Midnight Rail

by daOtterGuy

Call of the Wild VI

“So, I have to sign this?”

“Yes. So you can begin working.”

“Why?”

“So you can begin working.”

“But the conditions are—”

Bang.

“Listen, brat. You’re in the Stacks now. You don’t get to complain about anything anymore. You do what we say and you don’t end up on the wrong end of the Red Coats. If they don’t outright kill you, you’ll end up in the Dump. If you think here’s bad, wait till you get a load of that place.”

“That place being…?”

“Where all the unwanted garbage goes… Like you. Now, sign.”

“…”

“Why’s the penalty gotta be total memory loss?”

“Because if you die, we lose a worker. Even brain dead, so long as you’re physically functioning, we can still get work out of you. I’ve put up with enough of your snark. Now, sign or I call the Red Coats.”

---

“Right then. That’s my cue to bounce,” Pipsqueak announced.

“Your cue to what?!” Scootaloo exclaimed.

“My job was to get you to the Trauma, then return to Leap for new orders,” Pipsqueak replied. “I’m just a scout, London. I can’t go into that place with you.”

“So, you’re just gonna leave me to deal with all of this?!” She gestured wildly at the metal archway. “On my own?!”

“I have to.”

Scootaloo clenched her fists tight, fingernails digging into her palm. Someone touched her lightly on the shoulder. It was Golding.

“Take all the time you need to say goodbye,” Golding said.

Then he left. As much she thought he was a knob, she appreciated the gesture. She took a deep breath to forcibly calm herself down. Pipsqueak stared at her with his usual placid smile. It was always frustrating how she could never really tell how he was feeling.

“Why would you make a big show of apologizing, then bugger off when I need you the most?” Scootaloo asked.

“Because as much as it sucks, Leap is my boss and my contract says I haveta listen to’em,” Pipsqueak said. “I might not be your favourite person right now, but you sure won’t like me if I get blanked.”

She hated to admit that he was right. “I wish you didn’t have to go.”

“Yeah, I know.” He rubbed her head with a hand, leaned in close, and whispered, “Sorry again, Scoots.”

“...I’ll see you at the next Trauma then?”

“Probably.” His grin widened. “That is what Leap wants me to do.”

“Okay.” Scootaloo nodded. “Now, get your hand off my head, and never touch it again.”

He jerked his hand away and tucked it in the pockets of his pants.

“Noted,” he said. He waved to the rest of the team. “See y’all around!”

“Great to see you again, old friend!” Verhoeven replied.

Pipsqueak lowered his hand uncertainly, confused by Verhoeven’s words. “Ugh, y-yeah, I guess?”

“Oh! Make sure to grab some more allergy pills!” Verhoeven added. “You never know when your hay fever might act up again!”

“I don’t—” Pipsqueak shook his head “—bye.”

Then he left. Scootaloo didn’t care. And she definitely wasn’t crying. Shelley just gave her a tissue because the smoke was making her eyes red.

“Are you ready, darling?” Shelley asked. “We can always—”

“Let’s just get this over with,” Scootaloo interrupted.

Her and Shelley joined the rest of the team by Verhoeven, who was mid-monologue about what he found out about the Trauma. Scootaloo could already tell from how little he breathed that he would be her most annoying compatriot yet.

“...To be a living breathing factory! Truly a twisted interpretation of a traditional industrial manufacturing plant. I would love to spend more time studying it—” Verhoeven noticed her approach and waved “—But the lady of the hour has arrived, thus concluding this brief introduction to the Trauma in question. Now, before our entry, there are three important things to cover: our main objective, equipment to assist in our Trauma-delving efforts, and a small personal message from myself to the team.”

“Will this be as ‘brief’ as your ‘short’ findings on the Trauma?” Salinger groused.

“Alas, yes. For I have been told by Leap directly prior to this mission that when explaining things that I should, and I quote, ‘get to the damn point’.” Verhoeven clapped his hands together. “Now, let’s start with the first order of business. The goal. What have you been told thus far?”

“That we need to destroy all the Deviants hiding inside,” Grahame answered.

“Smash’em real good!” Poe added.

“No, that is not the real goal here,” Verhoeven said.

“What? My understanding was that we were no better than an overglorified cleaning crew?” Shelley said.

“There are plenty of easier and more readily available options if that were the case. Certainly, with less exacting requirements.” He scanned across the crowd, his wide smile wavering. “Did Leap truly not tell anyone the true purpose of these exhibitions?”

“...We’re retrieving body parts,” Golding said.

Scootaloo whipped her head toward Golding, shocked by the revelation. By the others’ expressions, she was not the only one.

“We’re—?!” Salinger looked sharply toward Verhoeven “—Whose body?!”

“Someone important, and not someone I am at liberty to speak of,” Verhoeven replied. “The important thing is that our goal first and foremost is to acquire the part by securing the Trauma, which I suppose does mean we are an ‘overglorified cleaning crew’.” Before the team could inquire further, Verhoeven pulled out several items from the depths of his trench coat and tossed them toward Grahame, Wilde, Salinger, and Hinton. “Catch.”

Each of the passengers caught their respective items. Grahame acquired a brooch in the shape of that weird bird from the prior mission Scootaloo had been on. Wilde had a tiara with a heart-shaped red stone in the center. Salinger had a shiny ring with a small figure of a magpie that reminded Scootaloo of the other bird from that same mission. Finally, Hinton had a white butterfly clip.

All the items seemed to pulse with a strange energy that made Scootaloo feel uneasy. She was thankful that none of them had been given to her.

“What are these?” Grahame asked. “They seem… familiar.”

“Abberations. The processed remains of the Deviants we hunted prior. To Grahame, Tears of the Damned, Wilde, Queen Wants Your Head, Salinger, For Want of Everything, and, finally, Hinton, Rites to Rest,” Verhoeven explained. “A unique gift that only Leap can provide. Simply focus upon the objects while they are on your person and you will manifest the abilities of the Deviant in question for a short while.”

“...And why were they given to us?” Hinton asked.

“Abberations require a certain threshold of resonance with the wielder in order to manifest,” Verhoeven replied. “You four are the best suited to those particular Deviants. Though, I would use those Deviants sparingly if possible, as excessive use can be… problematic.”

The unwilling recipients nodded uncomfortably and slipped them onto a suitable place on their person. None of them looked happy to do so.

“Now, to end things, a personal word from me to you all. As Leap has asked, I will keep it short and to the point.” Verhoeven’s smile morphed into a serious expression, pointedly looking directly at Scootaloo as he said, “engage with the Trauma.”

“...What?” Scootaloo asked.

“It is vitally important for our future endeavors that, when we delve into a Trauma, each of us confronts the core of what made it so.” He gestured toward Scootaloo. “As the first, it is even more important for you to be able to find some kind of catharsis from the pain that you had gone through before. Whether that be getting what you need, getting revenge, or just getting on, do what you need to… or we’ll face consequences later down the line.”

“That’s—” Scootaloo scrunched up her face into a scowl “—screw you, weirdo.”

“Ah, yes, my old nickname, weirdo. How nostalgic.” He laughed. “Well, anyways, tally ho and all that! We have Trauma to unravel! After you, dear London.”

He sweeped back, opening his hands forward toward the maw of the beast. There was no more waiting, nothing else to prepare. She would be forced to confront this place whether she was ready to or not.

Forcing herself forward, with each step increasing the dread in the pit of her stomach, she moved toward her goal. Whether that would be in victory or ruin, she wasn’t sure.

Comments

[The Sleepless Beholder]

*remembers the first chapters with Golding*

Ohhhh, that's not gonna be good for those four.

I didn't expect a kind of adorable moment between Scoots and Pip but was quite welcomed among the madness. And speaking of, we're going right into it it seems. Excited to see what terrors come from it.