The Myth called Earth

Chapter 3

As we reached the station my feelings towards opening the blinds changed. I was still excited but it was not the excitement I had hoped for. It was more like visiting a kin who had been taken ill. I had done that a number of times for few people. Two among them never recovered. I felt that exact way. It was urgency. Urgency to find out what was wrong not enthusiasm to discover what was new.

It was incredible what a 20 pages pamphlet could do to all the thoughts and expectations I had been harboring since childhood. Whoever wrote it was not an author, he was a murderer. And he had murdered all my optimism.

The window fluttered open. I pressed my nose against the glass. I saw a pillared platform standing long and lonely. It was more deserted than a graveyard. At least the graveyard had the dead, this had nothing. Not a speck of dirt. Even by a shallow look I could tell it was lavishly built over a huge area. The distance between the train and the tiny gates at the other side seemed incessant.

The strange lady entered our compartment again. We all looked upto her with inquisitive expressions. She dismissed everyone. Maybe answering questions was not a part of her pay check. She steadily walked through the aisle in her painful glass belt. Her back was poised and she did not look the slightest bit rundown. Whilst the very young passengers were slouchy and exhausted. She replaced our pamphlets with a small rubber package. I wondered what I had to do with it. But soon it became obvious.

"Orcuz Mainland. Arrival time: First hour of Night. Temperature: -40 degree Celsius. Adjusting" the speakers boomed from somewhere. I stared dumbfounded at Falcon. He and I and the rest of the train knew that we had set out of the cocoon in the morning. The Cocoon had no openings towards the sky but it had plenty of lights that adjusted itself with the time of the day. The temperature of the place was also varied accordingly. Falcon gulped and tried to find some answer from his neighbors. I forcibly recalled our departure. The lights had been blasting and the air had been warm. it seemed impossible for the train to have taken so long.

"Passengers unbuckle. Passengers ready for exit"

The temperature of the train dropped dramatically. I felt like I had been picked from warm chicken broth and dropped into a glass full of ice. I zipped my jacket and pulled at the package. It had to be survival material. Indeed, it was. It was an odd black cape with an adjoining hood. I wore it without question. It may have been out of line but it was very effective.

"Hey! It was nice knowing you" Falcon spoke to me grimly. The temperature inside me dropped again. Despite the cape and the jacket I felt cold. And my heart skipped a beat.

"Does that mean we are not going to know each other anymore?" I asked. My worst fear threatened to come true. Had he been claimed? I debated it.

"I'm messing with you! I joke a little and look how feverish you become" he grinned.

"Yeah! Well, maybe because for the last 17 years I was stuck with a alabaster statue instead of a human. " I bit my tongue in my mouth. I did not want to offend him right then. I was a pro at offending him but at that moment I decided to rest the conflicts.

"And I am going to stay with you some longer to make sure you don't die, Insect"

"Do NOT call me insect" I thundered. I had to admit that he said it with a lot of affection but it also served as I reminder of my weak physical structure and I wanted to punch the entire race of well built people, like him. He grinned some more which was a sight for sore eyes. I refrained from indulging into another unnecessary fight. He let the matter slip as well and indulged into pulling out his bag from the above carrier that had sprung open without warning.