Convergence

    As usual, Chieko was among the first of the travelers to arrive on the platform. On days like this, she could hardly contain her anticipation. She loved traveling, adored the mountains, and looked forward to meeting her traveling companion. It was a game of hers. She always bought one ticket in a double cabin, just to meet a random stranger and try to get to know them. Some people turned out to be reserved and elegant, others stuffy and recalcitrant. A few were bubbly and fun. To Chieko, it was a friendship lottery.

     She filed into the car, jostling luggage about. The corridor was narrow and carpeted- one side was an expanse of windows, the other, doors to the cabins. She found hers easily, being an old hand at this sort of thing.

     Her compartment was far from roomy, simply a pair of bench-like beds about a foot from one another. The wide window had a blind and a curtain. The GelbFaust found herself hoping that her companion was not one of those types who liked the curtains closed. Another game of hers was trying to guess the identities of lit-up shapes as they whizzed by in the night. She stowed her luggage in one of the racks, plunked herself down on her chosen bed, and awaited her mystery guest.

     The young woman who arrived took Chieko’s breath away. A conductor carried her luggage and settled it into place for her, while she sat gracefully in her place opposite the GelbFaust. She was a bit tall, but by no means gangly or lanky. Everything about her seemed perfectly formed and proportioned, as though she’d been carefully crafted rather than born. Her hair, glistening strands of chestnut brown, highlighted with a paler tone, was swept up neatly. She had an aristocratic bearing, her slightly pointed chin tilted a little upward. Her neck was long and pale, her face composed of features perfectly sized and laid out with precision. Her eyes were pale brown, large, and heavily lashed. Her nose was long and straight, her mouth neither thin nor full, but somewhere in between. She was wearing a black suit and yellow shirt, both designer and obviously tailored. Chieko gazed enviously at her silver and citrine necklace. If she’s not Empirian, nobody is. It was also a game to guess the Clans of her cabin-mates.

     At first, Chi felt sulky and grey, imagining herself as a squat, bulky mass in jeans and a tee shirt. However, that feeling faded as she noticed another, familiar one begin to creep in. It was her “temple feeling”, that odd tingle. She started to feel hotter, then the burning feeling replaced the pins and needles.

     “Kind of hot in here,” she managed to choke out to the other girl, who she noticed looked equally distressed. She doesn’t feel it, too, does she?

     Finally, giving up on trying to ride out the pain, or to feel better, Chieko lay down and curled into a ball. I must be sick, she thought. At last, the feeling passed. She looked up to find the beautiful girl slouched over and hugging herself. She looked up and noticed Chi watching her. She quickly regained composure, her gaze turning icy.

     “That was weird, huh?” queried the GelbFaust in a casual tone.

     “Certainly was,” answered the beautiful girl coolly.

     “My name’s Chieko. Kawamoto Chieko… but most people call me Chi.” She stood up and extended her hand. The beautiful girl shook it. Her fingers were soft, long and pale.

     “You may call me Kat.”

     “So, where are you headed?”

     “A resort out west,” she answered vaguely.

     “I’m going to my cabin in the mountains,” Chi said cheerfully unbidden.

     “That’s nice,” Kat answered with sort of a cold finality in her tone. She was beginning to question her haste when she purchased her ticket. Maybe then she wouldn’t be stuck sharing a cabin with the chatty girl.

     This Chieko was certainly not Empirian. She had a free-and-easy manner about her which was not conducive to success within the First Order. Her clothes had a mildly disheveled look to them, despite the fact that they were clean. She wore baggy jeans and green and white sneakers. Her tee shirt was smallish and blue. Chieko was of medium height, and a little on the solid side, not to say fat, just bulky. Her yellow-blonde hair was straight and cut just below her earlobes. She wore no makeup, and her skin was tanned, her face freckled. Her mouth was wide and seemed to be perpetually smiling. Her nose was a bit pert, but otherwise non-descript. Chi’s eyes were interesting to Kat. They were very green, large, and somewhat wide-set. They were so filled with innocence and nonchalance that Kat felt they belonged on a child’s face. Nope, no way is she Empirian.

     It wasn’t long before Chi’s mouth began running again, asking impertinent questions.

     “Can I guess your Clan?”

     “If you must,” Kat answered condescendingly.

     “Empirian! Am I right?”

     “That is correct.”
     “Do me!”

     “I’d really rather not. Look it’s been a very trying time for me, and I’m not feeling very well. I’d like to get some rest. Close the blinds, will you?”

     “Not feeling well?” Chieko chirped away as she reluctantly curtained off the window. “You felt that weird feeling, didn’t you?”

     “Yes, I did.”

     “Have you ever felt it before?”

     “No, I haven’t. Now, if you don’t mind-“

     “I have.”

     “How unfortunate for you,” Kat’s voice sounded almost robotic by this point.

     “Aren’t you curious about what it is?”

     “No, actually, I’m not. I’m tired.”

     “You’d be curious if it happened to you before.”

     “Perhaps, but it hasn’t. It’s over now, and I don’t want to think about it any more.”

     “Well, I think it’s really strange.”

     I don’t care what you think! Kat screamed inside her head. She had enough problems without worrying about that frightening feeling. She said only, “If you’ll excuse me,” and walked off to the bathroom to change her clothes. She stopped a conductor on the way back to complain that one of the stalls appeared to be out of order. In her opinion, those things should be fixed before a train is boarded by paying customers. She had no idea how much a little innocent bitching would effect the remainder of the evening.

     Harata and Blue were practically standing on each other in the tiny stall.  Ayame was still seated on the toilet, kind of slouched in her misery. In her opinion, it didn’t help that the Clanless kept pinching her to wake up. He was afraid she had a concussion, which was looking pretty likely. She’d puked again- she couldn’t help herself. At least most of it was in the toilet, which they couldn’t flush. The awful smell embarrassed her, and thinking about it made her stomach lurch again. All she really wanted was a nap. Everything hurt.

     The sound of a hushed argument alerted the three. They’d been on the train about five hours now, listening to people come and go, chatty voices, sometimes an amorous couple. However, as time passed, the voices became less and less frequent. Something about the argument outside made Harata’s hair stand on end. He tensed, as did Blue. Ayame lifted her aching head.

     “Didn’t I tell you to fix this, Ki?”

     “And didn’t I tell you that I did?”

     “Well, it sure doesn’t look fixed to me.”

     “I’m telling you, I fixed the damn thing! What’s the big deal?”

     “These rich cunts are bitching about not having enough cans. They don’t wanna wait, you know.”

     “Well, don’t let them catch you talking like that. Look, it’s fixed. Maybe the sign’s still up by mistake. That’s all.”

     This was it. Their cover was blown, miles out into the middle of nowhere. They could hear one of the men fiddling with the latch. Harata glanced down at Ayame, willing her to understand that she would need to stick with them, wherever they went. She gazed back up at him and nodded, her deep brown eyes looking tired and dull.

     As the door swung open, Harata’s foot shot out, catching one of the hapless attendants in the chest. He fell back against the other man, and both of them tumbled against the sinks opposite the lavatory stalls. There was a sickening crack as one of them hit his head.

     Blue, Harata, and Ayame scurried out of the restroom. They had about five seconds before the guards were on them. As the train swayed to and fro, making its innocuous journey through the countryside, the three banged through a door and went rushing through a lounge. It was empty, being the middle of the night. Thankfully, most of the passengers would be asleep. If they could just make it to the back of the train…

     They could hear a couple of guards banging around behind them. The men would close fast, having better knowledge of the train’s layout, and being used to the sways and lurches of the train. Harata, in the lead, found himself following his instincts. He felt himself pulled along, as he’d been in the Parks. Some force pulled him forward, planting and idea in his mind, a very bad idea.

     There was a commotion out in the hallway. Chieko sat up and rubbed her eyes. The angry-sounding noises were getting louder. She stretched, yawned, and turned on the light. In the other bed, Kat stirred and mumbled,

     “Hey…”

     “Do you hear that?”

     “Yeah, somebody’s probably drunk. Turn the light out, will you?”

     “I’m curious.”

     Chi was standing near the door, listening. Kat, enraged, wished she could muster up enough consciousness to slap the GelbFaust and turn the light back out.

     Ayame ran face first into Harata when he stopped. They were in the middle of a corridor. There was nothing but cabins in the car, and out the wall of windows, all was black. Not a single light dotted the surrounding darkness. Why did he stop?

     He stared at the door in front of him. Don’t be locked, he prayed. In answer, there was a little snick! as the bolt was undone. The Clanless reached forward and yanked the door open. Guards crashed through the doors on either end of the car and began barreling toward them.

     Chieko was standing face-to-face with a very handsome, if somewhat scary-looking man. She’d been about to open the door and take a peek at the action outside, but it seemed that the action had found her first. She stood there staring, trying to ignore the fact that she was feeling tingly again. He reached in the door, and in one fluid motion, shoved her onto the bed and flung another woman into the cabin. He was followed by a second man. Weird she found herself thinking. Night’s Herald.

     The good-looking, though apparently insane man slammed the door shut and locked it. By then, the tingly feeling had grown, spread, and begun to burn. Chi heard Kat whimpering, tried to ignore her. As usual, the awful feeling ebbed. It wasn’t as bad this time as it had been in the past. Must be getting used to it, she thought.

     “Get up,” the black-and-white haired man said.

     “Harata…” the Night’s Herald began to say something.

     “We’re getting off this train.”

     Chi’s gaze shifted to the woman as she got up off the bed. Did they do that to her? She was battered and swollen, but she must have been beautiful. Her hair was strange, though- very long and straight… and purple. All three of them had weird hair, she realized.

     In the meantime, Kat was struggling into a soft, cheetah-print robe, gazing at the men defiantly. And then she noticed the knives. The glint off the blades chilled her. What could she do? What was even happening? In a quick motion, the taller man with black spiky hair and dark eyes had opened the door again. He reached over and grabbed her wrist, twisted her arm behind her back. She cried out as she felt the blade against her neck. The Night’s Herald did the same to Chi. They filed out of the room, the broken woman trailing behind, her swollen face set with determination.

     In the corridor, the guards stirred with dismay as they caught sight of the group emerging from the room.

     “Stop the train and let us off,” Harata said loudly, his voice cold.

     “Let the girl go!” barked one of the guards.

     “Let us off the train, or the ladies here get it.”

     The guards, vicious and Angemal though they were, had no experience in hostage situations. There hadn’t been even one in the history of the railroad. In fact, it was pretty much unheard of to have stowaways. The guards served more as a deterrent from such crises than as a force to defuse them. They looked from one another to the hostile threesome and back again.

     Harata pressed the knife a little more forcefully against Kat’s graceful neck. She heaved a sob, tears streaming down her face. He couldn’t have asked for a better captive. She looked absolutely pathetic there in her sexy bathrobe, crying her guts out.

     The guards conferred for a moment, then one broke from the group.

     “Where’s he going?” The Clanless demanded.

     “He’s going to instruct the conductor to stop the train,” answered one of the guards. He anticipated Harata’s next question, and stated, “The emergency break would stop us real quickly- we’d all end up on the floor. Don’t want any accidents.”

     “Can I have your word on that? Any hassle…” He looked menacingly at the blade.

     “Yeah, sure.”

     The Clanless turned to Ayame.

     “Go back in there and get their shoes.”
     She went obediently. By the time she’d returned, the train was coming to a stop.

     The three fugitives and their hostages made their way to the back of the train. When they were outside, Harata motioned to Blue, who turned Chieko over to him. He’d let go of Kat’s arm to grab the GelbFaust. Blue hopped off the train, then reached up and pulled down Chi, only to resume threatening her with the blade. Harata passed Kat over to Ayame, who took the other girl and held her knife against her back.

     It was then that she realized that she’d have to make a decision. She hated threatening these women. She knew what it was like to feel what they felt now. She had no idea what Harata and Blue planned to do with them. And yet… on the other hand, here she was, a Dauern with a knife to an Upper Clanswoman. She could make this woman pay… she could kill this girl before her… but then she would die as well. If she went forward with Blue and Harata, they’d eventually be caught and she would die then. Ayame struggled against herself. She could turn around and aim this woman back at the guards. Ayame could save her…

     For a brief moment, she recalled her mother. She’d been a beautiful, quiet woman, and a wise one. It seemed to Ayame that she’d only made one mistake in her short and troubled life. She trusted them, the Dauern told herself. Her mother had once risked everything to aid an Upper Clansman- a GelbFaust. She saved him. They killed her anyway. Ayame’s mind filled with the image of the last time her mother had ever held her- the day she was Taken. Her mother’s last words filled her ears, telling her to be brave, be strong, and that she was loved. Ayame, now standing in the night, her own difficult life shattered around her, was engulfed in hate and loss.

     “Move it,” she said flatly and shoved Kat off the back of the platform. Harata caught her and held her roughly as the Dauern leapt from the back of the train.