Write to Rank 2023

The Mountain Trail

I'd never seen the world like this before. It was beyond magical, and I doubted I'd ever get this fluttering feeling in the same way ever again. There were hardly any words good enough to describe the utopia I was looking at.
  It was one of those old, rusty metal trains with the walls missing that exposed the inside to the elements that I was sat in. The compartments held many crates, and each and every one of them probably held many important items, but I wished to look through none of them. They were for their recipients and their recipients only; I was already doing enough wrong by sneaking into the train when I couldn't pay for a ticket.
  But it was the outside world which had me hooked and had me distracted from my questionable morals. Trees, rivers and lakes whizzed by me like pages in a storybook, each a unique entity with a history which I'd never understand. The amount of scenes I'd seen in one train ride was insane, especially considering that some people wouldn't see this many in their whole lives. That could've been me if I hadn't decided to take a leap of faith.
  But even though the world was beautiful and vast, I couldn't forget to be careful.
  I couldn't forget that I didn't have a ticket for this train; I'd gotten in illegally. If they were to find out that I was here, I'd get kicked off. And I had places I needed to go... I couldn't get kicked off now.
  And so I quietly and slowly made my way back through the carriage and sat down on a pile of hay, ready to have a nap.
  However, I quickly got up - I'd forgotten to check that my barricade was still in place. The door was blocked by some of the heaviest crates I'd found here, all stacked around the door sturdily so as to remove the likelihood of the door being able to be opened. As it had always been since I'd gotten here.
  Relaxing slightly, I took one more look out into the world beyond the train, before getting back to the hay and shutting my eyes, quickly and silently drifting into a dreamless sleep.

***

  BANG! BANG!
  Someone was slamming themself against the door.
  When I opened my eyes, I was greeted to a view of a powerful mountain beside a lowly lake, the midnight moon in the sky watching over me as I scrambled over to my slowly toppling barricade. I suddenly felt stupid, thinking that it'd hold. The crates had nothing to keep them from falling, and would only stay how they were now for a small while longer.
  Three men starting yelling on the other side, and I spent no more time staring at my futile attempt at protection and started to move onto escape, whilst still staying on the train. But of course I'd ended up choosing the carriage with only one door, and so it seemed I'd trapped myself.
  Would the men kill me? Would they make it merciful and quick, or would they make it slow and painful? Were they even looking for me? They had to know that someone was in here, but what did they expect? What did I expect, waiting here?
  I didn't want to stick around to find out. And so, regrettably, I ran towards the open wall and towards the mountain, stopping on the edge of the floor.
  Because that was when I saw it.
  There was a pipe snaking up the edge of the train. It looked sturdy enough, if not slightly unreliable for taking the weight of a person. But it didn't matter - if it didn't work out I'd fall off and onto the grass below and I'd just have to find another way to find a better future for myself... but that was a last resort. I had to try climbing first.
  Looking at the door one last time, I ran towards the pipe and grabbed it, sighing thankfully as it didn't shudder at all. The pipe was then easy to snake up, allowing me to get to the roof of the train in record time. I lodged my feet into grooves on the roof and stayed silent as the door below was burst open.
  The sound of the barricades collapsing was deafening and made my heart's pace rise just a little, and it freaked me out enough that I slapped a hand to my mouth. It appeared that one of the intruders to my temporary lodging was a leader, because he commanded the other two men to spread out and search the carriage to find whoever had intruded their carriage...
  Meaning that I was the intruder, and that I was in the wrong. But that didn't mean that I didn't want to stay on the train - it was all I had to get to a better future.
  All I needed to do was stay silent, and then I'd be able to get away.
  But I guess fate had already decided that things weren't meant to be. One of the guys leant his head out of the side of the train, and it took a double take before he acknowledged my presence. I gasped, and then he made his move for the pipe I'd just climbed.
  I got up and started to run up the limited amount of train. My feet made banging sounds on the metal rooves. Bullets whizzed past. Was it the man who fired them? Even if he had terrible aim, he could get lucky at any moment. Threat was imminent and there was nothing I could do.
  But even threats are forced to back off - this guy had to reload. His fumbling hands and panicky nature allowed me to widen the gap between us.
  But as the gap widened the remaining train shortened, and I realised that this was it. There was nothing I could do to avoid being removed from the train, whether forcefully or by choice.
  "GAH!"
  I turned back just in time to see the man flying off of the train after being struck by a tree branch. I sighed with relief at the anti-climacticity of the event, and then got my feet back in grooves on the train and stayed there.
  My temporary calm was followed by more gunshots, as I had also been followed; the boss man and his friend were now shooting at me. Their shots were landing closer to me every second, and I decided that I didn't want to take my chances.
  I closed my eyes and threw myself from the train. I rolled on the ground for a little bit, and then layed still, unable to believe what I'd just done. I looked up and saw the mountain there, towering over me. Watching me to see what I'd do next.
  And I knew what I'd do next. I'd just have to take the Mountain Trail.