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 Posted: Wed Apr 25, 2007 6:25 pm
The sad silence that had hung over the four before had since transmuted into something far more uncomfortable. Julian leaned against one wall, further from the others, looking down at the ground and his hair obscuring his face. Crow had given up trying to talk, finding she was capable only of cursing or choking back tears.
"So," Len said, standing next to Ethan awkwardly.
"Mm," he intelligently replied.
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Posted: Wed Apr 25, 2007 6:42 pm
The old warehouse was coming into sight. Joe pulled back on the lever, initiating the break sequence of the giant, rusty behemoth. Few of the well-maintained locomotives had been left in the train yard, so he'd had to settle for what he could find.
Fog arose from beneath as the engine slowly came to a halt, the gears creaking. He whipped out his cellphone and texted Björn with a simple, "Knock knock," as he leaned out and rested his arms on the bottom of the Engineer's window.
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Posted: Wed Apr 25, 2007 6:47 pm
Björn jumped like someone had suddenly kicked him in the a**. He hadn't. Said piece of anatomy had started vibrating.
He pulled the cellphone from his back pocket and flipped it open, viewing the message with something like a smile.
"He's here. C'mon."
Liam looked like he was in pain.
"Well...here goes."
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Posted: Wed Apr 25, 2007 6:50 pm
There wasn't much of a reaction from the siblings, but Ethan and Lenore managed to exchange anxious looks that held a tinge of wary interest. Crow, slouching with her hands in her pockets, trailed after Liam like a shadow. The other three followed suit, staying silent.
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Posted: Wed Apr 25, 2007 6:59 pm
Joe smirked as he saw the group file out of the building. He motioned a sort of half-wave at Björn before climbing down to the ground. The large box caught his eye, but he thought it best not to question matters right now.
"Follow me," he said, walking a bit of a ways down the train. About half way down the length of a train, he stopped and faced the train. He grabbed the latch of the door and dragged it open as far he could, the thick rust held quite the door half-closed quite firmly. He huffed in frustration and looked back at the group.
"Well, you should all be safe here. It's far enough away that when you get off, the guard station shouldn't see you."
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Posted: Wed Apr 25, 2007 7:01 pm
"Thanks," Björn smiled to Joe as he entered the car and gently placed the corpse in the trunk (for thinking of it as Rabid would certainly lead to a violent mental breakdown) on the floor.
"Mmph," was all Liam could muster. Honestly, he still couldn't look Joe straight in the face. He mumbled something that might have been thanks adn went to hide in a darkened corner.
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Posted: Wed Apr 25, 2007 7:04 pm
Keeping up pretending to be a shadow, letting the childish activity take her mind off the very painful grief that threatened to burst out at any provocation, Crow trailed after Liam and sat near him. Julian, nodding vaguely to the new guy, found a corner of his own and made himself unobtrusive.
Lonely for Malachi, Lenore threaded her arm clumsily through Ethan's and sat beside him, trying to keep her eyes away from the trunk.
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Posted: Wed Apr 25, 2007 7:16 pm
After watching them all climb into the train, he just peered in for a moment. On all their faces a obvious sense of sadness lurked. Joe just looked away, trying not to seem so obtrusive. He grasped the latch of the door again.
"I'll turn the lights back off when we get there, so you'll know," he told them. He started to pull the door shut again, taking just a moment to look at Björn and Liam. He nodded, trying to say "Good luck" in a way and closed the door.
He made his way back to the front of the train, climbing upon it and shoving the lever forward once more. The dim lights all kicked on in the rear train cars.
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Posted: Wed Apr 25, 2007 7:24 pm
Liam fell forward as the train lurched and only then noticed Crow's presence. He sidled up to her and embraced her, thinking more of comforting himself than her.
Björn suddenly looked up to the wall and groaned. Well, clearly there had been some kind of battle on this train. There was a wide arc of green (what one could assume was arterial spray) garishly decorating the wall just behind him. Good grief.
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Posted: Wed Apr 25, 2007 7:29 pm
Leaning against Liam, Crow rested her head against his shoulder and slipped an arm around him, the hated burning in her eyes starting again as she looked at the trunk. She closed her eyes tightly and tried to pretend she was a shadow again.
Len followed Björn's gaze, and her eyes widened briefly at the familiar shade of green. She looked away again, pretending she wasn't rattled, and managed a small quick smile to cover for herself as Ethan glanced at her.
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Posted: Thu Apr 26, 2007 11:38 am
Liam nuzzled the side of Crow's head briefly, and then was possessed to take out his cellphone. Ike hadn't yet called to say he'd gotten the note. It'd probably be best to try him again. He shifted around in his pocket until he was able to drag out his cellphone, dialed Ike's number, and waited as it rang.
---
Somewhere in Mei-Vaar
Ike cringed. ********. His phone. The guard checking through his things didn't immediately notice, but soon began tearing through the boy's belongings until he saw the cellphone.
"Kin et-tep?"
"My cellphone. It's my family trying to--"
Crunch. The phone was gone, reduced to a pile of metal and shattered ********, back in the train car...
Liam huffed as the signal died and placed his phone back into his pocket. Stupid useless thing. He pulled Crow into his lap and held her, closing his eyes and resting his head on her shoulder.
Björn had spontaneously and mysteriously begun to tremble violently, his hands clasped and raised to his mouth.
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Posted: Thu Apr 26, 2007 12:36 pm
Crow smiled faintly and curled up against Liam, eyes remaining firmly closed.
Trying valiantly to ignore the bloodspatter and the body-in-a-trunk, Len frowned and nudged Ethan sharply.
"Ow! Len, you just cut me."
"What's wrong with Björn?" she whispered back, nodding towards him.
"What..." Ethan looked up, instantly concerned, and got up. He approached Björn carefully.
"What's wrong?"
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Posted: Thu Apr 26, 2007 12:52 pm
Liam pet Crow's back comfortingly. Damn, if this all could just be over, already...
Björn peered up at Ethan, almost looking like he didn't comprehend what was asked of him. It took him a moment to realize that he was breaking down physically, not just mentally.
His immediate thought was to tell Ethan off as loudly as possible and hope the kid never came back.
And then he remembered it was Ethan.
"I can't go back there." It was, of course, a nicer way of saying he was frightened and anxious.
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Posted: Thu Apr 26, 2007 4:11 pm
Ethan nodded silently, not pressing the issue. There were dim recollections of stories about branding, and shootings, and hangings. He didn't dare bring it up, if the seemingly unshakable Björn was looking so discomforted.
Picking at the feather she'd accidentally cut Ethan with, Lenore ripped it out unthinkingly and watched a little bit of her black blood roll down the shaft, staining the plume. It stayed very sharp. She turned it over in her hands, wondering how easy it would be to cut someone's throat with it.
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Posted: Thu Apr 26, 2007 4:17 pm
Mei-Vaar was a very small city, just as Jean-Gabriel had said. Because of this, the train suddenly lurched to a shrieking, rusty stop.
Björn looked to the wall, as if expecting it to do something fantastic, and then stood and hefted the trunk up over his shoulder once more. He banged the wall a few times, thanking Joe with sounds rather than a voice, and tore the door open.
And accidentally off.
Oops.
He continued down
Liam nudged Crow, waiting for her to get up before he stood.
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