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Being stranded in the middle of god knows where on a train through what he assumed was time with two others was not on the list of things Owen had thought he would have been doing today. Actually for that matter marks that up to things he would be doing his entire life! But for all of his disbelief in the matter that was exactly the thing to happen to him that day.
The night had started out quite normal for him actually. While he wouldn’t call it his job, Owen had always had an eye for the old and decrepit. The places once brimming full with light and activity now snuffed to a relic of the past. And it was exactly how he had found himself standing smack dab right in the middle of an abandoned train yard that night staring at an old decrepit run down train.
Owen really hadn’t expected to see the train there hidden in the shadows. The train itself was what Owen could only assume to be an old steam train. The exterior of the train was painted a rusty red by many many years of use and then abandonment with foliage clinging onto any foot hold of the train it could get its vines into. Getting closer to its worn down and rusted exterior: a plate on the side of one of the carts once golden now rusted with age read 1850. Glancing down the exterior of the train Owen noticed something.
One of the carts on the train was open.
The cart itself wasn’t anything out of the ordinary. It, like the rest, just looked like an old train cart with its paint nearly all chipped away and any of the metal it had was rusted beyond repair. Cautiously approaching the door Owen rested his hand onto the doorway and tried to peer through the door though there wasn’t much he could really see with the door’s windows when everything was obscured in shadows. Making a decision then and there Owen decided to open the door.
The moment Owen stepped into the cart of the train, it already felt wrong. Taking a quick glance around, he noticed that unlike the outside of the train the inside of it, at least the cart he was standing in looked to be in far better condition than the outside. Actually it was in way better condition than it should be. Everything looked as if it had never been touched and the room shown with a vibrance and hue that only something that had never had been used could. Drapes hung from each window enveloping the cart in a soft darkness of which only the lanterns sprinkled about could chase away.
Stepping closer to a lamp, one of the lamps that had been set across from him on the other side of the door? Cart Owen realized something. Why aren't any of these lanterns going out? I mean by now they should have, right? You don’t just leave something like this laying in a room and expect it to still be lit however many hours later. Before he could ponder the mystery of the lanterns any longer Owen heard the tiniest of sounds from where he had been standing not just seconds earlier.
Click!
Spinning around to face the door he had just come from, Owen quickly noticed that in fact there was now no door where one should be. Instead where there was once a door now stood another row of seats.
“No no no no come on the door was just there a second ago!”
Glancing about to make sure he just hadn’t missed the door Owen noticed that the once friendly and warm atmosphere of the room and now turned to something more unpleasant. Something more, unnerving. Like as if a switch had been flipped and the creature that lurked in the dark was now out ready to play. Owen decided that then and there whatever was inside this room he wanted nothing to do with it.
And so he ran.
Ran . Ran . Until finally there! Up ahead Owen saw a door. The door was one of those you would tend to see on a train like this. A solid wood door with a small window on it connected two of the train's carts together. Without even taking a chance to look the thing over Owen threw the door wide open. Catching his breath on the other side Owen quickly glanced around and-
Great, just great.
On the other side of the door he had just gone through lie a cart exactly like the one he had just ran through, though it somehow didn’t feel as hostile as the other one had?
Oh great, not this again.
Well I guess we go again . Just as he had noticed beforehand this cart was almost exactly like the one he had just been in. Same shades, same colors, same lights, same-
“Ow! Bek, I swear if that's you who just bumped into me, I'll-” she paused, looking up to the sudden wall that was him. She was clearly much shorter than him- probably going up to just his shoulders, more or less. Aside from a flabbergasted expression, she was pale and blonde, hair snipped to about her shoulders and ran pretty straight down. He didn’t expect anyone to be here- it was an abandoned yard, for god’s sake, nonetheless a lady with what seemed to be in very authentic looking 16th to 17th century attire, and it was torn and tied, too, almost as if it would let her kick him better.
“Hey! Who are you?!” they both said in unison quickly taking a step back from one another.
“First of all I asked first, second of all why should I tell you my name?” the woman said, sending a well practiced scowl his way.
“Well maybe because I asked you?” Owen grumbled, shooting a glare toward her. Honestly, who did she think she was?! It was just a simple question really, why did she have to sound so defensive about-
“Eloise, why are you making so much noise! I swear if this is another rat El-”
Well that answers that question.
Owen was frankly more surprised he hadn’t noticed her sooner. A little ways away from where the two of them were standing now steadily approached a pale woman with light brown hair that draped to just past her shoulder. She was tall in stature, easily beating Owen in height and she wore what almost looked to be a ringmasters coat but instead of the traditional red it was cross crossed in blue and white stripes.
Oh great there was two of them now
Owen pinched his nose and groaned as he looked the two women over. They were both definitely strange. That was certainly a fact of the matter but honestly what else about this day was not?
“First of all, who are you? And second, where are we?” Owen was so done with this day honestly.
“ That's an easy one! I’m Bek.” the woman said proudly, thrusting a thumb towards herself ignoring the snickering of the other girl next to her. “As for your other question, this is Ol' Darel Thompson, or that's at least what El and I have been calling it.” Why in the world would anyone call this train that? Owen questioned, but before he had the chance to question the name any longer, Bek started to speak again. “To be frank, neither of us really know entirely what this place is either besides that we presume it to be a weird never ending train, so both of us are planning to find out what's on the other side of it!”
“Actually, why don’t you join us!” Owen turned to glance at the girl who Bek had called Eloise earlier, all her warryness about him seeming to have disappeared at Bek’s arrival.
“That's probably not a bad idea!” Bek exclaimed “so what do you say Owen? Care to join us?”
Owen really didn’t think he had much choice in this matter honestly. Would he rather stay here alone where he knew practically nothing about this place and its dangers or would he go with these two strangers who seemed to at least have half an idea where they were going? There definitely seemed to be a correct answer here.
“Yeah sure why not.”
“Then what are we waiting for? Let's get a move on!” With that Eloise was off running down the hallway.
“Wait Eloise hold on! Shouldn’t we maybe think you know about this?” Owen yelled after her but his words fell on deaf ears. Turning to look at Bek for help Bek just chuckled and sighed.
“Once Eloise has a plan in her mind there is no dissuading her. Come on, let's catch up to her before she actually does find something to be worried about.” With that Bek walked to catch up with her now quite a ways ahead friend, Owen quickly following behind her.
When the two of them finally caught up to El she was standing in front of a door much like the other two Owen’s had passed through. Its window cracked and broke to see what was on the other side.
“What took you two so long?” Eloise smirked a playful expression on her face as she leaned against a seat conveniently nearby.
“Maybe if you hadn’t run a head we could have caught up sooner.” Owen grumbled, shooting a glare over to Eloise who took it gracefully.
“Well.” Eloise said, firing a pointed smile at Owen “maybe if you two weren’t so slow you wouldn’t need to.”
“Alright you two break it up we have a door up ahead.” Bek said, pushing the two of them apart before tugging the door open and stepping through, the other two following close behind.
Where once rows upon rows of seats had once stood, their red colored cushion bleeding into the browns of the cart's wooden wall. Now only junk and scraps of what they all assumed had been seats as well as other junk left in the cart were strewn throughout the cart's gutted and patchy hollow frame. Holes yawned out from all over the cart where it looked like someone had cautiously torn out large sections of both walls and floor leaving bits of exposed metal and terrifying empty darkest in its place.
“Woah ok, definitely wasn’t expecting that.” Owen gasped, taking a step away from one of the gaping holes that was right in front of the three of them.
“Another one of these?! Seriously!?” Bek groaned “I thought we would of been done with these stupid carts of usless scrap by now!”
“Oh come on Bek it’s not like we haven't seen one of these carts before, and now it will be so much more fun with Owen here with us!” Eloise laughed, hauling herself up onto a piece of scrap that had been lying abandoned next to the hole before turning her head to look at the two of them still standing there “Now come on let's get a move on out of this cart, I would rather not stay here till it fully collapses on itself.” With that El judging the distance to a scrape of wood that was strewn a little ways away across the other side of the hole leaped off the pile of scrap she had been perching on and in one clean movement cleared the hole.
“Are you really sure we should follow her?” Owen asked, glancing over to the taller woman who had started to make her way towards where Eloise had jumped across.
“Well it’s not like we have another choice.” Bek said hauling herself up to the same spot El had jumped off of a moment ago. “Comeon now I'm not very keen on getting left behind here.”
Silently agreeing with her Owen made his way towards where she was standing and watched her clear the gap with clearly practiced ease. Copying her movements Owen soon followed after her clearing the gap with definitely no grace like the other two had but still clearing it nonetheless.
The next few what Owen assumed hours were slow to say the least. The cart itself felt endless. Every single time it felt like they were finally getting close to the end their would only be more piles of scrap and junk for them to have to travers and though the traveling was hard to say the least with Owen himself nearly falling or missing the jump one or two times along the way in the end it did feel like they grew closer in those few hours. Finally after they had all cleared the last few gaps and were faced with another door in their way.
“So what are we guessing will be behind this door?” Owen questioned, trying his hardest to peer through the window on the other side.
“Bets on rats!” Bek quickly responded with a cheeky grin on her face.
“Nope no! Not dealing with rats again, nope no thank you!” Eloise quickly said, making her way to shove the door open.
“Wow you scared a few little rats there El? I wouldn’t take you for that type?” Owen chuckled, quickly ducking to avoid the swat Eloise sent his way.
“You would be too if you had seen them! They were huge and nasty and ehg!” Eloise stuck her tongue out in disgust. “Let's get out of here before this cart collapses more than it already has or Owen over here dies of old age.”
“Oi! Alrighty here you little.” Owen laughed as he quickly followed after her Bek not too far behind the both of them.
Yeah Owen thought. I think I could get used to this. On that note the three of them pushed open the door in front of them and made their way into the cart ahead.