Empathy Goes

Chapter 3

                                                      Chapter 3

The party of four have found themselves in an underwater car of sorts. The turquoise hue of the car's base paired with the floating bubbles encapsulating decorative non-talking Nulls made for quite the pretty scene. Curious about suspension of the aforementioned bubble Simon absent minded popped it causing the seashell shaped Null inside to swim away. Simon watched this with mild intrigue. Grace giggled at his curiosity.

"Oh gee isn't this car just fascinating?" She mocked in a put on nerd voice.

"Whatever, I'm just trying to assess any hostile threats. Excuse me for trying to protect us." He teased back in his own defense. The conversation was interrupted by the two seeing Hazel and Tuba obliviously playing around together. "We've got to take out that Null right?" Simon questioned

"Yeah, but it's big and would put up a serious fight. Besides Hazel might turn against us in the process." Grace muttered

"It's always a shame when we find recruits who are attached to Nulls. It's always harder to get them to see the truth. Though I guess it's better then them finding out the truth about Nulls the hard way." Simon responded

"Like you did?" Grace asked, putting a hand calmly on Simon's shoulder. He looked over at Tuba and Hazel still happily playing. Painful memories filled Simon's mind for a moment. He turned back to Grace calming himself down.

"Yeah, like I did." he said Grace noticed the look of melancholy on his face at the mention of his past and changed the subject.

"Don't worry about the Null. We have plenty of cars in between here and the Apex. For now let's take it easy." she said. Simon smiled at this thought, returning back to their home base new recruit in tow. It was an enjoyable idea.

"We made a new friend." Hazel said, happily showing off a piece of seaweed she had found "This is Louie, he's a good sort," Hazel began "But barking mad." she finished in a whisper. Simon and Grace stared at the girl for a moment before exchanging a glance. This was an opportunity to teach a lesson about the train.

"What a coincidence," Grace began "We have a friend named Louie in the Apex."

"The Apex is the country where you two are from?" Hazel asked confused once more

"The Apex isn't a place, it's a special secret force of kids." Simon said with a wink. He was getting a little better at talking to kids thanks to Grace's guidance.

"Yeah that's right! In the Apex we fight for our rights as passengers because an evil robot named one-one has taken over the train." Grace said

"An evil robot?" Hazel asked in awe

"Yep," Simon responded "Hazel, the real conductor was a man who wore a big black helmet with a red wave on it." he stretched his arms out for emphasis. He may not have been great with kids but he could tell you the lore of the Apex and make you believe it.

"He had the highest number in the world and even saved my life once. So we wear the red wave on our faces to honor him." Grace explained "He built the train for humans."

"But no one knows where the true conductor is and one-one is trying to get rid of all the humans on the train." Simon added "Every sense he took over kids have been disappearing when their numbers go down.Hazel looked shocked.

"I hate one-one!" she exclaimed. Tuba had a look of deep concern on her face.

"Where do the children go?" she asked. Grace and Simon shared another look. They both knew it was best to keep Tuba on their side, for now. So in a bid to drive home the importance of the Apex Simon said