Part Wolf

Liam wakes up on a moving train after a succession of events leave him with probable memory loss and two empty hands. He feels weird from a pang in his stomach that must be completely empty. He closes his mouth and swallows his spit forced from dehydration. His shaggy, blonde hair was twisted from laying his head down on the empty seat next to him for some time now. The clothes he wore were loose and relaxed about him. The pocket in which he expected to find his cellphone, his ID card, and the ticket to the train were never found. His shoes were tattered at the seams, and his fingernails appeared chewed off and dingy.

Memories were hard to find at first; then he tried replaying them. Back to last night he knew he had celebrated with his friend’s way into the late night near the water tower. The town had a scenic landscape with a background of mountains, 50-foot trees, and large pedestrian area in the middle. Mining towns were usually travelled to and from by train. His grandfather was an original settler here, and his secret was passed through his DNA unto Liam, and no one knew it was going to make a difference when it did.

He was certain that his dessert cake was the last meal he ate. Sometime after the midnight hour, he unclearly stretches around his friends whose remaining intentions are unclear and walks alone away from the local water tower. His parents had splurged on him for his birthday this past week; unaware that Liam was going to turn into a werewolf. The fear of turning about a monster grew his heartbeat, and it got faster, while his forehead glimmered with dewy perspiration. This train was inescapable to him, and whomever else was trapped with him would have a fate like his.

Liam motions upward, standing, ready to move into the next car. He peers to the front of the car and finds no other passengers inside. He fears he may have morphed into a wolf last night faithfully remembering the story from his grandfather when he was a young child. It was a flood of thoughts that made his blood boil, and the car was filled with a strange odor. Had he morphed into a wolf last night and that’s why he could not remember much of anything from midnight forward? He would have little chance in understanding what to do about it if he did.

The train was stainless steel on the outside with all the windows closed, and a shade of burgundy cloth over the seats. Inside the lights were going in and out as if the velocity of the train had caused intermittent power shortages. He shuffles forward with a loose traction and grips the handle down to slide open the door. A ladder with a closed hatch atop and a handle to open with. The doors were force locked from the outside making it impossible for him to open. The next car has one passenger of whom he did not recognize from anywhere before this day. She had brown, wavy hair the length of which was hidden by the seat she was resting her head against as if bored .

He walks the aisle to her double seat and gently sits down leaning in and facing her. She appears unconscious, or in a deep slumber. Liam is worried that she might be involved, or a victim like himself. A violent man is preparing to enter the train car. He starts by loading two syringes with Pentothal – truth serum. The man in the dark clothing had witnessed the transformation of both Liam and the girl, late last night. He then sought to destroy Liam, and kidnap Cece by allowing them to travel his train without a ticket. He was the man in charge of the train operations and has a plan to never let them leave his clutches.

Neither Liam, nor Cece can see into the next car where a third man was contemplating on his next idea. This was never carried out before last night, and the opportunity escaped his family generations before. Dog trainers, wolf trappers are always hunting game and now werewolves are on in the mix. Was he going to follow up and dose them with pentothal – truth serum? Would he be lucky to deliver them to his occult leader for sacrifice, or would he find no limit to the evil in his hands by taking their lives away from them? Liam’s transformation from human to werewolf made him into the victim. His fear to lose traction makes him shake her about until she arouses from her slouch, and exhales deeply.

He introduces himself first, “I found you like this, my name is Liam Marks from Oregon. I awoke in the car behind you feeling drugged, and I noticed that you might be troubled with me. Who are you? Can you help me to remember how we got here, and why this train is a runaway?” The young woman on the train reluctantly introduces herself to Liam.

She starts by saying, “Well, Liam. I don’t know how we got here together, and my name is Cece Davenport, I wander the tracks most nights and fell asleep on the bench behind the station in Deering, Oregon very early this morning. I don’t remember meeting anyone before right now that would help us.”

Liam looks away cluelessly. Were they the only two people on the train, and no one else had come along to ask any questions? It seemed like they were moving too fast for them not be in any danger.

She gives a quick smirk, and then remembered a detail from her night, “I was sleeping on a bench outside the station for several hours, that I mentioned before, and there was a man who let me onto the train without asking for a ticket. I fell asleep as soon as I got to my seat, but I think I got dosed by the man.” She warns with excitement, “Have you seen him, and don’t talk to anyone else you don’t know?”

Liam slouches cautiously into the seat with his head below the view of either exit. He feels like taking Cece’s hand before he says, “I just celebrated my birthday, and I think I did something bad last night. This must be punishment for me being a different kind of person than anyone I would know of mentioning. I know we could both be in danger, and like our lives could be on the line. I cannot tell you how sorry I am that this happened. We need to trust each other and right now, because we must get off before we can’t.”

If they do not escape to the outside, they risk their lives each moment inside. A crash seems imminent. Cece is beyond terrified that Liam is even suggesting this, and she shutters into tears for a moment.

He takes a moment to speak and embraces her in a hug. “This will be something we will do together if you want to get out of here.”

Cece looks up with a tear running from her eye, “If this is all we can do, I need to know one thing first.”

Liam gripes, “what do want to know?”

Cece looks at him without charge, “Will you kiss me, I’ve never been kissed, and now we are going to die for no reason.”

Liam stunts with expression eluding to his first kiss, turning softly into Cece while wiping the rolling tear from her eye. He works the salty liquid into his palm and presses his lips into hers like a bold conversation starts. Their embrace lasts for a measurable moment. Cece stops crying after a several times she inhales deeply enough. He grabs her hand and stands up motioning toward the back of the car where a ladder was fixed to get them to the top of the train. Unsure of everything he takes his other hand and begs Cece to come with him in a final attempt to survive the runaway train. She hesitates, and sulks one sigh of dismay, and leaps into Liam’s arms. The walk to the car door, and slither into the small space between grappling at the ladder. Liam believes he is making the best decision of his life and goes first. Cece is at the bottom of the ladder looking up to Liam with a perplexed expression. She reaches upward and climbs to the top where Liam had scoured the land ahead.

He spots a bridge on the horizon and screams back to Cece, “We have the bridge coming up, and we will have to jump before the train gets across. Are you ready to do this, Cece?”

She has an emotional voice against the wind in her face. For one moment she said, “I love you, I am never ready, but we have to do something to get off this train.”

He breaches the edge of the boxcar and crouches into a jumping position, he puts out his hand to hold onto Cece. In 200 feet they would make their mark and jump if it passes them by, this opportunity will be lost forever. Occasionally the trains would cross over a bridge, and something like a reservoir, or river flowing beneath.

Blind faith like fingers crossed after making a promise that the dam kept the reservoir full. Hard surface beyond the maximum 50 feet clearing to the bottom of most man-made lakes. He starts to count aloud, and made sure Cece knew to jump when he got to 10. “1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10,” Liam shouted as he flew from the edge with Cece taking a plunge into the water.

Both Liam and Cece have plunged from the train 30 feet before breaking the calm water. Liam is unscathed and reaches close to Cece and takes her to the surface. She is hurt somewhere, and he doesn’t know how badly. He swims with her in his arms until they reach to one side of the embankment. Struggling to pull them out of from the water and resuscitate her after being knocked unconscious. He opens her shirt and performs a chest compression. After five thrusts he locks lips and blows air into her lungs. She does not awaken, and Liam is worried he will not be able to save this young woman’s life after all. He continues to do another repetition of five chest compressions, and blow air into Cece’s lungs that were certainly filled with water. She coughs and water is forced from her mouth onto the surrounding ground.

“Cece you are going to be alright, we made it, we are safe now,” said Liam with a relieving smile.

“What happened after we jumped?” “Am I ok?” She said frightfully.

“Yes, Cece you are ok now, and we jumped and broke the surface and you lost consciousness and you were going to sink, so I pulled you to shore and got you back from wherever you were to be with me,” he cried.

Another long-lasting embrace is conjured by the acclaimed survivors of the great fall. If it meant anything, it meant they were in the middle of nowhere without a known pass to get out from. It meant they were going to need a better chance than the railroad tracks. Should they never find one, the man could track them down the tracks back to where they came from, and still hunt them. The man with a fear in him might not realize for at least an hour – would be helpful for Liam and Cece. For as long as they were both alive, they were survivors of this ordeal – Liam knows. The chance that this will happen again to him, and maybe her, are very likely. Liam is part man and part wolf forever.