The Wonderland Express

Part I

The unmistakable trademark roar of a train rang out from somewhere deep underground as the absolute beast of machinery barreled down a set of tracks, the noise easily permeating into each and every connecting car along for the ride. At his usual position inside the very front compartment stood one man who stared ahead through the glass windows despite seeing an absence of anything new or exciting lurking in the surrounding scenery.

Same shit, different day.

He stared as though fearing the moment when he might look away would be the moment he would miss out on whatever he was looking for. Down to his core he was exhausted and devoid of anything more than a fool’s hope of greener grass on some other side, but he had enough left in him to keep optimistic for at least one more day.

“Would ya look’ee there. A grand adventure awaits us. No ‘bout a doubt it. Keep yur eyes peeled because today is the day. Today is the day! Annnny minute now we gon’ be seeing a light at the end of this ‘ere tunnel. You know it. I know it. Everybody knows it. Annny minute now.”

Assigned to the role of de facto main conductor-in-chief and driver of the Wonderland Express was a man named Lloyd. Unsurprisingly he dressed the part equipped with steel toe boots and the patented hog head hat to go along with it. Mere moments ago, the morning daily routine which he had so vehemently stuck to for a significant amount of time had been regrettably abandoned in favor of new borderline strange behaviors directly correlating with a slow yet inevitable descent into insanity. Not the kind commonly defined as the repeating of the same action while expecting different results, so it may be more fitting to describe it as a loss of sanity rather than a gain of insanity. More often than not he didn’t realize he was doing it. Talking to himself, that is. Loneliness had an infamous reputation of taking its toll on even the strongest willed of people. Lloyd was no different.

Technically speaking, he hadn’t the slightest clue if it even was morning. The train navigated strictly through underground passageways and it had been this way for the entirety of his stay thus far as conductor-in-chief. He stopped attempting to keep track of the days passed when he ran out of space on the walls of his room to scratch new lines. Having to see these markings each day upon waking up alone made him very much regret even making these ticks in the first place.

A longing to be outside in the fresh air had been building and building as he started to feel more and more desperate to experience the warmth of the sun and allure of the moon which had eluded him for some time now. Who would’ve thought it’d be possible to miss breathing the outside air? It was just air. But oh, how wrong he was. Any optimism he felt was fading, and fast. To make matters worse, time was certainly not flying by. Interestingly enough, there were no devices nor mechanisms on board to track the passing of seconds, minutes, hours, or days. No outside indicators to hint at its presence either. Even if there were, they probably wouldn’t do much good, for time operated differently here. He couldn’t put his finger on how, but he knew enough to be certain that observation had to be true.

Some would say that time was of the essence… but what if that clock was wrong?

The Wonderland Express invoked feelings of tremendous mystique and tumultuous dread. When it really started going, let's just say its passengers would be remiss to not prepare for a bumpy ride. Amenities on board were not comfortable. None of the furnishings, inviting. In this diabolical train's case, speed did most certainly not equate to freedom of the soul. Quite the contrary, actually.

At seemingly random intervals the train took in new arrivals. Fresh passengers of all kinds, and in this case that term casts a rather large web. The train stayed populated with a unique cast of characters, and that's putting it mildly. Each newcomer boarded the train by an unknown methodology in an undisclosed location made all the more cryptic for the train never seemed to stop moving, let alone slow down. They would all be monitored and accounted for, then meticulously logged into a record book by mysterious figures who had some type of high-ranking authority. Once on board, no one ever remembered how they'd originally arrived.

Lloyd had met a few of these strangers a time or two. All of them could be described as beyond off-putting. He prided himself upon being a people person, except these interactions incited instantaneous goosebumps. Chills ran up his spine each and every time they got within close proximity. Plus they were always one-sided exchanges, and in all of them he'd be on the receiving end giving less than minimal input.

These lackeys wielded great influence yet never exhibited great power, although they did have the scary look down pat. Seeing them up close made 'em look frail. It made the only logical conclusion come down to two options: either they were bluffing, or they were backed by something powerful. Lloyd never caught a name. Not even a slight mention of who or what they represented or why. Always moving quickly yet surreptitiously, he could never get a solid look at what they looked like underneath their gothic getup. Thinking it better to stay on the safe side, he followed any and all directions given to him accordingly.

Several mediums, everything from written instructions to audible signals with altered frequencies to bypass the already booming sounds from the speeding Wonderland Express were made to communicate different pieces of information to the chief. One of these was a unique sounding, hand-held curved horn capable of blasting an enormous wave of sound similar to a war cry. It produced a unique noise more impactful than it had any business making in relation to its size.

Even more odd were the times where these signals appeared to biologically interact with the train itself. Unexplainable phenomena like rifts of energy shrouding the train like an aura to a corresponding low rumbling static happened too frequently in synchronization to be brushed aside as coincidence. The horn's resounding call could not be mistaken, and it just went off. Its call signaled one thing and one thing only. Every time hearing it provoked the same response from Lloyd.

“ALL ABOARD!” he announced to no one but himself.

New arrivals. Every time he heard that horn he'd created his own little ritual of saying out loud that little catchphrase. Lately he'd begun shouting it, one of the few ways he could figuratively blow off steam. Saying that somehow never really got old. Trains were cool. Always had been, always would be. Or so he thought. It didn’t take long for their appeal to lose its luster once he found himself stuck on one indefinitely with no possibility of escape and extremely limited knowledge concerning what in the hell was going on.

Lloyd, nor anyone he had associated or socialized with—admittedly an occurrence that was few and far between—had never been to the last set of cars towards the very back of the Wonderland Express. Talking about it felt unofficially taboo. Frowned upon at minimum. No instruction manual existed governing what passengers could or couldn't do. What was the point in making a rule against spying into the last cars if doing so couldn't be done anyway. A lore of sorts had also been introduced long, long ago as a back-up measure to encourage a total herd mentality of willful compliance.

Instead there were two other more powerful deterrents: stories, and rumors. So if anyone new happened to inquire, others were rather quick to inform them against further curiosity. And thus, for the most part, they complied. Nevertheless, a select few riders may or may not have been pushing these boundaries. Doing their own investigations. Diving deep into mystery. Remember this part for later.

Travel back and forth between cars located in the middle sections didn’t happen very often but was not uncommon. There were designated living quarters for all passengers as well as designated lounge areas where the public could congregate. None of them sparkled with much appeal. Most of the amenities, seats, whatever, in these areas covered the bare minimum, and no more. Let's just say living here had more downs than ups.

Sure, he had plenty of unanswered questions, however exploration would surely lead to trouble. And trouble was no friend of his.

But a person can only be pushed so far, and his sane mind wasn’t going to have full control of his actions for much longer. Sooner rather than later, another part would inevitably take over.

When the horn sounded from a distant sinister record-keeper whose real title had never been revealed, Lloyd knew he had duties to attend to and carried on. These involved the operation of a massive display of button pushing, lever pulling, and much, much more. During his initial training after being named conductor-in-chief the procedure had been painstakingly hammered into his memory until he knew the sequence more clearly than tying his shoe laces.

Each day he became more convinced of his growing suspicion that this standard protocol might be nothing but a smokescreen, considering the train appeared to require no outside control to function. Nothing tangible ever happened once pushing a button or pulling some lever. Either his actions were causing different reactions elsewhere unbeknownst to him, or they meant nothing. Nothing at all.

Unless he missed something during the rare few times where he had gone absent from the front car, the train never braked, changed direction, accelerated, decelerated, or changed in any meaningful manner off its standard operations. Only the intercom button ever did anything.

The purpose of his duties were never explained to him. His ‘training’ consisted mostly of reading binders of papers and watching low-tech video tapes full of diagrams and instructions concerning what to do and when to do it, but none of the above contained information anywhere regarding an explanation as to the all-important why.

Unironically, Lloyd was now more convinced than ever the Wonderland Express wasn’t so wonderful, after all.

If only, if only—

If only he could step outside for just a moment. Maybe feel the sun’s rays on his face or a snowflake falling on his cheek or the crisp fall breeze filled with that certain uplifting smell. It was getting harder and harder to stay present in his current reality. Thinking of leaving this miserable life for the greener pastures of anywhere else steadily drove him further into a dark depression. One day soon he wouldn't have the strength to carry on.

"Just for today," he murmured.

Grabbing the microphone off the dash in front of him, Lloyd raised it up in preparation to make an announcement. Aboard this train there was no such thing as pre-recorded audio tapes that played alongside robotic beeps and chimes whenever something happened like arriving at the next station. There was no such thing as a destination here. Luckily life was all about the journey, right. Right?

Yeah, right.

At least for today he wouldn't let his sour mood affect the rest of the passengers on board. Especially not the Wonderland Express. Crazy or not, he felt certain the train itself possessed a consciousness of some kind. A living and sentient being way outside the parameters of human understanding. Out of all the conspiracy theories Lloyd mulled around in his head, he'd place his bets on this one specifically to be true. Because of this bond, keeping everything copacetic and clean landed high on his list of priorities.

Was it a God? An ancient being? The result of witchcraft or dark magic?Could it be part of a new dimension? Or was it a unique dimension all in itself? Great, ain't it? When all the possibilities of your own personal harrowing situation all suck.

Spending tons of time together brought them closer. One time he pulled a certain lever for the thousandth time, at least, and to his horror the metal snapped off. And what was the substance trickling down from the broken part? It wasn't oil or some special kind of fluid. Unmistakably, once injured, the train bled. From then on he handled everything with the utmost care, making sure to regularly wipe down surfaces and clean every inch of his daily quarters. Slowly but surely what was once a foreboding presence had now become a source of comfort.

The least he could do as chief was try and be a small source of reassurance for the other riders he shared this speed-demon with. Try and communicate with them like a friend staying at another friend's side when they've been sick, telling them everything will be ok, despite knowing it won't be. Although he'd never once witnessed a miracle, maybe one day he'd get lucky. The absurdity of this fool's hope prompted a madman's fit of laughter. No shot. But one could dream.

So, he put on his happy face and got ready to make the daily impromptu announcement he'd taken upon himself to do, the only deviation from his instructions he felt willing to take. It became one of the only good things he actually looked forward to.

Lloyd, the de facto conductor-in-chief of the Wonderland Express, pressed and held the intercom button.

Part II

“Welcome ye ladies, ye gentlemen, and all ye others different. Welcome, welcome, to the Wonderland Express. Today be da perfect day to travel into parts unknown. Please, if ye will be so kind, find a seat and place any of yur belongings underneath yur seat or in the compartment above ye. In due time ye quarters will be ready, so getcha comfortable and say hello to a fellow rider. If none of da seats be available, find ye a spot away from the doors and find ye something solid to hang on tight. One may'a never know when da tracks could get bumpy. Da tracks be always havin’ rough stretches ‘ere and dere more otten den not, I have seen. ‘N so it be me absolute pleasure to—"

A sleeping passenger on one of the spacious designated lounge cars aboard the Wonderland Express sat alone on the 2nd tier. With his head leaned back against the train's side, he was soon in for a rude awakening. His eyes shot open after being jarred awake by the conductor’s announcement. His left eardrum nearly exploded from being in close proximity to one of the many large speakers installed around the occupied train car.

Utter confusion regarding who, what, when, where, and why triggered a bewildered reaction, an epic state of confusion written all over his face. Nothing made sense, and it didn’t take very long to make that deduction. The shock was potent enough to make him briefly forget his name.

"Eddie. Yeah, Eddie."

First, Eddie closed his eyes for ten seconds and then opened them. Second, he pinched himself. Third, he punched himself in the leg and blinked rapidly in an ill-advised attempt to wake up. So far, so not-so-good. Wherever he was, however implausible, he wasn’t dreaming.

After a few breaths returned him a tiny bit closer to a calm state, overall, he was very far away from one. He leaned back while fiddling with his shaggy beard, although honestly calling it a beard was a bit of a stretch. He was still young and had only recently acquired the ability to grow any facial hair at all.

Wait a second. He didn't remember shaving anytime recently. For a fact he knew never in his life had he worn anything like the ridiculous clothes he had on.

Beyond puzzled, he looked around, eyes making multiple sweeps of his surroundings. There was so much going on he had no idea where to start, and it was so farfetched none of it completely registered. Instead, he closed his eyes again and listened. The logical place to start was the announcement he’d just heard.

The message repeated in succession three consecutive times before cutting out. Although the exact word choice slightly altered each time, its content expressed generally the same things. Most obvious was something about a ‘Wonderland Express,’ which Eddie put together as the name of the train. Random info about the rider's quarters, finding a seat, and bumpy tracks followed relatively standard protocol for a train. Whether or not any or all of it meant to be sarcasm proved iffy to tell.

Eddie raised his right hand in the air and cocked it back, then proceeded to smack the absolute crap out of the side of his cheek.

Nothing.

No effect.

He typically wasn't a violent person in the slightest. Be that as it may, this wasn't a typical situation. Desperate times called for desperate measures. Naturally, he couldn't bring himself to fully commit to that last one, so he raised his left hand high up into the air with intentions on doing the same thing, one final attempt at knocking himself out of Dreamland and back into Normalcy.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you. There's really no need.”

Eddie froze, warily turning his head towards the direction he thought the voice came from. He stopped abruptly mid-turn and focused on a passenger relaxing on the lower tier who didn’t at all look like a normal person. Unless his eyes were playing tricks on him, he never noticed this unique individual previously. If he had, there was no doubt he would have remembered.

On the bright side he could now cross off having a case of unreal amnesia off his bucket list... That right there is what you'd call a half-joke. The stranger was looking down when Eddie fixed his gaze on him—then either through coincidence or a sixth sense—the not-human sensed he had an audience and stared right back, perspicaciously knowing exactly where Eddie was up on the 2nd tier.

The rider's glasses briefly reflected a beam of light when looking up. An arm and a leg were made entirely of metal, the parts appearing sophisticated and functional versus strictly limited use placeholders. A fedora sat atop his head. Judging from the rest of this guy's attire, he looked more android than person. A fancily dressed one at that. Ready to party at any time, he had foregone any sort of tie.

“Hellllllllloooo. Can you not hear me or something? Over here.”

Eddie shifted his sight back to where he originally intended before getting momentarily distracted. His eyes responded by rising even higher seeing someone quickly approaching with a wave and a smile. Fortunately no one saw her stumble clumsily going up the last steps on her way here. Hearing the voice again confirmed to him that she had been the one speaking to him before. Ignoring the incomer for the time being, he looked back towards the previous spot which revealed nothing but an empty seat. The stranger was gone like the wind.

Quickly Eddie sprang upright and leaned over the balustrade styled railing protecting those on the 2nd tier from accidently falling off and checked every which way for any sign of metal-man.

"Did you see him? That guy down below with a metal arm?"

He asked the approaching stranger who had taken up a position leaning against the railing, facing the opposite direction of Eddie towards the back wall of the car he had leaned his head against during his earlier slumber, standing directly next to him.

"I didn't see 'em. But I know 'em. We've met once or twice. His name's Alphonse. He's cool."

It dawned on him his behavior teetered along the line of rudely ignoring her. What could he say? His social skills had just ceased functioning for a moment due to his brain's sensory overload. Actually, come to think of it, that's how he always was.

In his search to pick up a trail on where Alphonse had gone, some of the details regarding the passengers below had finally sunk in. There was a man whose head was literally hanging off of his neck. Several attempts at placing it back upright continued to fail as every time he took his hand off removing any support the thing drooped back down to rest on his shoulder.

There was a girl with both arms completely on fire, both limbs entirely scorched and blotted with black ash. It wasn't a raging inferno or anything, but it was on fire alright.

Another passenger had been cleaved in half, the lower half of her body nowhere to be found.

Another was covered in snow with icicles for hair and fingers that were varying shades of blue and purple.

Eddie went ahead and said what he was thinking aloud. While remaining in the same poised yet relaxed position, hat tipped down to cover her eyes, a responding zinger came without missing a beat.

"This. Is not. Normal."

"Oh yeah? You catch on awfully quick."

The total crowd amounted to around twenty. Not all of them showed visible signs of injury, and a few here and there could pass as regular folk. Others looked like aliens he'd imagined from outer space. Everyone at the very least displayed at minimum baseline levels of sentiency. How advanced each of them were couldn't be judged by observation alone. They were the only two currently on the 2nd tier while the rest of the passengers acted oblivious to Eddie's existence, unless they were willfully choosing to ignore him. The reality of the situation began to sink in. It nearly drove Eddie to tears for the first time in a long time.

Absent-mindedly his fingers tapped away on the railing at the same time his eyes darted around looking for a way out. Miss Sarcastic surprised him by touching his arm, then withdrew it a few seconds later. Firm yet fleeting. He'd almost forgotten she was there. Eddie got a grip. Panic would get him nowhere. Anxiety still lingered, but at least now he felt a little more in control.

"Thanks for that."

"Don't mention it."

Neither of them turned to look at the other when speaking. Time to move on. No harm, no foul, a silent agreement to go on pretending like he didn't nearly lose it completely. Little did he know it had been similar for her. A story for another day.

Of course his problems didn't stop there. On the bright side this next one fell into the 'good problem to have' category. His heartbeat skyrocketed through the roof. The ladies made him feel nervous, so this was no surprise.

They locked eyes, turning to face each other almost poetically at the same time. Then she adjusted her orientation to face him directly and reached out a hand to proceed with the standard approach of a human meet ‘n greet. He followed suit turning to face her, thinking they were probably about the same age.

When he extended his hand to shake hers, he looked down to see there was nothing to shake. Her hand was completely severed, and not into a healed stump. Raw flesh along with the bone of her arm stuck out right below the wrist, droplets of blood hitting the ground.

Miraculously the line he thought of came on the spot, contrary to the norm of him kicking himself for thinking of the perfect thing to say strictly when it would be much too late. He regretted it instantly.

“Ahh. In need of a—right hand man—are we?”

The split-second immediately following that one-liner resulted in an embarrassment so intense he wanted to run away and hide forever, even more so than earlier.

Of all the reactions he was expecting, an easy smile wasn’t one of the most likely. Neither was a wink to follow it up with. It turned out sometimes miracles did happen, and that’s what he got. She pulled a prank. He made a joke. No doubt he'd count this interaction as a minor win.

"Not bad, not bad. I guess I'm not the only one with a bit of a dark sense of humor."

She said it while pulling a fresh bundle of wrap out from her belt. Mostly concealed, it probably functioned more for tactical purposes than it did for style.

"Yeah, well. I catch on pretty quick, ya know."

With a small smirk she looked at him and rolled her eyes, subconsciously moving her hair from one side to another. That's when he noticed the massive scar on her neck. His focus traveled from her eyes to her missing hand, her scar, and back again to her eyes, a sickening feeling suddenly appearing in his stomach. He was at a loss for words. Even though they'd just shared a laugh, he’d seen enough, then turned back and assumed his earlier forward-facing position leaning against the railing. She mirrored his move, except unlike last time faced the same direction as him.

Quicker than Alphonse had vanished, her smile faded. A reaction Eddie wished he could have prevented. If only. If only. Why did he always find a way to screw up a good thing in the few and far between rare moments they happened.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to—I didn’t mean to—I’m a bit startled, is all. Not of you, I mean. Of all this. Whatever all of this is. Well, admittedly the hand and the scar did catch me a bit off guard. Sorry about that. I’m new here, are you? I guess not considering you've already made friends.”

“You could say that, Mr. Scaredy-Cat. Ya frighten easily, huh?”

Clearly she outmatched him in the witty department. Banter never came easy for him, however this time things were going differently. He decided to play along, may as well go with the flow.

“Who? Me? Frighten easily? Pshhh… not-scared is my middle name.”

Her smile returned, but only briefly. Like the weight of the world was upon her shoulders and thus imposed a limit on how joyful she could be at any given time.

Eddie noticed more solemn shifts and waves in her body language out of the corner of his eye. In this arena of vulnerability he had essentially zero experience. Unsure how to handle this latest development, he kept quiet. On the contrary, his thoughts continued racing along, plaguing his entire body with an all too familiar nervous energy.

Time passed unbelievably slow until she broke the silence.

“Why haven't you asked what happened to me?”

Another brief silence ensued as the shenanigans on the lower tier continued on. Then Eddie took his turn breaking the pause in conversation.

“I don't want to know. If you tell me, I have to tell you. Otherwise... Never mind. I can't do that. If you know what's good for you then you should stay far, far away from me.”

Despite taking his time thinking prior to speaking, once the last word came out of his mouth the regret came in. Again. Even when he thought things over he'd end up overthinking. No wonder there wasn't a doubt in his mind he'd always be alone. If she had taken offense, she didn't show it, only changed the topic of conversation.

"You got a name?"

"Yeah I got one. I go by Eddie. What about you?"

“You can call me Mac.”

At long last they'd officially gotten past introductions, and now Eddie had a gut feeling he'd soon find out the real reason she had approached.

“Glad I met ya, Mac.”

A low power, flickering light hit Eddie in the eyes, forcing him to avert them. Mac was unphased, focusing her attention somewhere specific on the lower tier.

Static. An unstable change in reality itself unfolding in front of them, impossible to miss. Glitched noises rang out in sync with each individual burst of reality bending static, creepily feeling like the debalitating sound originated between their ears. Somehow directly affected, the rest of the passengers reverted to everyday, normal looking people... and back again to their undead, uncanny real selves, alternating between flashes. The process repeated itself a few times.

Mac remained calm, cool, and collected like this phenomena wasn't anything new. Eddie didn't bother asking for an explanation. She'd either give one, or she wouldn't, and asking wouldn't make a difference in that outcome.

A reawakened dormant memory unexpectedly popped into his mind that led to a random realization. Eddie checked his pockets and found nothing in them, not even a ticket allowing passage onto The Wonderland Express. Either he had never gotten one, or he didn't need one. Try as he might, recalling when and why he boarded this train in the first place proved to be most elusive. Rather than waste more energy on it, he gave up, more concerned with his new acquaintance's increased paranoia.

Whatever it was Mac scouted for she didn’t disclose. Whatever conclusion she arrived at, she acted upon without hesitation, frantically grabbing his hand and quietly telling him what to do.

“Hurry. Come with me. We gotta move. Now.”

With that quick warning out of the way, and without another word between them, she yanked on Eddie’s hand signaling him to follow. It wasn't like he had an opening to say anything, regardless. Simultaneously they walked briskly towards the stairs leading down to the 1st tier. Right when they reached the lower level most of the passengers carried on as usual. On the other hand, a few who had seen them stopped whatever they were doing to stare. Mac ignored them. Eddie, who at times could be oblivious to even the most obvious of signs, at least understood this unmentioned cue not to say anything or draw anymore unwanted attention towards them.

From section to section, in between connecting individual train cars all a part of the same whole, stood two separate pairs of conjoining sliding doors, one on each side, creating a small transition area allowing for movement aboard The Wonderland Express. Opening them required the push of a button. Closing them happened automatically at a specific amount of elapsed time. Mac nonchalantly pressed it and they carried on through towards the next one. This other dividing area held two additional paths, staircases looping around and above leading to another separate set of rooms.

Design wise T.W.E. matched pretty basic stuff you'd find within any ordinary train. Repeating layouts was a staple of all trains and this one was no different. Here in this other in-between area they lingered, all because of Eddie's uncontrollable urge to take a closer look at a few things. What would happen if he tried to jump off? Naturally he had no plans of doing so, not at the moment at least, but still felt drawn to check since thus far he hadn't seen nor heard any indication of the exit/entrance doors dropping off/picking up passengers.

All the doors contained a lone window installed in each of them, some so dirty they'd become nearly completely opaque. One of the windows where an exit had to be provided a look into the outside world. Tragically the scenery appeared so bleak it rivaled even the maddening, monotonous unpleasantness of the stifling underground tunnels. So much for a temporary reprieve.

Some abnormality caught his eye, then he half-whispered to Mac.

"Hold up a sec. Just want to check somethin' real quick."

Uninterested, Mac paid more attention to readjusting her belt and compulsively re-wrapping her wound than whatever Eddie intended on checking.

"Yeah. Sure. Go for it."

When he had his back turned she pulled out a piece of fabric similar to a scarf to finesse in conjunction with her hair, the goal being to cover her scar at all times, even when on the move. Why-oh-why did she have to be constantly moving her hands whenever even the slightest bit of nerves reared their ugly head. How could he not think of her as beyond repulsive?

To satisfy a curiosity, Eddie veered left to see if he could open one of the sliding doors leading off the train. The small, cracked, and foggy windows didn't allow for any detailed sight seeing. Traversing a couple steps down would allow him to press his face against the window to peek through it. Hopefully get a more detailed look at the scenery outside for potential clues to aid in figuring out where they were.

On the verge of taking the final step down, barely a single arm's reach away, one moment he stood upright and the next he got knocked down, almost out, by an invisible barrier in front of the exit. More carefully he reached a hand forward, slowly, and sure enough, there indeed was something there. Making contact with the barrier caused visible, translucent ripples only a keen eye could see. Not long after making contact the energetic blockade stabilized. He couldn't have been the only one who noticed this... Right?

"Probably, maybe should've mentioned something about that sooner. Sorry about that."

"Don't even worry about it. I mean, obviously, it's not like this is my first time encountering an invisible force-field, or anything... I knew it was there all along, what I just did was solely meant for testing purposes, clearly. Makes total sense why you forgot to mention it. It happens."

Always at inopportune times would Eddie's dark thoughts rudely make an intruding, unpleasant appearance. Rather depressingly, he believed them more often than not. Sensing his present vulnerability, the malevolent voice in his head capitalized on it.

"She's laughing at you. Not with you. Certain things never change, no matter what. You're not good enough. No one likes you. Don't forget it. Now move it along, pronto, and quit it with those ridiculous visions of yours that will NEVER happen."

"Yeah, yeah. Clearly. Very funny. "

With that short 'n sweet final line Mac put an end to this particular session of back and forth banter. She tried winking and failed this time, twitching instead, forgetting she could only do it with a certain eye. Usually she was the one telling people to stay far away from her. Her life had been filled with exponentially more pain than pleasure as if a curse followed her around, going everywhere together, from point A to point B like all the trauma she'd gone through was pre-ordained. Some may have been deserved. Some not. At the end of the day it didn't much matter either way.

As quick as it came, that diabolical inner voice in Eddie's head left without saying goodbye. No shot it had gone for good, though. Even so, right now more pressing matters took priority. They'd lingered here on this detour for long enough. Time to get moving again. He announced his conviction to journey on with mixed feelings about Mac's response.

"Ready when you are. Got a plan?"

"Nope, not really. Actually, kinda-sorta. Follow me. Stay close. And keep your head down."

Quickly and as quietly as possible they shimmied through two more almost empty cars until they arrived at another in-between section mimicking the others. Mac looked around again, then grabbed Eddie’s arm and down they went together in a crouch. Five seconds of listening intently later, Mac made her move. She slid aside a formerly concealed secret part of the floor that blended in so perfectly you'd have to already know where it was in order to gain access to it. Underneath it loomed a hatch big enough for a person to go down it. Mac grabbed the handle and opened the thing up in one smooth motion.

Just a split second before she jumped down, she froze and looked up, hearing the sound of the sliding doors open on the other side. Eddie saw an expression on her face worth a thousand words. Too late to back out now. His legs turned to jello. The ultimate stakes of this newfound, unfathomable reality started to sink in, sparked by seeing the fear in her eyes. Mirroring her, the both of them looked like they'd just been nabbed in a game of freeze tag.

"Alphonse. Good 'ole Alphonse."

As soon as Mac said his name, Eddie let out a tremendous sigh of relief. This was Mr. cool, according to Mac.

Alphonse wore a completely neutral expression on his face. For the time being he ignored Eddie and focused strictly on Mac. Seconds passed. Nothing was said, but something was definitely going on between them. Here and there one of them would add hand signals to their communication. A minute passed as Alphonse crossed his arms and nodded, bending one leg behind him like he had plans on chilling there for a little while.

“Don't die on me or I swear I'll kill you."

Nothing could crack the straight face of Alphonse. He answered with a salute to her and nothing more.

Mac turned to Eddie.

"Let’s go.”

"Hold on a sec. Wha—"

She jumped down into the hatch without waiting for a response.

Eddie looked at Alphonse wondering if he intended on following them. Up close, the metal-man who he once regarded as a ‘not-human’ gave off an expression more human than he had ever seen. In his face, and especially in his eyes, the look temporarily threw Eddie off guard. An expression of deep hurt. During this uncanny osmosis Alphonse grew uncomfortable with Eddie staring awkwardly for so long and finally averted his gaze as if to chastise himself for showing a moment of weakness.

"I'm not sure what exactly happened to you, but I'm sorry. Personally I never thought this sentiment made much sense, ya know, like why am I apologizing on behalf of life? Uhh. Nevermind. Not the greatest time to go off on a tangent."

On second thought, why did he even care? He didn't even know the guy. Jeez, was he soft at times. He hated that about himself. Something about this train mentally took a toll on him, bringing up some of his worst insecurities to the surface.

Alphonse stood there and shook his head, possibly lost in thought. Probably reminiscing.

"And then... it all erodes."

How did he just know that whenever this guy would talk for the first time it would be something super cryptic. That was Eddie’s cue to scram, before things got even more weird between them and Mac reached a limit on her patience waiting for him.

Tilting his neck down, then up to look at Alphonse, and then finally down again, even though he didn't know exactly the inspiration behind that mysterious message, in a way Eddie could 'get it' without 'getting it,' so to speak, ultimately choosing two true words that might make his newest companion feel a little less alone.

"I know."

Without further ado, he followed Mac down into the secret passageway.

Darkness swallowed him up while Mac waited at the bottom of the ladder, moving as soon as he touched down on solid ground. He followed close behind, grabbing her hand as not to get lost. At least that's what he told himself. They walked a few miles, surely, and that wasn’t an exaggeration.

Logic fell victim to panic's prey. This secret tunnel passageway's existence shouldn't be possible. It made no sense if they really were trapped on an infinitely speeding freight train. How in the heck does a train come equipped with a basement tunnel?

However, the thought never crossed his mind, being much too preoccupied with a slew of other things. At this rate he'd grown almost desensitized to the countless oddities.

On the contrary, Mac had it figured out. The heart of what was going on, that is. And it explained both nothing—and everything—at the same time.

Neither of them talked on the way. Silence didn't always have to be uncomfortable, and this stretch of it specifically felt rather pleasant for both parties. Eventually they reached an identical ladder to the one they came down on and didn't pass it up like they did the others. Here lied, the end of the line.

Halfway up climbing the exit ladder, Mac looked down.

"If you're not ready. Get ready. This is only the beginning."

With no context, and a suspicion that message was meant more for her than it was him, Eddie said little.

"Don't worry about me. I'm good. I'm good."

Truthfully, he'd estimate his mood's figurative location in a place rather far from good. Screw it. Fake it 'til you make it, baby. He'd turn over a new leaf. Become a new Eddie. A person that could be counted on in situations like this.

Up they climbed past the final rung and through another hatch thanks to a special switch that opened the secret passageway from beneath. They emerged in the very front train-car of the Wonderland Express. The conductor's office. Mac had gone up first with Eddie arriving about thirty seconds behind, delayed from briefly double checking to see if anyone had followed them. For now, they were in the clear. By the time he pulled himself up he noticed someone new dressed like an authoritative figure looking directly at Mac.

"Must be the guy running this thing," he mumbled to himself.

She waited until Eddie found a seat in a strategic position to see the whole room, and more importantly, able to sound the alarm should anyone else try to enter.

"I don't like this. I don't like this one bit. This place gives me the creeps. I'm fine though. Completely cool. Names Eddie."

The conductor-in-chief, Lloyd, ignored him. He had both his name and title embroidered on his uniform, standing with a straight posture, arms crossed. A no nonsense type of guy who you'd expect to say 'I'm too old for that' or 'cut to the chase' at one point or another during conversation. Whatever exchange happened initially, Eddie missed it, unsurprised how quickly the palpable tension in the air escalated. Mac took the lead.

“You’re probably wondering where you are, Eddie. And you, Chief, are probably wondering a lot of things. I'm going to tell y'all what I know. Information that came at a great cost. A cost I cannot let be for nothing... Hmmph. What's done is done. Anyway, then we can go from there. Savvy?”

Both waited to respond, trying to figure out if they really heard what they thought they just heard. Contemplating if what just happened really just happened. Amazing how in the blink of an eye, everything can change, and the people directly involved in that change synergistically ride on the same destined wavelength when a grand adventure gets set in motion.

After that massive revelation, an awkward moment resulted. Those who remember the events of mere moments before in the tunnel would find this brief, silent aftermath between Mac, Eddie, and Lloyd quite apropos, indeed. She continued on.

“Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, buuuuut—You, I mean, we—We’re in Limbo. A separate dimension of a special kind of purgatory. At the end of this train's line, a reckoning awaits us. Our Judgement will soon begin. Trust me when I say that it won't end well for us. So, with only one option on the table, my hand was forced into recruiting help. My good hand of course. We have to find a way out of here, before we get there.”

Yes, of course she held up the arm with the non-existing hand. Eddie was the first to answer and did so with only one word, letting out a long, drawn out sigh beforehand.

"Typical."