The Forgotten Detective

I wake up with a major pain in my head wondering how the hell I wound up with this major pain and where the heck I am now. The saddest part is I know better and wonder why I let my better judgement go and opened my smart mouth to the wrong person. I just know I talked myself into this mess somehow some way.

The subtle rock of the train rolling down the countryside the warm light of day almost making me feel serene as if in a world gone by. Where am I? How did I get here? what was the purpose of this whole chase? I knew if I didn’t start getting answers I was going to wind up in a whole other world of mess. And even lose more than I bargained for. Self-preservation started kicking in. Let’s see now…

Hmm arms are sore full of pain and burning muscles legs feel stiff and tight and the smell of alcohol fills the compartment as I am looking around. I see the berth I’m in holds little information for me. Everything in place nothing out of the ordinary. The sound of the tracks passing by hold the rhythm of a steady heartbeat like that of the land speaking up saying hey I’m alive healthy and life’s good. My heart starts beating a little harder as I try to remember who I was talking to last nothing comes to mind.

The blank thoughts that came across my mind where like a canvas in front of an artist waiting to paint the overall picture and yet there remained nothing but the empty space in my mind.

We traveled through the mountains as I was looking out the window and sitting up off the floor. I look out the window and see the beauty of what the majesty of America is, and I find it awe inspiring. I get a throbbing headache that sends me reeling back into my seat as I plop down into my chair, and I recognize a small object that jabs me in my leg as I’m sitting down. a key, a small key like some old-fashioned Victorian lock waiting to be opened. What was this key for? who knows. But I feel like its important and should be kept safe.

I start reaching for the berth door and all I’m seeing goes blurry and in and out of focus, Ok common now axel let’s get past this get ahold of ya self we need answers if we are going to get out of this one alive. But wait why do I have this feeling of urgency I am just overreacting this could be a nice smooth simple day and I am just taking this way out of proportion. Hmm I looked out the window I knew I was in America here in the countryside by the looks of the scenery.

By looking around this train I’m on I may remember more of what purpose this travel is about and I find what I’m doing on this train.

The train just is silent as ever blasting through the land like a rocket nothing out of the ordinary to me. Hmm by why is this place so still and silent? Answers must be gotten somehow. I open the door as I look down the hall ever so quietly. Why am I being so cautious I have no reason to be but this gut feeling just makes me feel like I should be careful where I am walking. “Hello! Anyone!” Nothing. This is odd. I limp down the hall of the train and I slowly look around I don’t see much. “Hello! Anyone here? Nothing still. I knock on the adjoining berth and see its empty. I start getting a little nervous now why this is now a little more complicated than I thought it should be trains are not this still and silent…. I walk faster to the end of the train cart and don’t hear nothing as I listen out to hear any signs of life. I go to the last compartment on the train cart I’m in and I open the door and its locked. I look down the hall and over my shoulder and the think hmm … this is what the key is for. I try the key I have and no luck.

I start towards the other end of the car, and I can walk a little bit easier once again and my head is no longer having that pain I had when I regained consciousness. I walk into the berth next to the cart that adjoins mine and I see a small bathroom. Hmm getting some water on my face may help me to refocus and snap out of this lightheaded feeling I hope I can be myself once again.

I open the door and no one in there as well. What is going on here? Why is there no one around? I open the compartment and am startled by my appearance. "Now that's a face only a mother can love. Well that explains the pain." I am all beat up and by the looks of it got a beating of my life. Hair matted bleeding from my lip fat lip cheeks are bruised. I would freak anyone if they saw me look like this. Hmm it is wise if I can try to keep a low profile and find out more of why I was beat down to this and placed on this train. Just got to clean up a bit first though.

The moment I wash the blood off my face and the dirt on my face the pain is just shooting, and my head wants to explode. Right then I remember I was searching for something, and I wound up here and I been in this business far longer than what I should have been and should have quite long time ago. But this is what makes me, me just can’t remember who I was searching for or what my case was about. I do know that I can’t stay here and after seeing this beating I believe that my cover was blown. Time to move into the other berths but first let’s start from the point I began from and work from there.

I sit down in the berth on the side of the bed with more caution and I look around the room and I listen and try to get this headache to simmer down. I try to grab ahold of some information as to how I wound up here and where this train is headed. This room has no occupants as the other room I was in as well. Trains don’t take off without having a full roster going. I have noticed as I lay my head back and close my eyes that the train has been moving at a faster pace over the past 15 or 20 minutes. the rocking is getting a little harder meh it’s just me should not concern me any.

I look for my wallet it gone so where is my stuff? I got to investigate. There are some clues around I know there must be. I do not just wind up on a train without knowing it I didn’t sign up for a vacation. someone brought me here and I need to know who it was and how they found out I was a cop on this case. I go back out of the berth, and I start slowly walking back to the berth I woke up in and as I am walking, I hear a small faint noise like a luggage case drop to the floor. Walking still hurts and this limp has me taking things slower than I would like to go but the cart seems to be very unsteady as I am walking down the hallway I glance out the window and see we are in the mountains and passing through a rocky mountain pass but even though we are on tracks we are going kind of faster than I would like to assume is a luxury train ride, but this is making me think why is the train rocking this hard why are we going so fast?

As I walk up to my door, I see the berth doorknob slowly turn I step to the side take a deep breath and wait and see who appears. My heart beats harder I try to slow down, and I ball up my fists and I reach for the knob and jump at the door as it sides open, and the shadow of a man appears as he turns to walk down the hall. I lunge at the person that is walking out I get the jump on him and catch him by surprise. After a few minutes of struggling, I get him Pinned to the floor and cover his mouth to stop him from alerting anyone else who may be working with him.

Do not make any sudden moves and we are going to get along just fine. You want to live you answer my questions. Nod your head if you understand. The man nods. “Where are we headed?’ The man stares at me giving me a dead pan look and says nothing. "SO, you gonna answer or just look at my pretty face?" and I apply more pressure over his mouth. The man shakes his head and muffles "Uff aid ot to ay a ord..." I say what was that?! I release the cover on his mouth, and he says, "you said not to say a word so what do you want bub?" I reply, "smarty huh? answer me where are we headed?" “Maine” “why was I attacked and how did I wind up on this train?” I do not know the boss wants you dead and I can’t blame him, I so am going to get you, you… ARGH!!” I ask you answer that is how this works” I twist his arm harder as he tries to get out of the pin. “Who is your boss?” “I swear I’m going to kill you, you dirty... AARGH! OKOK, I give! The guy you are asking don’t know a thing all I know is that the man in charge is paying us a lot of money to keep things quite tidy and clean no loose ends. We were paid to do a job… starts breathing harder as he continues to struggle against me, it’s taking me everything to keep this hold on this man, but I need answers, and this is no time to be a saint to a potential killer.

“Stop the games go on.” “The money is coming in and you had the finger pointed on you as the dirty scoundrel who was snitching on the plans for the gig we got, so we had set things in place to take care of you and the mess you made for us. Can’t breathe…” “Who is the guy you are working for?” The man twists his hips and finds a way to break out of the pin and starts to fight throwing punches that hit like a bull.

The guy grabs me starting to choke me out and nothing I do can break this iron grip he has on my neck I break the hold at the last minute and kick him away the man grabs a knife hidden in a small discreet sheath on his back and lunges at me, I sidestep and grab him from behind the pain in my legs and my head be dammed at this point, but all is working against me. I hold onto the perp and as he is wildly trying to stab me slamming me into the walls and beams of the berth he cannot fight anymore and just falls to the ground and on his side. I get up and start searching for anything on the man that can be helpful to me. I hold on to his knife well if anything I'm not without some form of self-defense. I walk out locking the door behind me.

Ok so how many are there of these guys? and who was the one to blow my cover? I open the door to the connecting car and as I am crossing over, I see a car full of men armed and talking with one another passing jokes.

“OK that’s a car I want to avoid” so I climb up onto the roof of the car and I see a bridge and the tracks that lead to a peak thereafter. The cars seem to be very rickety and rocking very hard and the speed of the train is now going at breakneck speeds, almost making me lose my step and flying off the top of the train car. Then I realize what seems to be a very nasty situation. There is no one driving this train! I am faced with a tough split here face the car full of armed guards paid to kill me or take my chances with an out-of-control train driving at an uncontrollable speed over old and aged tracks on what seems to be an old, rusted bridge it into a steep valley full of craigs, twists and sharp turns hugging the rocky mountain pass.

Hmm, if I want to make it through this alive and in one piece I need to go back and somehow see where the engineer is at and how to get this train back to a normal safe speed. this train is moving way too fast, and death is imminent any which way. If I'm going to go out, I'm going out swinging.

I head back into the back car and start looking for ways to get through the heavy armed guards and get into the front berth and see what is going on with getting this train and all these civilians in the train back to the station safely. ok that's the goal but now how we are going to get there...