Autumn Train

It was the end of summer, the night brought a temporary break from the heat. The crickets chirped and the humidity of the day still lingered in the air. I always loved going for long walks around my old apartment building but in the summer, I delayed my walks till night.

 

            The city streets were empty in my part of the neighborhood. I lived in a historic district of the city, it was quiet, affordable and I was still close to the store if I needed anything. Behind my apartment were old train tracks and every night I would hear the train rush by and shook my apartment as it went. My apartment wouldn’t so much shake as gently rumble, it was more soothing than it sounds.

 

            I always loved trains and the sound of trains in the distance relaxed me, so on this particular night I left my usual walking route and headed for the train tracks. I wanted to see the train up close for some time and that night was a perfect night to finally see it in all of its fury and speed.

 

            I walked off the sidewalk and down a grassy hill, the warm summer air stuck to me like wet clothes. The closer I walked toward the train tracks the cooler the air became. Walking away from the concrete and tall buildings afforded me the chance to feel a cool breeze of a changing season. I knew I was silly to hope for Fall weather so soon, but that didn’t stop me from quietly wishing it to myself.

 

            I heard the train approaching in the distance but didn’t see it or the lights. I ran closer to the train tracks, running through wild grass that reached my shins, it was damp and scratchy. A chest high wooden fence stood between the tracks and me. Knowing I couldn’t go further without risking my life, I held onto the wooden fence posts and leaned my body forward in anticipation of seeing the train rush past me.

 

            I heard the sound of a trains horn and the sound of it barreling down the tracks but I couldn’t see anything. The sound grew closer and closer till finally it sounded like it was right in front of me. I saw a blinding light flash then an enormous train barreled passed me.  It was twice as big as any train I had ever seen, it barely fit on the tracks. It was made of black metal with orange stripes across the side, it had an old fashioned look to it, like it had been made a hundred years ago. There was one big light on the front and steam poured from the front of it. It dragged a long trail of cargo carts, all of them were wooden boxcars with green, orange or black paint and some weren’t pained at all.

 

            The rush of the train kicked up a cold breeze that blew through the field. The blast of cool air felt like a winter wind had blown through me. I shivered and stepped back. I convinced myself that the wind was from the train’s movement and the only reason it felt so cold was because I was used to the summer heat, but when I turned around I saw the grass around me was covered in frost.

 

            The frost quickly melted from the grass and as it did I turned back to the train just in time to see the last car and caboose fly by. Another winter wind was kicked up and blew through the field.

The train disappeared into the night and left no trace that it had ever been there. The only thing that remained was the cool air that pushed back the heat and the memories I would always have of the mysterious train from that night.

Joseph Stephens and the final day part 3

     Joseph Stephens and Jaye Williams ran down into the subway, the air was cool and the small lights built into the ceiling didn’t provide much light. They were drenched with rain and wind blew into the subway entrance from outside. A mysterious storm was brewing in the city of Ales and the two friends were on the hunt for a 5 foot tall mouse woman with sharp claws and fangs. The Mouse lady ate humans and lived in the subway, she was quiet about her business though and a few disappearances a year never alerted the larger population.  

     Joseph pulled the Serpents dagger from his gray coat, Jaye was pulling candies from the pockets of his hoodie. The two friends walked down the stairs slowly as they listened for any unusual noises. The normal buzzing of people talking all at once while they waited for their train. The subway trains screeched and rattled as they zoomed by. Joseph realized he wouldn’t get anyone by listening for the Mouse lady, they had to hurry and find her. She was a giant mouse and would stand out in a crowd.         

          Joseph took off running through the subway corridors as his eyes scanned through the crowds of people for anything unusual. A shriek was heard and Joseph went running to find the source. A woman was screaming and a man was quaking in fear. “what happened?” Asked Joseph. The woman pointed at the train doors as they were closing. Jaye pulled out a crowbar and wedge it into the doors while Joseph squeezed onto the train. Jaye went to enter the train but the doors snapped shut and the subway train took off without him. “Ya lousy subway! You’ll hear from my lawyer!” Shouted Jaye, who then threw his claw hammer at the train as it took off. The hammer dented the back subway car and then fell into the tracks.

          Joseph readied his weapon as he walked through the subway car. All the seats were empty and everything was quiet except for the screeching of the metal wheels as they zoomed along the tracks. As Joseph walked closer to the driver’s car the screeching grew louder. This was the loudest subway train Joseph had ever been on and the emptiest one too.  The driver’s door flung open as Joseph approached it. The driver was dead in his chair and the mouse lady was covered in blood. She was screeching as she chewed on the severed arm of the driver. The train was making normal noises but the loudest noise was not the subway cars wheels but the mouse monster as it fed on human flesh.

       

          Joseph sprung forward with his serpent dagger. The mouse lady charged forward as well. When the two collided the mouse lady easily trampled over Joseph. The mouse monster wasn’t larger than Joseph but her strength and speed were super human.

   

          Joseph was knocked to the ground but held his dagger tightly. The mouse lady let out a blood curdling shriek, her yellow eyes flashed with a murderous glare, her fangs dripped with human blood and her claws were raised up ready to strike. Joseph had to moved quickly but the mouse lady was faster than he was.

          Joseph charged at the mouse with his shoulder out, keeping his dagger low so she couldn’t spot it. Joseph tackled into the mouse lady and the creature bit down onto Josephs shoulder. Blood spilled out over Joseph’s shirt and down his neck. Pain shot through him and he wanted to collapse from shock. He tried to bear the pain and gripped his dagger tightly. The mouse creature’s fangs sunk so deeply into Joseph’s shoulder that he could feel the fangs scratch his shoulder bone. His vision went dark and he began to tremble. He used all of his strength to push his dagger forward into the mouse monster. 

          Joseph stabbed the mouse lady with the serpent dagger using both hands. The poison of the dagger entered the mouse lady’s veins immediately. Joseph was released from the deathly bite and he collapsed to the ground. He dropped the dagger and tried to stop the bleeding by ripping his shirt to make a bandage.

 

          The poisoned mouse lady twitched and fell to the floor. Joseph slowly stood up and stumbled over to the drivers seat and pulled the emergency break. The train screeched to a halt and Joseph was thrown forward and hit his head on the console.

          Joseph woke up to the gentle voice of his friend Jaye Williams “You have all of the grace and finesse of a dead cow” He laughed. Joseph rubbed his head and slowly stood up. “How did you find me?” Joseph asked feeling woozy. “Your subway car was on a track, I followed the track. Also I had to get my claw hammer” Jaye replied.

 

          The mouse lady was dead and the only foe remaining was the half man, half dog, swordsman, known as Dishonored dog. Joseph was relieved and needed time to recover from battle. Jaye was tired from walking and needed a donut to recover from exercise

Jack's adventures - through the rift

Jack was a thief from humble beginnings and a complicated past. For reasons that I shall not get into right now, Jack had three unique traits. First, he was incredibly fast and agile and strong enough to pull his weight as he climbed the side of a building. Secondly, he had a voice in his head. Jack was unsure if this voice was his imagination or some kind of spirit that possessed him. Third, he had a short sword that he received from his father. This blade is sturdy and sharp even though it is a very old sword and the carvings on the blade are in an ancient language. Jack’s full story and explanations are being put into a book that I have been working of for years. Last five years or so, off and on.  But without further delay, let us enjoy a new set of short stories called. “Jack’s adventures”

In the distant hills of Garogh kingdom, a lone thief and traveler walked, muttering to himself. This man was Jack. He wore sturdy brown boots, black pants, white shirt, thick, fingerless work gloves and a green cloak. the cloak was the only piece of clothing that he had since he was a child. Two things Jack always had with him, were his sword and his cloak.

“I don’t know why I agreed to this” Jack muttered to himself. “Because of all the reward that await us, Jack” Replied a strange voice in Jack’s head. The voice was named Ack. Jack named ‘him’ when he first started hearing the voice.

Jack was on his way to a grand tournament, if he found a way to register then beat all of the fiercest warriors in the kingdom, he would get a magical artifact as a prize. Jack didn’t care about power, but Ack insisted that this item would help in their travels and keep Jack alive longer in these dangerous times.

The terrain was all hills and rocks even the roads were uneven. Jack was in good shape, but walking uphill all day on a rocky surface was starting to wear on him. The city of boulder ridge came into view. Jack would be able to rest here, then head onto the capital city of Gor.

“Are you a contestant in the arena?” Asked a tall man, standing between Jack and the city. this man was seven feet tall and weighed more than twice what Jack weighed. The Garogh people were naturally big though. “Who are you and why would you randomly assume that?” Asked Jack, trying his best to avoid trouble. “Name is Ulk and I am competing in the tournament. You are armed, you are foreign and your headed toward the city where the tournament is being held. Tourists wouldn’t come out this far. The land is too rough. This means we are both competing and though I am sure I could beat you in a fair fight, I would rather not take this risk. If you do not mind, I will have to kill you before you enter the city” Ulk replied.

Jack sighed heavily “I told you this was a bad idea” Jack muttered to Ack. Then he drew his sword, an ancient blade, but still incredibly sharp. Ulk didn’t seem to be armed and since Ulk only wore short leather pants and a tunic, he didn’t have a way to conceal a weapon. Jack wouldn’t go easy on the guy, Ulk mentioned not wanting a fair fight, so Jack was on guard.

Ulk charged toward an already exhausted Jack. The ground shook under the giants stomping feet. In an instant, Jack was gone. Like a wolf, he moved swiftly along the ground, running behind Ulk before the giant could blink. Jack slashed across Ulk’s legs. Instead of yelling or falling to the ground, ulk swung around and swatted Jack like a fly. Jack toppled backward, smacking against rocks as he went.

Ulk smiled “alright, enough fun. I will not waste my energy on you. I need it for the tournament in two days” He said. then from behind Ulk, more men came into view. They were smaller than Ulk but still large. They held clubs and axes and walked menacingly closer.

“This is bad” Jack muttered. For some reason Ack didn’t respond. This was bad because as a last resort Jack would depend on Ack for a quick boost in strength. Jack charged at the group, his out, ready to fight for his life. The group of men smashed their weapons down on Jack, missing each time. their attacks slowly got more accurate and Jack was running out of places to run. Dodge an axe, then he would slash one of them, then jump away from a club, then he would slash, then roll, then attack, then dodge. He kept this up but was getting so tired.

As Jack fought for his life, his sword began to glow a pale blue. Energy surrounded it and all of Jack’s attacks grew stronger. Each slash would send one of the giants stumbling, no matter were the strike was located. Blue energy then started to surround his body. The sword was protecting Jack when the situation looked dire. Despite having this new ability, Jack still wasn’t winning, just surviving. He injured a few men, but there were so many he couldn’t fight them all.

Then he heard thunder crack and clouds formed over Jack, then in a blink of an eye, lighting shot down, striking Jack and electrocuting the surrounding giant men, leaving only Ulk alive. Ulk stared in terror. Lighting struck, killing everyone and there wasn’t even a cloud in the sky.

Moments later Jack reappeared in a flash of light. Ulk ran off, afraid it might be witchcraft or sorcery. Jack stumbled along the ground, worn from the fight and now with a fresh wound. Someone shot a metal ball at him and it went deep into his arm. Jack had never seen such a weapon and hoped to never see one again.

Needing rest and medical attention, Jack walked to the town of boulder ridge. He made it safely there and had his wounds treated and mysteriously, no one wanted to fight him. Jack even heard about a few contestants dropping out of the tournament, Ulk being one of them.

Quiet train ride

            Fog settled in the night air. All was quiet and still. In the distance a train could be heard chugging away. The sound grew louder and louder, soon bright lights pierced through the darkness and the roar of a train echoed through the trees. Then, in an instant, the train was gone.

            Jim stared out the window, looking out into endless darkness. If it were during the day he would have some lovely forest scenery to look at, but at this hour all there was to do was sleep. All was quiet in the train and the muffled chugging of the train was relaxing. Jim was lucky enough to get a compartment to himself. He was traveling on business through a mountain range to the next city over. It was hardly a hot vacation spot and the late night trips were usually pretty dead.

            To ward off boredom, Jim decided to take a walk around the train. He could walk up and down a few isles, check out another car and then his exciting adventure would be done. He stood up and went out the door of his compartment, he didn’t even take two steps before he heard a scream. Jim was much of a hero, but a mix of concern and curiosity urged him to go. He ran into the next train car, it was just two long rows of seats with a little isle in the middle. When Jim arrived on the scene he saw several passengers curled up in their seats, staring terrified at a strange man in the middle of the isle. The man had strange clothing, looked as if he had just come from a medieval festival. Wearing mostly green and brown, with pale skin and dark hair. The man looked as worried as the train passengers. In his hand he held a sword, it pulsed with a strange blue light.

            “He just appeared out of this air!” someone yelled. Another man entered the train car, pushing his way past Jim. This man wore a trench coat and a hat. “My name is detective Murphy. Put down the sword” Murphy said to the medieval man. Murphy was traveling on business and heard the scream. Train security wouldn’t be able to handle this situation so it was a good thing he was here. The swordman didn’t reply, so Murphy raised his gun. The guy with the sword didn’t seem to understand what was going on but knew enough to see Murphy was a threat. Acting on instinct the swordsman dashed forward and slashed, at the same time Murphy fired his gun. The sword sent a rush of energy out destroying the bullet and sending Jim and Detective Murphy flying back against the train car door.

            The swordsman looked terrified but held a fighting pose. Murphy drew his gun again and fired. The swordsman didn’t even see the shot, but now staggered backward with a bullet wound in his gut. “I-I am sorry” said the swordsman, looking confused. The blade he held started to glow, then the light spread and engulfed the swordsman’s entire body. Thunder crack loudly in the sky and a bolt of lighting shot down from the heavens, striking the train, it torn the ceiling off the train car and hit the swordsman. In an instant the swordsman was gone.

            Lucky none of the passengers were hurt and except for the trail roof, there wasn’t any damage done. Jim looked around bewildered. After a few moments when everyone calmed down, Jim finally broke the silence and said. “At least the ride wasn’t boring”