Nicolas felt as if he were flying for a moment, hovering over the gravel around the railroad tracks. The pebbles looked like blurs as they flew past, and Nicolas’ face was about to smash into the ground.

  His feet dragged across the rocks, almost taking one of his sneakers off. But his head still hovered off the ground.

  Nicolas’ heart was beating so fast that at first, he didn’t even notice the cold fingers that weren’t Ash’s, wrapped around his arm.

  It was that boy! His hair blew around his hazel, sunset-colored eyes, his fingers pressing into Nicolas’ skin as he held onto his wrist.

  He pulled Nicolas in, so he could grab the metal railing. Then, the boy released his hand, and Nicolas pulled himself into the caboose. As soon as his feet hit the floor on the other side, he turned around to see the kako, staring at them from the station, his body held off the ground by the tentacles growing out of his back, it’s coal eyes once again seeming to lock onto Nicolas, even though he wouldn’t be able to tell if it actually was or not.

  “You can't hide from us forever.”

  The words were loud, yet they didn't hurt his ears, as if they were only in his head.

  “Are you okay?” the boy asked, making Nicolas take his eyes off the creature, and onto the stranger who saved him from it.

  “Yeah, I’m fine.” But as soon as he said the words, the world seemed to begin spinning as he became dizzy. Nicolas fell onto the metal floor, sitting down for a moment while his head and heart pulsed in unison.

  “Nicolas?” Ash asked with a worried tone.

  “I’m fine,” Nicolas replied. “Just need to rest a moment.”

  “That was a close one,” the boy said. His voice was low pitched, but only a little bit.

  “Yeah, too close,” Nicolas replied, rubbing his neck nervously.

  “Is your foot okay?” he asked, noticing Nicolas wrapping his fingers around his sore ankle. “It doesn't really hurt.” That was a lie of course. It did hurt, and now that the panic was easing, the pain he once didn't notice was starting to pulse with intensity.

  “There should be a med-kit in the train somewhere,” the boy said.

  “It’s fine, really,” Nicolas told him.

  Now that the dizziness had stopped, he grabbed onto the guard rail, using it to help pull himself back onto his feet. Nicolas thought that if he had run any faster, he would’ve fainted.

  “Anyone know where this train is going?” Nicolas asked as he attempted to catch his breath.

  “Well, it’s traveling north,” the dark-haired boy said. “Not sure where it'll end up, but if it stays going this direction, we’ll end up somewhere in Washington before long.” Then, after a moment of silence, the stranger added, “My name’s Ryan, by the way.”

  “Cool,” Ash told him. Their sarcastic attitude seemed to catch Ryan off guard for a moment.

  “Ignore them,” Nicolas told him. “I'm Nicolas, and this is Ash.”

  Ash gave Nicolas a not-so-discreet elbowing, in the arm.

  “Ow!” Nicolas complained. “What’d I do?”

  “Come on, let’s get away from this wind,” Ash said, not answering Nicolas’ question. The train was moving quite fast now, sending a powerful breeze blowing around them. They opened the door leading inside the caboose car, and as they passed through, Ash hissed into his ear, “have you ever heard of stranger danger?”

  “Strangers only exist if you think new people are strange,” Nicolas replied smartly.

  "I think he's strange."

  It was calmer inside the caboose car. When Nicolas closed the door behind them, the wind seemed to fade into a white-noise. The inside smelled like wood chips and oil, and cardboard boxes stacked on the sides, with tiny yellow stickers on them with seemingly random numbers.

  “It smells weird in here," Nicolas said, following behind Ryan, and beside Ash.

  "Most of the trains I’ve been on do," Ryan agreed. "This isn't exactly my first rodeo."

  "What do you mean by that?” Nicolas asked.

  “Let's just say I've train hopped quite a lot in recent months. Jumped a train from Sacramento to Portland, but the Kako chased me all the way from San Francisco.” Ryan was leaning against the boxes, telling the shortened version of his story like he was an outlaw in the wild west, placing a small pencil in between his teeth as if it were a cigarette.

  “So, what next, cowboy?” Ash asked, rolling their eyes.

  Calling Ryan cowboy only seemed to feed the role-play. A grin rose across his face, and in the most stereotypical southern accent imaginable, he replied, “I intended to take on a new identity, but one of them critters found me.” He said the word ‘me’ as if it were spelled ‘meh.’ “Then I bumped into y'all, and saved this youngin,” Ryan pointed a finger at Nicolas, who couldn’t help letting out a tiny laugh.

  Ash seemed anything but amused.

  This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

  “Well,” they said. “Sure enjoyed meeting you. Hope you get wherever you plan to go from here.” Ash’s voice was filled with an extra dose of sarcasm this time. They grabbed Nicolas’ arm, pulling him further into the train.

  What is going on with them?

  Nicolas always knew Ash didn't like trusting people, but he didn't remember them acting like this.

  “Ash, come on,” Nicolas whispered. “He saved me, didn't he?”

  “Nick, it’s a random guy we just met,” Ash replied. “Who knows what kind of person he might be?”

  “Why don't you ever trust anyone?”

  “I just don’t, okay?” Ash’s voice changed from that usual annoying sarcasm, to genuine annoyance, telling Nicolas he must’ve crossed a line.

  “I’m sorry. I just don’t think there’s anything to be afraid of.”

  Ash seemed annoyed, but didn’t argue further. Instead, they turned back to the door. “Fine, but I don't like it.”

  They crossed through another door, into the next train car. This one smelled a lot different, like the inside of a hardware store. They continued through the room, passing over to the next door, but when Ash tried to open it, it wouldn't move. “It’s locked.”

  “Maybe there’s a spare key or something hidden around here,” Ryan suggested. “Sometimes people do that.”

  “Or we can do it my way,” Ash replied before kicking the door hard, causing the window on it to rattle loudly.

  At first the door stayed in place, but after a few more kicks, it gave out, and the thin, metal door broke off the sliding hinges.

  "Open sesame," they said, stepping over the broken door.

  Nicolas and Ryan followed them through the doorway, having to squeeze past the ruins.

  On the other side, everything was a lot different. Rather than looking like the employees only section of a dollar store, this looked more like what Nicolas expected a train to look like. The tables were a brown, mahogany color, looking almost gold against the rays of sunlight that showed through the windows, where particles of dust danced around in the sunbeams.

  "Seems pretty nice here to be honest," Ryan said as Ash used their hand to disrupt the colony of dust specks drifting through the light. "A lot better than my other train hitchhikes."

  "There's probably people here," Nicolas pointed out. “Is this even a passenger train?”

  "Not sure, but if we're caught train jumping, that's like asking for trouble." Ash picked up a wooden broom that lay against the side of the train car, wedging it through the door handle in a way where it wouldn't move. "There," they said at last.

  "Now what? We just stay here for however long it takes us to reach Washington?" Nicolas asked.

  "Well, I happen to know someone who lives nearby. If we find out where we’re going, I’ll call him, and see if he’d mind picking us up."

  "That works," Ryan said as he sat down at one of the tables. “How are we supposed to figure that out?”

  “Maybe there's a map of the route somewhere, Nicolas suggested.

  “We'll search for something after a while,” Ash agreed.

  The train turned unexpectedly, making Nicolas stumble into one of the tables on the right, but thankfully he'd caught himself.

  “Why do these trains do that?” Ryan asked once they had all recovered their balance. “Just go straight, dang-it.”

  Ryan’s use of the word dang-it made Nicolas laugh, and when Ash and Ryan both looked at him, he turned away in embarrassment.

  “So, do we just sit here?” Ryan asked after an awkward moment of silence. Awkward moments always seemed to follow Nicolas whenever an attractive guy was around; he was convinced it was a condition or something.

  A cute boy awkwardness syndrome.

  “I guess, unless you’ve got a Monopoly board in your pocket or something,” Ash replied.

  “Actually I do, in the same pocket I keep the UNO cards.” Now it was Ryan being the sarcastic one.

  “Sure, I bet,” Ash rolled their eyes, but Nicolas thought it was funny.

  “Fine, maybe there’s something we could do in one of the other cars.”

  “If we leave we’re more likely to be seen,” Ash pointed out. “Let's wait a few minutes, and if we don’t hear anything, I'll try to figure out where this thing is heading.”

  “Meanwhile, I'll find food,” Ryan added.

  “Then what can I do?” Nicolas asked, wanting to help.

  “Stay here. It'll be harder to sneak if we all go,” Ash told him. “Not to mention your foot.”

  Nicolas didn't like the idea of staying still, but he had to admit, it made sense. With his ankle still hurting, he wasn't sure how well he could sneak. “Don't be long,” he told them.

  “We won't.”

  ***

  Nicolas was growing quite bored. It had only been about twenty minutes since Ash and Ryan disappeared deeper into the train, but it felt like an hour.

  Nicolas sat at one of the tables, staring out the window at the trees that grew as far as Nicolas could see. The world looked so huge, the forest seeming to touch the ends of the world itself.

  Goodbye Portland, he thought to himself. I won't miss you.

  A noise made Nicolas’ head jerk toward the door that Ash and Ryan went through twenty minutes ago.

  In the next car over, footsteps were coming closer toward him.

  They weren't Ash’s, nor were they Ryan's.

  Nicolas had learned how to recognize footsteps after a while; it was a skill that came in real handy when trying to figure out if the footsteps coming toward his door were Sam’s, or his dad’s.

  These footsteps were almost right behind the door now: The door that was completely unlocked. Nicolas had less than a second to decide if he should hide somewhere, or rush over to the door to prevent whoever was on the other side from getting in. But as the door slid open, Nicolas did neither of those. Like a deer and headlights, Nicolas’ fate was sealed.

  His eyes locked onto the eyes of a light-haired boy. His hair was parted right down the middle, drifting over his eyes, but not thick enough to hide them; his violet irises still visible under the almost transparent strands that floated over his face.

  “Oh,” he exclaimed, and Nicolas could see a mixture of surprise and curiosity appear through his eyes. “I don’t think I’ve seen you before, are you new?”

  “Um, yeah.”

  “I’m Zander,” the boy said, holding out his hand. He looked a little older than Nicolas, but not much, maybe about a year or two at the most. Nicolas took his hand, surprised by how cold it felt; like ice. “I’m… Nicolas.”

  “Nice to meet you, Nicolas,” Zander released his hand.

  Neither of them said anything after that; they just stood there, the door open and Nicolas hoping that Ash and Ryan weren't on their way back yet. Maybe this Zander guy would believe Nicolas, but wouldn't it be suspicious if there were suddenly three newbies?

  The silence continued, and Nicolas turned his eyes to his shoes as his heart began to speed up.

  Awkwardness. It follows me everywhere there’s a cute guy.

  “I-I could show you the boxes we’re needing if you’d like,” Zander offered, breaking the unnecessarily long silence at last.

  “I- yeah sure,” Nicolas agreed shyly.

  Then, he followed his heart, as well as the cute boy, back into the train car with all the boxes, hearing Ash’s voice repeat the words stranger danger in his head.