Night of the Aurora (Salmon Run - Book 1)

Chapter 8

Sasha Neeley ran forwards, scooping up the ball. "Grow up, Jacob!"

She threw the ball towards the back of the car with the strength and aim that would be the envy of any basketball coach. A roar of laughter erupted from the back causing McRoyal to turn and glare at them. Hawk noticed Zach slide down in his seat, as if hiding.

Sasha flopped in the seat in front of them, pushing her coat down her shoulders. "Boys."

"You mean jocks," Zach said quickly.

"How about teens?" Hawk suggested, resulting in an offended "Hey!" from both of them.

"The night is long, and yet our journey will be short," the Solar Express said. "Next stop is Salmon Run."

Hawk repeated the first part. "What did that mean?"

Sasha grinned, leaning over the back of the seat, "The computer says all sorts of things. It's one of the things that makes the trip so much fun. Mr. Bardeaux had fun programming the Artificial Intelligence for the train, I think."

The front door of the passenger car opened. Mr Goodwin stomped through it. He threw his weight against the door, trying to slam it shut. Instead, the door slowed and closed with a soft hiss. 

He flung himself into the first empty seat he found and harrumphed. 

"I give up on sleeping," McRoyal muttered. Sitting up straighter he asked in a louder voice, "Get in some good shopping, Winston?"

Mr. Goodwin gestured towards the front car. "Ask the woman. I didn't want any new pants but she bought them anyway."

"You're upset about new pants?" Sasha asked.

"Upset? With the state of the economy we can't go throwing money around! Who knows if we'll get any customers in the bed and breakfast. Sure didn't this last summer! At least I get my coffee with the Men's Club. Thanks to Ms. Simpson I had to sacrifice the healthy breakfast for it."

"She just wants you to look nice," someone from the back said.

"A good wardrobe inspires confidence in lodgers," McRoyal said with a wink towards Hawk.

"The Aurora dances above us to the music of the sky," the computer voice suddenly said. "Join in the dance."

Hawk looked towards the ceiling in surprise. A ripple of laughter went through the car.

Sasha grinned even bigger. "There it goes again."

Hawk pointed out the window, "It knew the lights got brighter."

And it did. If it had been bright before, it was now almost daylight. The sky filled with the dancing lights, illuminating the landscape so brightly that it reflected into the train.

"That's amazing," Zach mumbled.

"And rare," McRoyal added. "This kind of a display comes only once in a decade, if not longer. Enjoy it while it lasts."

Hawk jumped and yelled at something grabbing his foot. He slammed himself against the back of the chair, seeing the mangy head of Darnit doing something to his foot.

"Darnit, what are you up to?" McRoyal demanded.

Hawk shook his foot, hoping it wouldn't incite the dog to bit him. Zach clapped his hands at the dog, but when he reached down for him Hawk grabbed his hands before he got too close to the head. Sasha reached over the seat but her arms were too short to reach the dog.

McRoyal reached over and grabbed the collar, pulling the dog back into the aisle. "Darnit! Stop chewing!"

"He needs something to do." Sasha came around the chair and grabbed his collar. Darnit looked up at her with a big toothy grin. She frowned at him, "You haven't exercised enough."

McRoyal shook a fist at Darnit, but the dog ignored it. "Wearing him out won't do any good."

"He needs to eat?" Hawk asked weakly, surprised his voice even worked. He looked down to find his boots covered in dog slobber. "What was he doing?"

"You have new boots. They smell good. I suppose he wanted to see if they also tasted good," McRoyal said.

Sasha gestured to Zach. "We'll take him on a walk and I can show Zach the train. Do you mind, Mr. Callahan?"

"They can't go far. The train isn't big," McRoyal assured him.

"And don't worry about Darnit. I have him," Sasha added.

Hawk wouldn't have minded a tour himself, but no way was he going with the mutt.

He moved out of the way to let Zach out. "Don't let the dog nip you."

Zach clomped by in his big boots, which Darnit immediately took an interest in. "I won't, Dad. He's annoying, not dangerous."

The two disappeared through the front door, Darnit following them with his tail wagging, looking up at them as if on an adventure.

McRoyal sighed, leaning back again. "Sorry about that. He came by his name honestly. Rest up while you can."

Hawk slipped into the seat next to the window. His heart was still beating hard from the encounter. He turned his attention to the landscape sliding by, letting the aurora capture his attention.

It wasn't hard. He didn't think it possible, but the lights were glowing even brighter than before. He could see why tourists came up just to see them. They were amazing.

Zach burst through the front door of the cabin, his face flushed with a grin. With a groan Hawk heard Darnit bark from somewhere behind him.

"Dad, they weren't kidding about the AI. The engineer let us peak inside for a few minutes. You should see the computers in there! All encased in steel. The inside looks as good as the outside."

Sasha trailed behind him. "Mr. Landon said you could come up to see it if you wanted to. He was interested when Zach said you were a computer programmer."

"But he said you couldn't touch the systems on the train," Zach said with a laugh. "They don't want to mess with anything that is working."

"The sun flares, and the aurora dances. This unit is now in safe mode until the duet is finished," the Solar Express said.

McRoyal sat up and the conversation in the car died out.

"What's happening?" Zach asked, grabbing the back of one of the seats.

Sasha leaned over to look out the window. "The train is stopping."

"We can see that. Why is it stopping? Are we near Salmon Run?" Hawk added. He put a hand over the warm air vent, noting that the rush of warm air had ceased.

"Nowhere near Salmon Run," McRoyal said, sitting up in his seat and stretching.

The speed of the train dropped off. The lights dimmed, half of them shutting off completely. A downward slope increased their speed a bit, allowing the train to coast through several turns of the tracks.

The train glided to a stop at the end of a curve in the middle of a clearing among the trees. Several other lights extinguished leaving the inside of the passenger car in shadows.

Hawk looked around the cabin, but none of the passengers were concerned. A few stood up to get things out of the overhead compartments while others returned to their conversations. The teenage boys passed the basketball from one to the other.

McRoyal stood up and stretched again. "And this is where all that new gear comes in handy. Time to break out the snow pants."