Werewolf On A Train

The First Day

Alene didn't freeze. She'd bundled herself up against the weather in her fur-lined coat, mittens and big winter boots. You couldn't even see her face, covered by a dark brown scarf and with ski goggles protecting her eyes.

The snow had fallen all through the night, and with the morning the wind had picked up. She'd stayed the night Niezca's place, but her friend had taken one look out the window and decided to stay inside. She would see Alene off from the comfort of her own kitchen table, rather than follow her to the station.

Alene didn't much mind. She and Niezca never really talked anymore. They'd said all that needed saying long ago. It was okay anyway. A hot cup of tea and freshly baked bread, directly from the oven, spoke more than words could.

They'd hugged and she'd left, and that was that. Now she stood on the platform outside the great hall of the station house, looking at the train coming to take her away.

It had been a tough walk. Normally she'd get from Niezca's to the train station in half an hour. This morning, it had taken her nearly twice as long. The wind had thrown itself at her, torn at her clothes, and she'd struggled every step of the way. It had even tried to lift her off her feet a few times.

Tried. Alene, though slight of frame, was no stranger to weathers of the mountains and knew how to curl up against a wind to keep from being thrown. Her training and experience came in handy, even here in the city.

How long would that aid her? Where she was going they didn't have mountains like this. Would the winds be different too? Here, she knew how to read the clouds, knew when the storm would come, when to move and when to sit tight. She could survive here – even without her condition – but how long would that last her once she left the mountains behind.

Krufskva was a small country, and while she'd been outside it a few times – to Ulmland in the north, and Kyrvaia in the south – she'd never been away from the Snaggfell Mountains. She'd see the plains. Flat horizons. Skies that went all the way to your feet. She'd see things.

Now, she saw the train. A massive colossus in black and red, it had rolled in under the roof that covered the platforms and ground to a halt. On the station house speaker system a friendly voice announced that the train from Klief to Mesk, Yrvak, Ruskifskij, and Gladspone had arrived and was ready for boarding.

Alene once more checked her ticket to see which car she was in – number eight – and hurried over in the direction to where it must be. Behind her, passengers started pouring out from the station house's great hall.