A Journey into Uncharted Territory

The view was fantastic. We traveled in the tunnels for a while, which was what I was expecting. I’d been across town with Kelly several times and used the UL on my own to go to the post office and run small errands. But I’d never been out of the city proper. I was not prepared when the train suddenly ascended and burst into the daylight.

“Is this Denhaven?” I asked Brandon, pressing my nose to the window in excitement. “It looks so different.”

“We’re in the suburbs now,” Brandon said with a laugh. “But yes, this is still Denhaven.”

Below the elevated tracks were neighborhoods not so different from the ones I’d grown up in. Tidy little houses with fenced yards and hedges. It was so familiar and yet so foreign. The high rises of downtown twinkled in the distance, and I thought of Kelly, alone in the strange hideout that had become our home.

“This elevated portion of the track is called the City Circular,” Brandon said. “Sweeping views of all of Denhaven.”

“Is that why we took this line instead of the direct route?” I asked, glancing sideways at his face. “For the view?”

“The view is nice,” Brandon said, lowering his voice. “But no.”

“It’s because of me, right?”

I tried to sound light, like I wasn’t worried. Brandon turned to me, his brow creased, trying to look at my face despite the charm and failing. He finally gave up and looked out the window.

“Yes,” he said simply, putting his hand on mine and squeezing.

Passengers began to thin out as we traveled, reaching their destinations and deboarding in a steady stream. Not many were going all the way to South Gate, it seemed. Each station had its own design and its own character. The further from the city we got, the more interesting the scenery became.

“Are those real mountains?” I asked, pointing to the ring of green-capped mounds encircling the grid of suburban neighborhoods.

“No,” Brandon said, squinting out the window. “But they’re lovely, aren’t they?”

I couldn’t peel my eyes away from the changing view flashing outside the window. Brandon napped while I soaked in every detail. At least, he tried.

“How far to South Gate?” I asked, looking at his reflection in the window.

He opened one eye and pointed to the electronic schedule on the wall. In my excitement, I had completely missed it. A long line with station dots, each titled with the name of its stop, hung in relief on the wall at the front of the train car. Denhaven was on the far left, and South Gate was on the far right, a moving dot traveling slowly down the line between them. We were a little less than half-way there.

“Brandon,” I turned, and he slowly reopened an eye and looked at me. “What’s next? What should I be ready for?”

He sat up straighter and stretched. I wasn’t sure how much he wanted to tell me. My imagination had made it up to be top secret; the less I knew, the better. But it turns out he’d just been waiting for me to ask.

“We get off in South Gate,” he said, his eyes flicking to the moving dot on the schedule. “A friend of mine is meeting us there. He’s our escort to the Sea Haven Express and an old friend.”

Brandon looked like he wanted to say something else, then stopped and glanced around the car at the mostly empty seats around us.

“We went the long route so we could board the Express at a more rural station,” he said, his voice low but conversational. “Grand Central has new scanners, and I’m not sure how they will interface with a real human. I didn’t want to take the chance. South Gate has the same scanners we passed through earlier. No problem.”

“Those scanners,” I said. “Are they only for distance trains?”

“Yes,” he said. “You haven’t had to deal with them before because you’ve only used the 1 and 2 lines. Local city transit.”

I nodded, my mind flashing to the Chaos goons and their infiltration of the local UL station. The Order had made quick work of them, but I wondered how fast the response might be out here in the suburbs. Brandon stood and pulled the knapsack Kelly had carefully packed for us from the overhead rack.

“And your friend?” I said, my stomach growling as he pulled out a wedge of cheese and some of Kelly’s crisp bread.

“Franklin,” he said, handing me a crisp. “He can be trusted.”

“Right,” I mumbled through cracker crumbs. “I assumed.”

It seemed like Brandon had friends everywhere we went. I was excited to meet a new contact but also a little hesitant. It’s hard to predict how animals will react to me. I’d be lying if I said it didn’t stoke my anxiety. But I trusted Brandon.

Brandon nodded. “I booked us a private room on the Express, so it should be a nice ride.”

“How long will it take?” I wondered how similar the express would be to long-distance trains I’d ridden in the Overworld.

“It used to take two days,” he said. “But with the new rail improvements and upgraded engines, it’s just an overnight.”

“Wow,” I said, rummaging through the bag for the dried fruit and popping an apricot into my mouth. “And when we get there?”

Brandon glanced around the car again. There were a few animals sharing the space, all several rows away from us. A sleeping monkey snored lightly in the back, and a pair of herons chatted quietly in front of us.

“Let’s talk about it later,” he said, nodding slightly to the animals sharing our car. “Enjoy the view. We may not come back this way.”

We rode in silence for the better part of an hour. Brandon snoozed, and I watched Denhaven grow more suburban out the window.

Our car was empty by the time we pulled into the South Gate station. A few animals lumbered onto the platform from other cars, stretching and looking around. It was late afternoon, and the distinct lack of city buzz caught my ear. As I struggled with our bags, Brandon strode down the platform toward a fox wearing jeans and a blazer.

“Franklin,” Brandon called, walking fast down the platform and waving.

The fox turned and looked at Brandon, and his expression gave me pause. He didn’t look happy to see him, and he didn’t try to look at me at all. If anything, he looked resigned. Something about him stirred nervous moths in my chest.

“Thanks for meeting us,” Brandon said, shaking Franklin’s hand and nodding over his shoulder to me.

Franklin shook Brandon’s hand but distinctly did not look my way. I reminded myself that I was wearing the charm. He was probably just being impacted by the misdirection of the magic. But a cold shiver spread from my shoulders up my neck.

“The Express is late,” Franklin said, jumping over any niceties.

I chided myself for being paranoid. It was fine. He was probably just slow to warm up. That’s not so unusual. We both reached down to pick up one of the suitcases, and my hand brushed his. He jerked it away as if I’d burned him and stepped back, his eyes darting to Brandon.

“I told you this was pushing it, Brandon,” Franklin said, rubbing his hand and pointedly not looking at me. “How do you always manage to get yourself in these strange situations?”

“Listen, Franklin,” Brandon said, stepping slightly in front of me. “I know this isn’t your preference, but we’ve been friends a long time.”

“That’s the only reason I’m here,” Franklin said, sniffing and shoving his hands in his pockets.

“And I appreciate it,” Brandon sighed and picked up the suitcase in question. “I thought we might be able to catch up, but maybe we just head to the station?”

“I think that’s best,” Franklin said.

“Of course,” Brandon said as Franklin strode purposefully toward the parking lot.

Brandon tried to smile at me, but no amount of wordless reassurance changed anything. I looked back at the number four train as it pulled out of the station and sighed. It was clear Franklin did not want me here.

-JPS