Return of the Goddess

Chapter 1

     The ground was rigid and the breeze sent a chill down her back. She had no idea how long she’d been away from home, but it didn’t matter anymore. She had no home.

 The girl rolled over to stare at the cave wall. It was the only safe place for them now, especially with their parents searching for their missing children.

    She sat up and turned to the sleeping girl beside her. She had light brown hair and almost all of her features were small from her thin lips to the small button nose. The only thing intimidating about her were her eyes. They were huge in size, but not in shape. Even with them closed you could tell the color: a deep-sea blue.

     The girl turned away to find her backpack. It was the black and yellow one her father had given her when she was seven. Opening the front pocket her hand swept through the bag grabbing hold of the small silver dagger. She flipped the cap off so she could see a hint of her reflection. It been weeks since she had a shower so her blonde hair appeared brown and her normally pale skin was coated with dirt. The only light aspects were her eyes: a light gray, the color of the goddesses.

     She put the dagger away then stuffed the ragged blue blanket she was using as a pillow into the sack. As she zipped up the pocket the girl stirred beside her.

     “Sage?” she mumbled in her sleep, turning over.

      “I’m here Chelsea. You don’t need to worry,” Sage put her hand on her friend’s shoulder. “We should go soon.”

     Chelsea sat up and packed her orange blanket into her plain black backpack. Before zipping it up she took out a two granola bars for breakfast. She handed one to Sage then unwrapped hers.

     “Do you think we’ll ever meet them,” Chelsea blurted out randomly.

     “How?” Sage finished her bar and stuck the wrapper in her backpack.

     “Our parents. I mean, your mom and my dad,” Chelsea’s hand followed the butterfly tracing on her orange flowing tank top.

     “I don’t know, Chelsea. It seems pretty unrealistic,” Sage grumbled before standing up. “Ready to go. We’re not going to make it that far if we stay here.”

     “Sage, why can’t we just go back? It’s been three weeks since we left. Assana will be missing me and what about your promise,” Chelsea got up.

     “I don’t want to hear another word about Assana or the house,” Sage barked. “You said you wanted to come with me so you’re coming. We haven’t even found Charlie yet.”

     They left the cave quietly, not wanting to draw attention to themselves. It led out into the woods where the trees were tall and concealed most of their surroundings. Sage led Chelsea out and into a nearby town. They walked through the neighborhood, finding a city on the edge of it.

      The streets were full of people trudging to work so the girls blended in with the crowd until they found the train station. It was a glass and brick building that was surrounded by statues of lions. They climbed the twenty stairs and into the building looking for a way on a train. To the left, screens lit up with destinations and train numbers blinking every ten seconds.

     “Where should we go?” Sage put her hands on her hips as she glanced over all the train numbers.

     “I think we should keep going south,” Chelsea suggested. “Maybe to Boston. We could go to the coast!”

     “We’re not going to the coast. We have to keep looking for Charlie. Without him we’re not going to last long,” Sage started to walk over to the ticket booth. She took one glance at the prices then turned away. “The tickets are too expensive. We’re going to have to need to speak in.”