The rumble of the train beneath you is oddly soothing, even as your teeth rattle over every rail. You’ve been looking forward to this for months – your big break, an end of summer vacation to a secluded beach far across the cavern. It’s going to be perfect. You sigh, content that all’s right with the world, and press your cheek against the foggy glass of your window.
Outside, the frontier stretches. Dirt and dust as far as the eye can see, only interrupted by an occasional cactus. On the distant horizon you can just make out the cool purple silhouette of vast cliff sides. It’s peaceful and empty. You wonder if anyone has properly explored this expanse of the Cave. Probably.
You’re not certain when you nod off, but your pleasant dreams of seaside capers are abruptly interrupted by the sound of an explosion, your head bouncing twice, hard, against the window. The blast is followed by the shrieking of metal on metal and then… yelling? You blink and rub your forehead tenderly. Night has fallen, but you can still tell that the desert has stopped speeding past the window. The train has stopped completely, but there’s still movement outside.
The yelling increases.
If you squint, you can just see what looks like a herd of… hooved kelphi? They stampede by your train car with a few ineki and drasilis partners hooting and hollering on their backs. Their faces are covered by bandanas, and each one has a cloak tied around their necks, billowing out behind them.
This is a robbery. You realize with a dawning sense of horror. These are outlaws!
You clutch your only bag closer to your chest and sink into your seat until you can only just see over the windowsill. The door to your cabin bangs open, and a dusty-furred ineki saunters in, twirling a pistol. Most of their face is also concealed with a bandanna, but their golden eyes twinkle as they survey the terrified passengers. They wink at you and your heart flutters.
“Good evenin’, gentle Cave dwellers. I do hope you’ll pardon our intrusion, we just happened to notice you’re haulin’ some mighty valuable freight through our humble abode. Freight I happen to have an interest in.”
“Seems only fair that you’d share a cut of your goods with me, bein’ the local proprietor and all. Consider it taxation, if that helps. Now, don’t worry your pretty heads too much – you can keep all your personal effects, and no harm will come to any of you, so long as you’re behavin’. You’ll find I’m quite charitable, benevolent even, but we’ve all got our virtues and vices, and no one’d ever mistake me for patient.”
Their gaze hardens as they turn towards another passenger who had been having a not-so-subtle go at their window latch. The passenger stills and drops their paws sheepishly into their lap. After a moment more, the outlaw snorts and shakes a dismissive paw.
“I thank you for your patience and understanding, from the bottom of my heart,” and they twist into a mocking bow. “It sounds like my team has just about finished. Unfortunately, we can’t allow you to continue down this line right away. Have some business down yonder we don’t much want interruptin’. Enjoy the rest of your evenin’.” They tip their hat and give their pistol a final spin before holstering it and sweeping from the cabin once more.
Silence follows in their wake. Several minutes pass before the night is filled with the sound of galloping once more, and the outlaws are gone.
The door reopens, and your beleaguered looking train conductor enters, their hat clenched in their paws. “Alright folks, everybody settle, everybody settle.” You resist pointing out that everyone in the cart is far calmer and more settled than the conductor appears to be. He probably deserves a break.
“Unfortunately, it’s going to take some time to get the train up and running again, and we can’t have y’all milling about the tracks in the meantime.” He gives you an apologetic look, as if any of this is his fault. At least the outlaws didn’t take any of your things, but it doesn’t seem like you’re going to be taking that beach vacation any time soon…
“Till then, I reckon we’ll need to hunker down somewhere safe and cozy. There’s a little outpost nearabouts. It’s a humble settlement, nothing flashy, but the folks there are mighty hospitable. We’ll set out shortly; it’s a few days walk but, er… You’ll get to take the scenic route?”
We’ll be rollin’ into town roundabout 12:00 ST on August 27th!
