by T5 and The Eurostar
Walking to the railroad proved tougher than it looked on the map. The desert air was hot and dry, and pretty soon the water was gone. Their foreheads ached with sunburn, and Edulcore Cicciotto and Turner were getting wearier by the minute.
It wasn't until sundown that they first heard the welcoming sound of the train chugging along the now-cool, breezy dunes and tumbleweeds.
Somehow they found the energy to pick up the pace. And soon they saw the wonderful freight train coming toward them. They smiled at each other and knew at that instant that this trip had changed them both. A new relationship of respect had grown between them.
The blood-red sky with its orange clouds gave the scene a sense of destiny. They were supposed to be here, right now.
The cool breeze helped them find the strength to run toward the connected freight cars passing by. Still, the sound of their running feet was somehow the only thing they could hear, as if the world had paused to watch them catch that train.
"You know what, Turner?"
"What, Ed?"
"In the movies, this kind of trains always travel very slow, but this is fast-moving."
"This isn't a movie, Ed."
"I could fly both of us over, I think. But I can't leave from the ground. We need to find a raised place."
"Don't worry, Ed. Be happy."
"Why your eyes are glowing, Turner? Ehy! Cool! You have stopped the train!"
"That's an electric engine; I can control it. Now, quickly, get on the train before the driver spots us!"
"The door is open on that wagon. Jump on!"
"Umph! I'm getting old, Ed."
"Nice place, this. An empty wagon where have been transported cows. M'xy would have been happy."
"Who?"
"Don't you remember? The one who turned MCCA agents into cows, in Chicago."
"Oh, him. Heh."
"Well, apart from all of this manure, it seems right."
"Sit down, Ed, and sleep. New Orleans is very far."
The soothing sound of the train rolling along the tracks soon sent both men into a restful sleep. Moonlight soon replaced the hazy sun, giving the desert an air of cool unfamiliarity.
Cicciotto woke up a couple of hours later and sat watching the landscape go by. He felt as if he could just sit there forever and look at the world change in front of him. New vistas every day, new sights and smells, but the same everlasting trundle of the train.
The wind was cold, and he suddenly felt a longing for his son, to hold him, to show him the wonders of the world, to share this moment of clear harmony.
A moment of profound sadness came over him as he recalled his normal past life, the past that was now forever gone.
"You really should stop that sniffing noise. You'll wake your friend," a soft female voice behind him whispered.
Startled, he spun around, ready for anything, anything but the sight of a girl with a backpack and sneakers. Her T-shirt read, "I am a Berliner!" She had brown hair and a pair of round, black sunglasses.
"Who are you, and how did you get in here?"
She sighed. "I climbed in as you did, and imagine my surprise when I found the two of you sleeping here."
"And why don't you think we will harm you?" Cicciotto raised a skeptical eyebrow.
"I looked at your sleeping faces. The face of a sleeping person reveals a lot of secrets, y'know. It tells who you are. I'm Jackie, by the way." She raised her hand, and Edulcore Cicciotto took it and told her his name.
"See, now we're introduced, and we can carry on sleeping. If you want, I can take first watch, which is what you should've done." She snickered.
Edulcore looked at her for a long time and decided that she was no trouble and went back to sleep, this time with one ear open.