "But I'm only trying to help."
I kept my focus out of the window. I hadn't noticed entering the small city around us until the van stopped at a bright red light. Vibrant lights engulfed the entire city. There were marble statues all around the area and white stone sidewalks occupied by a handful of pedestrians. Trees greener than green itself decorated the small grassy patches around the sidewalks. Around the city stood the tallest buildings and skyscrapers with huge glass windows surrounding the horizon in every direction. The cars on the black asphalt streets sounded all around the city filling every street with light traffic and the soft ambient sounds of horns.
When the light finally changed, we continued through the wide chromatic streets. More large buildings lined the area but one in particular caught my attention. The broad structure swallowed most of a city block, extending about five floors upwards. At the very top, in large bold red letters, read "Ashville Hospital".
