Lost in Transit

1

^^ Theodora as Zarya (Sketch, not mine) ^^

Trains were a simple, common part of my life; one that I took for granted sometimes. They got me places, and I didn't care much about the how and why and who was driving, because I thought more about whatever book I was reading on the four-hour transit to and from my job-site, or about the details of the work that day, (probably stripping down some old scrap metal pile of a car that some dumbass had totaled,) or even about my next personal project, a sculpture that was going to eventually (sorta) look like John Lennon. If John Lennon was made of recycled granite and his rose-colored glasses were made of amber beer-bottles.

Still, I'd never cared much about the trains; they were a tool, a utility I used without ever considering how and why and who, just like the electricity that powered my power tools, or the lights that let me work at night, or the electronic security system that kept my house safe while I was away for three weeks out of a month, or the freezer that kept the deer sausage my dad made for me frozen until I was finally home to eat it.

It was easier to just ignore the train, and the people on it, giving me odd looks because of the massive bag of tools I brought with me to and from work; my personal analogue tools, the ones I used for my sculpting and smithing, where a visible set of different-sized sledgehammers and chisels pokes out of the top of the bag. (The odd looks could also easily have been about a six-foot eight woman built like a mountain with a paradoxically neon pink buzzed haircut and several facial scars, but who could really guess?)

"I-Uhm... excuse me?" A soft voice to my left made me look up from my book slowly, and I recognized the speaker; she rode this train every time I did, as she was the daughter of one of my coworkers, I wasn't sure which, but she'd never spoken to me before.

"Yes, dear?" I asked calmly, marking my page with my finger and closing the book.

"W-Well, Uhm... hi? I guess? I'm Medea, Jacques's daughter? You work with him, right? I see you on the train all the time, and I've been wondering if I should try to talk to you, but you seemed busy, and-" she began babbling, and I sighed accidentally, making her clam up and blush.

"Hello, Medea. I am Theodora, or Theo. Yes, I work with Jacques, sort of; he works in the Stone and Lumber Yard, and I'm in the Steel and Glass Yard, So we don't talk much. And yes, I have seen you on the train quite often. I was reading, yes, but I don't know if that would be considered 'busy', so you may feel free to speak to me, unless I have headphones in, which means I am busy. Take a seat, the train is slowing down soon." I patted the seat next to me, and watched as she panicked slightly, then snatched her stuff from her seat, racing back and plopping down into the seat, which had always been empty; no one felt comfortable sitting next to me, apparently.

She sat silently blushing for a few minutes, before she got the nerve to speak again. "Theodora is an interesting name!" She squeaked of the comment, and fell into silence again.

"Thank you, dear. And Medea is-" I halted as I felt a sudden deceleration, and then a falling sensation that didn't quite make sense. A blast of light from outside of the windows, instead of the dark passing scenery, nearly blinded me, but when I opened my eyes, I could see clear blue skies and distant mountains.

Which didn't make sense at all; we were on the coast of North Carolina and the Appalachian Mountains, there should've been ocean and mountains on either side of us, not just mountains. Also it was 3AM, so a noon-day sun was pretty fucking weird.

On an instinct I didn't question, I braced one arm against Medea's chest and the railing next to her, and the other against my bag, as we collided with the ground, tumbling and twisting, the various cars of the train slamming against one-another. People were thrown from their seats, bashing into each other, the walls, the roof, and the floor, while some missed, and went through the shattered windows, disappearing entirely.