Train to Nowhere

The entire place was in a state of chaos as people ran helter-skelter from one corner of the street to another.

"Jason, the baby!" Sarah screamed, pointing at the crying baby on the floor before them. Jason did not know whether to go for the baby or to go ahead and hide with Sarah. At first, he wanted to run with Sarah as a result of the crowd that separated between them and the baby, but when he heard his sister's compassionate words, he was moved to go for the baby. He left Sarah's hand and made his way through to get to the baby. Before he could turn around after lifting the baby up in his arms, he could not find Sarah standing there; he screamed at the expense of his vocal capacity.

"Sarah!"

"Fire!" Yelled a military man in uniform who stood in a military van. Immediately, bullets began to fly again, but Jason was no longer paying attention to what was going on in his surroundings. With the baby in his arms, he started to search everywhere for Sarah and was very lucky that his height was below the altitudinal range of the flying bullets. He was not hit by any. He left that spot with a fast-beating heart full of fear that he had lost his sister. He ran into a train station from thence and whilst he was still looking everywhere, he heard his name from behind,

"Jason, over here!" He turned to see Sarah waving at him from a distance as she stood behind a pillar crunching cheese and burger, which made her voice almost sound different when he heard it. He ran towards her as quickly as possible and…

"Sarah, where did you go? I was looking everywhere for you. You got me worried, Sarah. Give me that!" He scolded her in a loving way and took one of the burgers she held in her left hand from her and started chewing, even before asking how she got it.

"I'm sorry Jason, I needed to eat something, that was why I went for the food." She pleaded remorsefully.

"It's okay, Sarah. Come with me, let's go with this train." Jason squeaked, trying to find a way he could hold up the baby properly in his arms, and at the same time, turned hurriedly to go to the train that had just stopped at the station. The population down there was great, such that the place became congested with people who were trying to escape death as a result of the political upheaval in the state.

"Do you know where the train is going to? Will it lead us to where dad is?" She questioned and followed him closely to avoid losing him because she noticed how scared he was when he thought he had lost her. She actually saw how frightful he was when he kept turning his neck around, obviously searching to find her when she stood by the pillar.

"Just follow me, Sarah!" His cracked voice shrilled on his way onto the train. He waited at the door to be sure she had entered the train with him before he thought of getting himself a seat. The second she entered, his mind was almost at peace, except for the agitation of personal tranquility caused by reason of the baby's presence with them, knowing he would not be able to look after an infant like that, needing almost constant care and attention.

"This way, Jason!" She half screamed the second she walked in and was ahead of him to go get a seat. She sat down, then adjusted herself a little, waiting for him to join her. He walked sluggishly towards her with a distressed look on his face and joined her, slowly lowering his body to the same seat as hers before the train's engine started.

"So, tell me, how did you get this burger and cheese?" He finally asked after he had eaten half part of the burger in his right hand. Sarah first glanced at the baby he was carrying and admired the cute face before giving him the answer he patiently waited for.

"I found it in a hot truck and went for it because no one was there and I guess the owner must have fled for safety, so I took it." She sputtered in haste to get done with explanations because the cheese in her mouth was so sweet to her taste she needed to chew quietly.

"Okay, but you do not have to go around the streets taking what isn't yours to take simply because the owner is not there, Sarah, that is called stealing and there is no integrity in doing that." He advised, speaking rapidly to ensure she gets to know how serious and important his words are.

"I already told you, I didn't steal it, I took it and what difference does it make, huh? I was hungry and I can't wait for you to grow up into dad's height before I can eat something lest I starve to death." She yelled almost with a whimpering tone, before bowing her head down remorsefully, feeling bad for raising her voice. He looked at her for a while and noticed she must have been hurt emotionally to have talked harshly. He wrapped his right arm around her instead of being mad at her for having spoken to him rudely, knowing that there had never been a time she raised her voice.

"Come on, Sarah, its alright. Everything is going to be alright, okay. We just have to stick together. We are family now and we both need each other to survive and you just might have done the right thing in the wrong way. So, cheer up and finish up your food." He comforted her softly while rubbing the palm of his right hand which he crossed over her shoulders on her right arm. An old woman who sat facing them, fixed her gaze on Jason with a strange look in her eyes because she felt a little boy of his age was not supposed to be carrying a baby so well as if he were a girl and at the same time, uttering big words of advice to his little sister with such measure of comportment.

"Okay, Jayson." She sniffled and continued eating. The old woman wanted to talk to him but felt the place was too crowded to start asking sensitive questions like who owns the baby in his arms, which might draw attention. The train was still receiving passengers when, all of a sudden, the shooting started again, right inside the train.

"Everybody stays put!" the voice clamored from behind Jason at the extreme end of the section they were in. At this time, some people had left the train, running for their lives and some dropped dead on the aisle, even close to where Jason and Sarah could see. While Jason turned his neck around to see what was going on behind him, he heard Sarah's voice next. She was already outside the train, and had squeezed herself through the window, beckoning him to climb out quietly through the window as she did.

"Jason, there's a way out through this window. Come out, quickly!" She whispered. His eyes dilated in surprise as to how she got out so quickly and was about to go out when the baby in his arms woke up and started crying. The cry of the baby drew the attention of the leader of the group of soldiers standing on one side of the train in front of him. The man was nothing like a military man but like a civilian, he was putting on a black suit and in his right hand was a black-colored hand-gun. He ran quickly towards Jason and fired five rounds at the window where he saw Sarah's face. The glass was shattered by the impact of the bullets and…

"No… Sarah!" Jason screamed the moment he could no longer find Sarah around… the train was already moving before he could recover from the shock that left him no choice but to believe that Sarah had been shot dead.