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By Kate Everson
Copyright 2012 Kate Everson
No one seemed to know when the train was coming.
“Excuse me, sir,” Stephanie asked the station attendant. “Could you please tell me when the train is due to arrive?”
He didn’t even look up. A swirl of smoke from his cigar filled the room. Stephanie choked back her revulsion.
She was getting desperate. If Calvin didn’t arrive soon, she would have to go on without him. They had planned this trip for months. It was his idea. So where was he?
Stephanie looked around for help. Surely somebody in this stupid station had more courtesy.
She sauntered up to a tall man, standing rigid by the track. He was wearing a gray business suit and carrying the standard briefcase.
“Um, excuse me…” she started.
But the man ignored her.
She spoke a little louder. Maybe he can’t hear me, she thought.
“Hello?” she practically shouted at him. Still no response.
“Maybe I should kick somebody. There has to be some life in this place.”
She spotted a lady hanging onto two small children who were struggling to get free. A tangle of suitcases lay at their feet, one with a sand shovel protruding. A yellow ball squeezed itself out and bounced merrily along the platform. The smallest boy shrieked in delight and almost succeeded in escaping his mother’s tight grip.
“Hello, I’m trying to get to Eglington,” she said directly to the woman’s face. “Have you any idea when the train will arrive?”
The large fat boy stuck his tongue out at her.
The woman slapped him and walked briskly away, kicking the suitcases along as she went.
Stephanie heard it. The long mournful sound of a train whistle. It was music to her ears.
“Thank you!” she laughed and quickly gathered her backpack and stood as close to the track as she could get.
The whistle got louder and louder and then she could see the light along the track. The train was almost upon her. Stephanie stepped back a little and waited.
But the train did not stop. It roared past, whipping up the wind in little whirls of dirt and garbage on the platform. Stephanie gasped. What was going on?
“Wrong train,” muttered an old man, grinning toothlessly at her. “That one’s for freight. Scared ya, did it?”
He chuckled and wandered away, peering back at her every few seconds. He looks like an evil dwarf, thought Stephanie.
She looked at her watch. Half past ten. By now, mother would be having tea and scones. She loved those homemade biscuits with real strawberry jam and clotted cream. She wished she hadn’t promised to meet Calvin for this little excursion. She would rather be home, relaxing. School was barely over for the summer and it would have been nice to just take a break for a bit. But Calvin had been insistent, and he seemed so sweet she could not refuse. Well, it might do her good after all, a bit of a trip to the seaside. If only Calvin would show up!
Just then a man came running along the track.
“Get back! Get back!” he shouted. “Everybody off the track!”
He was waving a lantern. The light bounced off the walls of the station and splattered onto the waiting travellers. They all seemed to be hit by something more solid than light beams. Stephanie felt a shock go right up her spine as the light hit her square in the back. She went down like a rock.
Five men came running down the track after the man with the lantern. “Get him!” they shouted. “Don’t let him go! He’s got the lamp!”
Stephanie was close enough to stick out her foot as the lamp man ran by. It caught him in the ankle, just enough to throw him off balance. He fell to the ground and the five men jumped on him. There was a scuffle and Stephanie couldn’t see who was winning. It was all one big mess of arms and legs and shouting.
Then, out of nowhere, the next train was upon them, screeching to a halt right in front of the fighting men. They got up casually, brushed themselves off and climbed onto the train. The lamp man acted like nothing had happened. He looked back at her, with contempt, then strode purposefully to the front of the train.
Suddenly, Calvin was there hugging her.
“Calvin?” she could barely breathe. “What’s happening, Calvin? Where were you?”
But Calvin, his blonde hair sideways in the wind, grabbed her hand and kissed it. He picked her up and carried her right onto the train.
“We’re going to Eglington, baby,” he grinned. “Isn’t that great?”
Stephanie clutched her backpack to her chest and muttered, “Sure, Calvin sure…”
Then the train chugged out of the station and they were on board, snuggled down into a cozy seat to watch the world go by. Stephanie tried to tell Calvin about the unusual experience at the station but he just laughed and distracted her with jokes and cuddles. He didn’t seem to think anything was strange at all.
But there was something strange about Calvin.
Stephanie hadn’t noticed it right away, but now she had time to take a closer look. She had known Calvin for almost two years and thought she knew him fairly well. This was a chance to get away from the city and relax in the countryside along the shores of Briscoe Bay. A lovely getaway, he had promised. But now she wasn’t so sure.
It wasn’t so much that he looked different, but there was something a bit off. He even smelled funny.
“What is that odour?” she asked him directly.
He laughed and replied offhandedly, “Oh, just the scent of my love for you.”
She didn’t like that answer. It was not like Calvin to talk that way. He was a studious person and they hadn’t really had much in common other than their enjoyment of the same books and music. But now, he sounded like a different person.
“Calvin?” she stared at him.
He looked back at her. There was something about his eyes. She thought he had blue eyes but these were greenish with a kind of gold glint in them.
And she couldn’t get over the odd smell that seemed to come out of his pores. It wasn’t just bad breath or a smell picked up on his clothes. It was coming from him.
By now, Stephanie was beginning to get scared. Something was definitely wrong. But before she could say anything more, the men that had been after the man with the lamp came charging through their car.
“Where is he?” they pointed at her accusingly. “What have you done with him?”
Stephanie said, “What? Who?” and sat back in her seat as far away from them as she could get.
“Where is the man with the lamp?” they demanded.
“Oh, leave her alone,” answered Calvin. “She doesn’t have anything to do with that.”
The men glared at Calvin, but he showed them his fist and they moved on.
“What is going on?” Stephanie asked. She was shaking.
“Oh nothing, my darling,” Calvin said, kissing her neck. “Nothing at all.”
She could smell the odour even more as he kissed her, and she pulled back.
“What’s wrong?” he asked. “Don’t you love me any more?”
His green eyes were flashing a dangerous yellow now as he leaned closer.
Stephanie made a move to get away but he trapped her. She could not get by his arm.
“Oh, of course I do,” she submitted. “I just need to go to the bathroom right now. Just let me out for a minute will you?”
He glared at her, but finally released his grip. She walked quickly to the washroom and locked the door.
She had no idea what to do. This definitely wasn’t the Calvin she knew. And for all she knew this was not even the train to Eglington. Stephanie wanted to be home with her mom now more than ever.
She waited for a few minutes then unlocked the door. She peered
down the aisle but could not see Calvin, so she made a break for the other car. The door slid open and she jumped over the moving vestibule into the next car. Everyone was staring at her. They all seemed to have the same eyes, vacant, yet venomous. They were like snakes waiting to strike.
Stephanie changed her mind and quickly returned to her car and back to her seat. At least she could deal with Calvin. Or at least, he was the lesser of two evils.
“Stephie!” he said. “I was worried about you. Come on over here, baby, and snuggle up to ol ’Cal.”
He put his arm around her and pulled her close. She almost gagged on the smell. But she didn’t know what to do. She was on this train to who knows where and everyone seemed to be part of some hideous plot.
She sat still and looked out the window. The train was going very fast now. The trees and bushes raced by, and she could have sworn she saw a witch on a bike fly past. But no, that was in the Wizard of Oz and she must have imagined it. Still, she found herself shivering despite the heat in the car. Calvin noticed and offered her his sweater. That was kind, she thought. Maybe there’s nothing wrong at all. I am feeling a little bit tired. Maybe I’ll just rest my eyes and relax. Too much stress from school, that must be it.
Stephanie closed her eyes. She could still smell that awful odour but she just told herself it was garlic and nothing to worry about. She began to drift off a bit.
Suddenly, she woke to a terrible screeching sound. The train had thrown on its emergency brakes.
She looked out the window and saw that they were balanced on a bridge across the river. Suspended, with the rushing water far below.
“Oh, my gosh!” she shrieked.
But Calvin grabbed her and said, “Let’s go. We’re getting off.”
He dragged her to the back of the car, and out the emergency exit, where they looked down at the raging river. He pulled her hard and before she knew what was happening they were falling down the cliff into the river. She struggled but it was no use. Calvin had her in his grip. They tumbled into the water, and bounced up and down in the waves, with Calvin pulling her on one arm towards the shore.
Finally, they made it to the bank. Calvin pulled her ashore and they lay panting on the riverbed. Above them, the train began to slowly pull away. It was going on without them! Stephanie thought she saw someone lean out of the caboose. He was waving a lantern. Suddenly, it dropped and fell into the river and washed up just downstream from them. Calvin raced over to get it and held it up proudly.
“A trophy!” he exclaimed, delighted at his catch.
But Stephanie was soaking wet and in no mood to congratulate him. Why had they jumped?
She stared at Calvin and now she understood why he had smelled so much. A long, gray python was slithering out of his jacket. It seemed to ooze with yellow slime, and its tongue kept searching for something. Calvin laughed and threw the snake into the river.
“Good bye old fellow!” he laughed. “See you next time!”
Then he came over and showed her the lantern.
“It’s magic,” he explained. “My friend Parry said it would help us on our journey.”
“To Eglington?” I asked, astonished.
“No, silly,” Calvin smiled. “Surely, you know by now we are not going to the seaside.”
“But where then?” Stephanie asked, wide-eyed. She had no idea what was going on.
“You’ll see,” he promised, with a wink.
Only his one green eye seemed to wink a little harder than it should have, and it got stuck on his eyelid. He pried it off.
In fact, Calvin did a complete change. He peeled off his disguise and revealed who he truly was. A monster! His tail flicked out of his legs and hair began to pop up all over his body in huge masses of fur. His ears stood up on top of his head. And his nose grew very long and began to sniff at Stephanie.
She shrieked. Calvin howled. She ran off into the woods, but he caught her in an instant. He was actually a very good runner on all four legs.
“Who are you and what do you want from me?” she screamed.
Calvin just showed her his perfect canines and did not reply. He carried her back to the riverbank and plopped her down. Then he grabbed the lantern and put it in her lap.
“This is for you,” he whispered.
“I don’t want it,” she said.
“Oh, yes you do!” he howled. “Try it. You’ll love it.”
And so she held onto the lantern and stared at it until it begin to glow. Gradually the light got brighter and brighter. It shone on Calvin’s sharp teeth. It illumined his greenish eyes.
And in an instant it took her home.
She woke up with a start. There was her mom just pouring tea.
“Stephanie, wake up! Have some tea and scones,” said Mom. “You must be exhausted. You’ve been napping there for almost 20 minutes.”
Stephanie looked around and smiled. She was home. She was having tea. And on the stove, Mom was cooking some sauce with a lot of garlic in it. That explained everything.
Just then the phone rang. It was Calvin.
“Hello, Stephanie,” he said. “Do you feel like going somewhere today? To the beach maybe?”
Stephanie laughed. “No thanks, Calvin, but thanks for asking. I think I’ll stay home and get some rest.”
She hung up, buttered a big scone and lathered it with strawberry jam and doppled it with cream. It was heavenly to be right here.
The End
Read more adventures at: The Train: Part Two.