Ambush

Chapter 6: The Train Ride

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The train ride was... interesting. I'd never been on such a fancy ride before, or a train at all for that matter. I must've been on one sometime because the sensation was familiar, but the memory was locked away from me. I dressed in the clothes they brought me. A checkered pair of pants and a black t-shirt with clunky black lace up shoes. It was strange wearing someone else's clothes. I'd worn the same shirt for years, so having a new shirt to try was like wearing someone else's skin. It didn't feel right.

I laid in a bed in my compartment. I shared it with a Soul Scuta. Aleksander insisted on me doing a particularly painful healing session then taking a nap. I ended the session early and stormed to bed. My body was weak but my mind was reeling. There was no chance of me falling asleep. My stomach growled. I peeked out the door. There was no one out. Light jazz played over the sound system and the smell of warm food wafted down the hall. I padded to the bar. The bartender sat stationed at his post with his feet propped up and a book in his hands. He wore glasses and a maroon button up shirt with black pants and a black apron. He didn't see me walk in.

"Excuse me." I said innocently. He jumped out of his seat and his book flew away. His glasses fell to the side of his head.

"How can I help you?" He asked, disoriented.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to startle you." I said.

"No, I'm sorry. I just spook easy I guess." He said.

"Do you have a menu?" I asked.

"Oh, uh, yes, of course." He fumbled and dropped the menu. "I'm sorry." He picked it up then popped up from behind the counter.

"You're okay." I settled for a tortilla soup.

"And actually, can I get something fun to drink?"

"Maybe a margarita?"

"Something that doesn't taste like rubbing alcohol. Your pick." I said. The bartender got to work behind the counter. I'd never had a drink before, but I'd heard Daisy rave about how they had medicinal properties. I'd only ever seen them make people crazy.

"So you like jazz?" He asked.

"I love music. Jazz sorta has this bright and tinny quality to it. Sometimes it's orange and throaty, but it's always orange, blue, and purple to me. And I can feel the shadows underneath." I said.

"Are you a musician?" He asked.

"No, just a lover of the arts." I said. I saw the violin on the wall above him. "Do you play?" I asked.

"I haven't in a while." He said.

"Will you? Please?" I looked at him from under my lashes with dopey eyes. He looked at me apologetically and brushed his hand through his hair.

"What? right now?" He asked.

"This train is dull and I'm in need of something cheery." I said. The bartender grabbed his violin from above the bar and began to play a tune.

I giggled and danced around the bar. I joined in when I knew the songs and pretended to perform for a full train car. I danced with invisible people. The imaginary crowd was so entranced with me they joined in the song. The man at the end of the bar blushed when I blew him a kiss. The woman to my left screeched when I grabbed her arm and dipped her beneath me. Her hair fell behind her and she looked at me from under her lashes, like a woman enchanted. I spun her around and hopped onto a table. There I mimicked a dance I'd seen on tv. Once I'd finally tired myself out, I laid on the floor.