Stay...Alive

Chapter 5

 Victorine and Primus stood on their knees, faced pressed to the only window. They watched as the world moves away from them. Trees would come into view, and then get smaller and smaller until they could no longer be seen. The glass would vibrate everything the tracks got ricketty. And when the train turned right, the two would lean right. When the train turned left, the two would lean left.

The wreckage was a lot more contained the closer it was to the train tracks. A fence would keep the burned-out remains of buildings from scattering all over the tracks. Of course, broken wooden boards and ashes built up just behind the fence after being pushed out of the way. In the distant, rubble was piled as high as mountains, without a care. In other places, debris was just scattered across the ground. Sometimes, Victorine noticed some little trinkets that survived the bombings. Like a framed family picture with the faces still visible. Or a book with the cover dusted with ash. Or a lawn umbrella still open and colorful.

Victorine glanced back into the train. Jacey and Parker were still asleep. And so was Lane and Gina. And so was a lot of people in the train car. They'd all been woken up at 7 in the morning to alarms and had to panic and evacuate, so Victorine couldn't blame them. It had hardly set in for some people, anyway. And they got out alive, so why worry?

Now, Victorine had no clue where they were going, exactly. Wherever it was, Victorine knew that it had been decided. That the train wasn't just wandering aimlessly. That there was a set place they were on their way to and would arrive soon. No need to worry.

A little understimulated, Victorine glanced to her right and saw Asha on her knees, staring out the window with them. The train approached a turn, and all three of them leaned right. When the train finished forward, they snapped back to the center. Then the train turned left...and they snapped right back.

Asha smiled, stifling back a giggle. At the next round of turns, they did the same thing. Victorine leaned her head on Primus' shoulder when they turned left, and on Asha's when they turned right. Victorine squeezed her eyes shut and smiled. When opened them again, she noticed that the sky was clear. A few birds were out. It was a warm September day outside, and even a bombing couldn't stop that.

When Asha finally stopped playing the game with them, she sat back down next to Lane. He was fast asleep, his back pressed against the wall. Asha kissed him on the cheek, and he smiled in his sleep. But he was woken up by Anita crashing into him as the train surged forward.

"Ay, watch it!" Anita exclaimed before realizing that everyone had been shifted from the change in speed.

"It's been over two hours..." Horace began. "And only now we start going faster. Figures."

"You say figures a lot," Lane yawned. Horace raised an eyebrow.

"Bitch-," Horace stated.

"Guys, somethin's on fire," Anita said loudly, on her knees in front of the window. "But, like, it's already just a pile a'wreckage, so there's pretty much just burnin' nothin' at this point-"

Yolanda pulled her back down. "You should probably stay away from the window."

Victorine, Primus, and Asha all followed suit. Yolanda glanced at Victorine and asked, "You good?"

Victorine nodded, and Yolanda grinned. "Tell me if ya get too bored, okay?"

Victorine sighed at first but took one glanced at Primus and felt better. She put her fist in the palm of her hand, and he immediately got the message and did the same. They struck their palms three times. Primus kept his hand in a fist, while Victorine spread out her fingers. She put her palm on top of his fist, and they moved into the next round.