Calling To The Night

Chapter Twelve: On The Rails

The sun rose gently over the vast woodland in the cold, crisp October morning hours. Several of the forest inhabitants emerged as the morning fog settled upon the green land.

A small herd deer walked calmly through the brush and grazed peacefully. The sight of this magnificent beauty could make anyone an advocate of the wonders of nature.

Suddenly, the graceful creatures shot their heads up in alertness and scanned the area. A faint trembling could be felt throughout the forest floor.

Their ears flickered and they snorted cautiously to ward off whatever danger that may be stalking them. The growing  force was rushing closer each second.

The herd quickly dispersed as a large iron beast zoomed through the heavy forested area. Inside the manmade contraption sat a man dealing with the hustle and bustle of its inner workings with much frustration.

A door leading to the back carts shot open and in walked a man starring daggers towards the conductor. "Do you mind explaining why we're veering off course from our destination?"

The conductor looked back and gave a nervous shrug. "That's what I'm trying to figure out, sir. All systems checked normal before we left Langley and we followed the route listed on the manifest."

The suited man grabbed the conductor and pulled him in close. "The manifest didn't mention taking the scenic route through a forest! How far off course are we?" He asked as he pushed the man back in his chair.

The conductor cleared his throat and checked a rail way map. "We're... quite a ways off.." he said sheepishly. The authority figure crossed his arms and glared at the man. "If we don't make it on time it'll be both our asses."

The conductor scanned the map for a possible area they could stop and fix this blunder. "There's a lumber mill by the next fork, sir. We could stop there and have someone latch another engine to the caboose and take us back to the depot we passed a few miles back."

The man sighed and turned back to the door. "If that's what it takes then so be it. Just make sure we get back on track before one of us gets "lost" out in these woods." He said ominously.

The conductor turned back to the console and frantically maneuvered around his workstation. "What the hell caused this?"
                                  ---

Four individuals quickly paced around the boatyard in search for their vessel. "So, you just hacked the electrical system and changed the tracks? It's really just that easy?" Asked Jake as he lugged several bags of equipment towards the boat.

"The government loves to talk big about its infrastructure, but when it comes down to a little knowhow you'd be surprised how faulty it is." Said Bain proudly through the crews earpieces.

"I guess it's easy doing things behind a computer instead of doing some heavy lifting." Sydney said as she gracefully walked past Jake and jumped onto the boat.

Jake looked at the woman with annoyance. "Heavy lifting? You're not even helping load up the gear!" He griped while tossing the heavy bags next to her.

The Aussie shrugged and gave a smug look to the man. "Can't have the star player getting injured before the big play, yeah?"

Clover soon came up to the two and tossed her portion of the equipment onto the boat. "Star player my arse. Get to the back and secure our stuff before I toss you overboard."

The Aussie gave the finger to the woman and plopped on the back seat of the vessel. She dipped her hand into the chilled water and waited for the crew to finish loading their gear.