West Virginia was just that, a dream. That didn’t mean regular train traffic couldn’t use it, and an AmTrak diesel led the way.
Again Graystone walked them through one checkpoint or another until they’d reached the platform. The train was early, one of its stops had been cancelled. No one left to evacuate. The locomotive up front with two more directly behind it had been fitted with a cowcatcher, a piece of iron equipment with grizzly implications now, the design hadn’t been used by American railroads in almost a century. The entire nose was covered in gore, the ladders and any other easy access point to the engine had been cut off, armed private security standing guard like Pinkertons on a stage coach were on every corner of the engine and cars.
Showing his military ID to the conductor and the MP standing next to him, Daniel and Kaylee were allowed into the search area before boarding. The medics were only looking for bites, but they also made Daniel take the round out of the chamber in both of his weapons. If they were attacked there would be plenty of time to rack a round, but no need to have any accidental discharges in the meantime. It wasn’t a terribly unreasonable request considering the safety already provided, at least the railroad department of the TSA had stopped giving people crap about taking their guns with them. Daniel turned to face Wendy. She was already crying, he didn’t know what to do just then.
“Come with us. This place is about to burn. They’ll never know.” Daniel pleaded.
“I can’t. I’ve already run away enough. They’re going to need medics. It’s my duty, Daniel. Just like getting Kaylee home has been yours all along. After that… Well, you know which unit I’m in.” She grabbed his hand and pulled him in to a warm embrace. “Don’t forget me, Daniel.”
“Never.” He hugged her back, not in a romantic way, but like you bid farewell to a loved one you don’t expect to ever see again. For now though, Daniel had to think of something else. Getting Kaylee to Florida was the only thing he needed on his mind.
There wasn’t a lot of food on the train, but they were supposed to stop and refuel in Knoxville, Tennessee. The conductor said they would have time to get food and water there. The passenger cars smelled musty too, the seats covered in dust from sitting in a scrap yard for decades. A newspaper in an empty seat next to them was dated May 18, 1995. Daniel did his best to occupy Kaylee with the comic strips in the center fold, but the paper was so brittle most of it was unreadable. There weren’t any other children in the military’s segregated cars either, but Kaylee did draw the attention of a few others, people who had kids of their own. They took sympathy on Daniel, his cover story of the visiting cousin trying to rescue the last member of his family went over well.
One man, a Navy Corpsman, had nearly every JRR Tolkien book memorized and gladly sat to tell the most boring tale Daniel could imagine to little Kaylee. Daniel liked to read books about Soldiers and Marines, not Hobbits and Dragons. His favorite was a non-fiction about the Flying Tigers over China. He didn’t have the math scores to be a pilot, but maybe in World War Two when standards were different he’d have had a chance. Right now flying above all this mess seemed a lot better than chugging slowly through it on a dilapidated train like Soviet soldiers off to the slaughter in Stalingrad. Unlike those poor bastards though, Daniel and his comrades all had lots of guns. Nobody here had to wait for the man in front of him to die just to pick up his rifle and shoot, and thank God we’re Americans because nobody was going to shoot retreating Soldiers.
At the boarder of Tennessee a military checkpoint stopped the train. Most of the Civilians got off, rerouted to wherever it is they thought they were going. The train was at the checkpoint less than fifteen minutes, just long enough to make sure
Again Graystone walked them through one checkpoint or another until they’d reached the platform. The train was early, one of its stops had been cancelled. No one left to evacuate. The locomotive up front with two more directly behind it had been fitted with a cowcatcher, a piece of iron equipment with grizzly implications now, the design hadn’t been used by American railroads in almost a century. The entire nose was covered in gore, the ladders and any other easy access point to the engine had been cut off, armed private security standing guard like Pinkertons on a stage coach were on every corner of the engine and cars.
Showing his military ID to the conductor and the MP standing next to him, Daniel and Kaylee were allowed into the search area before boarding. The medics were only looking for bites, but they also made Daniel take the round out of the chamber in both of his weapons. If they were attacked there would be plenty of time to rack a round, but no need to have any accidental discharges in the meantime. It wasn’t a terribly unreasonable request considering the safety already provided, at least the railroad department of the TSA had stopped giving people crap about taking their guns with them. Daniel turned to face Wendy. She was already crying, he didn’t know what to do just then.
“Come with us. This place is about to burn. They’ll never know.” Daniel pleaded.
“I can’t. I’ve already run away enough. They’re going to need medics. It’s my duty, Daniel. Just like getting Kaylee home has been yours all along. After that… Well, you know which unit I’m in.” She grabbed his hand and pulled him in to a warm embrace. “Don’t forget me, Daniel.”
“Never.” He hugged her back, not in a romantic way, but like you bid farewell to a loved one you don’t expect to ever see again. For now though, Daniel had to think of something else. Getting Kaylee to Florida was the only thing he needed on his mind.
There wasn’t a lot of food on the train, but they were supposed to stop and refuel in Knoxville, Tennessee. The conductor said they would have time to get food and water there. The passenger cars smelled musty too, the seats covered in dust from sitting in a scrap yard for decades. A newspaper in an empty seat next to them was dated May 18, 1995. Daniel did his best to occupy Kaylee with the comic strips in the center fold, but the paper was so brittle most of it was unreadable. There weren’t any other children in the military’s segregated cars either, but Kaylee did draw the attention of a few others, people who had kids of their own. They took sympathy on Daniel, his cover story of the visiting cousin trying to rescue the last member of his family went over well.
One man, a Navy Corpsman, had nearly every JRR Tolkien book memorized and gladly sat to tell the most boring tale Daniel could imagine to little Kaylee. Daniel liked to read books about Soldiers and Marines, not Hobbits and Dragons. His favorite was a non-fiction about the Flying Tigers over China. He didn’t have the math scores to be a pilot, but maybe in World War Two when standards were different he’d have had a chance. Right now flying above all this mess seemed a lot better than chugging slowly through it on a dilapidated train like Soviet soldiers off to the slaughter in Stalingrad. Unlike those poor bastards though, Daniel and his comrades all had lots of guns. Nobody here had to wait for the man in front of him to die just to pick up his rifle and shoot, and thank God we’re Americans because nobody was going to shoot retreating Soldiers.
At the boarder of Tennessee a military checkpoint stopped the train. Most of the Civilians got off, rerouted to wherever it is they thought they were going. The train was at the checkpoint less than fifteen minutes, just long enough to make sure
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