Wanderers (1st Draft)

Dresses and Ties

Rixton

Rixton spent forty-five out of the sixty minutes he had to get ready arguing with Amelia. She had insisted on going with them to Las Vegas. After what felt like forever Rixton finally convinced her to stay at home and look after their mother and Samantha. He then spent the last fifteen minutes scrambling to back his bag. Luckily Jackson had finished packing his own things early and was willing to help. With two minutes to spare they ran downstairs to meet the others. At exactly an hour, they were all out of the house and on their way to the train station.

Now Rixton and the others sit on a train headed to Las Vegas. He and Alice sit in a row together. Jackson and Mason sit in the row across from them. James and Taya sit in the row in front of Jackson and Mason. They had made it to the train station just in time to buy the last six tickets. All of the sleeper cars had been sold, which meant they would have to spend the next fifteen hours sitting on uncomfortable seats. None of them were very happy about it.

Once the ticket conductor comes and goes, Rixton leans his head back and closes his eyes. He tries to drown out the noise of the other passengers. He had just dozed off last night when Taya came banging on the door. With the combination of what happened with James and the falling asleep in a chair, he is now exhausted and sore.

"Sin City." Alice says.

Her voice startles Rixton awake. He didn't realize he'd dozed off. He opens his eyes and looks at her. "What?"

"That's what Las Vegas's nickname used to be. But I guess now every city could be called sin city." Alice explains looking up at him. There are dark circles under her eyes and her face is a little pale. She looks as tired as he feels.

"How do you know that?" Rixton asks curiously.

Alice holds up a book that's titled, "The History of the Big Cities".

Rixton's eyebrows squint together in confusion. "Where did you get that?"

"It was left on the seat." Alice says. She leans forward and shoves the book into the pocket on the back of the seat in front of her. "I needed something to keep me entertained while you were sleeping."

"Sorry." Rixton apologizes.

Alice shrugs her shoulders. "I'd be sleeping too. That is if I could sleep sitting upright."

Rixton laughs and Alice elbows him in the side.

"It's not funny. We'll be on this train all day. I didn't sleep last night, which means I'll be pretty grumpy later." Alice scolds.

"You already are." Rixton mumbles under his breath.

"What?" Alice asks.

Rixton shakes his head. "Nothing. Just, I didn't sleep very well either last night."

"Yeah, but you can sleep on these uncomfortable seats." Alice says rolling her eyes.

Rixton smiles and reaches over to take her hand, intertwining his fingers with hers. She lets out a sigh and leans her head on his shoulder.

The train arrives in Las Vegas at 9 p.m. Rixton and the others stop at the nearest bar to get something to eat and to make a plan.

"Apparently Snake is having a party to show off his newest trophy." Jackson says as he and Mason come back to the table. They hand out the drinks they were carrying.

"That trophy wouldn't happen to be some gold bricks, would it?" Alice asks. She leans back in her chair, holding a mug of hot chocolate.

"Yes it would." Mason says with a frown.