Splintered

Chapter Twenty-Eight: Off the Rails, Off the Walls

The rhythmic beat of the Capitol train chugging north filled its passenger cars. It had kept a steady pace for the last several hours, skirting Districts Two, Eleven, and Eight. The further north they ventured, the colder it became. An intermittent snow shower coated the world in a layer of white like a freshly laundered sheet had been draped over everything in sight.

Aside from the sounds of their locomotive, the atmosphere inside had settled into an uneasy quiet. Everyone regathered in the main compartment at Indira's behest. Sable sat at attention, polishing his weapon with a well-used towel. Bellona lounged beside him, eyelids drooping as she watched him like a child snared into participating in a gruelingly boring adult activity.

Indira was statuesque as she studied the slurring icy landscape as it whipped by. Meanwhile, Festus was nursing what was likely his fourth beer of the morning.

Hazel let out a soft exhalation, running her fingers together as she battled to keep awake. The lull of the train, along with a string of mostly sleepless nights, was tempting her to rest her eyes, even if just for a moment.

Leo's voice roused her, "No sleep again last night?" He leaned further back against the bench, arms crossed. They hadn't gotten to discuss much after she disemboweled her cassette player from her new decoration.

He had made a hurried attempt to convince her to let the matter go. To allow the senator to show her what was on it in time. That and he tried to convince her that another panic attack was going to be less than helpful mid-Victory tour.

She had barely stashed the player in her bag before Sable had burst into the room. He eyed them with a highly suspicious grimace, scowled at Sabie, and then dragged them back out into the main train car.

For the last several hours, they had to marinate in the awkwardness, unable to resolve their unfinished conversation. Every few miles, he fixed her with a loaded glance.

Keeping her observation glued on her hands, she muttered, "Feel like I haven't slept in months." She paused. It wasn't completely true. Shooting him a peripheral look, "Outside of that one night."

The night he had held her hand.

Leo's fingers tapped against his forearms as he glanced at Sable, "Think you'll need to find a new insomnia cure."

"Going to tell me to take my medication?"

The corner of his lip ticked. "Wouldn't dream of it. Though maybe you wouldn't dream at all if you did."

She shook her head, though she couldn't hold back the tiny smile that followed.

His voice then dropped to a whisper-like tone, "My mother had the same problem." The tapping pattern of his fingers stilled as she moved her studying stare from her hands to his features.

"I'm not sure I saw her sleep at all that last year before she...left."

Sable sighed, holstering his now shining weapon and making his way toward the dining car.

Pity swelled within her. What kind of torture it must have been to watch a person you love unravel into a stranger?

"I just wish I could've helped her," his voice remained downy soft.

"You were a child."

He shrugged, "I was, that doesn't mean I don't feel like I could've done something."

"It's not your fault," she murmured gently.

Leo stared hard at his folded arms. "Sometimes I wonder if it isn't, then why does it always feel like it is?"