System

Prologue

-Zac-

The city smell hit me in the nose like a fist. I wiped my hands on the pants of my uniform. The taxi had dropped me off just a few metres away from the run-down train station. I made my way to the first platform and eyed the crowd gathered in front of the train. Big cases full of sensitive equipment were being pushed inside by lab coats, and behind them entered a large group of businessmen and women. I pushed past them all.

A conductor stood in front of the crowd. He looked at me quizzically.

"What do you want? This is a privately booked train."

"My name is Zac. I am the engineer hired for this trip." I said, giving him my documents. The fake ID had a stamp on it, saying I worked for The System.

My fingers itched for something to do, so I played with a coin in my pocket while he checked it. After a few moments, he looked up with his mouth twitching slightly downward. I readied myself to make a run for it, but he only said,

"You're late." And gave back my papers.

I took them and entered the train. I set my backpack on the ground in the cab and waited patiently.

A few minutes later all passengers were loaded and the train was ready to go. I took over from the former engineer and flipped all the necessary switches. The train started gliding off at a comfortable speed of 150mph. Slow, compared to the newer trains.

Though I was new at driving, I felt the tension leave me. There was something rhythmic about driving a train, oddly peaceful. The train wound through the dense network of roads and buildings until we suddenly broke into the green. I sighed and leaned back as I watched the trees whizz past. Only the slight rattle of the train and the conductor's occasional visits accompanied me the next few hours.

I heard the door open and footsteps. I quickly checked the map. We were close. I glanced at the conductor, measuring his abilities. He was tall and slim and didn't look very physically strong. I stood up and turned around, a quiet warning signal coming from the controls. The conductor seemed to surprise and asked,

"Is there a-"

I punched him in the jaw, hard. He crumbled to the ground and slipped out of consciousness. I picked him up and tied him to the driver's seat. Checking on him one last time, I made my way to the emergency brakes.

Once there, I took out my drawings and started working. In big letters at the top, Johan had written DISMANTLE BRAKES. I plugged a memory stick into a smart-panel in the wall. I waited as the software corrupted. After a few minutes, a corner of the panel loosened and I peeled at it. With a sucking sound, it came off, revealing a thick tangle of wires.

I checked my drawings again and swallowed. If I cut the wrong wires I would be electrocuted. Dead, before my mission even really started.

The electrical wires seemed to buzz as I touched them, my mind telling me to draw my arm back as soon as possible, but I kept feeling for the right wires. Once I found them, I took a deep breath and cut them. Nothing happened. There was no way to tell whether it had worked. I hoped the automatic emergency brake system was shutting down.

I held the smart panel back in place and it sucked on, covering the wires seamlessly.

A girl spoke behind me. Oh no. I thought, thinking I was caught.

"Is something wrong with the train?" She was small, only reaching to my shoulders. Her hair bounced on her shoulders as she took a step closer and looked at me. Brown eyes stared deep into mine.

"Um," I said. "No. Everything is fine, miss." I tried hard to keep the tension out of my voice. Before she could answer, I pushed past her and hurried back to the cab.