Not your turn- Demise express

Part 19- Parting ways

The soft rocking of the train had helped me fall asleep and the sounds of the creaky floorboards where so familiar now, I didn't pay attention to the change in rhythm when someone walked down the hall. I had heard from Daniel that he was reassembling the train with Adam and that Emily and Phil were fine. He waited with her for her stop. I made Daniel promise he would come to get me to say goodbye to her, regardless of my state. He had agreed after a lot of persuasion. During our last conversation, I asked Daniel if I would have to go back to the place with the three Cain's, but didn't get a direct answer. Aside from sleeping, I spent a lot of time thinking, since my not-body was still very weak. I thought about if we did the right thing, if Evelyn had to pass or how my stay on the train would have been if I hadn't run into Emily and therefore Phillip. I thought about Martin, the old man in my wagon who I had interrogated as one of the first things on this train. I found out that his stop was coming up soon as well, so I would have to go say goodbye to him too. I thought about how many people were on this train, I didn't have a feeling for it but of course, Daniel wasn't of much help. Ever since Evelyn, he wasn't as outgoing, chatty, or witty. More thoughtful and calm. I wondered if he felt guilty or responsible for what happened to her. I hoped not. I leaned my head against the cool glass of the window and watched the darkness outside. It was a surreal thing since one couldn't see where one was going, the only giveaway that we were moving was the slight swaying of the train and the quiet creaking and rattling. My eyes caught my jeans jacket, which laid on the opposite bench of my compartment, neatly folded with my converse resting on top. I wondered if the Photo strip was still in the pocket since the magical Ipod blew up and saved me from Cain's and probably hell. That's what Daniel said anyway. He usually gave travelers a magic item and something of their personal possessions to potentially jog their memory. He explained that the magical item was used by "the staff" to keep track of the stops and track the traveler if possible. He told me that when he went looking for me after I had hidden in Emily's compartment he couldn't use it because I wasn't as stable in one dimension yet as I was now. Now I was more stable in this one, which meant that on Earth I was very close to death. I got out of my bed and had to remain seated for a minute before I slowly stood up. I swayed for a second but caught my balance and edged over to my belongings. A look at my reflection showed me to my surprise that I was no longer wearing the hospital gown I was wearing all this time, but instead fresh underwear and a plain strapless black dress that reached to my knees and was a bit wrinkled, but I didn't mind. I quickly braided my hair into a loose braid since it looked messy. I placed the shoes on the floor, unfolded my jacket, and searched the pockets and indeed, there it was. Pictures of myself and my boyfriend Jake, taken hours before he broke things up between us. Now that I looked at him closer, the expressions on his face did look rather forced. The reason I was on the road. The night I would kill someone and almost myself. A shudder ran threw my body as I remembered driving home that evening, tears streaming down my face, not concentrating on the road. I wondered if he ever came to visit me in the hospital or if he didn't even bother. Why did Daniel have to give me this? Why not something else! Anything else. Seeing Jake's face made me mad, so I crumbled up the stupid thing and threw it into the corner. Screw that guy! "Glad to see you are feeling better." It wasn't Daniel this time, nor Phillip or Emily but this other guy, Adam. "Yeah, I am." "Good, Daniel asked me to accompany you to the waiting area. Can you walk on your own?" I looked him up and down. He was a tall guy, wearing the same red uniform as Daniel, although it looked a bit too baggy on his slim figure. He had short brown curly hair and brown eyes, with a big customer service smile on his face. "Yeah, I think so. Just need to put on my shoes, then I will be with you" I replied and smiled back at him. He nodded and announced he would wait in the hall for me. I quickly slipped into my jacket and shoes and tied them up quickly before looking at my reflection in the window again. I took a deep breath and left my compartment. Adam indeed stood out there and offering me his arm to hold on to since I wasn't safe on my feet and the swaying of the floor didn't make it much easier, but I politely declined and slowly made my way down the hallway to the portal. "You know the procedure?" Adam asked me and I nodded and stood on the portal and pressed my arms to my sides and my legs together and closed my eyes. Once again everything around me got colder. Then the ground was gone, I was floating. I felt the cold sensation coming from my chest again, right above my heart, but I dared not open my eyes. Again the strange feeling of losing myself, disappearing, disintegrating into nothing. But luckily it didn't take as long as last time. My feet touched the ground and warmth encased me, welcoming me with open arms.I slowly counted to three before opening my eyes. It was like Phil had described. There were the fancy cushioned benches, the big doors at the front and back of the Wagon, and the beautifully paneled walls Phil had described. Even that godforsaken water dispenser was there. Why was beyond me. It seemed that Adam hadn't followed. I looked around and took in the whole room. And there they were. Sitting across from each other quietly talking. Otherwise there was no one in the waiting area. Phillip had his back turned to me but Emily saw me and jumped up and ran toward me and embraced me in a huge hug. "I am so glad you are ok" I whispered into her blonde curls that faintly smelled like coconut. She let me go and looked me up and down with her beautiful green eyes. "You on the other hand look miserable Dear god Lia, what happened to your wrists? It looks horrible." Another look up and down, "Suits you," she laughed and I smiled weekly. I joined the two of them and we sat and talked for a while and even drank some water from the water dispenser even though we didn't have to eat or drink anything, but it felt good.