Kailey was in position.
Colin was in position.
Jordan was in position.
Jackie was in position.
Dragon was in position.
And the train was still coming.
Kailey attached the plow and watched the two men climb to the back
to train. She could sense the dragon on the other end of the tracks, breathing heated
breath down the dark tunnel. The old man had taken her advice and placed glass
shards sticking out of the makeshift plow, a deadly combination. The force of
the train would gouge a great hole in the dragon, and if the attack was
successful, then perhaps it would kill the dragon. If not ... Kailey didn't
dare think of what could happen.
Low lullabies emitted from the second carriage, sweet songs of
faraway homes and warm firelight. Tales of heroism, damsels who defeated their
own dragons, villains who wanted to be good, of good deeds, and wise men.
Lullabies were sung of riches untold from ages ago, and of riches found within.
Colin sang with the mothers, keeping the children spellbound on the floor of
the packed carriage. Colin sang, never pausing in the wrong place, or losing a
note as he recalled the songs that his mother sang to all the children that
lived in his home. She sang these songs up to the last day, the day that she
left everyone behind. The police came and took all the children, sending them
to different homes. Colin never saw his brothers and sisters again. If he
happened to bump into them today he would not have recognized them by any
feature. All he had of his mother was a few songs, and her features as the
police had said. Colin looked the most like his mother. The other children looked
more like their father. Whoever their father, or fathers, might have been. But
his mother, she very well could be an angel and Colin made sure that everyday
that he lived that she was proud of him in some way. The only reason why he
boarded this train that day was because his random acts of kindness were being
tracked and someone was on the verge of finding out who he was. It was time to
leave Arcville and begin his random acts of kindness routine in another town
and continue in making his unknown mother proud.
Jordan positioned herself over the pin that held the fourth and
fifth carriages together. When the time came she had to pull it out and jump
back to the fourth carriage quickly or... Jordan thought of her fate. If she
didnt' survive, then Kailey could pull the pin and save everyone. Or maybe the
dragon would attack and she would be eaten, along with the other people on
board. Maybe Theodore would miss her, maybe. Theodore would only miss her
because she brought back the most cash from the sales. Ugh, those sales. She
hated those sales. The only bonus to selling "Teddy's Toys" was that
she could travel outside of Arcville and away from Theodore. Disgusting, Foul
Smelling, Theodore. She only behaved when out in public, or else it would look
strange if she was traveling alone. Women don't leave places without saying good
bye to someone. And it was part of the contract, that was how you said goodbye
to Theodore, or risk losing half of your paycheck. And that was something
Jordan could not afford. But what if this vacation-away-from-Theodore was to
last forever? What if she could play her part, save the other passengers and
from the get go start anew? If she was to survive, what if she changed her name
and disappeared into the world? That was what she was going to do. In the dark
tunnel, stuck between the fourth and fifth carriage, hands at the ready to pull
the connecting pin, Jordan vowed that her life would change for the better,
starting with her name. Jordan no longer exists. It is now Jude. Jude. Jude.
Jude. Like her mother. Her deceased mother. Jude.
The engine was steaming, and growling in protest. It had enough
power to blast through a brick wall, but it sat there on the tracks... idling.
Jackie held the shift in her hand, prepared to take off at any moment to face
the adversary. Billie Goat flashed in her mind, just for a second, and she
clenched the handle tighter. She would go home to see Billie grow older, she
had to. Billie may be the youngest and may be the baby, but she would always
need a big, strong, older sister to take care of her, even if the older sibling
did not have a future as a mother. Momma always said that Jackie would probably
run all the men out of the town with even the hint of marriage since she was so
strong headed. But then again there wasn't anyone in town man enough to marry
Jackie anyways. But who needed a man. Who honestly needed a man. "To
have and to hold..." Yea well, she had enough friends to do that for her,
she had all the having and holding that she needed. She had all that she wanted
and could hold anything she needed. And till death do us part? Please. Anything
could happen still. Anything at all.
The Dragon sensed that something was wrong as the snake continued
down the tracks, gathering speed. This was not a snake ready to give up, there
was something about its intensity in coming out of the tunnel that had changed.
It was ready to fight, with a vigor that was dangerous. If provoked enough, the
dragon mused, the snake could do just about anything. But there had never been
a snake that fought back before... never. There is always room for a change.
Anything could happen. Anything.
Next Time: Final Blow
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