Spellbound: Spawn of the Gods

Chapter Four: So, Now We're Part of the Hunger Games?

Zoe and Faith stood there in the dark holding hands. Almost immediately, another door slid open, but this time into a well-lit compartment lined with plush blue leather seats filled with people! None of them looked very old, in fact Faith guessed that the youngest was somewhere nine or ten, and the oldest couldn't have been any older than nineteen. All of them were fairly quiet. There were a few whispered conversations here and there, but most just stared out the window, or had leaned their head back on the seat and closed their eyes. Zoe looked down and quickly let go of Faith's hand in embarrassment. They weren't really planning on sitting down, but a sudden jolt made them scramble for seats.

The train hummed louder and began to gently shake as it gained speed, and they were both glad they were sitting down as the train literally flew across the tracks.

The two girls stared out of the window, and for a while the scenery was familiar, but soon they lost sight of any familiar landmarks. They seemed to be heading through the countryside, endless open countryside. This was very strange, considering that they were in America, the land of freedom, prosperity and numerous dirty cities. After a long silence Faith shifted uncomfortably in her seat as she realized that at the rate the train was going, they were probably somewhere between one hundred and one hundred and fifty miles away from home. Faith sighed and poked Zoe's arm to get her attention.

"Where are we going?" she whispered, her head ducked down behind the seat in front of them.

"I have no clue." Zoe whispered back.

Faith frowned. "Who are these kids? They're definitely not from Pyte! I would've recognized them if they were."

Zoe shrugged absently. "I've never seen any of them before. At the rate this...train thing is moving, I guess they could be from anywhere, well on this continent anyway."

"Seriously, what the heck is this thing?"

"How should I know?" Zoe retorted, feeling a little irritated. "I honestly don't have all the answers if you haven't noticed!" Zoe glared at Faith, but Faith tactfully ignored her friend's agitation and went back to staring out the window.

There were several minutes of silence. Then Faith said aloud; "My mom is going to kill me when I get back."

There was another awkward pause. It had sounded pretty stupid, but it had been something to break the silence which was beginning to agitate her.

"I guess so, if we ever get back, that is," Zoe answered after a while, as she gazed out the window. Faith felt chills running up and down her spine, but she realized that Zoe was right. They could be riding to their deaths. As far as anyone back home was concerned, they had just disappeared off the face of the earth.

"This was a bad idea," Faith muttered, "a really bad idea."

The train made several stops and more kids got on, all looking as puzzled as Zoe and Faith. Zoe thought it was weird that everyone had just decided to get on the train, even thought they had no idea where it was going. She shook her head, realizing that she had done the exact same thing. She reasoned that they must have felt the same impulse, had the same instinct as she had, telling them that they needed to get on. "This makes no sense, " she whispered, "no sense at all!"

After about half an hour or so, Faith's stomach began to growl. It felt like years since she'd had anything to eat. "I wonder if there's any food on here," she mused, mostly to herself.

Zoe groaned. "Don't even mention the word 'food' in my presence! Wherever we're going, we better get there soon!"

Faith nodded. She hoped so too.