Operation Slice

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

Plan in Action

Kailey watched the child, as she thought of him, below creating the makeshift plow. He had spunk, that poor kid, but he wasn't aware of how thick dragon flesh really was. She scanned the males brains before her, looking for a man who was clever with metal. She found him, and realized that he was related to the kid below her. Perfect. She whispered in to the mans ear, "Glass shards." Then she flounced off, certain that the pitiful humans could construct a decent killing machine. In snow, plain snow plows work, but against dragons... not so much. The death plow would have to be placed on the front of the train, but with Kailey's speed and the skill of the two men, it would be ready in less than five minutes.

Jordan was successful in dropping the train from 15 cars down to four. The women and children were in the first two, the men were in the next two. She was waiting for the signal from Kailey and Colin to drop the last seven complete carts. This was a trick she learned from her father, the shorter the train the faster its speed. She knew that Kailey had them covered in the far front and due to her speed was able to dive between the carriages and pull out the pin quicker than if the dragon had tried to catch them. She was the back up, in case if Jordan could not do her task due to being stuck, or worse.

Colin remained in the front two carts, trying to keep a small child from crying. If she cried out during the attack on the dragon, all hope may be lost. Then again, if she cried out, out the window she went! Colin smirked, he would never do that, maybe to a baby dragon, but not to a human child. The children were waking up, they had slept through the night and their internal clocks were telling them to wake up!

The engine was warmed up and belching smoke, but couldn't move since the brake was on. Jackie continued to shovel coal into the stove, keeping an ear out for the dragon and for the tell tale thunk of the snow plow being put into place.  Kailey didn't really know how to use the walkie talkie, but one of the men down in the last car helped her out. 

The beast peeked into the tunnel to look for the snake. By now the babies were leaving and swarming around the mouth of the... the snake had changed. The head was different. What happened to the snake? The dragon had never seen a snake change his face before, it was a little scary for a moment. And now, the babies are going back inside, but they're quiet. What is going on? The dragon decided that it wasn't going to wait for any answers and charge in on the snake. It had been waiting all night for a new meal and hell was to pay if it had to wait any longer.  He slithered down the hill and positioned himself into the tunnel just as the snake was beginning to move.  It was pretty far down the tunnel still, he could see its single eye glowing ("These snakes were still pretty strange, only one eye? No wonder they were easily caught.") And the grey smoke curling around and around the tunnel. The snake began to move forward, slowly.

"Maybe it knows that I'm going to eat it, and has decided to give up the fight." The dragon thought, "A suicidal dinner. Perfect." Happily he laid down on the track and opened his huge maw, waiting for his dinner.

Next Time: Operation Slice

Creating a Rescue

Colin guided the men to the back of the mangled train and asked the women to remain calm and assured them of their men's safe return. After all, he thought to himself, the dragon wouldn't dare crawl into the tunnel where they now rested.

The mermaid, named Kailey as the young adults soon learned, raced to the back of the train to instruct the passengers of the next step of the attack, although they did know of the part they were to play. Kailey promised to herself that she would not scare the men, and in turn scare their women and children. She reached the smoldering ruins of what once held her cage and waiting for the slow humans.

Jordan crawled between the carriages and checked the links between the filled ones. Her phase was to keep the train as short as possible, to help pick up speed and to escape the dragon with minimal damage to the passengers. There was not enough time to allow mistakes, and too many lives that could be lost, and today there will be none lost.

Jackie fueled the fire and brushed away the tears that were from the cause of her father’s death. She didn't have much time to accept that her father was dead, and used the time alone to mourn his death. His body was still in the small chair in which he had died, but covered in a blanket, for she didn't want him to be burned from the inferno that she was creating within the engine. They were to succeed, and damned if it was her fault if she was the one to blame for them not surviving!

The dragon blew the last of the trees down with his mighty weapon. Below he could hear the snake moving, with its awkward clackity-clack of its scales on its trail. Odd sound, even for a snake. He recalled the silent way the smaller snakes moved and the shushing sound they made when they crawled before him on the leaves and rocks when he was a smaller dragon. But this brand of snake was strange, they only seemed to move in one of two directions, their noses were on top of their heads, although their faces were menacing, they never did change shape. He was afraid, every time, that the snake would breathe fire and prevent him from eating the snake's delicious inner layers, but it never did. It would continue spouting its grey smoke until it went out a few days later, high up in his lair. The snake was strange too. The ones when he was younger were of one shape, long and wiggly. These snakes were odd, when he picked it up with his giant paws it would snap into different pieces. Granted, these pieces made the snake easier to carry up to the cave, but  it was still odd. And the layers inside the snake moved, and screamed, as if each snake was female and all her babies were inside the different sections. It made sense. Once he tried eating a very large grey fruit that was hidden in the bushes, larger than he had ever seen one before. Turned out the grey fruit was a very large snake that had lots of little snakes inside of it, which were very hard to catch. Perhaps they were moving looking for a safer place to hide, and this tunnel certainly wasn't making it any easier to eat its babies!

The men worked together with Kailey to guide the back half of the train away from the carriages that held their wives, girl friends, sisters and mothers. One of the craftier sons moved quickly with the scraps of metal he had collected between the tracks to create a makeshift nose and winter plow. It was a risk, but hopefully it would pass inspection. His eyes wandered to where Kailey stood above the men directing where they were to push from. As most men did, he fell in love with her looks, then realizing that from his position he could see up her makeshift dress, he blushed and turned back to his work, unaware that his father had seen his action.

Time was not on their side, as all could hear the mountain tumble again from above. The dragon was on the move again, the heroes knew, but they did not know what was coming with him.

Next Time: Plan in Action  

Education for Dragons

Inside the train the passengers calmed down and settled into the middle cars, knowing for sure that they were safe. After all, isn't that what the conductor had said? The children were growing sleepy; the dark passages echoed those of their nurseries at home with the low lights and dark windows. Safe and warm they fell asleep in their mothers arms, oblivious to the war that was to rage outside. 

The mermaid and the young adults were preparing for the war that would save the train and their future. In the dust that had gathered on the floor the mermaid drew out their war plan. First, the dragon's fire had to be taken care of, and that could only be done with great amounts of water.

Outside the dragon continued to push the boulder carefully down the mountain. Currently it was stuck upon a rather large string of trees that could only be removed by ripping out the trees. Time consuming work, even the dragon knew that. To save time he inhaled a great amount of air, leaves and a bird’s nest and blew out a great wave of fire and unleashed it upon the line of trees. He would have the snake, and he didn't care what got in his way.

Down below in the mountain the passengers and the makeshift heroes felt the thunder of the falling trees. He was coming closer, but they could not tell what was happening. They needed to move faster, and use the materials they had. Colin got back on the radio and put phase two into play, it was time to bring down the dragon once and for all. 

The fathers, brothers and single men moved toward the back of the train, closer to the blackened remains of the caboose. They were scared, but heeded the conductor’s words, the only reason they stopped was because they were carrying too much weight. In their hearts they knew it was worse than carrying weight, there was something darker outside of the tunnel, and they knew that their help would save all of their lives. 

Next Time: Creating a Rescue

Dinner For One

"Stop the fire!" Colin and Jordan threw in the buckets of water that were handy. Jackie watched for the opposite of the tunnel to stop the train in time before they completely exited. Slowly the train came to a stop and gave a low whistle as the stove cooled.

"Mr. Acurn!" A voice, faint over the whistling could be heard and the fast pace running made the echo return as a three man band, complete with flutes, drums and trumpets.

Colin, Jackie and Jordan all looked over the side of the engine and searched for the voice, Colin on the bottom, pushed there by the competitive Jackie and pushed further down by the inner diva of Jordan. Unfortunately for the young adults the echoing made the running feet seem to be on the right side of the train, when really, the mermaid, clad only in a makeshift dress from a coal bag, appeared on the right side.

She laughed which made all three impromptu conductors jump. She had a tinkly laugh, like a small waterfall crashing over small rocks down below. "If you're all going to act like a couple of sea horses, we will never be able to save the train! Dumbfounded, they looked at the mermaid. She was covered in dirt, ash and her entire upper body was red, as if it was sunburned. Her legs, longer than her arms stretched gave her an Amazonian Princess appearance; however, they were whiter than the stars. Her matted short hair, trimmed for travel stuck up around her head in a strange fashion, were not at all affected by the abuse that her body had gone through to catch up with the engine. Her breath was not labored and no sweat dripped off her brow, but it was her eyes that caught the most attention. She may have been able to pass as a normal human, but her eyes were pink, the delicate pink of the inside of a conch shell, accustomed to both light and the darkness of the ocean, which was key in saving the souls on the train.

Jackie recovered first, her father had taught her to never stare at a mermaid, especially when she was only clad in whatever she could find. She snapped Colin's slack jaw closed which was suspended just over her shoulder and straightened up. "How can we save the train?" she asked. "There are 300 persons on board, men, women, and children and none of them know that there is a dragon perhaps above us ready to munch down on our bodies for dinner. My father," she motioned toward her father still in the chair that he died in, "once told me that you and the dragon are sworn enemies. Does this still ring true?"

Farther down the tracks, and still within the tunnel the passengers began to grow agitated. Something had set the caboose on fire.

"Fireworks!" One yelled, "Someone must have dropped a lit match..."

"Someone deliberately set a fire..."

"Dragon!?"

"Maybe there were explosions in the back and there was an accident...?"

"Who said anything about a dragon?"

"Could be fireworks, although the centennial was just days ago..."

"The company really should have a rule about lit cig's..."

"DRAGON!"

The panic set in again, and all aboard rushed toward the engine, desperate to be as far away from the still burning caboose as they could. Deep in their hearts they knew only a dragon could produce that much fire and burn an entire caboose down to the tracks. All that was left was twisted metal, the running board and the locking wheels. Somehow they had survived the inferno.

A voice came on over the intercom, it was Colin, who, just hours before still believed himself to be a boy, but now he had become a man. Unknown to him he had developed a deep voice, and for the past few months he used it unintentionally to help those in need. And this was one of those times. He instructed the mass to move carefully to the very front of the train, leaving the last eight carriages empty. “What can be left behind should be left behind. Family is important, and precious," He reminded the passengers, "Things can be re-bought, the most important part is that we all have survived with no fatalities."

The mermaid had run from the engine back to the carriages and checked the empty carriages for people. Her eyes could also detect the occasional beating heart, down to the smallest minnow. Fortunately, all had heeded their warnings and moved to the front of the train with no problems. She ran ahead to begin the next stage of defeating the dragon.

The dragon retrieved a fairly large rock from the apex of the mountain and used it's snout to push it down the hill toward it's lair. Tonight it would feast well, better than it had in a long time.

Next Time: Education for Dragons

Strategy

Strange how the snake didn't move, although it did scream. It's tail burned down to nothing, parts of it were falling away, but still the food did not budge. Perhaps it thought it was safe in the tunnel, but why would it leave it's tail out? If dragons could chuckle, this one would, instead he breathed in again, sucking in great amounts of air that moved the trees as if a breeze passed through them.

Colin, Jackie and Jordan sat perched on top of the coal bin discussing their next steps. Jackie was still in shock that her father had passed away, and Jordan felt a little wary of the newcomer. Colin on the other hand was trying to keep his meager lunch in his stomach, the nervousness had become so bad that he felt that his insides were twisted into knots. The shadow went across the exit of the tunnel, and all three young adults looked toward the strange encounter. Jackie stiffened, she knew that shadow. There was only one creature that could make a shadow that big, and it wasn't pretty.

Although she didn't want to see her fathers remains Jackie scrambled down into the engine and started to shovel in loose coal to heat up the stove to get the train moving again. Colin watched her and gathered up armfuls of the coal around him and carried it down to her. He didn't know what she was doing but he knew that it was alleviating the nervousness that was in his heart.

Jordan, being taller than the other two leaned over to see beyond the first carriage that blocked the others view. She counted twelve carriages, and the mangled remains of another cart, which could only be the caboose. And there was something crawling away from the caboose. Suddenly she realized the severity of the situation. She didn't know the danger that was coming to them, but she could hear the petrified screams of the passengers aboard.

The land locked mermaid pulled herself away from the wreckage, counting the seconds until she could safely run away. She did not prepare for an unusual stop as this, but she would have to make do. First she needed to find the conductor, Mr. Acurn and help in any way that she could. 25.... 26.... 27.....

Slowly the train began to move again and the dragon circling above blew stray smoke away from his eyes. The snake must have not been able to take any more pain, and now it was coming closer to his home, where he would eat the train. He needed something to crack the tough shell, the shell was sometimes easy to break but the shards that he left behind scratched his paws dreadfully. Thoughtfully the dragon soared away, searching for a large boulder as to rip the snake apart.

The mermaid ran into the tunnel, faster than any creature on earth. She needed the conductor, before he reached the other side of the tunnel.

Next Time: Dinner for One

Inner Strength

A natural fighter, Jordan was the first to recover from the stalling of the train. Trading her cumbersome and sometimes awkward heels for a pair of slightly worn blue sneakers she ventured out of her small room and went against the current of people heading for the dining cars. The loudspeakers that the attendants were currently speaking from were turned down so low that amongst the crushing mass of people, no one could hear the instructions. A few mothers fretted over their sons and daughters racing between the legs of the travelers, but even they did not know of the danger that was passing over head. Jordan allowed her looks to let her pass through the throng of people unscathed, but she paused when a girl about her age ran into her bosom straight on. She was a fairly pretty girl herself, but quite plain in a sense of if you had met her you may never think twice. The new girl had jet black hair, and blue eyes that lit up when she looked at Jordan. Her child like lips broke into a friendly smile and her entire expression changed.

"Hi!" Jackie said, sticking out her hand. Bits of peanut butter still filled the creases of her fingernails, but it didn't seem to bother her at the moment. "I'm Jacy-Lynn. But most of my friends call me Jackie. What's your name?"

Jordan was astonished at first then quickly regained her composure. When you were in the fashion world, you needed to change your attitude quickly or you could lose your job. "I'm Jordan." She eyed the peanut butter under the other girls fingernails, but reached to shake her hand anyways. She could wash off the stickiness later. "Do you know where the conductor is? I must have a word with him about the odd stopping of the train today. I must get to Cape Gull as soon as possible, I have a photo shoot."

Jackie laughed, it wasn't the first complaint she had heard all day. But this Jordan girl was different, if she had a modeling gig then she definitely didn't care that much about it. After all, she just shook her peanut buttery hand and wiped the stickiness on her designer jeans!

The shadow flew across the train again, disappointed that he couldn't pick up it's delicious meal on the other side of the mountain. Over here there were too many trees, and rocks which prevented a safe landing. Also there were rock slides over here, which caused trouble for the rouge dragon.

Colin hid in the coal bin. Although he was deep in the tunnel, he could still see the shadow passing through bright section of the tunnel, where the train was still extended through. He shrugged, probably just a very large bird. As he sat in the coal bin he began to think, he was the only one up front, alone, with a dead conductor, the controls to a very large, top speed train and to make matters worse, that dreaded feeling began to slip back into his heart. He had to find someone to tell that the conductor was dead, and he had to find someone to start up the train again. It wasn't going to start by itself after all, when he pulled on the emergency brake he had snapped the pole right out of the floor of the train.

"Dad?" Colin froze, he wasn't expecting to come face to face with two pretty girls as he descended the other side of the coal bin. "Sorry, I'm not your dad, I'm just Colin."

Jackie sized up the new kid from head to foot. He was skinny enough to appear that he hadn't eaten in a few days, but the well worn shoes and mended clothes meant that he was trying his hardest to keep his life together. The black smudges across his face and hair evidently meant that he did spend some time in the coal bin, although how many times he had been in and out of this very one would be a mystery.

The dragon decided to take it's chances and eat the treat anyways. Better to have eaten it now then let it spoil for a few days. But where was the nice hot black things that he used in his nest? He beat his black wings and circled over the train again, taking in deep breathes to fuel his fiery breath. Perhaps he could smoke the moving snake out of the tunnel and closer to his lair. Yes, that would be nice, a meal closer to his lair. He flew in low over the red tail of the snake and released his weapon.

The train shuddered from the impact of the sudden breath of fire. Men, women and children screamed and ran from the dining hall, closer to the front of the train that was still in the tunnel. In their panic they did not hear the small scream of a body enclosed in the caboose, of a body that was slowly boiling in the small space. The second stream of un-holy fire leaped against the sides of the caboose and caused greater damage than the first one. Boxes, luggage and bits of repair for the lost train fueled the inescapable fire, rags forgotten in corners smoked then raged into small bonfires, giving a bridge to the destruction up the walls. As the caboose began to dissolve into nothingness a side of the caboose, twisted in the increased temperature fell, breaking the brass lock that held the captive in her place. Fueled by her hot quarters she shot from the melting glass that held her in the watery grave and with her last remaining strength escaped from the deadly blaze. 

Next Time: Strategy

Halting

 Colin straightened up from his crouched position. In the four years he's jumped trains, he was able to detect when something was wrong on the train. For instance today, the train was going too fast to be going through the tunnel. Way too fast. He climbed from his safe spot between the cars and clung to the coal box and made a treacherous journey to the front of the train. Although he may be kicked off the train, he needed to speak with the driver. Branches snagged his clothing and long unwashed hair, but he still moved on, holding on for dear life. Finally he reached the safe platform and was able to walk straight into the un-roofed room where the driver was sitting in his folding chair.
Colin tapped him on the shoulder and received no response. Again he tapped him, and still the conductor did not move. Puzzled he moved in front of the conductor and realized what had happened. The driver was not simply resting, he had unfortunately sat too close to the fire and inhaled too much of the toxic fumes that the coal produced. In addition the poor driver was well beyond his years to be a driver and had succumbed to death. Young drivers often could stand the soot and toxic fumes, but as it was he was too far gone. To avoid any unneeded deaths and a fatal accident that could result in his own, Colin pulled the emergency break and let the train, with its immense strength to stop itself.

The sudden stopping of the train threw Jordan off of her feet and caused a very long mascara line to be drawn across her face, beginning in her right eye and ending on her lower chin. She cursed the driver, and quickly drew out her Make-Up-B-Gone hidden in her bag. One odd stopping in the middle of nowhere would not mess up her afternoon. The train would probably start up again soon, it was probably only just a herd of cattle moving across the tracks, it happened all the time. Now where was the heels she needed for the shoot?

In her room Jackie lost out on the action, when the train stopped she was forced to be in the tunnel. It was too dark to keep her interest, and all her food was gone too. So much for a short trip. A naturally curious girl, the notion crept into her mind to hunt down the cause of the halting of the train, and stood up to take a look around. She could see the front of the train, barely, if she stuck her head out far enough, but the caboose was still far away, and around the corner, twinkling in the sunlight. Suddenly a large shadow moved over the twinkling train and was gone again. Jackie pulled in her head and rubbed her eyes, perhaps she just wasn't used to traveling.

A hidden passenger was puzzled by the sudden stopping of the train. She had enough water to hold her from the town she had just left until she reached Cape Gulf, and that was not counting emergencies. In her bones, though, she knew it was more than just a normal routine stop. She could feel the wrongness in the air, and the long shadow that passed by her window did not make matters better. As if a bolt of lightning had struck her, she remembered what that certain scent in the air was, and it was not pretty.
It was dragon, but how could she protect herself from a dragon while being safely locked in the water tank? If someone was able to take her out of the confinement she could be of use. But if the train was stopped, that would mean that the driver was in trouble, the only man who knew that she was back here. Frustrated she pounded against the glass, the brass lock banging against the case.

Next Time: Inner Strengh

The Tunnel

The train continued down the tracks tooting happily to children waiting at the crossing stands. The driver, satisfied with the smooth driving ahead threw in a shovelful of coal, and laid back in his easy chair keeping an eye on the road ahead. Four miles ahead loomed the great tunnel, but for now he could sit back and enjoy the ride. Not much to take care of when the road ahead was flat and he could see trouble long before it arrived. This was going to be a paradise ride to Cape Gull.

Jordan locked herself in the small cubbyhole that served as a restroom and laid out her make up on the small shelf. She used the little amount of water that she could have from the tap to wash away the dirt that had worked its way into her fair skin from the convertible drive up to the train station. After being thoroughly washed she applied the base layers of her makeup, working her way around her eyes, which she saved to finish for last. She glanced out the window to assess the situation, then applied the blue eyeliner to accent her eyes. Once her facial make up was completed she brushed out her blond hair and prepared it with pink curlers, preparing for her next modeling gig in Cape Gull.

Jackie, on the other hand, was enjoying the passing scenery and was intrigued with the way the clouds did not seem to move at all although on the train they were moving faster than 30 miles per hour. She had holed up in a large compartment, across from a rather cross looking man in a tan suit that was reading the stocks in the newspaper. On the other side of the compartment sat a lady wearing a green suit that made her look like a very squished frog, that was tempted by the small toy dog that, if they both were to proportion, could very well be a fly. It was not a very long ride to Cape Gull, however if the scenery did not suite her, the parcels from her many siblings would certainly keep her attention. Gradually the scenery began to bore Jackie and she turned to the parcels, a few which contained cookies and sandwiches to eat on the trip.

The strange boy who had jumped on the train after the trip had begun began to feel a little uneasy. Oh sure, the sky was blue, the grass was green and it certainly was good weather for traveling on the outside of the train, but something else was odd. As the sign for the great tunnel whizzed by him, the back side was all he could see, his uneasiness grew. For a moment he considered jumping and saving his stomach, but his sense of adventure kept him holding onto the beams between the cars.

Beyond the great tunnel was something to be afraid of however, and it was not just a mild thunderstorm that occasionally cropped up this time of year. This fearsome ungodly creature, more massive than a strong tree, faster than a candle being blown out and only had one idea in his mind at a time. This idea was another meals on wheels, and it was coming his way. He learned to hide behind the tunnel and halt the moving thing before it had moved beyond the thicket where some had sped on by before. After the thicket was tall buildings, and tall spiky branches that had torn a hole in his left wing. No, the best place to stop the food was to stop it after the big long tunnel. He beat his wings and flew up into the blue sky, and shot a flame of fire toward his goddess the Sun. He, after all, was a dragon, the king of the sky.

Next Time: Halting

Cape Gull

"Theodore, don't worry. What could possibly happen on a train? Besides," She stroked his cheek; stubble had already begun to grow on his tanned skin. It was barely morning and already he had something of a 5 o'clock shadow growing. "I'm only going to Cape Gull, I will be fine!"

Jordan kissed Theodore lightly on the lips and with a cheerful wave stepped onto the train just as the conductor started making the final calls.

Theodore could see her walking in the body of the train and blew a kiss goodbye. "She's right," he muttered, "They're only going a day out in the country." Still, he felt uneasy as he left the terminal.

On the other side of the tracks, a large family gathered around a young woman, who was becoming very overburdened with many parcels that her family members were giving to her.

"Momma, I'm fine!" Jackie laughed, but still everyone in her extended family needed to give her something for her trip. Her youngest brother, nicknamed Billie Goat because of his stubbornness, slipped a pack of gum into her pocket. "Make sure you eat it all before you get to ... uh, Momma where is she going again?"

The family laughed at the four year old; being so young he certainly could become forgetful! Louie solved the problem and produced a hand sewn bag that he had designed in his shop and placed most of the parcels in it, before they were in danger of falling all over the tracks. Jackie, aptly named because her parents were expecting another boy instead of a girl, laughed and hugged all one more time and boarded the train. The conductor pulled a string and a whistle blew, scaring poor young Billie into his mother’s arms. She opened the small window and wiggled her fingers at her baby brother as the train began to pull away.

As the train began to pull away, one more passenger boarded the train. He had waited for the train to start leaving so he could board with no one catching him. He was Colin, something he is over twenty, but for his boyish appearance others thought him to be almost twelve. With speed and agility he hugged the side of the train and slipped between two carriages, shielding himself from the wind and from prying eyes. No one saw him off with well wishes, or gave him parcels to carry, he only cursed the bad luck he had gathered in the small town of Arcville, and he hoped in Cape Gull his luck would increase. 

Next Time: The Tunnel