Runaway

March 18

I hear the sound of the tracks, before I’m fully awake. The scrape of metal against metal, the slight back and forth as the cars tilt side to side.

I blink. It’s dark.

So dark, that it’s almost hard to tell if my eyes have opened at all. I lay still, breathing rapidly, trying to slow down my breath. All I can hear was my own, ‘inhale, exhale.’

I take a deep breath in, letting it out slowly. I can feel a cool breeze over my skin coming from next to me, but I can’t see enough to understand where I am. I hear the train tracks, and feel the sway of the car - but how did I get here? Then it hits me - where is my pack?

I scramble to my hands and knees, I feel around to try and define my space. I can’t feel anything around me. Its open space, surrounded by wood, metal, and dust. I don’t want to make any noise, because I don’t know where I am, but I need to find my pack.

I sit silently, holding my knees to my chest, trying to remember what had happened that resulted in me waking up on this train. I feel my pockets, but there is nothing in them. My eyes are very slowly adjusting to the dark and I see a small slit in, what seems to be, the door of a train car.

I slowly, quietly crawl over to the door, feeling the wood slats under my hands and knees as my hands become covered in dust. I peer out of the small slat and see shadows of trees branches flashing by as the train speeds down the tracks. I can’t make out any other surroundings, so I sit once more, my mind racing, and I begin to remember the day before.

____________________________________________________

March 17

I had gone to the grocery store after work. I walked the two blocks to my apartment from the store, and walked in the side door to the kitchen. I set the groceries on the counter, pulling a can of cat food out of my canvas grocery bag for Trout, my chunky gray cat that was weaving in and out of my legs, meowing.

“Trout, I got you some salmon flavored chunks with extra gravy!”

*meow*

“Listen, Trout. Extra gravy is your favorite.”

*meow* *nibble to my foot*

“Ow! Trout! I know your name is also a fish, and that’s confusing - but put away the sass and eat your Salmon.”

We had the same chat most nights, I opened the can of food, and set it on the floor. I could hear Trout eating his food as I began to turn around, and then it’s black.

___________________________________________________

March 18

My breath catches in my chest as I begin to remember. The hand reached around to my face covering my nose and mouth with a cloth. I remember the sound of Trouts paws pounding across the floor as he ran towards the bedroom - surely to hide under the bed. I flailed my arms, trying my best to bite a finger, or connect my foot to a knee as I kicked my legs - but it all went black before I could escape, and then I woke up… here…

But my pack, where was my pack? This has to have been my fault. They found what was in my pack.

____________________________________________________

March 16

I sat on a stool next to the filing cabinet, digging through files.

“Mason, Matthews, Mendalson, Minor, Miren… there it is! Munson!”

I pulled the file for Stella Munson - i had to know if she had been telling me the truth when I ran into her today.

I straighten my back, looking around the filing areas in the basement of the medical building. Hopefully no one comes looking for me, hopefully they forgot I said that I was staying late today.

I flip to the first page of the file, scanning.

“Stella Munson, 27 years old, first seen in May of 1995 when she was - wait No. That can’t be right… one month old?”

I skim back to the beginning of the file, whispering to myself “Born April 1995…. Why would she be a patient when she was one month old? We’re a fertility clinic.”

I skim further into the file, and almost choke on my own breath “Twin study? This cannot be real. Study H-21-JY-347,” I take a pen out of my pack and quickly scribble the case study into my notepad.

My brain races, scanning through all of my memories of Stella and I.

Stella wasn’t a twin, that I knew of.

I hear footsteps echoing down the quiet hallway. Panicked, I put the file in my pack and turn around to head out.

“Olivia, what are you doing down here?”, I look up and my eyes meet Tyler Blackwell.

Of Blackwell Donation Centers of Central Indiana.

The owner of the company that employs me.

“Mr.Blackwell! Hi, how have you been?” I steady my voice, as I feel sweat drip down my spine. I focus to keep the fake smile on my face, and add extra pep into my voice.

“It’s after 6pm, Olivia. You know we don’t pay overtime unless it’s been approved.”

“Oh! Right, yes. Of course. No, I spoke with my supervisor earlier this week. I had an appointment that I couldn’t miss this morning, and offered to stay late to make up the hours. I had the team save the filing for me to do after the office was closed so that I could still contribute for the day. I’m happy to help, of course.” I raise my shoulders in an ‘I’m innocent and sweet, and humble. Don’t worry about me’, kind of way.

“Right. Ok, well in the future make sure that you’re supervisors know how to communicate, will you.” Without another word Tyler Blackwell stiffly walks by me, his chin slightly raised in the disgustingly, entitled fashion he tends to carry himself in. I quickly walk toward the door, and don’t look back.

________________________________

Later that night I sit in the parking garage of my apartment complex. I live just close enough to the Blackwell Industry building that if I sit in the corner of the parking garage I can still pick up the buildings internet on my laptop. It’s a weak signal, but I can make it work when I need to. I discovered this the night before an important meeting with my peers on the medical team I was apart of, and our extremely VIP client, Tyler Blackwells wife, Samantha and their unborn twin sons.

I hadn’t had a chance to read through all of the necessary files that week, but knew that Mr. Blackwell would be sitting in on the meeting. This meeting was about the next step plans for the high risk pregnancy their family was experiencing and the Blackwell's wanting to hear what fool proof plan we’d come up with to keep his wife and both of his sons alive. I studied all of our research and the trials we had come up with to remedy the rare birth defect one of his sons had developed in utero. It was complicated, and quite honestly we never would have tried to come up with a solution if it hadn’t have been Tyler Blackwells family. There was a 2% chance all three of them would survive a full term pregnancy. We couldn’t promise anything, which put us in an impossible situation - lie, or get fired.

____________________________________________________

March 18

My mind continues to race as I put the pieces together. As I sit on the floor of the train car, I try to remember all of the details I hadn't realized were important.

Stella had been my patient for years, coming in to donate blood once a month of the first Saturday of the month, when our offices were technically closed. I had been told when I started that her family were friends of the Blackwell's, and they had always made this accommodation for her. That it was important to her, since her sister had died - it made her feel like she was giving back. When I first started working for Blackwell Industries, I had been offered the job to meet Stella at 10am once a month on the first Saturday to take care of her blood donation, as long as I could keep it hush, hush I would be paid double time and a half for those few hours I was in the building.

Stella had made a comment about how she wished she didn't have to do this and when I questioned her she got quiet. She tried not to answer, but I had heard her mumble under her breath, something about how 20 years of donations was enough. I thought she had been joking.

But later that day, I had gone down to the basement where we kept our files, and found Stella's file, she had been a part of a twin study.

Blackwell had chosen me to be a part of him and his wife's team, to solve the birth defect for his son.

My mother had worked for Blackwell Donation Centers of Indiana my entire life. She had worked with Tyler Blackwell's father, Henry, as his personal assistant when he ran the company. She never talked about her work, always said, "Work is to be left at work, when I'm home I'm only interested in YOU!", she would say as she hugged me.

When I applied to work for Blackwell Donation Centers my mother had fought me on it, but I was stubborn and didn't listen.

Were the Blackwell's doing something they shouldn't be?

What had I gotten myself mixed up in?

I'm pulled away from my thoughts when, somehow, the train seemed to be going faster. The rock of the cars was becoming more apparent, the screeching sound of the metal on metal was deafening, making it hard to think.

I crawled once more over to the door, where there was a small crack in the doorway. I tried peering out again. Instead of the shadows of tree branches, all I could see were pebbles jumping off of a tall cliff, as the wind created by the train pushed the pebbles off the edge. It looked like they just fell into darkness.

It was still to dark to see anything that wasn't within inches of my face - how as I going to get out of here?

___________________________________________________

March 16

I sat in the corner of the parking garage at my apartment complex in the small collapsable chair from the trunk of my car, and I plug in the case study to the Blackwell Industries site.

Study H-21-JY-347.

*internal error*

I look back at the scribbles in my notebook, and type out the study again.

*internal error*

I put my head into my hands, trying to think.

"Ok, Olivia. Obviously this is top secret stuff. How would Tyler hide it?", and then it clicked. The conversation that I'd had with my mom years ago. How I'd thought of it in this moment, I'm unsure - but it was worth a try.

____________________________________________________

Mom and I had been gardening when I was a kid, one of our favorite past time, and Mom started talking about work. She never talked about work, so I found it fascinating any time she did. Her work was so secretive that I always used to pretend she worked for the CIA. I hung onto every word she said.

"It's just so sad about his sons. Tyler is thriving! It's only been a week since they were born, but Tyler is doing so well. Colin on the other hand. That poor boy. I wonder how Henry will take it." I listened intently. I didn't want to ask questions because I could tell that Mom didn't even realize she was saying it out loud. She was processing with, just herself.

"Henry is going to be mad. Why couldn't they figure it out? I wish they had figured it out. But maybe this time they will. Maybe this time the twin will survive." Mom looked up, the blank look on her face giving way to fear as she realizes that I'd heard everything she'd said. "Oh, my little ladybug! How're you doing over there, Liv? Did you space out the seeds enough, we don't want them to choke each other out!", a nervous laugh escapes her lips, and I know well enough not to ask questions.

__________________________________________________

I look down at my laptop, and instead of typing in just the case study, I type in the word, 'Colin', and up pops a document titled "Study H-21-JY-347 - Colin"

I'd found it. I click on the file, and begin to read.

'Colin Blackwell: April 2 1983 - April 20 1983. Cause of death: heart defect, lung failure, not compatible with life. Twin, Tyler Blackwell. April 2, 1983 - present - not affected.'this

"Not compatible with life?" I say out loud to myself. "And they're doing a twin study. Obviously it's to stop this from happening again." It's then, that I understand.

Tyler had been a twin. Colin had died within weeks of their birth.

Tyler was now having twins, and one of his sons had the same defect as his brother. It must be a genetic defect. My mom had been a part of it, and now I was too.

I type in the case study again, but this time I put Stella at the end. "Study H-21-JY-347 Stella" and up pops a document.

'Stella Munson April 15 1995- present - not affected. Twin, Cecilia Munson April 15, 1995 - April 17, 1995. Cause of death: Heart defect, lung failure, not compatible with life.'

Stella and Tyler were the same. Colin and Cecilia must have had the same defect, and now Stella and Tyler were being studied to make sure it wouldn't happen again.

My mom had started this study, and Tyler was going to be sure that I finished it.

__________________________________________________

March 18

I brace myself against the wall, trying to stand amidst the sharp sways back and forth. I feel along the walls, trying not to jump as my hands get tangled in the sticky spider webs. I feel for anything that will help me find a way to escape.

I stumble as I make my way along the wall, and come to a corner. I shift to the left as I feel along the front of the car, and my heart catches as I feel a ladder. I try to look up, but all I see is dark, black. I grip the rungs, lifting my foot to reach the first step. I climb, clinging to the rungs, my body swaying along with the car. The train car is only about seven feet high, so it doesn't take many steps for me to reach the top of the car. I feel around on the ceiling until I feel a small latch. I fumble, my fingers feeling as I concentrate, trying to figure out how to escape this empty train car. I finally maneuver the latch correctly until I feel it pop open, and I push up on the ceiling, but nothing happens. My heart beats faster as panic begins to set in. I take a deep breath, my left hand still clinging to the ladder as I use my right arm to push, pull, and wiggle the ceiling of the train car. Finally I feel a small movement, and realize that I can slide the ceiling panel back, almost like a sunroof on a car. The metal scratches against itself as I struggle to slide the ceiling panel back. I climb up one more rung, two, and use my body weight to force the panel back so that I can fit through the top. I begin to pull myself onto the top of the train car, and am startled by the power of the wind.

The train is moving so quickly that I struggle to maintain my balance. I look around, and see that there are metal ladder rungs across the top of the train car as well. I hold onto the ladder rungs, knowing my life depends on it, and I lay along the top of the train car making my body as flat as possible. I pull myself slowly from rung to rung, willing myself not to think of the steep drop into the abyss to my right, as the wind threatens to blow me off the train car.

I pull myself another rung forward, and another, until I've reached the edge of the car. My feet are wrapped around the side of the ladder, holding my in place, my fingers white as I grip to the train car with all of my might. I glance down and see that there's a ladder leading to a small platform between cars. I take a deep breath, knowing the danger of swinging my body around to get down the ladder - but having no other choice, I make the move and let my breath out in relief as my feet catch the ladder on the way down.

I quickly scramble down the ladder, relieved that between the cars the wind is no longer trying fling me over the side of the car. I breath, and look at my surroundings. The car that I came off of is enclosed, there's no way in except for the panel along the top of the car. Still holding to the ladder rung, I turn and look into the car in front of me. There's a window on a small door leading into the car, and I can see a dim light coming from one of the seats. There's someone there.

As my eyes adjust I can see slicked back hair in the dim light of the phone screen creating a silhouette. Slicked back hair, chin slightly raised in a disgusting air of entitlement.

Tyler Blackwell.

___________________________________________________

March 17

I awake the next morning and send Stella a text message.

I had spent the previous night pouring through all of the files I could find about Tyler and Colin, as well as Stella and Cecilia. What I found was that When Tyler and Colin where born, Colin clung to life for a few short weeks. After his passing, his autopsy showed that he had a very rare genetic defect that had only been found in less than 1% of children born in the United States. It looked as though the research found that almost every case came from the same family line. The cases that weren't directly tied to the family line, were speculated to come from infidelity.

They really did all come from the same family line.

Henry Blackwell's secretary when my mom began working with Blackwell Industries was Linda Munson. Mother to Stella and Cecelia Munson.

Henry Blackwell hadn't lost one child to this birth defect, he had lost two.

Colin, and Cecelia.

"Hey, Stella! I know our appointment isn't until next Saturday, but something came up and I was hoping you might be able to meet me at the building this morning at 11 instead of next week. Looking forward to hearing from you!" I hit send, and wait.

*ding*

I glance down at my phone and see Stella's name. I swipe the screen, and see the response,

"You're a lifesaver, I wanted to ask the same thing, but didn't want to inconvenience you! I'll see you in an hour."

A smile crosses my face as I grab my pack, pat Trout on the head, and snag my keys as I run out the door.

__________________________________________________

I fumble with my keys, unlocking my office door. I flip on the lights, and get my station set up to take Stella's blood. We've had the same routine for years. As I'm setting down the last of my supplies I hear Stella's sing song voice float through the office "Honnneeeyyy, I'm home!"

I peek around the corner with a smile and wave Stella in.

"Thank you so much, Stella! I really appreciate your flexibility." My hands shake as I grab my supplies. I motion for Stella to take a seat, and she rolls up her sleeve, setting her arm down on the arm rest. We both know the drill.

I fill one tube, and two, and I bring a third tube up as I hear Stella, "Why three today? We always only take two tubes. It's been the same forever." Stella quizzically looks at the third tube in my hand.

"I just follow the directions, you'll have to take that one up with Mr.Blackwell", I avoid eye contact as I fill the third tube and set it on the tray behind me.

"blah. You know I try not to talk to that entitled little turtle scrotum. He's the worst." Stella rolls her eyes, and looks out the window. "I don't understand why my Mom is so insistent that I come here every week. And I don't understand why turtle scrotes means so much to my Mom. It's like she's scared of him. No need to be scared. He's just a prick." Her tone changes as she talks about Tyler, I can tell he gets under her skin. A father who knows how to push his daughters buttons.

"Hey, Stella. This is so random, but I could have sworn that I heard something the other day about your sister. I don't remember you mentioning having a sister." I talk slowly, trying my best to keep my voice even.

"I'm the one and only, my friend. No brothers. No sisters. Just myself, and her majesty, Linda Munson. I don't even have a dad. Well. Obviously I had a dad. He was in the Air Force. 'Copter went down when I was a month old, I don't remember a thing about him. Mom says I'm not missing anything. It's alright though. We love little Linda, her and I make a good team."

She thinks she's an only child, and that her dad died an American hero. I've uncovered something bigger than I can handle on my own.

____________________________________________________

March 18

My movements are slow. I crouch down, and watch Tyler scroll through his phone. How am I going to get in there without him noticing? Suddenly my luck changes as he sets his phone down, and undoes the belt buckle. He stands up, smoothing his suit, and walks forward turning into what must be the bathroom. I wait for a few seconds being sure he isn't coming right back out, and I turn the door handle. Slowly I open the door and step inside the car. I quietly latch the door shut and turn around, heart racing, as I look for a place to hide.

"Dad. I understand. Listen. We've kept this a secret for 37 years. You started the research, and I promised you that I would finish. Together we figured it out. My son is going to live, we can finally get rid of that parasite some might call my sister, and no one is going to miss Olivia. Her mother has been gone for years, and cats can't talk. I got the results last night from the bloodwork we got from Stella yesterday. We found the final piece to the puzzle, we don't need either of them anymore. You were right, we had to mix the blood sample with our secret H-21-JY-347. The secret we created takes the place of the missing DNA strand and gets rid of the birth defect. We don't need either of them anymore, I'm taking care of it. "

I was right. It did have to do with the birth defect and the twin study. 48 hours ago I had been blissfully ignorant, and now I'm stuck on a speeding runaway train with an evil genius who trying to kill me off for figuring out his secret.

Stella and I were just pawns in their game. I hold my breath inside of the cramped closet I had slipped inside of, trying to figure out my next move. I have the closet door cracked open as I peer out at Tyler Blackwell, nodding along as he listens to his father on the phone.

"I put them on the train, like you told me. It's only the three of us on the train, full speed ahead. We're almost to the bridge, when we get there I put the parachute on and jump out, they won't know what's coming. The tracks end before they reach the other side of the bridge. I'll float above the river while they crash into it."

I listen from the closet, and realize that it's now or never. I wait until Tyler hangs up the phone, and I burst out of the closet catching Tyler off guard the element of surprise. I swipe the phone out of his hand and tackle him to the ground as he walks down the aisle to his seat. I heard a sicken *thunk* as his head hits the armrest of the chair on our way to the ground, and the air is pushed from my lungs as I fall on top of him.

I gulp in a breath of air , and look down to Tyler laying motionless in the aisle of the train car. Now's my chance.

I reach under the seat and grab the phone that had tumbled from his hand. I slip the phone into my pocket and run toward the front of the train. I open the door to the car and take a large step across to the next car, opening the door and running through the car of empty seats. I do this time and time again until I reach the front car of the train. I push the door open and see the bright red emergency cord hanging next to the front window. I look ahead and see the bridge around a bend.

Without a second thought I pull the red cord, and brace myself as the emergency brake system is engaged. No one else to be seen on the train, I pull the phone out of my pocket, feeling grateful when I see a wifi signal activated in the top corner. I may not be able to make a phone call, but I can text an emergency call to 911.

____________________________________________________

March 23

I sit in my living room, knees up to my chest clutching a mug of tea. I sit on the couch facing the television listening as the news anchor goes over details of my story.

"An employee of Blackwell Donation Center of Central Indiana, or BDCCI as most of us know it, discovered a decades running scheme by the founder Henry Blackwell, and his surviving son, the current CEO, Tyler Blackwell. The Blackwell family has a long history of medical anomalies beginning with Henry Blackwell himself, the only surviving twin of his parents Thomas and Betsy Blackwell. Henry himself has two sets of twins, one from a secret affair uncovered by the employee of BDCCI. It seems that the Blackwell family had begun BDCCI in hopes of using the business as a cover up for their own medical research, trying to solve the mystery of what is being called The Blackwell Gene, a rare birth defect where the heart develops inside of one, or both lungs. It's incurable, and a certain death sentence to many twins in the Blackwell blood line. When the employee discovered this family cover up, she was kidnapped by Tyler Blackwell in an elaborate cover up that did not turn out the way he'd hoped. The employee of BDCCI took over the abduction, rendering Tyler Blackwell unconscious before stopping the runaway train they were on, and messaging for emergency help. The employee of BDCCI, was found alive on the train along with a patient of the facility, and Tyler Blackwell himself. Mr.Blackwell was taken into custody, and both females have been cleared by medical professionals and sent to their respective homes to hopefully heal from this tragic ordeal."

The tv anchor continues on with the story, going into the details of the research that was found on the servers of BDCCI. I stop listening, her voice mumbling about in the background as I look down at Trout sitting in my lap. I stroke his back as his tail moves slowly side to side. I lift my phone scrolling through the application for the police academy.

Sometimes our greatest obstacles give us the push in the right direction. I know there's more to this story, I'm just going to be sure to get the training I need to figure the rest of it out, and do something about it.