Stowaway

Uncomfortable burning roiled Solaren from her slumber. In her groggy state, she dismissed it. Pins and needles. I should turn over. The sensation grew stronger, like gasoline doused onto flames engulfing her. She writhed anxiously, but her body would not budge.

She wrenched her eyes open. It was pitch black.

“Help!! Somebody help me!” she screamed, but only heard her own voice, bouncing off the walls of the enclosure. Her stomach pretzeled in on itself, as her pulse ramped to a deafening level.

She managed to squeeze her arms up and banged on the front, hammering for a way out. The walls felt stiff and corrugated under her fists. Daggers ripped her lungs as exasperated breaths sucked up the oxygen.

Please, God!

Glimmers of light began to poke through the wall, cracking under her frantic bashing. Here we go. She bent her leg up as high as she could, and with a rush of adrenaline, she speared the enclosure with her knee.

The wall splintered apart and she tumbled out. The bottom approached her at blinding speed. She crashed in a heap, careening across the floor.

Solaren laid still, unsure if she'd broken anything. Crystalline vapors swirled before her eyes as her gasps hit the crisp air. Fortunately, the mounds of frost cushioned her fall.

She let out a labored groan, rolling onto her back. Rows upon rows of giant frozen carcasses swung in the air, as the entire room jostled periodically. Outside, she could hear distinct rumbling.

Am I on what I think this is? Ah, over there.

Getting up, she limped towards it, arms wrapped tight to stifle her shivering. She pushed, leaning in with all her weight. The ice snapped and the heavy slab swung open.

She stepped out of the freezer.

Taking a moment, she dusted her clothes and situated herself. She was in the galley, dimly lit and in pristine condition. Not a soul.

She stretched her limbs, trying to get the aches out, and staggered forward. She noticed the dull pounding in her head would not relent.

She unsealed the door and entered the next train car. Double deckered and filled with passengers, asleep in their seats.

Outside massive windows, the stark landscape streaked by. The rocky horizon laid still under glinting stars, at the precipice of dawn.

Solaren sank into an empty seat. The Etruscan leather supple against her skin, relaxed her. How the hell did I get on this train? She felt the satchel hanging by her side and propped it open, searching. Her hand brushed against an empty vodka bottle. Could explain my headache. Or maybe it was my face breaking my fall.

She pulled out a billfold. She thumbed through it, stopping at a photo of a boy, only a toddler. She caressed its creases, attempting to surface a memory from the hammering haze in her head. She sighed. Nothing. Without thinking, she flipped it over.

Scribbled on the other side were the words:

SHED NO TEARDROP. FINISH IT.

Before she could contemplate its meaning, the conductor burst through the door. "Tickets! Get your tickets out."

She rummaged again, but came up empty. The conductor towered over her.

"Ticket please, miss."

"I'm sorry, but I seem to have forgotten mine."

The conductor arched an eyebrow. “Then I’m afraid I will have to ask you to get off this train.”

“W-what? But I have money.”

“I must ask you to leave.” He grabbed her by the arm, forcing her up out the seat. She pulled back.

“I can pay!” she shouted. Some of the passengers began to stir.

He yanked her. “Please come with—”

“Right here, sir!” A hand shot out, clutching a ticket. “Got my wife’s ticket right here!”

The conductor turned to face the man with the ticket, who smiled jovially. He scowled and snatched the ticket from him, and dumped Solaren back into the seat like a sack of nightshades.

The man chuckled awkwardly, watching the conductor walk away. He plopped down beside her.

“Solaren. How’s your head? You regain your memory?” His demeanor strangely shifted and was now all business.

“Who are you? I have no ring on my finger.” She narrowed her eyes in confused suspicion.

“Had to remove it, to get you past the detectors.” He stuck up his hand for her to take a look. “Mine from the day we got married.”

“And how do you know about my hangover?”

“You don’t drink, remember?”

“So this??” She flipped open her satchel to show him the empty bottle.

“We were making molotovs.”

Her eyes widened. She opened her mouth, but froze on how to respond.

“I get it, this can be much to take.” He motioned for her to get up. “Meet me at the Century Club car. I’ve got to hit the hopper first.”

They split ways as Solaren ventured towards the Century Club. Who is that guy? Why can’t I remember anything. What the is going on? Her heartbeat grew anxious as her mind raced to a million conclusions.

The soothing notes of a jazz saxophone leaked through the sealed door, putting her in a false sense of ease.

She entered the Century Club. Dark oak panels lined every surface and a handful of drunken denizens milled about in the smoky milieu.

She sat at the far end of the bar, studying the exquisite liquors behind it. The bartender sauntered over, giving his tightly curled mustache a twist.

“What can I get’cha?”

Before she could make a decision, a voice blurted, “Lemon soda. Make it two.” The man with the ticket sat down next to her, and the bartender hurried off to make their drinks.

“Are you going to keep interjecting?” More of an assault than a question, Solaren’s brow furrowed at the man.

“The citrus and carbonation helps dissolve the elixir.”

She shot him a quizzical look.

“The elixir you took to slow your metabolic rate. So we could smuggle you, entombed in the meat locker.

Her eyes widened, as she contemplated the dire situation that could have led up to this outcome. Her eyes narrowed into knives.

“You still haven’t told me your name, how you know me, and what in the devil is going on here. If I were anymore paranoid, I’d think you were ducking the question.”

The bartender returned and dropped off their drinks.

“Solaren, love. It’s me, Emerec.” He gazed into her eyes for any sort of recognition. He pushed the fizzing glass up to her lips. She ripped it from his hand, putting it to her mouth herself, and took a long sip.

“We’re here to stop this train. To finish it.”

She froze mid-sip, and clanked the glass down on the mahogony bartop. Reaching into her satchel, she pulled out the photo of the boy.

“For Renthor.”

She touched the photo tenderly, feeling a faint stirring beneath the haze in her pulsing head.

“He loved playing with his train sets. Especially the one from the Salem sawmill.” Tears collected in the corners of her eye. She blinked, desperately trying to clear them before her cold demeanor cracked. “I can’t believe I let him… I mean, I left—”

“You’re an agent, Solaren. It’s what we do.” He placed his hand over hers to comfort her. “Since the day I met you. All the sacrifices we had to make, to get this far.”

A firery rage scorched through her veins, vengeance only a mother taken of her cub could know. “Let’s finish it.”

“We don’t have much time. This train cannot get to its destination with its cargo.” He slammed his drink and got up.

She threw a few bills on the bar and headed after him.

They made their way through the train, car after car, moving briskly, but careful not to draw attention as the passengers woke for daybreak.

Solaren looked out the window, bright light filtering through. The scenery seemed to be speeding by even faster than before. She felt the train shake as it lurched down a steep incline. She could make out the coast in the distance, where the track seemed to tilt up in a massive slope. An emergency escape ramp?

“We need to move.” Emerec pulled her arm. He spun the handle on the door to the next car, but it wouldn’t budge from its seal.

“This is it.” He pulled a pen shaped object from his pocket and stuck it to the door. They cowered back as it charged. A scratching whine that grew louder and louder. Then nothing.

Solaren felt her lungs collapse as the pressure in the passageway compressed violently, rupturing the thick steel door right off its hinges.

They stepped through the doorway, pausing to regain their breath. The train car was bare metal, an industrial transport. Crates were stacked to the ceiling

They moved past the towering boxes.

In the middle of the car rested an enormous hunk of matte black metal. It whirred, sensing their presence.

“Shit.” Emerec started inching backwards.

The hunk of metal rose up from the floor, clanging heavily as its limbs unfolded. Massive barrels hung from its ends.

“A Guardian. Take cover!” The barrels spun, faster and faster, blasting a torrent of hot bullets at the agents.

They leapt behind the column of crates, as the barrage shrieked through the air. Wood shards exploded everywhere.

Emerec reached under his shirt and pulled out two revolvers from hidden holsters, tossing one to Solaren. She checked the chamber.

“A six shot? Are you kidding me!”

“Aim for the hydraulic tank on its back! It’s not heavily shielded and will cut off its movements.”

She waited for her moment. The heavy automaton swung its torso for another sweep. Heart pounding, she sprinted off with bullets shadowing her strides. She slid across the floor towards a tower of crates flanking the metal beast.

Emerec stood up and fired off a few rounds, grabbing its attention. It pointed its gatling guns towards him, and sprayed a steady stream of lead.

The hydraulic tank was clearly exposed on its back. Solaren jumped up, took aim and squeezed. Two shots bounced harmlessly off the thick armor plating on its shoulders, missing their mark.

Dammit! She ducked down as a storm of bullets razored through the space her head just occupied.

Emerec hurdled the barrier of crates, calmly pushed towards the automaton, aimed and fired. The first shot dented the hydraulic tank, and the second one knocked the covering loose. He fired again. The shield clanged away.

Solaren poked out from behind cover and saw him take aim, but he hesitated for a split second, something distracting his focus.

“Take the shot!” she screamed. Almost instinctually, the metal beast took a step back and swiveled around, battering him with its limb. He tumbled through the air, smashing into a tower of crates. It marched towards the pile, blasting it to bits with its rattling weapons.

Its back faced Solaren, giving her a perfect view. Her skin crawled as her face melted into a look of horror. It wasn’t a hydraulic tank—more like a vat. A human brain suspended within.

She rushed towards it, pulled the spent bottle from her satchel, and bounded off the floor.

She swung it and the vat shattered in a shower of glass and fluid. The gunfire ceased, as the metal beast fell to its knees, toppling forward.

Spotting Emerec’s arm from under the pile of crates, she ran over and dragged him out. He was banged up, yet somehow still alive. She wrapped him up best she could with fabric from her outer garment.

“Get to the control car,” he sputtured, trying to regain his composure. She hoisted him up, supporting him as they stumbled along.

They were greeted by near darkness as they entered the next car. Solaren found a switch, and banks of lights flickered on, casting a morose red glow. Columns of glass canisters lay beneath them.

“For the love of our Lord..” Her hand covered her mouth, as her stomach churned.

In each of the dozens of canisters, floated a human brain.

“They’re building a whole army.”

“Emerec, over here.” She was by another section, where the canisters had names printed on the glass.

“The world’s elite of the past epoch. On a journey to new life, and unending rule.”

“They leached the souls of the people, plants, animals, and earth as payment so they could jettison into the outer bounds.” She spat on the floor in disgust.

They made their way past the last column of canisters and into the next car. The door unsealed. At the center sat the control station.

“Solaren, we need to broadcast a signal to set off a nuclear detonation once the train hits the sky-ramp.”

“A nuke?”

“How else will this train reach the velocity needed to break into orbit, if not for a blast wave?”

“But all those people, the city.”

“They’re already good as gone. It was never sustainable.”

The train rumbled violently as it raced down the slope, faster and faster. He grabbed the wired plug for the terminal and handed it to her.

He pulled out a switchblade and flicked it open. Uneasily, she backed away.

“Solaren, we have to act now, before the train hits the sky-ramp. The codes for detonation—they are all in your head.”

His words sunk into her thoughts, and she reached up. “My headache..”

“Yes. The only way to get them past the detection scan.”

He placed his hand on her arm to comfort her. The ring on his finger glinted in the light from the control station. Something about the ring made her look again, closely. Bare metal shined under the ring, where his skin should be.

She shoved him. “Who are you!” She pulled out the revolver and jabbed it in his face.

“Solaren, what are you doing, it’s me, my love.”

“N-no you’re not. Y-you’re one of those.. metal.. things!”

“Yes. But it is still me, my love! Don’t you get it? I had no choice. It was our only chance at getting off this rock. The world is dying, don’t you get it, Solaren?”

“Liar! You crossed me. My sweet Renthor..” Tears streamed from her eyes. “And join them? The criminals that did all this?” She pistol whipped him across the face, exposing the metal beneath his cheek.

“Please, my love! It’s as we had planned, remember? We made our choice. It was either him or—”

She pulled back the gun. He looked into her eyes, a glimmer of hope that he was finally getting through to her.

Then she placed it to her temple.

“I choose to be with my son.”

She squeezed the trigger.