1 Escaping the Train

The constant rattling of the train's wheels against the tracks misses a beat every few seconds. My head rises as the train lifts slightly each time. To others it might seem like they're imagining the train tilt slightly, the two opposing sides just a bit uneven. But to me, I know it's real. I can feel it. Here it comes.

Thump.

When my head slams back down, I don't gasp, don't even sigh. Each moment of sleep is precious and though I know I probably won't be able to go back to my dreams, even lying here with my eyes closed is a luxury I'm loath to give up. Just half-awake, I can already smell the rancid stench of my companion in the hold. Of myself. It's disgusting. I'm disgusting. You'd think after so long, I wouldn't be able to smell it anymore…and yet…it never fades.

"Rats…get up!" The voice on the train's intercom is not so kind as to merely smash into the back of my head. It wraps around my ears, sliding inside no matter how I try to shut it out. Every day it's like this. Except when it's worse. Well, at least it isn't one of those days. The gatlings make it impossible to sleep.

I sit up, my head sore. The dull persistent headache, which everyone gets from living in the Beast's train cars, is sure to stay with me throughout my shift. I hate this. I hate this. I hate this!

"You're late, Kat." Matt smirks at me as if he can see my internal frustration. He grins as he finishes buttoning his work uniform. Can a shirt with that much grease still be called a uniform? I don't even know what color its supposed to be. I sigh, walking over to my own locker and nudge the latch up. I rummage inside, knowing that I'm going to be late, but not in the least bit hurried. What are they going to do? Throw me off the train? If only...a girl can dream.

"Shut up, Matt." I snap, while pulling on my own work clothes. Why do we even bother? Who are we trying to impress out here? "You know what…screw it. I don't care." I shrug my arm out of the single dirty sleeve I've managed to identify from the thing which had once been a uniform. I toss it back into the locker and slam the door. Shoving my feet into my boots, I trudge over to Matt in nothing but my shirt. "You're late too."

"Touche." He replies as he puts his hand on the carriage door. Instantly, the lights on the ceiling go out. A security precaution in case there's anything watching outside. Even if the Cats can't see blue light, in the old days, the train-makers weren't sure exactly what set them off and took no chances. The first survivors lived completely in the dark, terrified that any light would draw the Cats. Nowadays, we know better. White light draws them in, the wavelength is like candy to a baby. We never use white light anymore. But colored light is okay. Most of the time. As Matt pushes out the door, blue and green light streams inside from the electric lanterns lining the Beast's walkway. Hissing wind streams through the gap and I feel my face tighten. The air stings, full of dust and darkness. It's disgusting. The outside of the train is hardly much better than the inside. I hear in the old days they had trains which ran on straight coldfusion. Which didn't have any pollution and barely made a whisper when they passed. Shields so powerful they replaced the guns with more passenger space. Imagine…not being afraid of the Cats…

"Shall we go, your majesty?" Matt's matted hair flows over his mangy grin. He might have been blonde once. Once. Now he just looks like hell. I know I'm not much better. I knock aside his hand, and push past him to the outside walkway. "A queen shouldn't treat her subjects so!"

"If I'm your queen, shouldn't you take me away from here?" I grin slightly, not looking back so Matt can't see. He follows me out into the streaming wind, sliding the door closed behind him. Maybe he says something else but the wind takes away any words he might have for me. I close my eyes, feeling with my feet and my heart, moving up the train, towards the head. 15 compartments. That's the difference between me and the Leashes. Well that, and the rifles. I march with steady feet on the rickety train, avoiding the rusting chainguns bolted onto the side of the carriage. Even with my eyes closed, I don't trip. I don't fall.

They used to tease me when they saw me walking with my eyes closed on the train. Ask me if I was a real Cat, the way I wandered the darkness without fear. No one else can do it, no one else knows the train like I do. They can't feel it. At first, I hated being compared to the monsters, but now I kind of like it. That's me. I might be small, but mess with my life and I'll bite back.

All along the walkway, across the bridge to the next carriage. The entire way, I keep my eyes closed, feeling the train, it's smooth darksteel rails jumping and swaying. There's a rhythm to it, this invisible beat which no one else notices, but I respect. It is what's keeping us alive. If the train ever stops its mad journey between towns, we're dead. I'm no Cat. More like a moth. Just bumping along in the dark, hoping to find some light. But there's no light down here. Nowhere to call home. Not this place. Never this place.

When I'm sure, I turn to the right. Metal rungs hang over the side of the carriage and I grasp them. Climb up into the darkness. Imagine the sun. I hear people used to climb mountains just to see it. A blue light appears at the top of the ladder. A hand reaches over, beckons to me. Jim.

"Late as usual, Kat!" He yells over the howling wind. I take his big gnarly hand, letting the man's rough grip carry me over the top. It is a rare thing to trust someone out here, but even amongst Rats, one has to try. "One of these days, they're going to find out you're not on time."

"Uhuh, like they'd ever come this far back." I reply, shaking my head as I squint through the bright blue light of his lantern. "Can you move that thing?"

"Oh, sorry!" Jim moves the light out of the way. My eyes relax, and the world becomes slightly less dark. I stare along the front of the train, and then back to the compartment behind us, where Matt has just finished climbing to his own post. Who's his partner today…looks like Jean. "They blew a fuse on number nine last shift."

"Got it." I sigh, bending down on the roof of traincar eleven. "I'll take care of it after I fix this one." I pick up a wrench, and a metallic wire, fiddling with the access hatch to the electronics inside. My one redeeming quality. The only reason I have any value. It feels like a curse. Is the whole reason for my existence to slave away, fixing broken darksteel wiring for the Leashes? I fiddle in silence, cursing as yellow sparks fly from time to time. The least they could do is provide me with some decent tools. "One of these days, something's going to blow and I'm not going to be able to fix it. Then we'll see what they'll do. Useless turds…"

Before I can even finish my first job, a touch on my shoulder sends a jolt through me.

"What is it Jim?" I ask, not bothering to turn, lest I leave this fuse worse than I found it. But it's not Jim who answers me.

"Kat. We need to talk." Matt's voice comes from behind. I curse as my hand slips and the fuse sparks.

"Matt? What are you doing on eleven? If the Leashes see you're…" I snip at him. But it's when I hear Jean that I turn, confusion in my eyes.

"Kat, this isn't a social visit. They have cameras in the traincars, Matt couldn't tell you down there." Jean explains and I frown.

"But they have cameras up here too…unless…" I whisper, understanding starting to dawn on my face. "You blew the fuse on number nine which means that the external cameras are down. But why?"

Matt's expression is serious, his usual jokester demeanor gone. His dirty blonde hair hangs over his face and he swipes it out of the way to look at me.

"Kat, have you ever wanted to get off this train?" He asks.

"Obviously. But there's no way to escape. Don't tell me you guys came all the way here to suggest another breakout? I don't want to commit group suicide, thank you very much." I hiss back. However, Matt just shakes his head. He nods at Jean, who leans in, his twinkling brown eyes glistening like the stars they talk about in the stories.

"Kat…what if I told you…I knew a way out of here? I just need someone to stop the train. You could do it Kat. No other Rat knows how but you could. Can't you?" His words are like electricity, shocking me out of the haze of a Rat's life into the real world again. When I breath, I can taste the tainted air, the fumes from the lead-car's exhaust. I steal a glance at the camera in the corner. Is it really off?

"You want me to stop the train…out here…you're mad!" I say, turning for support. "Tell him, Jim. He's insane, even if we got off the train here, in the middle of nowhere, the Leashes won't even need to open fire. We'll be Cat food by tomorrow morning!"

I expect to see some support, some hesitation on Jim's face. But instead, he looks excited but not surprised at my objection. They all look the same, like something big is about to happen. Jean leans in.

"No Kat…we won't. Did you see that bridge yesterday? The one with the broken siderails and painted struts? That was Olephant's Crossing. I grew up here, even after ten years, I still know this place like the back of my hand. There's going to be another bridge in two hours. Underneath, there's a maintenance tunnel, I used to use it to scavenge, goes almost all the way to Seatown. You stop us under that bridge…I can get us to Seatown. The door's well hidden, the Leashes will never follow us that far from the train. We could be free, Kat!" His usually blank stare is frenetic, exuberant. For the first time, I see signs of life on all their faces. Jean's, Jims, Matts, they all look like starving dogs who've seen a bone. And they're staring at me. Oh my god. They're serious.

"Are…are you sure?" Is all I can say. "What about the other traincars? Are they onboard as well?" My words cause slight rainclouds to appear on their faces, dampening their parade. "Did you tell them?"

"Well…the cameras are only off for so long, Kat. And you're the key to it all. There's no time to tell the others, the more we tell, the better chance the Leashes get wind of it." Matt whispers back. His face is tense. He knew I wouldn't like this. "The bridge is coming soon, Kat. You have to choose. Are you in?" He motioned around the Beast at all the rusting darksteel, "Or are you out?"

"I…" My mouth grows dry. Everyone is quiet, waiting for my decision. I could decide all our fates with just a word. The thought of the unknown out there is terrifying. It grips me, the fear that the Cats will catch us before we make to Seatown. That Jean might be wrong and this isn't his home-territory. We could wander out there forever in the darkness, lost until we're eaten or starve, or worse. But all these worries, these fears, they melt away at the thought of suffering here forever, on this train to nowhere. I want my life back. I want to be in control again. "I'll do it."

"YES!" Matt's electrified shout startles everyone, even himself. Jim claps a hand on my shoulder, a beaming smile on his face. For the first time, the old man's steady hands shake.

"I knew you would do it." He says in his deep rumbly baritone, and I feel their excitement bleed into me. Looking up past the traincars I stare down into the tunnel, where the bridge will appear soon. I might be a Rat, but tonight, I'm going to bite back.

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