8 Train to a new start
It had been weeks of agony for Tess when one day an unexpected letter arrived for her, slipped through the space under the door of Jeremy's mailbox-less house. The envelope was sealed with a dark green wax substance, reminiscent of an ancient era. She was skeptical, thinking it might be a silly joke, but her curiosity won and she pulled it open.
Three weeks later, Tess found herself at the District Ninety-Nine train station, amidst a barrage of neon lights, holograms, and technology. The walls of the underground station reverberated with a cacophony of sounds.
Jeremy abruptly stopped walking, prompting Tess to follow suit. She looked behind to see his parents far away, which meant this was a moment just between them. Good.
He turned to face her, but his eyes remained fixed on the ground, as if the cracked concrete was more captivating than her face. Tess sighed and yanked on both handles of her suitcases.
"Well, I guess this is it," she said, her voice laced with a hint of sadness.
"I guess so," he whispered with his head down, his hands tucked away in the pockets of his hoodie. The air around them was heavy, tense with unspoken words.
Silence came. Tess couldn't take it any longer. "Are you sure you want to do this? I mean anythi—"
"Yes, Jeremy," she blurted, cutting him off. She looked him straight in the eyes, her anger showing. "How can I not be sure after all that's happened? It's been over a month, and I still remember it. Every bitty detail like it was yesterday. I won't heal if I stay here. I already made up my mind."
He inhaled deeply, then took out a small box from his hoodie pocket and held it out to her. "Don't open it until you get to Primus, alright?"
Tess hesitated before taking it. "What is it?" she asked, eyeing the box warily.
"If I wanted you to know that, I wouldn't have gotten a box, would I?" he replied with a small smile.
She looked up into his eyes, searching for any sign of what he was thinking, but they were inscrutable. Suddenly, she felt an overwhelming urge to hit him. Without thinking, she punched him in the arm.
"Ouch!" He rubbed the spot where she hit him and held his head down.
"Oh no. I didn't hit you too hard, did I?" she asked, moving closer, but he stepped back.
She looked down at the space between them, feeling the distance growing. Why did she keep trying?
Then, his feet stepped back into the space, and before she knew it, she felt his arms tight around her. It happened so fast he forgot to swallow, and she forced her mouth shut, forcing the cough back. It would make the moment awkward, and she had a feeling he would not hug her twice in a row.
Tess let go of her suitcases and hugged him back, feeling warmth spread through her chest. She hated him. Why was he doing this now, when she was leaving forever?
The smile on her face made her feel like a liar more than any other lies she told. Her heart dropped as the train's bell sounded, signaling its imminent departure. Jeremy pulled her closer, pressing her head against his cheek and muffling her ears with his hands. She pushed away from him, realizing his attempt to sabotage her departure.
"Crap!" she shouted as the train began to move away. She grabbed her suitcases and sprinted after it, not daring to look back at him.
Jeremy's voice grew fainter with every step she took. "Are you sure about this? We can talk this over!" he yelled, his voice fading into the distance.
Tess kept running until she made a daring leap, her hands clutching onto the handles of her suitcases as she hauled herself onto the train's platform. The conductor behind the door window was taken aback by her sudden appearance and let out a scream of surprise, demanding to see her ticket.
Taking a deep breath, Tess reached for her bag and retrieved her ticket, handing it over to the conductor with trembling hands.
"You're lucky," he told her before opening the door to let her through. "Follow me."
He escorted her through several sections of the train, each one more opulent than the last, until they arrived at the entrance of the luxurious First-Class crate.
As he opened the door, she stepped inside and took a seat on a plush cushioned bench. The darkness outside the windows dissipated as the train emerged from the underground tunnel, and she was greeted by a breathtaking view of the sea, rivers, and lakes, their shimmering surfaces reflecting the golden sunlight.
She marveled at the fleeting scenery, the rapid succession of natural beauty and man-made structures, her eyes transfixed by the ever-changing landscapes that flashed by within seconds. This was the First-Class crate of the Sigmata Train Line, a place where the rich and famous could travel in style and comfort.
A waiter approached her table and presented her with a slice of cake, which she accepted and savored. The sweet and moist cake melted in her mouth, and she closed her eyes, savoring the flavors.
Ignoring the movie projection on the hologram in front of her, she continued to stare out the window, captivated by the ever-changing views outside. She watched as the world rushed by, the colors and shapes blending into a blur of motion and sound.
"Mom, that girl's hair is as white as snow. My eyes hurt," a child's voice broke her concentration. She turned to look at the reflection in the glass window and saw a mother and child in the section next to hers, across the aisle.
"I already told you to keep your thoughts to yourself, Felix," said the lady. "Besides, I'm pretty sure it's hair-dye. Some people have no pride like that, you know."
Tess stayed frozen in her position with half-opened uncaring eyes. That kid had never seen real snow so he should shut up. She resisted the urge and said it in her head. She closed her eyes and pretended to be asleep or in some deep meditation.
♪♫♪♫♪♫ All American rejects- Move Along1
Meanwhile, in a blindingly bright room, a person replayed a video for the tenth time. It showed MS guards in an infirmary at The District Ninety-Nine Academy.
"What are they teaching these kids in stamina classes?" inquired the new guard, his curiosity piqued. A nurse used an x-ray scanner to inspect his chest area.
"That's not a kid, that's an animal that needs to be caged down," barked Beater.
At the doorpost, a lady in a black suit with badges on her chest stood with a grin. "Any Mid-Sentry would be glad to have her with those skills," she commented.
Devast, still reeling from the encounter, barked at her, "Shut up! While you were running around trying to catch up, we were fighting that thing!" She paused to touch the cast around her neck, her voice softening, "I'm not scared of anyone, but that thing terrifies me."
The video froze when a gloved hand tapped the hologram's surface, swiping to the right to reveal an image of the dean's office. The hand pinched the screen to zoom in, revealing a deep engraved line in the solid tiled ground where Tess had pushed back her chair before fleeing.
Another swipe showed large footprints from the area of Tess's destroyed home. With one final tap, the screen went blank.
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