Shadow of a Train

Prologue

There once was a girl called Victoria. She was waiting for a train, smoke and steam filled around her while she was waiting at the station. A question of why did she want to leave this place. Let's go back before that day and find out how and where she was before this.

She lives in an Orphanage on an island in the middle of a world filled with train tracks. The Orphanage is this large 5 storey building. There are no playgrounds or even outside space, only grey old stone bricks and the place had been there even before the Chaos Years before the Trains came to rule the world before the lakes turned black and trees were burned to near death.

Victoria slept in her bed which was located on the second floor on the fourth floor of The Orphanage below where she slept in some rooms only the Workers go to.

Deep under her sleeping hall was where the Dining Hall can be found well where they serve what the Caretakers think and count as 'food' . Victoria woke up by the clanging Caretakers banging on a metal bin lid.

She climbed out of her bed onto a cold hard floor around 50 other girls were on the sleeping floor near where the boys slept. They keep all under iron doors locked at night so no secret meetings or escape plans.

To Victoria this is normal wake up call trugging along changing out of their night clothes into day clothes of grey dirty dresses and among others clothing. The banging came again showing time to get a move on down for breakfast Victoria started following in line with Sophie in front sluggishly plodding forward down the end of the room down the stone stairs down past another door till Victoria reach the bottom and she thought "I do hope it's not same pale old substance as normal" Now in the Dining Hall in front of her was a line of children each given a bowl then onto Chefs then they sit down. As more children get their food Victoria gets closer to finding if what she hopes is true handed a bowl by a long tall Chef then plop its same Snosh its pale blue porridge like substance. Plodding along sitting down on many benches across from Victoria sat Sophie and Amber

Sophie said "Have you heard rumors of children disappearing in night never to be seen and the sound of a foghorn is always heard"

Both girls' expressions were shocking. "What that can't be true" replied Amber and Victoria wondered "What if I be free from this place I never truly like this the food the work but the beds are nice" then clanging came again showing its was time to move onto to working at Workshop the Caretakers would force them to build little metal tinker like objects that were shipped by the Workers off to sold in many markets that travel around on rails around The Orphanage. Victoria and everyone stand up slowly sluggish dropping off the bowls and spoons of Snosh in a big tin bin that one of the Caretakers was holding up. Moving past one of the Kitchen doors some children wait with Caretaker 6 for Elevator the other force Victoria and her friends up iron stairs in this open space next the Elevator shaft with light blue peeling wallpaper on the walls of this space. There was no spring in any of the orphans' steps as when up the stairs Victoria glanced over at the shaft seeing some of the orphans going slowly up them there trying not to look down. Victoria reach the Workshop and then when to her bench around the hall there tons of benches where everyone work on constructing their cloak like Machines the Orphans were part of the machine screwing and welding parts together then onto Victoria on doing the two small gears attaching them to the bronze pole with two points out where two gears would go. She started placing them on the conveyor belt. The Orphans always do their tasks everyday of every week for however long they stay here always following the rules you do not want to break the rules like, Do you work always follow the Caretakers orders never run away or ask for more food I once heard a boy try that he was sold to a man maybe it's real or is just story who knows in this world.