Zero

Chapter 1: The Train

"Just my luck. Now I'll have nothing to get me through summer camp."

Luz stood and turned to walk back to the bus stop when she heard a train whistle.

That's odd... there shouldn't be a train station anywhere near here.

Now curious, Luz turned again, this time heading towards the sound of the train. She made her way through some foliage until she reached a small clearing. Luz's eyes widened and her jaw dropped.

Before her was an old, rusted train with large windows that glowed neon green. The train screeched to a halt right in front of her, the letters above the door changing to Boiling Isles. Luz was intrigued. She rubbed her hands together, feeling excited.

"Wow! This feels like the beginning of a magical adventure! And... Mami already thinks I'm going to summer camp... so why not?"

The door slid open. With a grin, Luz stepped inside the train. And then, everything went black.

---- ---- ----

"Hey."

No response.

"Hey!"

Nada.

"Wake up you little twerp!"

Luz's eyes opened and she sat up from where she'd been lying down on the ground. She quickly looked around but didn't see anyone. Wiping some drool from her cheek, she smacked her lips, finding that her throat was dry.

"Who said that?"

"Up here."

Luz looked up, and screamed. There was a woman with wild grey hair sitting on a wooden staff several feet in the air looking down at Luz with a dissatisfied expression on her face.

"Who are you?" Luz pointed at her. "And how are you doing that?!"

"The name's Eda. And magic, duh."

Luz sputtered in disbelief, "But, magic isn't--"

Eda cut her off, "Let me stop you right there. Magic may not be real wherever you're from, but here in the Witch Car it is alive and well."

"Witch Car? Where am I?"

"Don't you know? You're on the train."

Luz glanced around at her surroundings. She was in a clearing with tall pines and oaks lining the edges. Behind Eda, she could see an odd looking house standing in the distance.

"This is not a train."

Eda chuckled and replied, "Looks like One-One didn't give you the orientation video."

"Who's One-One? And can you please tell me what's going on here??"

Eda rolled her eyes.

"Look kid, while I get a kick out of seeing new passengers freak out about the train, I have better things to do than hold your hand through this. You'll figure it out."

Without waiting for a response, Eda turned and sped off in the direction of the house. Luz watched as Eda reached the bell-shaped house, hopping off the staff and walking inside.

Looks like I'm on my own... that's fine, right?

Luz rose from the ground, dusting off the dirt from her clothes as she stretched her arms over her head. Thankfully, she still had her backpack. She picked it up and threw it over her shoulder. As Luz observed in her surroundings and deliberated on where to go, her stomach growled. She frowned.