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[Original] Symphony's Chosen: Chapter One
Omigosh, this first chapter took forever and a day. DX I kept thinking that I had five guys instead of four, so one kid kept wanting to write himself in even though he technically was only in the second draft (sorry, Stefan. I promise you'll be in SC later). Um, please, please tell me how you feel about this story in comments, because I will be out of town this week. /o/ And will thusly not able to see comments over IM.
Thank you. ♥ It's finally here! (Oh, and yes: cameos based off friends are still in here. Um, cookies to whoever guesses the first cameo correctly.)
Title: Symphony's Chosen [Chapter One]
Fandom: Original
Summary: It was just going to be a simple train ride from Boston to Baltimore. Oh, but how it ended up being anything but!
Claimer: All mine~~ Whoo-hoo?
EDIT//: (May 12, 2009): Wow, this makes almost another whole year since I wrote the journey of these kids out. Point of the matter is - when I revamped the story, I cut Aria (who's from France) out and replaced her with a girl from Morocco. This doesn't change much - her translation device becomes beaded braclets. The most important change is the name of the conductor. At the time, I'd no idea about Philip Pullman's heroine being named Lyra. For my sake - and pretty much to prevent confusion - her name is now Vienna. (Yes, after the city.)
It would be a simple train ride from Boston to Baltimore. Granted, Max really had no idea how long it would take. One morning, his father had just randomly announced that Max had the fortunate luck of going on a train ride with him. (Fortunate? Max liked to think otherwise.)
Summer had just begun, and his dad was already on about a train ride? It would probably take forever too. Thank the heavens he had the good sense to buy a new DS game (nothing simple, as it was only Pokémon Diamond) and a new book for the ride. Even if dear ol’ Dad was going to attempt to make conversation, Max was determined to avoid him at all costs.
He had made important plans for this summer. How could he even think of liking a spur of the moment trip made without his approval? His mom wasn’t even tagging along, lucky her. His sister had already gone ahead to summer camp; she hadn’t been around long enough to get dragged up in this mess. It made him wish he had thought of attending camp early on – or heck, attending in general. Would’ve beat watching at the train station.
He sat down on the bench, blowing his sandy blond hair out of his bangs. Of all the times to be bored, why now?
“Max?”
He blinked, staring up at the new figure. “Yo?”
The figure loosely pressed its fingers against the black messenger bag strap. “Hey. Your dad wanted me to accompany you?”
“You, Zach? But Dad said he was coming too.”
Zach nodded. “Yeah, he is. Mr. Marshall was insistent that I come along too. Said something about you being a little rambunctious otherwise?”
Argh, figures his father would look after him like this. Slowly nodding, Max looked up at him. “… That’s actually pretty nice of Dad. I wonder what I did to him.”
“Prolly nothing,” Zach said, taking a seat beside him. “You’ll be in eighth grade next year, right? Your dad’s probably realizing how little time he has left with you. It’d scare any parent.”
“That actually makes a bunch of sense.”
Zach grinned. “Since when haven’t I?”
“Uh, since you first came to the US,” Max jokingly replied as he elbowed the teen. “Who could forget that awesome time you tried to get us to grill stuff?”
“Just ‘cause I’m from Queensland doesn’t mean that you can tease me like that,” Zach pushed him in return.
Both of them exchanged looks and laughed.
“Zach? Maxie?”
The two boys looked up. Max’s father waved to them from the platform. “Come on. The train’ll be here any minute!”
Groaning, Max reluctantly followed his dad’s orders and got up from his seat. Pulling Zach up, the two were somewhat slow in arriving towards the platform. (Who could blame them? They didn’t even want to go to Baltimore.)
Wind suddenly blew past before them. Mr. Marshall smiled, holding his briefcase tightly. “Looks like it’s here.”
Those few seconds where the train pulled into the station? Max could’ve sworn it felt like hours just watching it pull into the station. He brushed his bangs from his face and then looked up at the train looming before him.
How on earth could his father have decided that this orange and white (in fashion of UT) train was the one for them? Judging from the look of disgust upon Zach’s face, his companion agreed as well.
“Well,” Max’s father slowly began, his lips curling into a surprised frown. “At least it’ll get us to Baltimore. Come along now…”
Max grudgingly walked up the stairs and into the train. Zach followed suit soon afterwards, leaving Mr. Marshall to be the last one in. Despite how ugly (well, you can’t really blame them for thinking that) the outside of the train looked, the plush interior pretty much negated all negative feeling.
“Dad, are you sure we paid for coach seats? It looks pretty… nice to not be first class.”
Mr. Marshall slowly nodded, looking to the engineer for support. “Sure looks like it. Here – row 10 – are your seats, boys.”
Following his father, Max began to take his seat.
“Psst – Max.”
Max blinked. “What’s up?”
“Let’s look around the rest of the train,” Zach looked oddly giddy for a sixteen year old boy. Grinning, he pointed to the conductor. “He gave the okay and everything. I know it might be rather boring, but come on! It’s a train, for heaven’s sake.”
Following him into the hallway, Max couldn’t help laughing. “Wow, Zach,” He managed in-between laughs. “You’ve never been on a train before, have you?”
Zach shot a look back at him. “Not like you have either.”
… Okay, fine. That was true. Max was willing to admit that he had never been on a train before his father hit his midlife crisis. (So his father was still in his forties – he wasn’t old enough for one. But still!)
Both boys followed the doorway into the next train. It felt like crossing over into any other cabin on a passenger train – the wind blew in their faces as they quickly crossed the line from one cabin to another. Max shivered as he walked into the door. It was summer, yeah, but something about this whole situation seemed… kinda cold.
Zach closed the door behind them. Max stepped forward, staring at the green wallpaper around them. The past cabin had been rather bland compared to the even more plush-looking white couches against the wall. A wooden table, bolted to the floor, stood just on the end of the couch.
Both boys exchanged glances.
“How fancy is this train,” Max murmured, stuffing his hands into his pockets. “It seems pretty out there to be just a normal train.”
Zach nodded, looking the place over with raised eyebrows. “Seriously. You sure your dad didn’t forget his glasses again and got us first-class seats?”
“This… would be the first time if it were. Dad’s pretty careful with his money.”
The two boys settled down on the couch. Music floated in from speakers above; the scenery of the city kept zooming past them in the windows. For a train ride, Max had to admit, it was pretty nice. Not that he had much else to compare it to.
Zach glanced over his shoulder at the windows. “Something about all this seems weird.”
Max shrugged. “Dad just got us a nice train for once. No wonder he said it’d be fun… don’t worry about too much, kay?”
The train door slid open. A boy, roughly about fifteen years old, walked in clutching his messenger bag. Glancing over at Max and Zach, he offered them both a smile.
“Afternoon, ‘mates.”
Max blinked. “So you’re not from America too? Guess Boston gets more international activity than I thought.”
The boy tilted his head to the side. “Eh? Why’d you ask that question? Isn’t it obvious we’re in England?”
“Dude,” Zach interrupted with a snort. “You’ve got your geography seriously messed up. This is the United States – and we’re heading to Baltimore.”
“No, I’m not,” The newcomer arrogantly replied, holding up a train ticket. “I got a ticket here from London to York. See?”
A ticket? Max peered closely at it – it said today’s date, all right. He gulped, slumping back into the couch. “… It even has the same time as ours did.”
Zach stared at him. “How’s that possible? Trains just can’t magically go across the Atlantic Ocean.”
He had a point there, Max realized. The guy certainly carried himself as someone from the UK (or at least, he appeared to with that arrogant air of his). Maybe he could be one of those people who had escaped from the mental asylums? There wasn’t a doctor accompanying him, so that theory could be thrown away.
“Or maybe they can,” The newcomer replied with a slight grin. “And you just haven’t realized it.”
Yeahhhh… the guy was definitely English. Max couldn’t help laughing, rising a little in his seat. “Either way, we’re stuck here. So why don’t you tell us your name?”
He nodded. “I’m Davis. Davis Sanford. You guys would be…?’
“Max Marshall,” Max greeted as he rose to shake Davis’s hand. “And the guy next to me is Zach Wilder.”
Zach nodded. “Nice to meet ya.”
“Nice to meet you too,” Davis replied, still grinning. “So, what’d you think of the Symphony trains? I didn’t think they would actually be up and running so soon n’ all.”
Max blinked. “Symphony trains?”
“Oh, you mean you’ve never heard of them? That’s a new one. Um, let’s see… they’re basically these really unique trains. You know how the old fashioned trains are dying out around the world, right?”
He gave a knowing glance to Max. Shrugging, Max pressed his lips together as he slumped back in his seat. Davis sighed, continuing, “Well, the Symphony trains aim to be like the old fashioned 1900’s trains that people used to travel on. That’s why they’re decorated so elaborately.”
“Makes sense,” Zach commented, brushing his hand against the upholstery. “Was this the reason you chose this particular train?”
“Most certainly,” Davis let his fingers linger over the windowsill. “I mean, you almost never get a chance to ride in these old trains. It’s kind of awe-inspiring--- Um, guys? Why are there skyscrapers?”
Skyscrapers? Max turned to face the window. Sure enough, there were skyscrapers. But these were standing from the sky as if gravity had reversed itself. The native squirrels and birds darted around them as if this were an everyday occurrence as the nearby tree leaves brushed against the glass panes.
“This has got to be a dream,” Zach murmured, rubbing his temples. “A wild, crazy dream that I’ll wake up from every minute.”
Max grumbled as he pinched his companion's shoulder. “I guess this isn’t a dream after all,” He sighed as his friend cried out in pain.
“That hurt, yanno,” Zach rubbed the new indentation, glancing over at the blond. “But… what kind of reality is this, if this isn’t a dream?”
“Beats me,” Davis replied. “It’s oddly fascinating, though… I mean, a falling city? Who would’ve guessed that Earth had a place like this.”
“I doubt Earth has anything like this. We have gravity, remember?”
Davis rolled his eyes. “Thanks for that uplifting sentiment, Zach.”
“I aim to please,” Zach grinned, sinking back into his seat.
“Still,” Max crossed his arms, his eyes still viewing the scenery with an almost child-like awe. “This doesn’t seem completely real. I don’t think we’re in Boston anymore.”
“That’s correct! My, you’re catching on rather quickly!”
When had that other door been open? The three boys turned to stare at the newcomer. She didn’t look that much out of the ordinary from a first glance; her skin was tanned from the sun, and she had a pretty smile on her face. There were an abnormal amount of music symbols on her, though, from the sixteenth note necklace to a cleff staff on her t-shirt. Everything about her seemed to scream, “I’m a band nerd and I totally love it!”
Davis grinned. “I guess you’re not one of those jocks?”
She tilted her head. “A… jock? You mean those sports playing people, right?”
“Uh, yeahhh… wouldn’t you have heard of them by now?”
“Maybe, maybe not. You forget a lot of things when you hit my age!”
Davis stared at her, his eyebrows twitching. “Lady, you can’t possibly be older than seventeen!”
“Well,” Zach remarked, placing a hand on his cheek. “This ought to be the grand start to their relationship.”
“Definitely,” Davis replied bitterly. “Can’t you see that we’re already planning our honeymoon?”
She giggled. Max put his head between his knees – what kind of bad dream was this? Even if he had proved that Zach wasn’t dreaming, there was still the possibility that he was… right?
“So, lady. Tell us – where are we?”
“Oh, that’s easy! We’re on our way to Symphony, the land of music.”
Utter and complete silence filled the room. Max and Davis exchanged awkward glances, almost as if to say to each other, “Is she hallucinating? Do we need her to go see a shrink sometime this week?”
“Uh-huh,” Zach placed both hands on his hips, staring her down. “The land of music. Sure sounds nice to put on a postcard and all, but I’m not buying it.”
“Of course you’re not buying it,” She blinked. “Who’d want to buy a dying country?”
Zach blinked, still staring at her. “A… dying country?”
“Yeah, it’s really a shame,” She responded, pointing to the scenery whizzing past them. “You see the falling buildings? They’re not supposed to be there, even though the cuties outside think so.”
“…You’re telling me,” Davis sighed, rolling his eyes.
“That’s why you guys came along, right? To help those falling buildings get out of the sky?”
“Not really,” Max called. “I just want to get to Baltimore… and get my summer started. Please?”
The girl sighed. “You poor thing… I guess you shouldn’t have taken this very train, then, because we aren’t going to be in this Baltimore place any time soon.”
“… What?”
Davis groaned. “Good-bye, York. It was nice getting there while it lasted.”
Just then, the train lurched to a complete stop. Davis fell onto the couch (groaning all the while); Max hit his head against the windowsill. Ignoring his imminent pain, Zach took this moment to seize the conductor by the throat, and threw her against the opposite wall.
"What the heck do you think you're doing, dragging us into this mess?"
The girl smiled innocently; Zach growled (or well, it sure sounded like a growl).
"Zach," Max protested. "You're going to hurt her if you keep this up, you know."
"Maximilian, don't tell me what to do."
The doors of the train cracked open. Zach held his grip steady, pinning her down at her waist so that she could at least speak.
A young girl walked slowly, her footsteps quiet and unsure. Pausing, she pointed to Zach.
".... What's going on?"
Max blinked, frowning. What language was this? Spanish? It didn't sound anything like Latin, but then again, who did speak a dead language? (Serves him right for taking it in school)
How was he to respond to this? It was going to be weird.
"Um," Max quickly turned to Davis. "Do you have any idea what she's saying?"
"Not a clue, mate," Davis shrugged. "Though... judging from 'er face, she probably wants to know what's going on."
"That... would probably be the truth."
Standing in front of the girl, Max gestured wildly towards the conductor. "That.... girl... is... a... lunatic..."
The blonde stared at him.
Okay, so maybe that wasn't the best idea.
"Wow," Davis sputtered out (wow, his body was shaking from the laughter). "Maybe... we should go find someone who speaks Spanish here?"
"Oh, that won't be necessary," The music-wearing girl chimed in, still as peppy as ever (though Max had no idea why - I mean, she was pinned to the wall by a strange, if not oddly handsome, sixteen year old boy by her waist). "Not if you let me finish explaining~"
The young girl at the door pointed to Zach. "You," She cried. "Let her explain!"
Davis and Max exchanged glances.
Max began, "You mean..."
"...That she can understand that crazy lady?"
Zach's eyes widened. "But she doesn't speak a word of English."
"I don't speak English," the music-wearing girl interrupted, taking Zach's grip off her. She slipped down, placing her hands on her hips. "In fact, I don't speak any Earth language."
Oh... kay, this wasn’t going as planned. Then again, it didn't look like anyone's plans were going to work today.
The conductor snapped; the doors opened. In came more people, each looking even more confused than the first.
The young Spanish girl took a seat. Well, she looked Spanish anyways – Max could never tell the difference between Spanish people and Portuguese. They supposedly had darker skin tones, right? And hair that wasn’t sandy blonde-brown like hers?
Zach impatiently tapped his toes. Once everyone had taken a seat, he glared at the girl. “So, tell us. Who are you, and why were we brought to this dying country?”
“Impatient, aren’t we?”
“Get on with it already,” Zach glared.
“Sure! My name’s Vienna, and I’m the conductor of this train. Specifically, the Symphony train.”
“The Symphony train? You mean those trains that try to revive the old-fashioned experience of going a train,” Davis immediately blurted. “How could someone your age be in charge of that?”
She beamed. “Wow, I didn’t realize we were making a name on Earth too!” Pausing, she turned her attention to the confused newcomers sitting across from her. “Oh, I guess you guys would want to understand each other, right?”
“Yeah, that’d be nice,” Zach sighed. “But I don’t speak Spanish or whatever she’s speaking—“
Lyra interrupted with a sigh and a, “She’s speaking Portuguese.”
“Whatever. Point is, how are we supposed to understand these guys?”
She grinned, pulling out various trinkets from her bag. Tossing a silver crescent moon necklace to the Portuguese-speaking girl, she motioned for her to put it on. The girl did so.
“What was the point of putting that necklace on, miss? It seemed so… odd.”
Zach stared at her. “W-what? I can understand her!”
The young girl stared back. “But he didn’t speak my language just a few minutes ago.”
“Exactly,” Lyra confirmed. “These trinkets are known as universal translation devices. To you, they’ll be speaking your language – and you can understand them perfectly. I’m afraid they don’t translate over to written works, but that’s not important for the time being.”
The rest of the trinkets were handed out. Max received an elaborate green and silver watch; Zach found himself wearing a silver wing necklace. The Indian girl got a blue and gold bracelet; the Arabian boy sitting beside her received a bronze-tinted rope anklet. An African child received beaded bracelets, and the black-haired girl on her left received matching white barrettes.
“Go ahead,” Lyra urged with a grin. “Try them on.”
Everyone did so reluctantly, their hands nervously putting the new gifts on. As he finished putting his watch on, Max added, “So, Vienna? What exactly is this dying country that you spoke of?”
The other kids immediately looked outside. The awe on their faces felt familiar; Max felt a wave of relief wash over his face. Good – it definitely wasn’t something that was common on Earth.
Vienna nodded towards the landscape. “My home is the dying country. None of you have heard of it, but in English, they would call it Symphony.”
“It’s not a coincidence that this train shares a name with the land,” The Arabian boy’s words weren’t a question. Max studied him over; he couldn’t have been more than twelve or thirteen. While he definitely gave off those Middle Eastern vibes, he certainly seemed solemn – unusually so for a kid.
“Yeah… this train is an extension of my home. It’s a little hard to explain, but the train’s intertwined with the world.”
A train that was intertwined with the world… Zach closed his eyes. “This isn’t making much sense, but I’m gonna pretend that it does. If this train was brought to Earth, what does it mean?”
“It means,” Vienna spoke softly now, her eyes focused on the floor. “That if this land isn’t revived by the end of the summer, we’re… doomed. If this land isn’t saved by September, we’ll fade from existence completely.”
Thank you. ♥ It's finally here! (Oh, and yes: cameos based off friends are still in here. Um, cookies to whoever guesses the first cameo correctly.)
Title: Symphony's Chosen [Chapter One]
Fandom: Original
Summary: It was just going to be a simple train ride from Boston to Baltimore. Oh, but how it ended up being anything but!
Claimer: All mine~~ Whoo-hoo?
EDIT//: (May 12, 2009): Wow, this makes almost another whole year since I wrote the journey of these kids out. Point of the matter is - when I revamped the story, I cut Aria (who's from France) out and replaced her with a girl from Morocco. This doesn't change much - her translation device becomes beaded braclets. The most important change is the name of the conductor. At the time, I'd no idea about Philip Pullman's heroine being named Lyra. For my sake - and pretty much to prevent confusion - her name is now Vienna. (Yes, after the city.)
It would be a simple train ride from Boston to Baltimore. Granted, Max really had no idea how long it would take. One morning, his father had just randomly announced that Max had the fortunate luck of going on a train ride with him. (Fortunate? Max liked to think otherwise.)
Summer had just begun, and his dad was already on about a train ride? It would probably take forever too. Thank the heavens he had the good sense to buy a new DS game (nothing simple, as it was only Pokémon Diamond) and a new book for the ride. Even if dear ol’ Dad was going to attempt to make conversation, Max was determined to avoid him at all costs.
He had made important plans for this summer. How could he even think of liking a spur of the moment trip made without his approval? His mom wasn’t even tagging along, lucky her. His sister had already gone ahead to summer camp; she hadn’t been around long enough to get dragged up in this mess. It made him wish he had thought of attending camp early on – or heck, attending in general. Would’ve beat watching at the train station.
He sat down on the bench, blowing his sandy blond hair out of his bangs. Of all the times to be bored, why now?
“Max?”
He blinked, staring up at the new figure. “Yo?”
The figure loosely pressed its fingers against the black messenger bag strap. “Hey. Your dad wanted me to accompany you?”
“You, Zach? But Dad said he was coming too.”
Zach nodded. “Yeah, he is. Mr. Marshall was insistent that I come along too. Said something about you being a little rambunctious otherwise?”
Argh, figures his father would look after him like this. Slowly nodding, Max looked up at him. “… That’s actually pretty nice of Dad. I wonder what I did to him.”
“Prolly nothing,” Zach said, taking a seat beside him. “You’ll be in eighth grade next year, right? Your dad’s probably realizing how little time he has left with you. It’d scare any parent.”
“That actually makes a bunch of sense.”
Zach grinned. “Since when haven’t I?”
“Uh, since you first came to the US,” Max jokingly replied as he elbowed the teen. “Who could forget that awesome time you tried to get us to grill stuff?”
“Just ‘cause I’m from Queensland doesn’t mean that you can tease me like that,” Zach pushed him in return.
Both of them exchanged looks and laughed.
“Zach? Maxie?”
The two boys looked up. Max’s father waved to them from the platform. “Come on. The train’ll be here any minute!”
Groaning, Max reluctantly followed his dad’s orders and got up from his seat. Pulling Zach up, the two were somewhat slow in arriving towards the platform. (Who could blame them? They didn’t even want to go to Baltimore.)
Wind suddenly blew past before them. Mr. Marshall smiled, holding his briefcase tightly. “Looks like it’s here.”
Those few seconds where the train pulled into the station? Max could’ve sworn it felt like hours just watching it pull into the station. He brushed his bangs from his face and then looked up at the train looming before him.
How on earth could his father have decided that this orange and white (in fashion of UT) train was the one for them? Judging from the look of disgust upon Zach’s face, his companion agreed as well.
“Well,” Max’s father slowly began, his lips curling into a surprised frown. “At least it’ll get us to Baltimore. Come along now…”
Max grudgingly walked up the stairs and into the train. Zach followed suit soon afterwards, leaving Mr. Marshall to be the last one in. Despite how ugly (well, you can’t really blame them for thinking that) the outside of the train looked, the plush interior pretty much negated all negative feeling.
“Dad, are you sure we paid for coach seats? It looks pretty… nice to not be first class.”
Mr. Marshall slowly nodded, looking to the engineer for support. “Sure looks like it. Here – row 10 – are your seats, boys.”
Following his father, Max began to take his seat.
“Psst – Max.”
Max blinked. “What’s up?”
“Let’s look around the rest of the train,” Zach looked oddly giddy for a sixteen year old boy. Grinning, he pointed to the conductor. “He gave the okay and everything. I know it might be rather boring, but come on! It’s a train, for heaven’s sake.”
Following him into the hallway, Max couldn’t help laughing. “Wow, Zach,” He managed in-between laughs. “You’ve never been on a train before, have you?”
Zach shot a look back at him. “Not like you have either.”
… Okay, fine. That was true. Max was willing to admit that he had never been on a train before his father hit his midlife crisis. (So his father was still in his forties – he wasn’t old enough for one. But still!)
Both boys followed the doorway into the next train. It felt like crossing over into any other cabin on a passenger train – the wind blew in their faces as they quickly crossed the line from one cabin to another. Max shivered as he walked into the door. It was summer, yeah, but something about this whole situation seemed… kinda cold.
Zach closed the door behind them. Max stepped forward, staring at the green wallpaper around them. The past cabin had been rather bland compared to the even more plush-looking white couches against the wall. A wooden table, bolted to the floor, stood just on the end of the couch.
Both boys exchanged glances.
“How fancy is this train,” Max murmured, stuffing his hands into his pockets. “It seems pretty out there to be just a normal train.”
Zach nodded, looking the place over with raised eyebrows. “Seriously. You sure your dad didn’t forget his glasses again and got us first-class seats?”
“This… would be the first time if it were. Dad’s pretty careful with his money.”
The two boys settled down on the couch. Music floated in from speakers above; the scenery of the city kept zooming past them in the windows. For a train ride, Max had to admit, it was pretty nice. Not that he had much else to compare it to.
Zach glanced over his shoulder at the windows. “Something about all this seems weird.”
Max shrugged. “Dad just got us a nice train for once. No wonder he said it’d be fun… don’t worry about too much, kay?”
The train door slid open. A boy, roughly about fifteen years old, walked in clutching his messenger bag. Glancing over at Max and Zach, he offered them both a smile.
“Afternoon, ‘mates.”
Max blinked. “So you’re not from America too? Guess Boston gets more international activity than I thought.”
The boy tilted his head to the side. “Eh? Why’d you ask that question? Isn’t it obvious we’re in England?”
“Dude,” Zach interrupted with a snort. “You’ve got your geography seriously messed up. This is the United States – and we’re heading to Baltimore.”
“No, I’m not,” The newcomer arrogantly replied, holding up a train ticket. “I got a ticket here from London to York. See?”
A ticket? Max peered closely at it – it said today’s date, all right. He gulped, slumping back into the couch. “… It even has the same time as ours did.”
Zach stared at him. “How’s that possible? Trains just can’t magically go across the Atlantic Ocean.”
He had a point there, Max realized. The guy certainly carried himself as someone from the UK (or at least, he appeared to with that arrogant air of his). Maybe he could be one of those people who had escaped from the mental asylums? There wasn’t a doctor accompanying him, so that theory could be thrown away.
“Or maybe they can,” The newcomer replied with a slight grin. “And you just haven’t realized it.”
Yeahhhh… the guy was definitely English. Max couldn’t help laughing, rising a little in his seat. “Either way, we’re stuck here. So why don’t you tell us your name?”
He nodded. “I’m Davis. Davis Sanford. You guys would be…?’
“Max Marshall,” Max greeted as he rose to shake Davis’s hand. “And the guy next to me is Zach Wilder.”
Zach nodded. “Nice to meet ya.”
“Nice to meet you too,” Davis replied, still grinning. “So, what’d you think of the Symphony trains? I didn’t think they would actually be up and running so soon n’ all.”
Max blinked. “Symphony trains?”
“Oh, you mean you’ve never heard of them? That’s a new one. Um, let’s see… they’re basically these really unique trains. You know how the old fashioned trains are dying out around the world, right?”
He gave a knowing glance to Max. Shrugging, Max pressed his lips together as he slumped back in his seat. Davis sighed, continuing, “Well, the Symphony trains aim to be like the old fashioned 1900’s trains that people used to travel on. That’s why they’re decorated so elaborately.”
“Makes sense,” Zach commented, brushing his hand against the upholstery. “Was this the reason you chose this particular train?”
“Most certainly,” Davis let his fingers linger over the windowsill. “I mean, you almost never get a chance to ride in these old trains. It’s kind of awe-inspiring--- Um, guys? Why are there skyscrapers?”
Skyscrapers? Max turned to face the window. Sure enough, there were skyscrapers. But these were standing from the sky as if gravity had reversed itself. The native squirrels and birds darted around them as if this were an everyday occurrence as the nearby tree leaves brushed against the glass panes.
“This has got to be a dream,” Zach murmured, rubbing his temples. “A wild, crazy dream that I’ll wake up from every minute.”
Max grumbled as he pinched his companion's shoulder. “I guess this isn’t a dream after all,” He sighed as his friend cried out in pain.
“That hurt, yanno,” Zach rubbed the new indentation, glancing over at the blond. “But… what kind of reality is this, if this isn’t a dream?”
“Beats me,” Davis replied. “It’s oddly fascinating, though… I mean, a falling city? Who would’ve guessed that Earth had a place like this.”
“I doubt Earth has anything like this. We have gravity, remember?”
Davis rolled his eyes. “Thanks for that uplifting sentiment, Zach.”
“I aim to please,” Zach grinned, sinking back into his seat.
“Still,” Max crossed his arms, his eyes still viewing the scenery with an almost child-like awe. “This doesn’t seem completely real. I don’t think we’re in Boston anymore.”
“That’s correct! My, you’re catching on rather quickly!”
When had that other door been open? The three boys turned to stare at the newcomer. She didn’t look that much out of the ordinary from a first glance; her skin was tanned from the sun, and she had a pretty smile on her face. There were an abnormal amount of music symbols on her, though, from the sixteenth note necklace to a cleff staff on her t-shirt. Everything about her seemed to scream, “I’m a band nerd and I totally love it!”
Davis grinned. “I guess you’re not one of those jocks?”
She tilted her head. “A… jock? You mean those sports playing people, right?”
“Uh, yeahhh… wouldn’t you have heard of them by now?”
“Maybe, maybe not. You forget a lot of things when you hit my age!”
Davis stared at her, his eyebrows twitching. “Lady, you can’t possibly be older than seventeen!”
“Well,” Zach remarked, placing a hand on his cheek. “This ought to be the grand start to their relationship.”
“Definitely,” Davis replied bitterly. “Can’t you see that we’re already planning our honeymoon?”
She giggled. Max put his head between his knees – what kind of bad dream was this? Even if he had proved that Zach wasn’t dreaming, there was still the possibility that he was… right?
“So, lady. Tell us – where are we?”
“Oh, that’s easy! We’re on our way to Symphony, the land of music.”
Utter and complete silence filled the room. Max and Davis exchanged awkward glances, almost as if to say to each other, “Is she hallucinating? Do we need her to go see a shrink sometime this week?”
“Uh-huh,” Zach placed both hands on his hips, staring her down. “The land of music. Sure sounds nice to put on a postcard and all, but I’m not buying it.”
“Of course you’re not buying it,” She blinked. “Who’d want to buy a dying country?”
Zach blinked, still staring at her. “A… dying country?”
“Yeah, it’s really a shame,” She responded, pointing to the scenery whizzing past them. “You see the falling buildings? They’re not supposed to be there, even though the cuties outside think so.”
“…You’re telling me,” Davis sighed, rolling his eyes.
“That’s why you guys came along, right? To help those falling buildings get out of the sky?”
“Not really,” Max called. “I just want to get to Baltimore… and get my summer started. Please?”
The girl sighed. “You poor thing… I guess you shouldn’t have taken this very train, then, because we aren’t going to be in this Baltimore place any time soon.”
“… What?”
Davis groaned. “Good-bye, York. It was nice getting there while it lasted.”
Just then, the train lurched to a complete stop. Davis fell onto the couch (groaning all the while); Max hit his head against the windowsill. Ignoring his imminent pain, Zach took this moment to seize the conductor by the throat, and threw her against the opposite wall.
"What the heck do you think you're doing, dragging us into this mess?"
The girl smiled innocently; Zach growled (or well, it sure sounded like a growl).
"Zach," Max protested. "You're going to hurt her if you keep this up, you know."
"Maximilian, don't tell me what to do."
The doors of the train cracked open. Zach held his grip steady, pinning her down at her waist so that she could at least speak.
A young girl walked slowly, her footsteps quiet and unsure. Pausing, she pointed to Zach.
".... What's going on?"
Max blinked, frowning. What language was this? Spanish? It didn't sound anything like Latin, but then again, who did speak a dead language? (Serves him right for taking it in school)
How was he to respond to this? It was going to be weird.
"Um," Max quickly turned to Davis. "Do you have any idea what she's saying?"
"Not a clue, mate," Davis shrugged. "Though... judging from 'er face, she probably wants to know what's going on."
"That... would probably be the truth."
Standing in front of the girl, Max gestured wildly towards the conductor. "That.... girl... is... a... lunatic..."
The blonde stared at him.
Okay, so maybe that wasn't the best idea.
"Wow," Davis sputtered out (wow, his body was shaking from the laughter). "Maybe... we should go find someone who speaks Spanish here?"
"Oh, that won't be necessary," The music-wearing girl chimed in, still as peppy as ever (though Max had no idea why - I mean, she was pinned to the wall by a strange, if not oddly handsome, sixteen year old boy by her waist). "Not if you let me finish explaining~"
The young girl at the door pointed to Zach. "You," She cried. "Let her explain!"
Davis and Max exchanged glances.
Max began, "You mean..."
"...That she can understand that crazy lady?"
Zach's eyes widened. "But she doesn't speak a word of English."
"I don't speak English," the music-wearing girl interrupted, taking Zach's grip off her. She slipped down, placing her hands on her hips. "In fact, I don't speak any Earth language."
Oh... kay, this wasn’t going as planned. Then again, it didn't look like anyone's plans were going to work today.
The conductor snapped; the doors opened. In came more people, each looking even more confused than the first.
The young Spanish girl took a seat. Well, she looked Spanish anyways – Max could never tell the difference between Spanish people and Portuguese. They supposedly had darker skin tones, right? And hair that wasn’t sandy blonde-brown like hers?
Zach impatiently tapped his toes. Once everyone had taken a seat, he glared at the girl. “So, tell us. Who are you, and why were we brought to this dying country?”
“Impatient, aren’t we?”
“Get on with it already,” Zach glared.
“Sure! My name’s Vienna, and I’m the conductor of this train. Specifically, the Symphony train.”
“The Symphony train? You mean those trains that try to revive the old-fashioned experience of going a train,” Davis immediately blurted. “How could someone your age be in charge of that?”
She beamed. “Wow, I didn’t realize we were making a name on Earth too!” Pausing, she turned her attention to the confused newcomers sitting across from her. “Oh, I guess you guys would want to understand each other, right?”
“Yeah, that’d be nice,” Zach sighed. “But I don’t speak Spanish or whatever she’s speaking—“
Lyra interrupted with a sigh and a, “She’s speaking Portuguese.”
“Whatever. Point is, how are we supposed to understand these guys?”
She grinned, pulling out various trinkets from her bag. Tossing a silver crescent moon necklace to the Portuguese-speaking girl, she motioned for her to put it on. The girl did so.
“What was the point of putting that necklace on, miss? It seemed so… odd.”
Zach stared at her. “W-what? I can understand her!”
The young girl stared back. “But he didn’t speak my language just a few minutes ago.”
“Exactly,” Lyra confirmed. “These trinkets are known as universal translation devices. To you, they’ll be speaking your language – and you can understand them perfectly. I’m afraid they don’t translate over to written works, but that’s not important for the time being.”
The rest of the trinkets were handed out. Max received an elaborate green and silver watch; Zach found himself wearing a silver wing necklace. The Indian girl got a blue and gold bracelet; the Arabian boy sitting beside her received a bronze-tinted rope anklet. An African child received beaded bracelets, and the black-haired girl on her left received matching white barrettes.
“Go ahead,” Lyra urged with a grin. “Try them on.”
Everyone did so reluctantly, their hands nervously putting the new gifts on. As he finished putting his watch on, Max added, “So, Vienna? What exactly is this dying country that you spoke of?”
The other kids immediately looked outside. The awe on their faces felt familiar; Max felt a wave of relief wash over his face. Good – it definitely wasn’t something that was common on Earth.
Vienna nodded towards the landscape. “My home is the dying country. None of you have heard of it, but in English, they would call it Symphony.”
“It’s not a coincidence that this train shares a name with the land,” The Arabian boy’s words weren’t a question. Max studied him over; he couldn’t have been more than twelve or thirteen. While he definitely gave off those Middle Eastern vibes, he certainly seemed solemn – unusually so for a kid.
“Yeah… this train is an extension of my home. It’s a little hard to explain, but the train’s intertwined with the world.”
A train that was intertwined with the world… Zach closed his eyes. “This isn’t making much sense, but I’m gonna pretend that it does. If this train was brought to Earth, what does it mean?”
“It means,” Vienna spoke softly now, her eyes focused on the floor. “That if this land isn’t revived by the end of the summer, we’re… doomed. If this land isn’t saved by September, we’ll fade from existence completely.”