Dawned

Chapter 11

They waited for hours for the Hoard to leave. But they just stood there. Occasionally, a few left the group, but the rest stayed, not wanted to disperse. It turned to night, and they had to sleep on the train. Vin brought back some blankets and pillows for everyone to sleep with. Not everyone could fit into one train to sleep, so Xavier and Joshua went to the train behind theirs. It got late, but Xavier couldn't sleep with the thought on his mind.

"You good?" Asked Joshua. "Yeah, I think so. I just can't sleep." Responded Xavier. "Yeah, sleeping on the floor of a train isn't the most comfortable." Said Joshua. "Yeah..."
Then, Joshua asked, "so, who are your friends?"
"Well, Joseph helped me find my way around the school, and Duncan and Tasha helped me get to the wasp nest."
They were silent for a moment.

"So, who is your friend?" Asked Xavier. "Brad? He's actually... my boyfriend." Xavier wasn't expecting that answer. He thought for a moment before asking, "would it be weird if I asked Duncan out?"

"Why would it be weird?" Responded Joshua. "Well, first off he's a wolf. And I met him only a couple of days ago. Plus, he's a guy, and it'd be awkward if he said no."
"Being non-human is normal thing here. I don't know if you noticed, but I'm dating a bull. And before I died, I've been asked out in less time than that. But with that said, why did you want to ask him out?"

"Well," said Xavier, "he's really nice. Heck, he fell off a cliff trying to save me. The way he is, is sorta cute. Kinda... kinda like a puppy. And he seemed like a really cool friend, but after I was saved for the third time, he was glad I was alright and he hugged me and it was... nice."
"Well, wait to see if he's the person you want to be with. Even if your already sure, spend more time with him."

Joshua laid back down, and went to sleep. Xavier laid awake for a while, but he too fell asleep.

***

Xavier woke up to the light of the sun on his face. Joshua had already gotten up, and was in the main cabin. Xavier looked out the window, and saw that their situation hadn't gotten any better. In fact, it actually got worse. The Hoard had noticed them, and were staring at the train. He walked over to the main cabin to join the others. "Hey, Xavier." Said Duncan. "Hi." He said back. He couldn't look at him without thinking about asking him out. Just then Joseph pulled him to the side. "There's something I have to tell you." He brought him to the cabin in front of the main one. He then explained.

"I know I said that you were dead, but I've come to realize, that you not actually dead yet."
"What?" Asked Xavier. Joseph then went on to explain what he meant. The fact that he didn't find his wasp, that he also didn't find his bee, he didn't remember dying and now the thing with Brax. "The only way Brax could have stolen your energy is if you were still alive."
"So your telling me that I've been alive this whole time, in a world full of killer monsters."

Xavier had a feeling of dread. All those times he almost died, both of the Mary attacks, the monster attacks, the spiders, the cliff, Brax. So many times he's almost died for real. He shuddered. They heard a sound coming from the seat. It was the wasp cage. "What's that?" Asked Joseph. "It's the cage for your wasp." Said Xavier. "It's been regenerating after the spiders ate it. I think it's done now." Joseph went over to it and peeled the webs off. The wasp had indeed finished healing, and was back to being homicidal. Joseph took it out of the cage, and cut it in half with his tool. The story started to play.

They watched the scene for a while, before Joseph skipped to the end. There was a 16-year-old boy, and he was in school. But nothing was happening. The scene started to change to static, and then ended, which usually meant that the person had died and that was the end of the story. The wasp fixed itself, and began to get up. But Joseph cut it again. The same thing happened. It faded to static before ending.

They heard a metal clang. Coming from the front of the train. More clangs followed, and the became more frequent, and they got closer. Vin then ran through the door, saying, "the Hoard! Their were on the tracks! They got on the train! We need to go!" He ran to the main cabin, and told the others the same thing. Joseph stuck his head out the window. A mass of black figures was approaching them, climbing on the roof, on the side, and even under the train.

"Go, I can hold them off." Said Joseph. Xavier ran to the behind cabins with the others. He turned back to see see Joseph attacking the monsters, and they him. "Don't worry about me!" Shouted Joseph. "If I die, I'll revive. You get to safety!" Vin didn't hesitate to lock the doors once Xavier passed them. Then, they reached the end train. Tasha, Xavier, Duncan, Josh and Brad were cornered, nowhere left to run.

Joseph was on the roof now. He ran to the front of the train, and pulled the start lever. The train began moving. Forward. It cut and killed the monsters as it did. But that didn't stop them. But they didn't stop the train either. The train gained speed as it went down the hill. It zipped past the station, ramming all of the monsters it hit. Joseph sighed in relief as the train began rising above the hoard. He looked ahead, and he saw it too late. A group of monsters were on the track, and had messed with the track.

The train bumped as it rolled over them. This sent the train off the rails, and it screeched as it tried to stop itself. But the momentum forced it forward. It tried to was trying to get back into the rails, but the rest pushed it onward. It tripped, and fell off the track. The rest of the train slowly followed, one by one. Xavier watched from atop the train, Joseph fall down, to the rocky ground below. The monsters had invaded all the cabins, and they were trapped on top of the train cars. Vin was missing, and Brad and Josh were trapped on a train car closer to the front, Brad knocking off and Josh burning them. Xavier looked to his side to see a monster lunging at Tasha and knocking her off. Brad and Josh had been caught, and were sliding off the car. Xavier looked at Duncan, who was panicking. Duncan had heard what Joseph told him.

They felt a jolt, and saw as the final cabin fell off the track. They began falling, Duncan, Xavier, and all the monsters. They watched as they plummeted over fifty feet, strait into the ground.