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“That’s it! I’m done!”
A bald man in a suit stormed out of the industrial complex in the blistering heat of the summer day. His rage and frustration only caused him to burn hotter. Following at his heels was a woman in her early 30s wearing a cream colored vest. Her long black braids swung as she chased after him.
“I’m done, Miss York. I don’t care who your parents were, I am not a charity!”
“If you give me enough time,” she said, grabbing his shoulder, “I can find someone-”
“Someone!?” the man yelled. "The other teams have at least twenty people and you think you'll get by with just someone!?"
The two went back and forth. The man was adamant in his decision to end her sponsorship and Miss York was desperate that he not pull funding. Their conversation grew loud enough for those on the street to turn their attention to them. One girl in a newsie cap wearing large overalls took notice and marched right over.
“Howdy! I’m Josie, your new team mate!"
The pair’s arguing grinded to a halt as they looked down at this strange girl extending her hand to them. She was tiny and swimming in her clothes, but stood with unfaltering confidence. Her locks were tight and short and her smile was huge. The bald man turned his attention back to Miss York.
“Is this some type of joke?”
“No, uh, this is what I was trying to explain! She’s the new stoker. It was hard to find someone at the last minute and I wasn't even sure that she'd show up. Thankfully, as we can all see, she just got into town!”
Miss York plastered a grin onto her face and looped her arm around Josie’s shoulders in what she hoped looked like a casual pose. The man scowled as he scanned Josie up and down. To her credit, Josie did not flinch from his searing gaze.
“So your replacement is one girl?” he said, still not sold on the idea.
"You know my Loco's small, we don't need a whole team to get it going!"
“ I can load coal with the best of them!" Josie replied, flexing her small arms. "Check any factory nowadays and kids my size are loading up coal for hours!”
Silence hung in the air for a moment. The man’s face contorted as he clearly was thinking of a response, but then stopped himself. It may have been exhaustion from the heat or frustration, but he decided to leave it be.
“Miss York, rest assured if you make a mockery out of our investment, there will be serious consequences. Understood? I expect you at the starting line with the others at 6am sharp.”
“You can count on us sir!” Miss York replied.
She turned up the intensity of her fake smile and offered him a cheesy thumbs up until the man puttered away in his buggy. Once he turned the corner, her smile dropped like stones in a pond. She gripped Josie tighter on the shoulders, dragging her into the complex.
“Who the hell are you?! Miss York demanded, slamming Josie against the wall. “C’mon, what’s the joke? Which one of those jackasses put you up to this?”
“I just wanna be part of your team!”
“And how'd you know I even needed people on my team?”
“Well with all that yellin’ I’m pretty sure all four roots know you need people.”
She scanned Josie’s face for any inkling of a lie, but peering into her purple eyes showed no malice or trickery, Josie’s expression was genuine. She loosened her grip and sighed, rubbing her temples.
“Alright kid, follow me.”
Miss York led Josie through an unlocked door into a huge open warehouse. she gazed at every inch of her surroundings. To her left were piles of half-constructed machines, tools, and parts of all shapes and sizes. To her right, there was a haphazard office constructed from three desks stacked high with papers, textbooks, office supplies, and more dirty coffee mugs than Josie could count. There was a large bookshelf behind the desks filled with awards for a range of sciences. Upon closer inspection, Josie noticed many of these awards were for botany. These awards complimented the plant life that filled every available nook and corner of the room. Big plants, small plants, lush plants, pointy plants, and plants with long hanging vines covered the room like an industrial jungle. Some of the plants looked so exotic that Josie was positive they were from another planet.
Just as Josie was about to ask one of the many questions swirling around her mind, Miss York gestured to a garage door in the back of the building that had begun to open. Josie walked inside the room to find stacks of coal, more machine parts, and tools. However, her eyes were drawn to a large vehicle sitting in the corner. This locomotive was a beautiful shade of inky black, and angled sharply at the front to a sleek point. The words 'Midnite Cruiser' were painted on the side but what drew Josie's attention was a crudely drawn face on the front. Josie wanted to ask about it, but Ms. York drew her attention to a large device with a pile of coal and a shovel next to it.
“Alright, let’s see what you can do.”
“You want me to shovel into that thing?” Josie asked, pointing at what seemed to be a mock furnace.
Miss York nodded, pulling a small watch from her vest pocket. “In 3…2…1…Go!”
Josie shoveled with intense speed into the machine. Each toss seemed as effortless for Josie as if she was shoveling feathers. Miss York was mesmerized. Within minutes, Josie had shoveled most of the coal into the furnace and showed no signs of stopping.
The machine started blaring and Miss York yelled for Josie to stop. Josie turned expectantly to hear further instructions, but Miss York was at a loss for words. There was some truth to what Josie had said about kids in factories, but none of them could do what she just did. Many adults could not do what she just did either.
“Yeah that was nuffin! At the factory we had to shovel loads of coal and other stuff. The faster we did it, the quicker we got lunch and-”
The machine interrupted her, screeching as it exploded. All the coal Josie had just shoveled burst forth from the machine and Josie was instantly buried beneath a mountain. Miss York rushed to dig her out. She prayed to God that her last shot at entering tomorrow’s race wasn’t crushed under dirt and stone. Moments later, Josie popped out from the pile, coughing and patting away the soot that caked her brown skin.
“Dang, guess I shoulda’ got away from the big beepin’ thing.” Josie laughed as she dusted herself off.
Miss York scrambled the remaining distance across the coals to Josie. Though filthy, she didn’t look much worse for wear. Instead, she planted both hands on her hips and grinned with immovable confidence.
“You’re alright!” Miss York yelled in relief.
“Oh Yeah, that’s nuffin!” Josie laughed, “I had this giant metal thing fall on me once back at the factory two times the size of all this and it only knocked me out for a day. And then there was a landslide that almost buried me. Oh and then-”
Miss York tuned out Josie’s rambling, standing in awe of this pint-sized girl who stood before her unscathed.
'Kid,' she thought to herself. 'who the hell are you?'
🌱🌱🌱
After washing up, Josie’s rumbling stomach announced that it was time for them to get some food. Miss York decided to take Josie on a trip into the market to grab a bite and learn more about her new teammate.
“So this factory you keep talking about, where is it?” Miss York asked as they walked.
“Goosehill,” Josie excitedly replied, following closely behind. “It's a small town outside of Pinehurst City.”
“Pinehurst? That’s nearly on the other side of the root from here. Must have used all your savings taking a buggy out this way.”
“Nah, I just walked.”
Miss York stopped dead in her tacks, turning to Josie. “You just walked? That’s a two day drive by buggy and you walked!?”
“Yeah, it took me two weeks but I did it!” she said with a grin. “Just before the race started too!”
“Why would you do all that when no one had guaranteed you a spot on their team?”
“I dunno,” Josie grinned, “I just kinda hoped it would work out.”
Miss York had no idea how to respond to that. She couldn’t fathom two weeks of trudging alone on a dirt road in the summer heat, all for a slight chance that someone would have her on their team. This miniscule girl had nothing but a shoulder satchel and a pair of work boots that were worse for wear. And yet, she looked so happy as she wandered about with her nose in the air taking in all the delicious aromas of the market.
Miss York followed Josie into a restaurant with all types of barbecue on display. She couldn’t help but smile as Josie’s big bug eyes took in all the various sights of pork, beef and chicken. She engaged every tired looking employee she could find in conversations about the various processes of smoking meats and the best techniques for grilling. Josie’s excitement was so adorable that Miss York decided to let her pick whatever she wanted.
This proved to be a mistake as Josie picked practically the whole menu. Miss York watched in horror as boxes and bags of food were stacked high before her. Crispy vegetables, barbecue duck, pork; it was enough to feed an Army. Miss York was not even sure where all this food would go in Josie’s tiny body, but Josie clearly was confident in her eating abilities.
“Gettin’ your last supper before going into hidin’?” came a taunting voice from behind them.
They turned to find a mountain of a man with fiery red hair and beard to match. He was sitting at a large table with a gaggle of men who looked as rough as him. They were currently snickering at his remark. Miss York sighed and rolled her eyes.
“And what’s that supposed to mean Tony?”
“Well, we know your super star left and took the rest of the team with him.” he said, standing and walking towards the pair. “We know you can barely afford to keep the lights on. Anyone with half a brain knows you’re probably gonna’ skip town with whatever sponsor money you have left.”
Tony’s mischievous grin widened as he looked at Josie carrying bags of food bigger than her. “And you got homeless kids working for you? Really living up to your parents’ legacy aren't ya!”
“I ain’t no kid,” Josie exclaimed, “I’m twelve! I’m her new stoker, and we’re gonna’ win that race!”
As the words left Josie’s lips and landed onto Tony and his team’s ears, the entire restaurant erupted in laughter. Miss York glared around her while Josie simply stood tall in her determined way, confidence unshaken. After regaining his composure, Tony turned his full attention to Josie, leaning in close to meet her at eye level.
“Listen, I’m sure you think this is all fun and games but why don’t you run off to whatever alley you crawled out of.”
The man placed his hand on Josie’s shoulder and continued talking, infantilizing Josie while still finding ways to make jabs at Miss York. Josie had stopped listening and instead focused on the large man’s hand on her shoulder.
“Hey, let go.” she said calmly
He ignored her, continuing to ramble, hand firmly in place on her shoulder. She dropped some of the bags, freeing one of her hands to clasp onto Tony's.
"I said, let. go."
His smile quickly faded as he felt Josie’s tiny hand grip tighter and tighter onto his. He tried to pull away but couldn’t and seconds later his hand twisted until there was a ‘POP!’ Tony yelled in agony gripping his hand, which flopped lifelessly attached to his wrist. His teammates rushed around him to assess the damage. Miss York was just as shocked, but before she knew it Josie had picked up the food and gently pulled her out of the restaurant. The last thing Josie wanted was for her dinner to get cold.
🌱🌱🌱
Josie devoured the buffet before her. While she went to town on everything, she noticed that her teammate hadn’t eaten a bite. Instead, Miss York sat across from her with a glass of wine looking up at the sun setting in the sky.
“Miss York, you ain’t eatin?”
“You can call me Peg, and no, but actually…” Loud chimes went off throughout the warehouse for a few seconds. “Right on cue!”
Peg reached into her pocket and pulled out a small bag. Opening and reaching in, she pulled out a plump brown bean and popped it in her mouth like a pill. A few moments later she sighed, leaning back in her chair.
“That is my dinner and I’m stuffed.”
Josie didn’t understand how someone could ‘be stuffed’ after a bean, but if it meant the rest of this food was for her then she wasn’t going to question it. She took her time, licking every plate clean and picking every bone dry.
Once she had finished, Peg got Josie set with her sleeping quarters for the night. It was nothing special, a small lumpy cot and a pillowcase stuffed with shirts. After settling her in, Peg returned to the garage to make some last minute preparations on the locomotive, particularly on the furnace.
🌱🌱🌱
Around midnight, Peg stepped outside to get some air. It was an overcast night, which was the norm, but the stars and moon were brighter than ever. She took a deep inhale of the damp night air and tried to settle her nerves. Tomorrow was the start of an adventure that she had thought would never come. Yet here she was, about to take some twelve-year-old up The Great Stalk, despite never truly training together as every other team had done. Looking around she noticed that Josie was sitting on the grass looking up at the stars and trunk of The Stalk. Peg quietly walked over and stood behind Josie.
The stalk's trunk was visible from anywhere like the sun or moon in the sky, it was impossible to fathom how large it truly was. Looking up made Peg remember the times her mother read her stories about The Great Stalk and how it came to be. Something about the world once being a dew drop before the Great Stalk sprouted and created all life. She didn't really remember the specifics but any memory of her parents gave her a feeling of warmth.
“Why do you wanna go up?” Josie asked at last, aware of Peg's presence.
Peg took a moment to answer before replying. “Discover more plant life. See what this giant thing has to offer all of us down here. What about you? What makes a kid like you walk hundreds of miles for this race”
Josie gave Peg a big smile and pointed up towards the stalk. “I just wanna reach the top!”
Peg’s heart was warmed by the simplicity of Josie’s dream. She wistfully hoped this trip would prove successful for both of them. She knelt next to Josie and extended her hand.
“You shovel coal like you did today, and I’ll make sure we make it to the top together, deal?”
Josie’s eyes widened along with her grin. She stood up and quickly planted her palm into Peg’s.
“You got yourself a deal Miss Yor- I mean, Peg!”
🌱🌱🌱
“ I said wake up!”
Josie jolted awake to find Peg running back and forth like a mad woman. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes and looked out the window to see that it was already mid-morning. The sunshine was streaming inside and the warehouse had started to get very warm. This confused Josie since the plan was to be up by dawn.
Peg had spent countless hours making sure everything would be perfect for them to start this race. She’d done all her preparations, double and triple checked everything, and made enough checklists to fill a book. However she’d forgotten one very important thing.
She had never set an alarm.
To Be Continued