12 Chapter 12 - Wherein Black And Red Are Painted Over

"RUN!!" She heard in the distance. Over the hills. Back towards the village. She saw red. So many shades of red. And black. There was red pouring from the bodies, but the greatest red came from the fire. It rose up and tossed great columns of ash up, keeping the stars from seeing what was happening, but it didn't stay in the heavens for long. When it came back down, it stuck to the bodies, obscuring their faces and leaving them nothing more than smoking piles of charred flesh. The smell was the worst part. It didn't take long for humans to burn, not when there was no anyone interested in preserving the remains. Cooking animals was different. That was done to gain something, a piece of meat one could survive on. This was different. This was just meant to burn. And burn they did.

They came on horses, beasts cast in hellish light, and carried weapons that killed with sound, but she couldn't hear anything over the laughter. Laughter. That was it. They laughed. They laughed because it was a game. "Come on fella's! Don't kill the small ones! They're no fun!" One of them screamed. And the women. The women were fun in other ways. Not the younger ones though. They got to listen. They were still listening. She was still listening.

Running never brought her far enough. The red and black were stained across everything, leaking through the cracks and singing a somber symphony heard by not a single soul. Still it sang, but there was no time to sing. She had to run, she had to survive. There was a voice in the shadows though that she could never outrun. It started soft, but it soon transitioned in a single word booming like an avalanche.

"Loren. Loren!! HEY, LOREN!!" Judas's voice broke through, dissolving away the dark and fire around her and pulling her back to reality with a jolt. She let out a small gasp and then jumped up, a hand reaching down to her belt line as her eyes started scanning around her for a possible attacker.

Instead, it was just a compartment of sorts, a train compartment judging from the motion she felt through the seat. All together, it wasn't big by any means and what little space there was had been consumed by the massive, padded bench replacing the left wall and two internal compartments that bulged from the corners. She assumed they were some sort of storage spaces, but she never bothered opening them to check.

It was starting to come back to her. They were on a train, Judas had made a comment about iron horses or something like they, screamed something out a window, and then she had collapsed on the bed. Even now she still felt just as exhausted as before, her limbs aching from the pain still pulsing from her cut and what little they had been dulled by her sleep was reignited by the dream. Her nerves stood on end, absorbing every sensation they could as they anticipated danger all around her.

Though the men she remembered in her dreams had vanished, she wasn't stupid enough to think that meant she was safe. They were in a train surrounded by who knew how many people who already hated her and would be sent running for the hills if they ever saw her companion. So why on earth was he not wearing his mask?!!?

"Rough night?" He asked and Lozen replied as she swung her legs over the side of the bed "What are you doing!? Why aren't you covered?!"

"Okay, I actually have an explanation for this."

"Oh you better!" Lozen cries out as her eyes glanced over at the door and noticed that it was not only unlocked, but the curtains hanging near the glass window covering the entrances entirety were drawn.

"Okay, picture this. Instead of me doing the whole souls spat up from hell, why don't we instead say that I did die, but you used your Injun medicine men magic to bring me back. I think it would work a lot better and actually give you something to-"

Lozen cut him off send she practically tore the curtains off the walls as she pulled them close and twisted the key resting in the door's lock "And why does that mean you leave the window open for everyone to see you?!"

"Build up."

"Excuse me?"

"Well, I can't just introduce this-" He gestured to himself. "out of the blue. I need to build up some rumors, slowly and surely let them spread throughout the train, wait until they reach wherever Alberta is hiding, she sends some guards out to round up every passenger, and then I reveal myself much to the shock and horror of everyone which then results in an all out shot out. Plus, maybe the train'll crash."

Lozen felt a massive amount of rage rise up when she heard that, but before she could scold him, her other memories started to come back to her and resulted in her only letting out a small sigh.

"Do I need to tell you why we're not doing that?"

"Maybe. Although, I'm kinda surprised you haven't chewed me out already."

"That would imply you've done something out of the ordinary. Did anyone see you?"

"No." He sounded disappointed. "It was soooo boring. I mean, what else could all these people bring doing with their lives?! I know what their daily routines look like! I'm pretty sure they could squeeze in a quick walk around the train in between their usual wine tastings and passive aggressive side chatter. Although, Elizabeth was being a bit of an uncultured mule coming to dress like that."

"How do you know there is someone named Elizabeth here?"

"Because there's always someone named Elizabeth here and there's always someone who doesn't dress right. I swear, clothing and names are the two things these people take note of. I don't think they even look each other in the eye."

Lozen rolled her eyes and peeled the curtains back just enough for her to look out as she said "And did you tell Beatrice what you were supposed to?"

"Yup. Five miles behind the train, like you said. Though..."

"What? Is something wrong?"

"Well, let's just say she got a hankering for some meat and leave it there."

Sensing the insinuations, Lozen replied "Agreed. So how does the rest of the train look?"

"What're you talking about?"

"I'm assuming you tried getting yourself seen by the other passengers by walking around the cars and in the process, exploring the train."

"Damn it! I should have thought of that!"

"So you stayed here all night?"

"It would've played up the whole mysterious specter thing, make people afraid that it could wander through the train uninhibited, and even prevent them from discerning who it was by showing it appeared in all the cars!! How could I have not come up with this!!?"

Lozen decided to ignore him when she realized he was going to be on this turaid for a while and returned her focus to the hallway outside. On the other side was a long series of windows that looked out over dunes of forestland that was starting to overtake the desert. The gaslights lining the hallway were still on display, though shut off in the day and not a single soul seemed to be walking down them. Though, the sun outside explained why.

She looked around their compartment and snatched up her hat and bandana once she say them lying on the floor. "Wrap yourself up. We're going to have breakfast." Lozen said to which Judas whined back "Whhhhhhy?"

"I thought you'd be happy to get out of here."

"Yeah, but who wants to get in a shootout in the middle of the day?"

Lozen decided not to ask and just said "It's about 9:00 right now, which means everybody on this train should be in the middle of breakfast. So, we both go there, you identify Alberta and then as we leave, I'll call Beatrice closer while you take her out. You grab the body, we both jump in Beatrice, and we both ride out of here before anyone is wiser."

Judas stayed quiet for a moment before saying "You came up with all that in the ten minutes you've been awake?"

"No. I saw that the sky was blue and relayed it to a blind man."

"Waaaaaait. Am I the blind man in that scenario?"

"Just cover yourself. We're running out of time."

Judas let out one more groan before standing up from the table he seated himself on and saying "Fine."

Lozen let out a small sigh of relief as she wrapped the bandana around her mouth and placed her hat back atop her head. She waited by the door until Judas had put on his mask as well at which point she opened the unlocked and step through the doorway.

Lozen made sure to let Judas step in front of her before they started down the hallway and keep her eyes on the rows of doorways passing by on her left. Most of the curtains were drawn and through the ones that weren't, she only saw loose luggage and dozens of clothing articles strung up around the compartment. A few servants were inside, putting away their masters valuable, but none of them paid she or her companion any attention.

At the end of the hallway was a desk with another man dressed like a servant who straightened up as they approached. Lozen expected for Judas to ask him where the dining car was, but instead the deadman walked right past him and made his way to the door. "Wait. How do you know where you're going?" She asked and Judas replied as he opened the door "Have you never been on a train before? If you want to go somewhere important, just keep heading towards the front."

"That sounds wrong."

"Trust me. I've robbed enough of these places to know them."

Lozen stepped onto the tiny, railed off deck just outside the door and said as she followed Judas to the next car "Fine. Just try and keep the part where you robbed these places to yourself."

"I make no-"

"You don't have to make promises. You just need to shut up."

"Oh hell no. I know how to talk to these people. You say so much as a word and they'll toss you out of this thing. Besides, I'm not stupid."

Lozen raised an eyebrow to which Judas replied without having to see it "Shut up. I'm better than you at least." They stepped inside the next train and crossed down yet another hallway as she continued "Just make sure to stay subtle. If this is Alberta's train, she'll undoubtedly have eyes and ears everywhere."

"Okay, okay. I'll just go with the whole mysterious stranger thing."

"Yes. Sure. Whatever. Just don't give us away." Lozen said as they stepped out of the other end of the train and finally entered into the dining compartment. It looked much longer than the others and was much more neatly furnished with an intricately woven carpet covering the floor and drapes covering the windows on either side of the car. Dozens of dining cars covered the sides, each one seated by a much more decorated figure than she had seen in the platform.

The men may have worn the same style of suit to an absurd degree, but the woman were adorned in massive dresses that easily added fifteen pounds to them and were dyed every color imaginable. Most of them looked more clothing than human if that made any sense and the only thing that made them look even slightly human were the faces behind the fans and cosmetics sneered across them. They laughed, ate, and chatted, but didn't do anything else even as she and Judas made their way down the walkway running down the middle of the car.

They found an empty table right in the middle of the car much to Lozen's gratitude and sat themselves down just before a handful of servers came racing down the walkway. Most of them were carrying plates of something or the other and when they deposited their beverages and foods, one of them rushed over to their table.

Before the man could say a word, Judas said "Two spots of coffee and a plate of eggs." The man looked confused for a moment, but the deadman didn't give him a chance to ask and instead said "Chop, chop, young man! We don't have all day! I can throw you off this train if I wanted to!!" That seemed to frighten man's and he scribbled something down onto a tiny notepad, nodding the whole time, before darting back up the car.

"What's a spot?" Lozen asked.

"You know...a spot."

"No. I actually don't."

"Come on. People-"

"No they don't."

"You don't even know what I was going to say."

"You were going to say 'people say that all the time' and let me tell you right now, no they don't."

Judas paused for a moment before slumping back into his seat and saying "Damn it. Am I really that-"

"Yes. You are that predictable."

"Hey! I wasn't gonna say-"

"Yes you were. Now keep your voice down. We don't want to attract any attention to ourselves."

"Please, you did all that the second you walked in here looking like a bandit."

"We're bounty hunters. It makes sense to hide our faces."

"Sure. You're welcome by the way."

"For-"

"For the eggs. See? You're not the only one who can predict stuff."

"Just keep it down and try and look around. If you see Alberta, tell me, but be subtle about it."

"Fine, fine."

He fell quiet after that, something that Lozen took to be the first miracle she had ever seen, but the silence lasted for a good ten seconds before the deadman decided he missed the sound of his voice. Unfortunately, he also chose the worst and last question she expected such a pompous, self absorbed twat to ask.

"So who's Beduiat?"

Her heart skipped a beat as she heard that and her eyes widened under the cover of her hat. Every muscle in her body tensed up in the same manner they would when preparing for an attack and her fingers twitched as she felt the urge to reach for her gun, but she kept herself steady for the moment.

"W-Who?" She forced herself to ask, her voice trembling just a bit from the anger surging through her. "Am I pronouncing that wrong? Anyways, you were muttering it in your sleep last night." Judas answered.

"You heard me sleeping?"

"No, I sat in silence for seven straight hours. Listening to you was the closest thing to entertainment I got."

Her hands curled into fists at that and hundreds of thoughts ran through mind, many of them filled with black and red. She tried pushing it all back down, telling herself that it wasn't going to help opening up old wounds, but something about this rat bastard simply knowing that name was keeping everything surfaced. The number of people who got to speak that name could be counted on a hand and he was most certainly not one of them.

"No one. It's gibberish." She said to which Judas said "Oh. Then who did you want to run?" Lozen flinched as she heard that and asked "Judas, what exactly did you hear?"

"Something about running and fire and that Injun nonsense."

The fire caught her attention. Red flashed through her mind for a moment which caused her to cringe again.

"And why do you want to know about any of that?"

"Because-"

"Don't!" She stopped when she realized her voice was raised and continued with her correction in mind "say it. You can be bored with sitting and this car or your little stunts, but just not about...that."

"Jesus. Okay, but-"

"No buts, no 'or', and no 'ands'. Just sit there and say nothing about it."

"Alright. If you insist."

Lozen let out a shakeup breath after that slowokt uncurled her fists as her efforts to repress the memories started gaining ground. The midnight and crimson colors were washed over by the scene in front of her and she was able to wrestle back control of her mind. One step at a time, she told herself. Every step forward is another between you and what came before. She hoped that one day she would be out of it's reach, but that wasn't going to get her people what they needed. So like the thoughts that inspired them, that wish was pushed down until she centered herself in the present once again.

She quick look around her before saying "Now tell me if you see Alberta." Judas turned his head in a slight, subtle manner that made Lozen genuinely impressed. "Nah. She ain't here." He answered.

"Are you sure?"

"Trust me, you get pretty good at recognizing the person whose picture you screamed at in the middle of the night because you were too scared to say it to her face."

"Huh?"

"It was Moore for the record. I always got saddled with him as a roommate. God that guy could scream."

"I figured."

"Really?"

"You're theatric, but I'm not certain your pathetic just yet."

"Now you're getting it."

"So where would she be?"

"I don't know. What'd your informant say?"

"Just that we needed to get on the Rita line."

"Well that's specific. Was that the Rita line for thataway or more over there-ish?"

"Just keep an eye-"

Before he could finish, one of the waiters came bounding down the walkway with a silver plater in hand. He frantically deposited their order like they were bombs, sweat clumping his hair together and his eyes darting all over the place. "That was fast. Not that I'm complaining." Judas said before the waiter stammered out "C-Compliments of the p-patron." Lozen raised in the eyebrow at that and glanced down at the tiny plate of eggs that looked suspiciously under cooked. Sticking up from the plate was a tiny note kept up by a tiny stand barely the size of a needle. It read There are twenty-four armed guards on this train, each armed with Henry 1860 heavy repeating rifles, and with a combined ammunition count of thirteen hundred rounds.

Lozen looked over her shoulder the second she finished reading that and saw that there was indeed a suspicious man in the car. He was standing next to the door she and Judas had come through, wearing much less colorful clothing than everyone else and a faded hat that was titled in such a way that his was hidden. His belt line held a revolver that she got a quick glance before she turned back to the table and then turned the card around, suspecting that there was more to it than a threat. One of my men will arrive in ten minutes. If one of you does not come with them, I will have them toss you in the engine. The other will remain here. Enjoy your meal.

Lozen bit down on her lip when she read that and kept her eyes on the other doors as her mind didn't waste any time trying to figure out why this person had contacted them. "What did you?" She asked and Judas muttered the last words of the note to himself before saying "Who calms a gun Henry? Now Florence, that's a firearms name. Anyways, why are you looking at-"

"You know why."

"Yeah, I do and I really mean it when I say I have no idea why we've been threatened, though I will take credit because I cut the time I got threatened in half. Last time I needed to merely exist for at least five minutes."

"Who saw you?"

"No one! Honest!"

"Really?"

"Why would I lie to you?"

Lozen didn't believe him at first, but then considered the fact that he was so proud of the most moronic actions she could think of, he probably be bragging about letting himself be seen. "Fine. Have you ever heard of the Rita line?" She asked.

"No."

"Then I take it you might not....." It hit her in the middle of her sentence. A train like this, there had to be some sort of rigid or "proper" schedule for everyone to keep their social standings or something like that, so deviating from that wasn't an option. Alberta, if she was intelligent as Judas kept saying, would know this, so why on earth was she not here? The only person who could be removed from a social circle in an environment built on social circles would be someone about it. Someone who had enough resources to survive on their own. Maybe enough to own a train.

She bit down on her limp onto her lips when she realized that and glanced around her once more to make sure the man behind her was too far away to listen. "Alright, here's the plan. We're going to do as they say." She started before Judas said "What!!? You can't-"

"I can and shut up before someone hears you!"

"Why don't we just go in guns blazing like we usually do?"

"Because we also usually avoid getting crushed by a a cave in and have to drag two bloated corpses across thirty miles of desert."

"Is that second corpse Beatrice or me?"

"Obviously. So this is what you are going to do. Stay here and don't cause a fuss. I will meet this patron-"

"Won't they just kill you?"

"If they wanted to do that, I'd already be dead. They're clearly comfortable with showing off firearms." She thrust a finger to point towards the man standing behind us. "And having bounty hunters conduct business on their train. Business I guarantee you almost never ends well."

"Alright, but they'll-"

"My money is under the couch I slept on last night. If anything happens, you take all of it, buy food and clean water, and take it to the Running Water village at the Chiricahua reservation. Do you understand me?"

Judas fell quiet for a moment before saying in a far more genuine voice than Lozen expected "And I'll get the rest of it there as well. But are you sure this is the best idea?"

"Yes."

"Does that make it a good idea?"

"Not even close. Just...just do what I told you and this little contract of ours will be over."

"No problem. But if you're not out here in half an hour, I'm gonna come out guns blazing."

Lozen let out a small sigh and, at least somewhat secure in the knowledge of her villages safety, decided it wasn't the best to go into this on an empty stomach. She scarfed down the plate in front of her, debating what could be done the whole time. If this Alberta was as smart as she feared, then she was going to have to be just as intelligent. Though it was difficult to come up with a plan for what you didn't expect.

Just keep your weapon close and remember your story. You're just the Injun servant to a bounty hunter who doesn't know any better. Stick with that and you just might make it out of this alive. Keep a calm head and focus on surviving. If anything happened, Judas was going to get the village what they needed. That was the only thought that gave her any sort of comfort and it was already difficult to believe. The last person she expected to fulfill any promises was him even if it was tempting to believe so.

"Mr. Doe? You are wanted in the private car." A voice suddenly broke through her thoughts and pulled her attention over towards another servant standing next to their table. He seemed much more composed than the last one and had an almost dead look in his eyes that sent a small shiver down her spine. His voice was lifeless and composed as if all it was meant to do was deliver a message.

Lozen straightened herself out as she saw him, but Judas managed to get a word in before she even opened her mouth "Sorry, buddy. I think you've got the wrong table. We couldn't even tell you our names if we wanted to. Professional policy." Lozen rolled her eyes and explained "He means John Doe."

"I'm sure that's terrific for whoever that is."

"It's not a person. It's a pseudonym."

"Is that more Injun nonsen-"

"No. Just stay here and don't do anything stupid."

"Which would be?"

"You know the first thing that pops into your mind?"

"Yeah."

"That. And when you think of it, shoot it until it's dead."

"Kinda hard to visualize, but alright. Don't take too long though. I make no promises once I get bored."

Lozen then turned to the servant and said as she stood up "I will represent Mr. Doe." The man replied "Very well. Follow me." Without another word, he spun around to face the front of the car and darted down the compartment with Lozen sprinting a little to keep up. He didn't say a word or even look at her over his shoulder, just lead her through more and more cars. They passed into the service cars, a kitchen staffed by five people soaked in sweat and clearly panicking to get all the orders out. Everything wreaked of sweet meat and dozens of noxious chemicals that she assumed were supposed to taste better than they smelled.

The best car appeared to be servant quarters with none of the fancy features the rest of the cars had. Old, splintering wood constructed every surface through which beams of light pierced through and the only features that interrupted this were a few beams stretching from the roof to the floor. Rickedy hammocks were strong between them, none of which were occupied as Lozen and the man passed through the decaying car.

Beyond appeared to be a storage car stacked high with boxes labeled with several rudimentary items such as sheets and some compounds she couldn't pronounce. At the end of this car however, there were two large men standing on either side of the door, wearing the same basic, faded clothing as the one in the dining compartment. Each of them held a large rifle in their hands and kept their stoic eyes trained on Lozen as she approached the end of the car.

It was one of them that opened the door, allowing them to pass through the car and onto the final compartment. The sound of the engine roaring and chugging along the tracks was almost painful to listen to, but when she stepped inside, Lozen noticed that the sound was instantly muffled. As were the lights. There didn't appear to be any windows in the compartment and the only light sources were tiny gas lamps that hung from intricately carved walls. One long rosewood carving covered the top half of the walls and in the floor between them was a massive assembly of couches and chairs all organized around one long, glistening table. Cabinets nails to the floor and full of plates and bottles of wine surrounded her, though what caught Lozen's attention at first.

That would be the six armed men standing like statues against either side of the car and the one figure in the car who didn't appear armed in anyways. She wasn't wearing what the rest of the woman on the train favored. Her dress hugged her body tight instead of blossoming out and was colored a deep, featureless black that reached up to choke her neck. The skin on her face was subtly wrinkled, in a way that hid her age and her getting hair was pulled back into a bun. A small brooch was wrapped around her collar that contained an opal stone that seemed to be burning when placed against her dark outfit. Her eyes were a cold brown like that of stone and seemed to stare right through Lozen as their own seated themselves in what should have been a throne. There wasn't anything immediately dangerous and lifeless about her, but there was a confidence that made Lozen feel just a little fear.

"Miss Doe, allow me to introduce Miss Alberta Finch, patron of the Ruby Rita." The servant introduced before stepping aside. Lozen glanced around, feeling particularly out of place at the moment before taking a seat in the chair resting at the other end of the table and directly across from the patron. Finch's eyes scanned her down when she seated herself, right before the patron gave a small, almost playful smile and said "I hate to keep you from your business, so I'll do my best to get you out of here as quickly as possible. First things first, if you'll allow me to be blunt, what are you doing on my train?"

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