Sacrifice

The afterglow of lights on buildings, billboards and busy streets faded away making room for a majestic sunrise of crimson and orange. Passengers of the Sin City Express gathered together to witness history. At six A.M. the train would exit Vegas entering the desert. A short time later I would attempt to break the record for the fastest passenger train in the world.

The current record stood at three-hundred-and fifty-seven miles per hour. I would attempt to pilot the train to a record shattering three-hundred and ninety-five miles per hour!

Two years were devoted to the project. The track was custom-built for this attempt. A long stretch outfitted with specialty magnetic rails and a three- mile tunnel named Devils Gorge is where we would unleash the magnetic power of our train and exit into a two-hundred mile straightaway where we would vie for the record. That was just the beginning…

After our record speed run we would attempt to break the record for longest passenger train ride. We would have to pick up two more engines, and an extra twenty-five passenger cars. A few were custom made for our attempt.

We would crisscross the country touching every continental state before returning to Vegas. Sin City would be on the rails for ten days, at much more reasonable speeds of course.

We entered Devil's Gorge; I engaged the magnetic propulsion system. My heart pounded, the train began to quickly accelerate. Suddenly, I feared all was lost. Our engine stopped, everything went dark, we were coasting. Lights were flickering. My chest felt heavy, I blacked out. My vision narrowed and eerie shadows passed through me. I shook the cobwebs from my head, gathered myself and tried to refire the engines. The magnetic propulsion had to be engaged before we left the tunnel.

"Two miles sir!" Yelled Jackson my assistant for the speed record attempt. I reset the magnetic propulsion unit again. "One mile before exit. Do I disengage?"

"Give me ten seconds," I yelled back. He counted down. 10, 9, I flipped four switches again. 8, 7, 6, still nothing. I raised my arms high- then slammed them down on the instrument panel in frustration. Jackson's hand was on the abort button. 3, 2, ...

All systems were engaged. Indicator needles sprang to their correct positions in the instrument cluster. Jackson and I exhaled sighs of relief. Full speed ahead. We still had a chance.

Cheers and high fives erupted from our record speed run of three-hundred and eighty-two MPH. We felt lucky considering the incident at Devils Gorge. We picked up the extra cars and engineers and settled in for the long haul. That's when Brad came back into my life…

Other engineers would run the mundane legs on the record setting attempt. Sarah, our events manager, asked me to assist her with a stow away in a sleeper car. I obliged. When we arrived there was a disheveled man in tattered clothes, sleeping so soundly he could have been mistaken for dead. He wore a dingy pair of cargo pants and a matching button up shirt.

Sarah tried to wake him up earlier, but he was having nothing of it. Even the wailing whistle of the train upon shattering the record and cheering from the raucous crowd didn't stir him. He just laid there chest quietly rising and falling with the rhythmic tick of the track.

I gently grabbed his arm. I gave him a test shake; limited results. His eyes blinked quickly. He took in a gulp of air then settled back into his shallow breathing. I shook him, more vigorously this time. Still nothing. I stepped closer and stood over him. Was there a wallet in his pocket? I made the mistake of reaching in trying to gently unbutton it.

Razor sharp, lurched forward, gasping for air the way a drowning victim would. He grabbed my arm, pulled me close, and stood to his feet. He pinned my back against the wall. He pressed my chest making it hard to breathe. My knees were bent against the steel bed frame. His speech was direct and stern.

"Who are you? What do you want with me?" His right hand moved from my chest to my throat.

"I'm Conductor Percy Dunning," I gasped. It was hard to speak. I tapped his arm hoping he would loosen his grip on my throat.

"Please let him go, we can discuss the matter." Sarah spoke, her voice was calm considering all things. "What's your name sir?" He eased his hand from my throat. He turned to look at Sarah.

Sarah was attractive, she loved to dress up. She was wearing a tight red party dress. The kind with a slit on the thigh just high enough to be risqué without coming across as slutty. She shuffled back on her high heels when a sly smile appeared on Brad's face. I used that moment to slide down, relieving the pressure from my knees. The distraction didn't last long. He refocused his attention on me.

"My name is Brad Dunning. What kind of game are you playing?" He patted an empty pocket. "My ring, where is it?" He backed away then turned toward Sarah. She was blocking the entrance to the room. Brad's eyes shifted focus to a window where rows of green vegetation passed by. "Are we on a train?" He asked.

I was stunned at his new revelation. He pushed past us, then bent down to touch the black and white floor tiles. He stood up slowly. Sarah studied him then looked at me. She exclaimed.

"Oh my God! Brad, what did you say your last name was?" He was taken aback. He looked at me, swiftly embraced me in a bear hug lifting me off my feet. Have you ever had a feeling that you were the butt of a cosmic joke and you were the only one that didn't know the punchline? When I was safely back on the ground I finally got the joke.

"I said my name was Dunning." He grabbed my face with both hands and kissed me on the cheek. "You are my twin brother, look at that beautiful face." He sounded like a child, the joyous expression in his voice and on his face was probably matched by the look of confusion on mine. "I didn't think I would ever see you again." He wiped away a set of tears from his face and then wiped mine.

My head was spinning. Brad died on September eleventh two-thousand and one. He was a first responder who had entered building two of the Twin Towers. He and some crew members went in just before it collapsed.

Losing a loved one is never easy. Losing one to a tragedy like nine-eleven was heartbreaking to say the least. Losing a twin brother and never being able to bury him because they never recovered a body. That was life shattering. Then finally getting your life back on track, (pun very intended) and finding him again after twenty-one years was just too much to bare. But now...

It was Brad and me; and I wasn't going to lose him again.

Sarah escorted us past the dining car and into my bedroom suite where we could talk. It all felt surreal. My feet were moving but It felt as though I was walking on air. Sarah gave us a few hours to talk and assured us that the trip would stay on schedule. I gave Brad some clean clothes and watched as he cleaned himself up.

I had so many questions for him, but asking them at that moment felt wrong. I wanted to live and love a huge part of myself that had been lost for so long; details be damned. This is where the fairytale ended and the real story began.

Brad and I were in engine one. He was observing his big brother in action. I had been born, slapped on the ass, cuddled by mom, whisked away with grandma Gene and had my first cry sixteen minutes before he took his first breath. Now I was navigating a busy strip of track coming into Dallas, just before nightfall day one.

The radio squelched and beeped so loudly that we had to cover our ears. As I worked to correct the frequency a ghastly voice chirped in across all channels.

"Did you hear that Brad?" I asked, releasing my hands from the sides of my head. I looked across the control stand at my brother. He was waving his hand strangely in front of his face pointing at something I could not see. "Brad, what is it? Did you hear the voice?"

His hand was still waving in the air. "I heard you the first time Perce, the question is who is going to die on this rig? Eye for an eye." His eyes flickered like they had when I first shook him that morning. "They brought me back to you Percy, but there must be a sacrifice!"

"It's gonna be okay, Brad." I had no other words. Was this even real? Had I died in Devil's Gorge? Was my mind and spirit connecting to something I missed and longed for? I took a swig of warm water. "Pinch me Brad!" I exclaimed.

Brad stepped closer and patted me on the back. "You're not dreaming brother, I assure you that. Whatever happens, don't let them take me back." He picked up my bottle of water and took a long drink, he looked at it lovingly before setting it down. "Water the elixir of life, oh how we take it for granted." He picked it up again and finished the bottle. He set it down and looked at me. His body began swaying back and forth. He was searching for the right words. "I love you brother." I craved those words for so long. He tried to say more. I held my hand to my lips trying to hold on just a little longer.

I reached forward and grabbed his face with both hands. "Look at that beautiful face. I missed you so much!" He wiped my tears for a second time. "I love you brother." He pointed to another bottle of water that was on a shelf under the control deck. I tossed it to him. He caught it and held it close.

"I'm going to rest. It's been one hell of a journey to get here. We have so many decisions to make. Sorry I wasn't there for you when mom died." Then he simply left the room.

I had three more hours of scheduled work before I was done for the night. I almost told him not to go. I was petrified that I would never see him again. Where had he been for slightly more than two decades? How did he know that mom had passed?

The world had changed because of nine-eleven but; twenty-twenty, with COVID, a strange Presidential Election, riots, and so much more, made for a shit show all its own.

My mother died in the midst of pathetic Pandemic rules. I was fortunate enough to see her before she passed because an ambulance driver broke protocol. She called me; there was something important she had to tell me in person, there was something different in her voice. "Please come over immediately" was all she said. When I arrived an ambulance was parked in front of her house. Before I could introduce myself the medic asked.

"Are you Brad? Your mother keeps saying she can't wait to see you." I didn't bother to correct him. I figured mom had him on her mind. We both still missed him. "She's inside, we are just doing a couple of routine checks. She'll be fine." The truth was she wasn't fine, not since Brad left us.

My mother Laura was alive, but hadn't really lived since Brad passed. She prayed for years that he would somehow turn up, she had amazing faith.

I stepped into the ambulance, she immediately began to convulse. Her eyes flickered quickly. She motioned me near. I leaned in, she whispered, "Brad needs me more than you do, I'm so sorry Percy. I can't let it go anymore." She grabbed my hand and gently closed it. I felt something in my hand. I opened it to look. She gave me a gold ring adorned with an intricate black skull. Her eyes closed; she lost consciousness.

All the equipment in the ambulance shut down, the vehicle shut off. The medic checked her pulse.

"Nothing, I got nothing!" He yelled. Mom jerked forward with blank dead eyes, she mumbled something. I tucked the ring into a pocket. I kissed her on the forehead. The lights and equipment stirred to life. "We got a pulse, get us outta here M.J.!"

We were off. Lights spun and sirens howled. We arrived at the hospital where she was pronounced D.O.A. (Dead on Arrival). Pondering these thoughts and memories passed the remaining hours, as if time were not a fixed construct.

My shift was over. I checked my suite, to make sure my brother was there. He slept soundly in my bed. So I decided to attend a meeting with the available staff before a midnight party.

One of our specialty cars was a party car. It was complete with a dance floor and DJ booth. It was created just for this trip. (Hey it was Vegas after all) The Sin City Express was like no other.

I entered the party car at Ten-thirty P.M. ready to commence the meeting. Jackson started with a speech- "let's make this a night to remember, keep it professional, yada yada same old…" He finished in about five minutes, to a smattering of golf claps and yawns. Sarah informed us that one of the millionaire VIP "donors" was sick and wouldn't be attending the swaray. Was this connected to Brad? Probably overthinking it, people get ill all the time.

The DJ arrived at Ten-forty-five. I was confident the celebration would go off…without a hitch! A little train humor there.

None of the passengers had been inside that car yet. The passengers were clamoring with excitement; the dining cars were filled with people ready to party and drink the night away. It was a rare chance to hobnob with millionaires. They were eagerly awaiting midnight. I was eagerly awaiting a good night's sleep and more time with Brad when he awoke.

I entered my suite, and plopped down next to Brad. Exhausted, still only half believing the first day of the trip. I dozed off before midnight. The train moved across the countryside right on schedule. We would enter Memphis early A.M. To begin my shift.

I awoke; chills running through me. "Alexa what time is it?" It is one A.M. She answered. An ominous shadow moved across the face of my Echo Dot device. I rubbed my eyes in disbelief. The shadow circled the room. I nearly fell out of bed when two more shadows phased through the door. All three moved towards me. One of them stopped right above Brad.

Colors circled the base of Alexa, she spoke in an eerie voice; Percy, do you love your brother? Two shadows near me froze in place. The other, still hovered above Brad's body. "We are the mediators of life and death. A deal has been struck on your behalf." The device spoke as the shadow creatures began to materialize into something more than shadow but less than Ghost. "You must agree to the terms of the deal or the contract will be broken!" The apparition above Brad dove down into his chest. A loud crack was heard. Darkness entered him. His body was engulfed with empty soulless white eyes.

"Many will fall sick in the next nine days." His body was shaking, his skin was pale, almost grey in tone. "It is among these that the sacrifice must be made." The creature spoke through my brother's body. The language was not English, or anything human, but somehow I understood perfectly what was being 'said'.

Brad's body lifted straight into the air. He hovered over me. The other demonic shadows entered his body. "On the final day of your journey you will know whose life will be sacrificed for your brother." Right on cue my brother spewed chunks on the floor.

One of the beings left his body and spoke. "If the train stops for any reason before entering Devil's Gorge the deal is off. Everyone who is sick will die and we get Brad back as a bonus. The best part is they will be infected with COVID the perfect cover, don't you agree?"

I screamed aloud. "Let him go, take me! Spare these people, take me instead." An evil laugh echoed through my brother's mouth.

"You know the rules, choose before the train returns through Devils Gorge or your brother will return to his former state and be enslaved for eternity."

"How will you know who we choose?" Brad's body lowered down, he was standing on his feet next to me. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a gold ring exactly like the one mom had given me the day she passed.

"One of you will place the ring on the finger of a sick one you choose then seal the deal with a forehead kiss. An added bonus Percy, the matching ring you possess will bring back your mother. If it is placed on a chosen one before we enter Devils Gorge she will return much the same way as you received back your beloved brother."

Brad's body fell in a heap next to me. Color replaced the grey hue. The last two creatures left his body. He moaned in agony as the beings of darkness encircled us in the room once more.

Brad stood up, his eyes and skin were normal again. His shirt was torn and burned at the chest but there were no other signs of physical harm. I embraced him in a hug, we held on to each other. Not speaking for what seemed like hours. It was Alexa in her normal pleasant voice who broke the silence. It is three A.M. You can ask me anything you like, do you want to hear a joke?

Brad and I let go of each other. I couldn't resist. I had to answer. "Okay Alexa, tell me a joke. Knock Knock, I reluctantly answered, "who's there?"

We waited for the punchline. "Not your Mother Laura!" She answered. Followed by the song Crazy Train by Ozzie. It blasted through the device, until I screamed.

"Alexa stop music!" Lights flickered, the shadow beings evaporated through the roof of Sin City express.

Brad and I were beyond tired, we flopped back into bed where I slept until six A.M. I had early morning duty. We were less than an hour from Memphis, my turn to take the controls again.

Frank and Emma knocked, then entered my room. Frank was coming off the overnight shift. He was ready to take his break. He was carrying a clipboard, tapping it with a pen. "Your shift starts now." He stated matter of factly.

My relationship with Frank was strained to say the least. He was arrogant; he had, on several occasions, tried to take the "hot seat". That was the top engineering position in our rail company. We had made some headway last week because I was in complete charge of who made the cut for this trip. He was one of the most qualified for the job so I selected him for the long haul as one of the seven. He was still angry he didn't get the co-pilot spot for the speed record attempt.

Emma was a go to assistant for Sarah. Her attitude was great, she wasn't afraid to stand up to Frank (or anyone) who didn't have the best interest for the company's well being in mind. So I paired the two together.

"What the hell happened here yall!?" Frank exclaimed. With our special guests last night I hadn't noticed the room was a disaster. Dried puke decorated the floor near our bed. Everything was strewn across the room, including my clothes and everything that was on the bed.

Emma stood behind him, her eyes shifted focus from the vomit to Frank then finally rested on his ripped shirt and its huge burn.

"I don't think we're in Kansas anymore." She chuckled. Frank lost it, he slapped his knee and snorted. He hailed from Tennessee it wouldn't take more than a minute with him to figure that out.

"That's a good un Emm," he said peering in my direction. Thick eyebrows lowered as he continued. "Either you throw a great party or the Devil himself done jumped out of that Gorge and hitched a ride." Brad awoke gasping for air again. His attention was fixed on the sly smirk frozen on Frank's face.

"Well partner, what's it to ya? Maybe the Devil ain't your concern this week but we could arrange somethin' if you'd like." He tried his best to get the accent down.

Frank puffed out his chest, put the pen in his mouth and held the clipboard up high.

"Hmmm," he mumbled through gritted teeth. He tapped the board again."Let's see," he flipped a couple pages on the board. "Dunning, oh here it is, Percy Dunning, I reckon y'all can figure out who's not on this list." Emma stepped in front of Frank and shook a finger at him.

She flipped her hair as she spoke. "Frank, I'm sure your boss Mr. Dunning would love to know how many adult beverages were consumed last night by a certain engineer while on shift." Frank lowered the clipboard and stepped back.

"This 'ain't over Percy Dunning, I have friends in this compney too ya know. In the meantime keep that mutt of yours on his leash." He pointed at Brad as he left the room. I was regretting my decision to bring him on this trip. A second later his head popped back into the room. "Your shift started five minutes ago!" The door slammed shut and he was gone.

"Emma thanks, have Jackson cover for a few minutes. I'll be there before we hit Memphis." She winked at Brad.

"Welcome aboard Brad, I look forward to getting to know you." She left the room as if none of this surprised her.

Brad pulled the ring from his pocket. He rolled it around in his hand. "You know the worst thing about life on the otherside Percy?" I had nothing. Who would, given the circumstances? "It's okay Percy, didn't really expect an answer." He continued, "The worst part is the loneliness, day after day, month after month, year after fucking year. Loneliness and darkness that you can't possibly fathom brother." He placed the ring in his pocket. "Frank better hope he don't get sick. He's the one I'd love to smooch on the forehead. The devil may have went down to Georgia but I'd love to send his ass to Tennessee."

I patted him on the back. Pondering what was to come. A life, or two, were literally hanging in the balance. I had a few days with no idea who might fall sick. Best I could do was take my shift and pray to God for a better answer than eye for an eye. "Duty calls, Brad, could you clean this place and change that shirt before you leave the room? I love you brother, everything's going to be okay." He smiled, picking up some clothes as he took off his shirt.

I arrived in engine one. Jackson was perched in my Captains chair engaged with the other engineers on the radio. He greeted me, we exchanged pleasantries and he left the engine. We arrived in Memphis on schedule at six-forty-five A.M. The drive through Memphis and the next three hours were routine. We entered Alabama; It was about ten A.M. when all hell broke loose..!

Frank rushed into my engine screaming something about Dr. Miller being stabbed by one of the passengers in the bar car. Frank also had a cut on his arm. He was trying to calm Miss Harris when she lashed out with a knife and cut him. Security handled the situation but Dr. Miller was in grave danger.

"We have to stop in Birmingham and get Dr. Miller off this train and to the hospital!" Frank demanded. There was no way in hell (forgive me) that was going to happen. Brad and I had clear instructions on that.

"Frank shut up, just let me think. Go tell Sarah and Emma that I need to see them right away!" He gave me a strange look. He shuffled his feet. "You heard what I said, do-"

"I guess you ain't heard then?"

"Heard what," I had obviously missed something.

"Sarah, Emma and at least a dozen others have fallen sick with Rona sir. They are in quarantine in the party room. That's why Harris stabbed Miller. He was tryin' to take her Son for a test 'cause he had the fever and she started spoutin' off 'bout the pandemic being a hoax or somthin'"

Well that was perfect! They thought of everything. The devil really was a God-damned genius. We had nearly eight days before we were scheduled to be near that tunnel. Then it hit me. "Scheduled!" I could fix all of this. We were in control of the fastest passenger train in the world.

"Frank, is Jackson sick?"

"He was fine an hour ago, why?"

"We are not stopping in Birmingham or anywhere for that matter. We are going to get this train back to Vegas!" Frank moved towards me holding his arm where he had been cut. He was playing it up big.

"It is in your best 'inerst if we stop in Birmingham so we can get all these sick people off this here train an get help for the doctor and I." He let go of his wounded arm long enough to pull out His cell phone. He was about to dial a number.

"Put the phone away and listen to me Frank. Get Jackson down here now! We have only been gone for about thirty hours. We can be back in Vegas by morning and everyone will have the help they need."

"It's too late for that Percy. I'm not goin' down for you. We get these folks off in Birmingham or I call CEO Greene and force your hand." He dialed the number and showed me the name Greene on the screen. He moved his finger over the send icon. "Well, what's it gonna b-"

Before he could finish the sentence a well timed right hand landed squarely on the side of his head. His phone flew through the air and slammed into a window. He fell face first onto the train's floor with a dull thud. He was clearly unconscious.

"Now you can put that inbred mutt on a leash, Percy. I told you I'm not going back." I was shocked. This trip was a total disaster. We had no choice now. I knew what had to be done.

"Jackson's on the way I took the liberty. That bastard Frank was never going to get it. I believe in you brother."

Jackson entered the cab and stepped over Frank. "I won't ask Percy, let's get him out of here. We have some work to do. There is something I didn't tell you." What now, I braced myself, thinking it couldn't get any worse. "I'm alive today because of your mother. I have been working behind the scenes for nearly two years now. My name is Merv Jackson. You might remember me as M.J. from the ambulance. Yep, that was me." This was insane, I turned to my brother.

"Did you know?" I looked him directly in his eyes.

"Of course I did, and it wasn't easy setting all this up. There is another way." Jackson cut in.

"I was saved when your mother sacrificed her life for me. I promised her I would look after Brad. So here we are."

I felt a sharp pain…

Everything around me was spinning and my legs felt weak. Every muscle in my body tensed up. I was going to vomit.

"Just let it happen brother, it will all be over soon. Mom will be with me, you will be a COVID statistic and Merv will get us back to Vegas. The mediators of death will be satisfied." I doubled over in unimaginable pain. I threw up.

The control room got dark, but not what you know as dark. It was different. I could see, but there was nothing to see. You know when they talk about the light at the end of a tunnel? I always thought it was a silly gesture. It wasn't. It was real. I hope you never experience true darkness, and loneliness, don't even get me started on hunger and thirst.

it starts off slow then builds day upon day month upon month and eventually (to quote my brother) year after fucking year! You know you exist somewhere, a vapor a memory, but you belong nowhere. You just wander in the dark alone.

My eyes blinked, someone was shaking me. Each blink brought me closer to consciousness. Then it was over. My mother stood over me, I gasped for air and sat up.

"Welcome back to the Sin City Express Son."

I knew what had to be done. I Listened to the rhythmic tick of the track.

"Who's going to die on this rig? Eye for an eye."

"That's the spirit brother."

My mother embraced both of us. "Its 2040 Percy, you don't even want to know what kind of shit we have now!"