Chapter 2

Chapter 2

               “You’re telling me this tunnel goes all of the way through the mountain?” Ellie asked incredulously. Her feet hurt. She had removed her shoes and was walking barefoot, which was preferable at that point but still painful when even five minutes or so her foot found a bare spot on the cobblestones. She was silently cursing Rhapsody for not forewarning her about the walk, because now Rhapsody’s more comfortable look made more sense. “Also, you spent that money on those masks earlier, and that could have been used at the port for escape.”

               “We’re fine,” Sloane said. “I have been stealing money from my father all of my life and hiding it. We have more than enough, I promise.”

               “Oh Gods, your father,” Ellie gasped. “They are going to send people for us even sooner because of it.”

               “Ellie,” Jacen said quietly, “we have thought of all of this. We have been preparing for months.”

               “Why not do this sooner, then?” Ellie asked. “It would not have immediately alerted someone you were missing.”

               “There is no way we would have escaped through the tunnel any other night,” Jacen said. “Everyone is celebrating the new year, meaning that it was the most open time. Plus, people in the next town will be drowsy, things start a little later due to the holiday, we’ll be gone before anyone truly notices. We just have to keep moving.”

               They had been moving for hours. Ellie was not a claustrophobic person, but she was beginning to feel that way. She kept her remaining questions and complaints to herself, feeling like all she had done on this trip so far was complain. She had not been prepared for a night of walking, and if she had known that was coming she would not have spent an hour exhausting herself on the dance floor. She was even more thirsty now and no one had brought water with them.

               “When we get to the other side, we should be at the temple in Grange,” Rhapsody explained. “It’s not far from that temple to the train station. We want the train that leads to the port. It makes two stops. We’ll get off at one of the stops, find some clothes to change into, freshen up before we continue on our way.”

               “I think we should reconsider the stop,” Jacen said.

               “I’m with Jacen,” Sloane agreed. “It might be time we don’t have. Once they notice we are missing they are going to search for us. And they are very likely going to guess where we are heading to.”

               “I think stopping will keep us off of their radar,” Rhapsody argued.

               “The train will make a stop where they change conductors,” Ellie pointed out. “It will take somewhere between fifteen minutes and an hour, depending on how much of the staff is changed over on the train. At that time they will allow passengers off of the train to explore the train station. We should be able to do everything we need there. I think Sloane and Jacen are right, we can not waste time.”

               Rhapsody’s eyes glimmered and Ellie wondered if it had been a trap to see if Ellie was truly on their side. She came this far, why would she have not been now? She could have turned around and walked back to the temple when she first realized what they were doing.

               “Is this why you brought the revolver with you?” Ellie asked of Sloane.

               “Yes,” he said and for once he did not elaborate.

               “And you said it was practice,” Ellie joked.

               Sloane’s gift was aim. It seemed like an odd gift, but the man could take any shot, from any angle, and he would hit what he was aiming for. He had been playing a game with the boys at school, throwing a ball into a basket, and no matter where he threw it from, it made it into the basket. He kept going further and further back, aiming for the basket, and making it. He was amazed, and excited, until a teacher saw and pulled him into the office. Hours later the school was infiltrated by capital soldiers, and Sloane’s father, who all were testing him, telling him where to aim. Sloane then started missing the mark, but only because in his mind he was making the mark something else, but he did not fool the adults. It was too late. They dragged him to his home and the flower bed outside of his window. The flower bed was outside of everyone’s window up until the 20^th year. The flowers all had red marks and the center had turned red, a bullseye, like a target. They told him to throw something, and again he made his mark anything but the flower, but the flower’s own ability was stronger than Sloane’s need to fake his ability. Anything he threw hit the center of the flower, even with his back turned aiming away from his house.

               Sloane had been 16 when he discovered his ability.

               Jacen had discovered his in much the same way Rhapsody had, the flowers had reacted one morning. He woke up to his mother screaming. He opened his eyes and the flower bed had been on fire. He freaked out and went to find water. He doused it with water but it kept burning. It had taken too long for him to discover he could put out the fire, but every day he woke up to the flowers burning, a reminder his ability was there.

               A light at the end of the tunnel told the group they had come through the mountain. It was a dim light, the dawn  likely just breaking over the ocean, meaning the light was still gray on this side of the mountain. The town of Grange was completely embedded in the mountains, and while it was allotted its share of sunshine, it still was a cooler temperature and darker place. The train from Grange, though, was one of the only ones in the area that would lead towards the port. All other trains would not connect, for obvious reasons. However, Grange was an export of a mineral that was found in the mines of the mountains. It was not silver, like Ellie and Rhapsody’s father mined, but something that was valuable overseas. Unfortunately it did not make Grange a very rich area, as the capital took most of the profits.

               The group quickly walked, all of them falling quiet. They had walked most of the night, they were exhausted, and did not want to wake the people of Grange earlier than they needed to.

               They did not have to worry about waking anyone in town. As soon as they emerged from the tunnel they saw a bustle of people moving about. There were carts being prepared with materials, where the people would come into the tunnel. Somewhere along the way Ellie had realized that was the tunnel that was used to get them from one place to the next in the mines. A shortcut of sorts. There had been doors along the tunnels, but all of them were locked.

               “Good morning,” a man called to them. Ellie smiled and waved and the man, dressed in flannel and pants, looking casual and already grimy, came over to them. “You aren’t the first ones who had too much fun on New Years and came through the tunnel. If you head into town there’s someone who will take you by cart back through for a price.”

               “I guess curiosity got to us,” Rhapsody said sleepily. “Sorry to be a hassle.”

               “Not at all,” the man smiled. He seemed genuinely friendly. “Right over there, the building with the chicken over it, they’ll serve you a good breakfast. Might not be what you like best in Chastain, but it’s pretty good all the same.”

               “Thank you,” Sloane said, reaching out and grabbing the man’s hand. Ellie was sure she just saw money pass hands. “Thank you for the help. Is there somewhere we might take a nap before we go back?”

               “No worries, the man’s cart will give you space to lay down and sleep your way home,” the man said, pocketing the money Sloane passed to him. “He’ll be back in here in an hour or so, look for a gentleman who looks close to your age. He can’t work the mines so he drives the carts.”

               “Thank you again,” Rhapsody said, heading away from the man. He nodded and went back to packing his cart full of equipment.

               The four of them headed to the building he pointed to. They were all hungry and thirsty and needed to sit for some time. Then they would have to go towards the train station in hopes that no one would question why they were heading to the train station. This might not be as easy as they hoped it would be.

               They entered the building where a small older woman was already serving meals. She saw the group and waved them to open seating. The took their spot and the woman said, “We don’t have much here, but I have plenty of chicken, breads, eggs, and milk. If you’re a picky eater, I probably can’t accommodate.”

               “We’ll all just take what you recommend,” Sloane suggested. “We aren’t picky, we are just ravenous. We’ll take drinks sooner rather than later, if possible.”

               The woman did not look offended, nodded her head and headed out back to tell whoever was cooking up the greasy messes that they would taken the most expensive thing they had to offer.

               “Okay, so this town is very much aware that people try to take the train to jump port,” Jacen said quietly.

               Rhapsody had to agree with a nod. “They were waiting for us, and insisting we go back by cart with their driver. Getting to the train station will not be easy, not when it seems the entire town is awake and moving. Who knew they woke up at dawn?”

               Ellie kept a snapping tone out of her voice and said, “People who have a miner as a father.”

               “I didn’t expect the whole town to be awake,” Rhapsody said. “At least with our father it’s him and a few other people in the city, the whole town is awake here. I wasn’t expecting that.”

               If Ellie had thought about it, she would have realized this would happen, but when her friends had assured her they had thought of every contingency, she believed them. What they had not thought of was the simple fact of a whole town was expecting just that sort of thing to happen. They were likely paid extra by the capital for stopping people just like them to do just this.

               The woman came back and dropped four plates of food in front of them and four glasses of milk, with two glasses of water added to the center. She asked if they needed anything else and everyone said no, just enjoying the meal in relative silence other than the sound of forks and knives on plates. No one knew what to say. They were determined to still try to go to the train, but no one had a plan of action other than walk out of this place confidently enough and head towards the train station.

               “She’s stalling,” Jacen said after they had finished eating and no one had requested payment of any sort.

               Ellie glanced around and said, “Most people seem to just be leaving money on the table after she talks to them. When she goes into the kitchen, drop money on the table and we’ll walk out as calmly, but as quickly, as possible. We’ll pay for the meal, but do not let her let us stall any longer.”

               They waited, all watching, until she was in the kitchen. With quick and sure movements Sloane dropped the money on the table and they walked out. Everyone watched them, but no one questioned anything further. They had paid for their meal. They were going to be watched to make sure they headed back to the mountain.

               They were outside and immediately turned to the right, which lead them towards the train station. Ellie crossed her fingers into her dress, thinking to herself, please don’t stop us, and they walked straight to the train station without incident. People barely glanced at them once they started walking.

               At the train station they ran into the next problem. The man selling tickets for the next train looked them up and down and then requested their identifications. “I’m sorry,” he said behind his ticket window, “but we have to get the details of your identification for anyone traveling towards the port, even if you are not going to the port, like you say.”

               “Do we look like we are carrying our identifications?” Rhapsody shrieked.

               “You were planning this, and you didn’t bring an identification?” the man asked. “Seems far fetched. Maybe you should go home and try again.”

               No, Ellie thought. We didn’t get all of the way here to be turned away. They had made it through town without another incident, they could not be stopped at the train station. She turned to the ticketer and looked him in the eyes, determined, “There has to be a way for us to get on the train.”

               The man stared her in the eyes, his pupils dilating, then he said, “Money.”

               Ellie turned to Sloane and Sloane nodded his head and asked the man how much, and proceeded to balk at how much. At Ellie’s pleading eyes, Sloane handed over the amount and they found themselves with four tickets on the next train headed to Blue City. They waited on benches in tense anticipation, no one speaking. They were all waiting to be stopped. The girls headed to the bathrooms once, cleaned up a bit and freshened up before going back to where the guys were standing. The guys both looked nervous, but other than that nothing had happened. The people at the station, and there were only a few, seemed to have little interested in the people around them.

               Very few passengers stepped onto the train from Grange. There was only one passenger train that went through this way, once a day, and it took people to Blue City for work. Blue City was the first large stop, an eight hour train ride. Many people from Grange would go to Blue City and work, staying in town, and then coming back to Grange at the end of their work week because it was cheaper than living in Blue City. Ellie could not imagine having to be away from her family five days a week.

               Which only lead her to imagine being away from her family for the rest of her life. The islands were said to be beautiful, and at least her friends and sister would be with her. She would miss her parents, and Baye, though.

               “Don’t have second thoughts now,” Rhapsody said, reading Ellie’s face.

               “I’m not,” Ellie promised. “I am not going to say I won’t miss them, though.”

               “I know,” Rhapsody said. “But maybe, one day, things will change and we will see them again.”

               “That’s the sort of thing Baye was always fighting for that you scoffed at,” Ellie pointed out.

               “Baye is nothing but a voice,” Rhapsody argued. “She stands outside and protects, yelling about unfair treatment, but she does not do anything to change the world around her. At the end of the day she goes back home, works her job, studies her books, and goes to school. She’ll join a job force and forget all about the protests she was doing. She just wants to be heard. It’s not about who she is fighting for, it’s about her.”

               “That’s not how it is,” Ellie argued back.

               “Give me one example of something she has done,” Rhapsody said. “One thing where she was actually active, not just screaming at the top of her lungs. Has she ever given clothes to the orphanage? Has she gone to the capital and petitioned to meet with the council? Has she started a petition? Anything? Ellie, tell me if she has, I’ll apologize right now for everything I ever thought of her.”

               Ellie could not think of a thing. She loved her friend’s words, but in all honesty her friend had never done more than speak loudly. She had made herself a target for ridicule, but never did more than that. Ellie furrowed her brow, trying to even think of a suggestion that Baye herself could do. She had theories all of the time on what the government could do differently, but never anything she could do to try to change their mind. When it came to those with abilities she said it was better than the government take them. Ellie, at that moment, was having a hard time remembering why she had said that.

               Rhapsody said nothing, but her face was smug. Ellie ignored it until the train began approaching. She had a hard time covering her nerves but it was relatively easy to step onto the train. They gave their tickets to the man standing at the door, he took and stamped their tickets, and then let them onto the train. Ellie stopped before moving forward, looking to the back of the train and seeing cargo platforms being wheeled in from the side.

               “I thought this was a passenger train,” Ellie said to the man at the door.

               “It is,” he said, “but the cost of running the train for the amount of passengers is hardly worth it, so to weigh the cost they turn the passenger train into a cargo train as well.”

               “Is it built for that?” Ellie asked, wondering if the cars could carry along those heavy cargo platforms.

               The man let out a laugh, but it was not a cruel laugh, it was a happy laugh. “Yes, they make the passenger cars as strong as the cargo cars, just in case.”

               “I’m not sure I want to know in case of what, but I do find that fascinating,” she explained before Sloane grabbed her hand, dragging her away from the man.

               “You are full of questions,” he stated.

               “I have never seen anything like that before,” Ellie said. “It might be the last time I see something like it as well.”

               Sloane led Ellie away from her sister, quickly grabbing a hat someone had left on a seat and passing it to Ellie. “You can’t sit with Rhapsody right now,” he explained. “It’s already strange enough to have two red-heads on a train. You’re asking for too much attention.”

               Ellie nodded in understanding and twisted her hair up and into a knot on her head and plopped the big floppy hat on her head, hiding her hair and most of her face. She and Sloane sat further forward in the same passenger car. Ellie felt the back of her neck itching, wanting to turn to see her sister, but she refrained. They had not even begun moving yet.

               She did give one last look out the window at Grange. She would have loved to explore that town any other time, to know what the people were like, what the shops were like. She wanted to see what a true mining town was like in comparison to a city full of different exports.

               The train began to move, quicker than she thought it would considering the attachment of the cargo platforms, and they were on their way to a new life and away from the life they knew.