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Peg rushed back to the lodging area. The place was now a ghost town. Her eyes darted around but her ears tipped her off to a commotion nearby. Muscling her way through the crowd, she found what the uproar was about. All the dropouts were there, loading into their vehicles to head back down below. She looked around and her eyes landed on Cisco, loading the last of his belongings onto his. His big, booming energy from the day before was muted. His head hung low while helping his crew load supplies. As she drew nearer, she noticed scrapes and bruises on Cisco’s arms, legs, and face. Reporters surrounded him, loud voices were competing to discover why he’d dropped out after all this time. He ignored every word until Peg screamed.
“FRANCISCO! WHY ARE YOU GIVING UP?!”
Cisco froze but did not turn to look at her. Nearby reporters, however, had cranked their necks to look at her in curiosity. Peg moved closer to him as she continued.
“Why!? Why would you give up now!?”
“When you get to be my age, you learn that some things are past your limits.” he replied in a deflated tone.
“Bullshit! When did age mean you became a coward?”
“Margaret!” Cisco said coldly, whipping his head back to meet her gaze. “If running off and dying in the clouds like your parents is what makes me brave, I’d rather live a cowardly life!”
Those words prompted a hush across the crowd. Not a pen moved, nor a camera clicked. Peg and Cisco stared intensely at one another, lost in their own discourse. Peg was not only shocked, but so choked up that she couldn’t muster a response. A single tear fell down her cheek. Noticing her expression, Francisco’s anger softened. He mouthed the word 'sorry' and hurried off into the cab of his machine, slamming the door behind him.
As Francisco’s and the other dropouts disappeared into the distance, the news hungry reporters turned towards their next juicy story to devour. A tragic tale of death and family legacy was exactly the snack that could satiate them.
“Ms. York! Ms. York! What is your relationship with Francisco Drake?”
“Ms. York, are you in this race to carry on a dream that your parents failed to achieve?”
“Peg! Peg! Over here! Do you still believe in a world above the clouds? Do you think your parents are still alive?”
Tears rolled down Peg’s face, but she wiped them away before the buzzards with cameras could notice. She bulldozed her way through the crowd and ran all the way back to the starting line. It had been over 20 years since her parents left and it still hurt like it was yesterday. She could remember the way her mother smelled of pine when he hugged her for the last time. She dug her fingernails into her palms and commanded her brain to stop. The next leg of the race was starting and there would be no time for tears.
🌱🌱🌱
The next part of the derby was longer than the first with each leg designed to be progressively longer until they reached the clouds. While the duo didn’t have to worry about missing their alarms this time, they now had a whole new set of problems. However, there was no time to dwell on them as the gun went off signaling the start of the race. The team zipped up to the head of the pack.
“Need a boost Josie!” Peg yelled from her seat.
Josie loaded coal even faster into the furnace and then slapped hard on the walls of the locomotive. This signaled Peg to gun it as she zigged and zagged past other racers. Speed wasn’t all they needed in this part of the race. Once upon a time Peg was one of the front runners to win, back when she had a full team nearly 4 times their current group. Even with the lack of support however, her knowledge of the stalk made her a dangerous opponent. Once Midnite Cruiser reached the front of the pack, she knew her team would be a top target for other racers.
Peg and Josie did the best they could. Josie timed each shovel of coal to maximize Peg’s ability to maneuver. Despite their best efforts, it was still difficult to deal with the coordinated attacks from their competitors. Josie noticed they were taking damage to the point that it was affecting their ability to sustain momentum. Then she had an idea.
“Hey!” Josie yelled from the boiler. “How much farther?”
“We’re in the home stretch! Peg yelled back. “Another mile or two maybe.”
Josie loaded the furnace until coal overflowed to the locomotive floor and called out “You’re loaded to the brim, just duck and dodge. I’ll take care of the rest!”
Peg didn’t have a chance to argue because Josie immediately sprang from the shoveling bay. Peg screamed in horror. The speed they were going would surely flatten a girl of Josie’s size the moment she hit the ground. Peg slammed her eyes shut for a moment to not witness the bloody mess.
However, when a moment passed and she heard no screams, Peg opened her eyes to witness something she couldn’t believe. Josie was running alongside Midnite Cruiser and all the other vehicles in the pack, keeping up with their speed. As dirt and rocks kicked up around her Josie was kicking and punching it away. Peg didn’t know how she’d gotten so lucky. Against all odds, against all the doubters, she somehow had hit the jackpot. She somehow recruited an absolute monster.
Josie bounced around the area, swatting away everything she could. She had gotten so comfortable, that she was even sending some of the debris forward towards the other teams. Peg cheered on her teammate who was already making her way back onto the train. The coal she had overloaded was reaching its end but Josie was there just in time to refuel. Once they reached a steady speed, Josie stuck her head out the side to see the remaining competition. There were only a couple dozen teams directly in front of them, one of whom had a familiar red haired man standing out back.
“Well if it isn’t the Dream Girls" he guffawed, “looks like you’ve made it to the big boy part of the race. Are you ready to give up yet?”
“Hell no!” Josie yelled, sticking out her tongue at him.
He whistled and a few of the other teams fell back, surrounding Josie and Peg. They had no room to dodge, which was an issue since Tony was now using his good hand to roll a huge boulder to the end of the giant vehicle. He kicked the stone, sending it flying straight towards them. The size and the speed would crumple both their locomotive and their bodies.
“Josie! Get back on Midnite Cruiser!!”
“But I can break it easy I just-”
“I got it! Just get back on!”
The boulder barreled at alarming speed towards them and Josie decided now wasn’t the time to argue. She leapt up and back onto the train, hanging onto the side railings near where Peg sat. When she latched on, Peg pushed a few buttons and pulled a pair of levers.
“Alright,” She said, tightening her seatbelt. “Hang on tight!”
She pulled hard on one last lever and as the boulder came close to impact, sharp metallic blades protruded from the front. Josie used her free hand to cover her face but through her fingers she clearly watched Midnite Cruiser pierce through the rock like a needle in cloth. As they zoomed past the exploding debris she also passed the other racers who were now all stopped due to the chunks of boulders slammed into their vehicles. Peg screamed in celebration as the finish line drew closer. Josie turned and flipped off Tony one last time as he shook his broken hand at them.
🌱🌱🌱
“...AND RISING UP THE RANKS, THE SLEEPING SIRENS ‘MIDNITE CRUISER’ IN 18th PLACE!”
The second leg of the Race was complete. Though Peg didn’t love their team's epithet, she was happy with their progress. Josie had become the race’s new superstar. Every reporter was drafting some variation of the headline: “Tiny Tyke Goes Toe-to-Toe with Trains!”
Josie had never been surrounded by a crowd this big. Reporters from every direction were rapid fire demanding details about her entire life story. She started to understand why Peg had scolded her for bombarding Francisco with so many questions. Luckily for her, Peg knew all about the spotlight. She dragged Josie away before she could get too overwhelmed. However, once inside the privacy of Midnite Cruiser, Peg had her own questions.
“How the Hell did you do that Josie?”
“Do what?”
“DO WHAT?! You were running with trains!. What the Hell are you?!”
Josie took a bite out of the sandwich she packed earlier, swallowed and gave a big toothy grin.
“Just some girl, I ain’t nothin’ special.”
Peg didn’t know how to respond, so she just let it go. What was most important was that they survived another leg of the race and climbed up the ranks. After eating a well deserved lunch, the duo went about their usual plans. Josie stayed behind to make basic repairs and upkeep while Peg went into town. Once errands were completed they discussed strategy for tomorrow’s race before going to bed.
🌱🌱🌱
“ALERT! ALL ENTRANTS IN THE MILLENNIA DERBY PLEASE REPORT TO THE SQUARE. I REPEAT, ALL ENTRANTS IN THE MILLENNIA DERBY PLEASE REPORT TO THE SQUARE!”
Turns out they didn’t need alarms this morning. The surprise announcement was more than enough to wake everyone in a ten mile radius up. The competitors arrived, wiping sleep from their eyes to find a group of suited men on the center stage.
“ We have very unfortunate news, “ one of the men started, “aside from more dropouts, we’ve learned that there has been a fatal accident”
The word ‘fatal” was enough to shake awake anyone still groggy.
Another man continued, “Tony Zepps, ranked 9th, was found dead outside his lodgings.”
Images of the man were displayed on a crude projector. While the quality wasn’t great, Josie instantly recognized the face. It was the red haired man who had been terrorizing her since she arrived in Rootshin days prior.
“We have yet to determine the cause of death, and we will be spending the day investigating. Therefore, we will be postponing the third leg of the race until tomorrow. Thank you for your cooperation. If you have any information that can help please find a race coordinator.”
The important men hurried from the platform, fielding none of the questions being yelled at them. The formerly docile crowd erupted in a cacophony of sound. Theories and accusations spread like wildfire.
Not wanting to dwell on the event, Peg recommended that they use this disturbance to get a leg up on the competition. She suggested that they double check everything with Midnite Cruiser and stock up on supplies. Josie decided to stay behind, needing more rest so Peg chose to use this early start to head into town.
🌱🌱🌱
The usually busy market was a ghost town. Peg was able to walk to each vendor, taking her time to examine the best wares. A walk through a market where she could relax and not think about the race for a moment felt like a breath of air after a long swim. When her shopping was complete, Peg stumbled upon a restaurant. It was the busiest place she’d seen all morning and the scents coming from the inside smelled divine. All her focus on the race, especially in the last year, meant a lot of late nights and quick meals. Rummaging through her pockets she found a few leopold coins and went to grab a quick bite.
She found a table by the street when the sun hit her dark skin perfectly. Not too hot nor blinding to the eye, yet Peg put on her sunglasses anyway. The waitress came to her moments later and suddenly her hunger became near overwhelming. She smiled, taking a glance at the woman’s name tag that read ‘Babs.’
“Hi Babs, I skipped breakfast so I’d like to try your Bean and Cheese Omelette.”
Peg didn’t get a response during her order. She looked up from her menu and was startled to see the waiter glaring at her. She hadn’t paid enough attention when she first looked over but the woman’s hair was dirty blonde, and greasy. Her eyes were sunken in and she chewed loudly on gum.
“Are you ok?” Peg asked.
“Drop out.” she said between smacks of spearmint.
“Excuse me?”
“Drop out of the race and we can make things very worth your while.”
She reached into her apron revealing a large envelope filled with money. Peg took a moment to register the offer being presented before she sighed and replied.
“No.”
The waiter’s expression changed to confusion as she spoke “Excuse me? Maybe you didn’t look but there’s over 2 million Leopolds…”
“I don’t care how much money you have, nothing’s stopping me. This isn’t just some race to me.”
Peg stood to her feet, grabbing her bags, and leaving in a huff. She didn’t bother looking at the waitress again to see her response. She had little interest in staying there a second more and she no longer had an appetite. She was making her way down the street when she noticed something in one of her bags.
There was a small folded piece of paper on top of her goods that she didn’t recognize. She briefly wondered if it was a receipt as she picked it up to examine further. The small piece of paper was folded tight and she couldn’t imagine someone had folded this by hand. She didn’t see any writing but as she turned it around the paper popped open like a solved puzzle, but Peg’s prize was not something to be excited over. She yelped in pain as the once tight paper lodged a shard of glass right into her palm.
To Be Continued