It was the day Demarcus was to depart Adoy for his university. Demarcus had arrived at the train station with his mother and sister. Jacob was not there, as he had been called out to go fishing. His two friends, Polly and Delford, were also at the train station to take the same train.
‘Now my second son is leaving home,’ said Janice as she placed her hands on Demarcus’ shoulder.
‘Don’t look glum,’ said Demarcus. ‘I’ll come back during school breaks, and I’ll make sure Darius comes back too.’
‘Whatever the case, make sure you are happy,’ replied Janice.
She knew that once family members moved to other regions, they rarely came back.
‘Take lots of photographs. I want to see what these other regions look like,’ insisted Darlene.
‘Sure, after all, you might be moving out that way in a few years,’ replied Demarcus.
‘Or you may choose a local profession,’ added Janice.
The train pulled in. Janice and Darlene gave Demarcus a big hug. Demarcus boarded the train. He sat in the row behind Polly and Delford. Janice and Darlene waved to him from outside the train. The train slowly pulled away from the station.
Demarcus leaned forward to talk to Polly and Delford. ‘Hey, are you guys staying on or off campus?’
‘We’re both staying on campus,’ replied Polly. ‘We currently don’t have a job scholarship or offer.’
‘I’m going to stay on campus too,’ said Demarcus. ‘I’m not willing to commit to a place without even seeing it.’
‘Maybe you’re scared you’ll miss mummy and daddy,’ teased Delford.
‘Whatever happens, the chances I’ll end up working in Adoy are slim,’ replied Demarcus.
‘Leaving home is a little sad, but I’m more focused on this new adventure,’ said Polly.
‘I’ll take in the full experience of higher education plus whatever other gems it gifts,’ said Delford.
‘You guys should join me when I visit my brother in Jeed,’ said Demarcus.
‘Region of the crazies,’ said Delford as he wobbled his head. ‘I haven’t fallen out of enough trees to gain entry.’
Polly slapped Delford on the knee. ‘Be respectful. Darius is going through a tough time.’
‘Not anymore,’ replied Demarcus. ‘He is enjoying himself so much that he has applied to live there permanently.’
‘If that’s what he feels he needs, then good for him,’ said Polly.
Delford made circles with his finger, indicating that he thought Darius was crazy.
About an hour into the journey, they were served hot chocolate and donuts.
‘What donut did you get?’ Delford asked Demarcus.
‘I have a blue iced donut,’ replied Demarcus.
‘Oh wow, I love the blue iced ones,’ said Polly in excitement. ‘Do you want to swap for my sprinkled one?’
‘Hmm,’ responded Demarcus.
‘How about my sprinkled one plus my hot chocolate too!’ suggested Polly.
‘A donut for donut swap is fairer,’ replied Demarcus. ‘I wouldn’t want you going thirsty.’
‘You have got to be joking!’ gasped Delford. ‘We packed four bottles of water.’
‘Whatever for?’ asked Demarcus.
‘Just a feeling I had,’ said Polly as they swapped donuts.
‘Guess who has to carry all these bottles?’ asked Delford.
‘I couldn’t. My bags are full,’ replied Polly as she frowned. ‘Besides, you have plenty of space in your bags.’
The three continued to chat after they had finished their donuts and hot chocolate. They had an enjoyable little reunion. They had had minimal contact since graduating from school.
Suddenly, the train shook violently. Then it tilted to one side. It was as if it was going to fall off the track. Soon, the train screeched to a stop but was tilting to one side. It was as if the track had turned or twisted. Those on the train were panicking. They were afraid the train was going to fall off the tracks.
Demarcus and his friends were sitting on the side of the train that was tilted towards the ground. They could see the ground through the window. The train track was about twenty metres off the ground. Demarcus pulled himself to the centre of the carriage. He helped pull both Delford and Polly away from the window. They were hoping for some sort of announcement, but there was none.
The doors of the train suddenly opened. There was more panic, and the train tilted a little closer to falling off the track.
‘We need to get off the train,’ said Demarcus.
‘No,’ shrieked Delford. ‘We’ll fall to our deaths if we do that.’
‘If the train falls, we’ll die anyway,’ replied Demarcus. ‘Let’s try to get to the back of the train.’
Demarcus began making his way to the back of the train. Polly followed, and so did Delford, but reluctantly. They soon made it to the final carriage. Demarcus climbed up to the last back door. He helped pull Polly and Delford up onto the side of the train.
‘Now what!’ exclaimed Delford as he peered over the side of the train to the drop below them.
‘We climb down onto the track,’ said Demarcus.
The three of them climbed off the back of the train onto the very twisted track. Several other Sapiens followed them off the train. The three of them made their way along the track, distancing themselves from the train.
‘You’re a true survivor,’ said Polly to Demarcus.
‘We’re far from safe yet,’ said Delford in a frustrated tone. ‘The track could collapse under us, or we might be poisoned by the fumes of the wastelands.’
Darius could see that the nearest pillar holding up the track had a metal ladder attached to it.
‘We can get off the track using that,’ he said as he pointed to the ladder.
‘We can’t go down there,’ exclaimed Delford. ‘It’s toxic!’
‘No, not all the way,’ said Demarcus. ‘Just down to the lower ledge, which is not twisted and should be safe.’
‘I agree,’ said Polly. ‘It looks like the safest spot.’
The three of them climbed down to the lower edge, which was just big enough for the three of them.
‘Now we wait to be rescued,’ said Demarcus.
The track had twisted completely sideways, but the train had not fallen off. Some of the Sapiens inside the train were forced to stand on the windows. The weight was too much for some windows. They broke, causing several Sapiens to fall to their deaths. The three just watched as the horror unfolded.
About forty-five minutes had passed since the train had stopped. Several more Sapiens had fallen from the train. Several others had fallen because they had lost their footing on the track.
Demarcus, Polly, and Delford shared a bottle of water as they watched everything unfold before them.
‘Why haven’t they got here yet?’ asked Delford angrily.
‘It’s quite a distance for the emergency services to travel,’ replied Demarcus.
Someone from the track climbed down to the lower platform to join them.
‘Go away,’ shouted Delford. ‘We don’t have room. You’ll kill us all.’
Polly climbed on Delford to make room.
‘Thank you so much,’ said the girl who climbed down; her name was Gilly.
‘It looks safer down here,’ said Gilly.
‘It was until you showed up,’ said Delford.
‘Look,’ said Polly as she pointed to the sky. There were about ten large flying vehicles rapidly approaching them.
‘The enforcers are here to rescue us,’ said Delford in relief. ‘Let’s climb back up so they can see us.’
Gilly began to climb up. Polly followed her. Next was Delford. Demarcus was last.
Demarcus took a few steps. Then he froze. His previous experience with enforcers had given him the jitters. He pictured them holding Darlene upside down over the edge of the railings.
‘Come on,’ called Delford. ‘If you don’t hurry up, we’ll get left behind.’
Demarcus stepped back down on the platform. He pushed his head against the pillar.
‘Your choice,’ said Delford as he continued up.
‘Don’t just leave,’ Polly called out to Delford. ‘Go back down and help him. He is the reason we are still alive now.’
Delford reluctantly climbed back down to the platform.
‘What’s your problem?’ demanded Delford. ‘Do you have a death wish?’
‘The enforcers. They don’t help. They terrorise,’ said Demarcus as he trembled.
‘They are here to save us,’ replied Delford as he stared angrily at Demarcus. ‘Now, come on!’
Demarcus sat back down on the platform. ‘Once they have gone, I can try to walk the rest of the way to the Southern Agriculture Zone,’ said Demarcus. ‘It is only a few days away.’
Delford shrugged his shoulders. He was about to climb up, but he could not as Polly was climbing down again. Delford was forced back on the platform with Demarcus as Polly joined them.
‘We go now, or I’ll leave you both behind,’ said Delford angrily.
‘It’s not impossible,’ said Polly. ‘We have enough water to get us to the Southern Agriculture Zone.’
Meanwhile, the enforcers were loading passengers into their flying vehicles. They were hurrying them along. One passenger slipped and fell to her death trying to get into one of the vehicles.
Gilly did not like the aggression that the enforcers were showing. She decided to climb back down with the others.
‘Do you mind if I join you?’ asked Gilly. ‘The enforcers might be more dangerous than the wastelands.’
‘All of you are insane!’ exclaimed Delford in annoyance. As he said that, the track twisted again. This time, the front of the train came off the track. It pulled the rest of the train off with it. The whole track shook as the train fell. This caused many of the passengers on the track to fall to their deaths.
The four of them stared in shock. After a few minutes, Polly turned to the others. ‘If we had been up there, we would have died,’ said Polly as she continued to tremble in shock. ‘Demarcus has saved us again.’ Delford stared at Polly in both anger and disbelief.
The enforcers rescued the few remaining passengers off the track and left. The four of them waited and remained silent until the enforcer vehicles were out of sight.
‘Let’s head down,’ said Demarcus. ‘We have a long walk ahead.’
‘Yes, that’s right,’ said Delford. ‘Let’s breathe in the poison.’
The others ignored his complaining as they climbed down to the ground. Delford made a makeshift facemask using his handkerchief before climbing down to join the others.
Once they reached the bottom, they saw many of the dead who had fallen from the tracks and the train. They found the sight quite horrifying.
‘Oh, how awful!’ exclaimed Gilly as she looked over at the dead.
‘Let’s keep moving,’ said Demarcus.
‘Shouldn’t we check the train for supplies?’ asked Delford.
‘It’s too dangerous. We can make it with the water we have with us,’ replied Demarcus.
‘Wow, more scared of getting cut on glass or tripping over than poisonous gases that might kill us in an hour,’ said Delford sarcastically.
The four of them walked for several hours, following in the general direction of the train tracks. The ground they had been walking on was covered in a black ash-like substance. Nothing grew out of it. Demarcus stopped to bend down and touch it. It felt very fine, almost like sand.
‘What are you doing?’ asked Delford. ‘This stuff is poisonous.’
‘It’s certainly toxic to plant life,’ replied Demarcus.
‘You mean all life,’ said Delford. ‘You better rub that stuff off your hands before you come near me.’
‘I think we should move a little further from the train line,’ suggested Demarcus.
‘Have you discovered a shortcut?’ asked Delford sarcastically.
‘No,’ replied Demarcus, ‘I’m addressing your concern about the poisonous air and land. I noticed the black stuff is thinner here than when we were very close to the train tracks. It is possible it could be even thinner if we go out further.’
‘We must be careful we don’t lose sight of the train line,’ said Polly. ‘We could become lost.’
There was no immediate media release regarding the train crash. The only information that was announced was in relation to delays in train services. The rescued passengers were taken to an out-of-region facility further north. The Head Enforcer informed the representatives of the neighbouring regions of the accident. They reported to the governors in the Capital Region. The media were waiting on instructions from the governors as to what information should be released to the public.
