Train Junkies

Jamie and Dallas go to New York

Summary: Jamie and Dallas Jones, age thirteen, go out to perform a steak out in New York.

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Jamie looked up at the train, her unease plastered all over her face and movements. The small girl was shifting from foot to foot, never letting her bright eyes stop their marathon around the station. Her nimble fingers picked at the edges of her old hoodie, pulling at strings or invisible faults.

She'd thought of every way that this trip could end, especially the terrifying, morbid ones. As in the train falling off of the tracks and killing all its passengers, or hitting another train head on, or even-

She jumped what must have been a foot off the ground when she felt a foreign hand on her shoulder. Whipping her head to her left, Jamie was relieved to see her twin sister Dallas, a huge smile gracing her freckled face.

"Hey, Jame!" Dallas spoke as she adjusted her red-rimmed glasses slightly. "Can you believe we're actually riding an actual train? Alone?"

Jamie swallowed back her nerves, and tried to muster up some of her usual courage. "You bet I am, Dal. I just can't wait to step into that metal box that moves way too fast to be safe." It seems to have been ineffective.

Dallas laughed anyway, passing it off for Jamie's usual sarcastic banter. "Neither can I! I've always tried to imagine the mechanics that go behind getting the train going. Ever since they took out the coal and steam systems and replaced it with pure Hernzwire magic, I've been wanting to take it apart and examine it."

Her sister's rant did little to calm Jamie's nerves. Engineering was her favourite subject, but she couldn't get over her fears. Ha, the fastest track runner in her school's history, and she was terrified of the fastest train the world's ever seen.

The whistle was blown, and her heart stopped.

They were boarding.

Jamie contemplated running, or even screaming as Dallas excitedly dragged her off towards her emanate doom. Her stomach churned as they climbed the stairs and she started to feel faint as they selected a compartment.

The walls were a glossy, dark oak wood, and the floors granite tiling. The long benches were covered in comfy padding, almost becoming couches. There was a large window on the opposite end, showing off the station, where Jamie wished she was instead.

"Look, Jamie! We have a window! And these seats, wow! So plush." Dallas said, her green eyes shining in excitement. She slowly took notice of the sick look on her twin's face, the strange way she wouldn't stop moving, and how her eyes didn't seem to stop moving. "Are you okay, Jame?"

Jamie, for her part, wasn't feeling very 'okay'. She wanted out. To be at home, cooking lunch with their father, or hanging out with her school friends, or sleeping. She didn't voice these, settling for a lie instead. "Yeah, I'm just anxious to get our steak out started."

Dallas looked sceptical, placing her hand on Jamie's wrist. "I know you Jamie. Even if I didn't, you are the worst lier I've ever met. I'm serious, you're worse than Uncle Matt."

Jamie rolled her eyes. "Wow, thanks for the confidence booster. I've always loved being told by my younger sister that I'm terrible at everything I do."

"I'll ignore that comment. What I mean is, I know the train makes you uncomfortable. If it helps, I don't like how small this room is."

"Wow, you don't like something about the train? What a surprise, especially since I heard you chatting Violet's ears off about how great you expected it to be last week."

Dallas glared through her lens, even though it had no effect. She still looked as dorky as ever. "Shut up. Look, if you don't want to ride the train, sleep. The seats are big enough, and we both know how much sleep means to you."

Jamie perked up. Sleep. That's it! She could sleep through it! She grinned immediately. "Thanks, Dal. I think I will sleep through it!"

She made quick work of taking off her dark blue hoodie and bunching it up at the end of one of the long couches. Flopping onto the seat, Jamie marvelled at how soft it was. Perfect for sleeping.

As she curled around her make-shift pillow, she took notice of the staff member checking the tickets Dallas had been carrying. Jamie hadn't noticed him coming up to their door. Then again, the only thing Jamie valued more than her own life was getting more sleep.

She shut her eyes as their door closed again, and readied herself for a nap. Soon, she drifted off to sleep.

She woke up to her own sister pushing her off the seat.

Turns out, Jamie had managed to sleep through the entire four hour train ride without waking once. While that alone was impressive, it had also taken another fifteen minutes for Dallas to wake her up before resulting to shoving her to the floor in frustration.

"Why do you always wake me up this way, Dal? Are you trying to give me brain damage?"

Dallas huffed, glancing at the door to their compartment. "I have to wake you up that way because you sleep so deeply, that a hurricane could go by and you'd still be sleeping soundly, stupid."

Jamie frowned as she got off the floor with a false hurt expression on her face. "I'm offended, dear sister. I believe that if my life, or anyone else's, was in danger, I'd wake up and save the day like the hero I am. Doesn't that sound a lot more like me?"

Dallas smiled slightly, and opened the door. "Come on, then, oh hero. Let's get off this train and start our steak out."

Jamie grinned as she stepped around her sister, bopping her nose as she passed her. But as they were leaving the train station minutes later, a horrifying thought struck Jamie.

They'd have to get back on the train to get back home once their mission was done.

The End.