Hidden Blood-Book1: The Call of the Constellations

Chapter 6: Fighting Stings(literally)

Late in the last remaining hours of night, the train came to a stop. The area around me was polluted and murky. It deserved to be called depressing. Piles of coal and ash reached the night sky like mountains, smoke covered the moonlight, and there were people around me covered in dirt and ash.

"Hey, Jimmy! Start unloadin' the cargo," one of the workers said.

After the worker gave the order, two other guys in bright green vests walked towards the cart I was on top of. In a panic, I grabbed my bag and walked over to the other side of the train. But before I could jump off the side, I felt something tug at my leg. I turned and saw Max gripping to my leg. He looked up at me with pleading eyes, practically begging me to take him. I doubt I couldn't take him with me, but I couldn't leave him here either. So to save myself from guilt and him from this environment, I gestured him to go in my bag. Max waisted no time and scurried in the bag, making himself comfortable.

Once he was situated, I zipped up the bag, tossed it over my shoulder, and hopped off the cart. I landed firmly, yet softly on the ground. But despite how quiet I was, someone behind me noticed I was there.

"Hey!" they yelled. "What are you doin' here?"

I turned around and saw two of the workers looking at me. As they made their way to me, my mind told me one thing: run. Like an idiot, I did exactly what my paranoid mind told me to do. I turned away from them and dashed in the opposite direction. They continued to yell and run for me. Hearing them only provoked me to run faster.

I was so focused on getting away from them, I didn't notice what all I could trip on. That being said, I tripped and fell harshly on the ground. My sweater was covered in ash along with my skin. I felt so dirty that it bothered me. And that's saying something given where I'm from. As I got up, the workers got closer. I tried to run again, but the trip took a toll on my leg, giving me a limp. In an attempt to hide, I limped between two train carts on the other side of the train. I then went under the cart (don't do this at home) and hid there until they passed me.

But before I was even half way through, they were already on the other side of the train from me. "Alright, kid, come on out!" one of them said. I just froze and curled up in a ball out of fear. I was so close to my goal, my effort couldn't go to waist.

"Just grab the rat," the other suggested. This then forced one of them to cross over to me. I remained silent and shaking. Once he was over, he paused for a moment. "Hey, there's nobody over here," he said. Despite what he said, I remained frozen. "I think he got ahead of us, c'mon!" Both him and his friend ran up the side of the train supposedly looking for me.

I opened my eyes and looked at them run away. I looked at them utterly confused until I heard a loud horn go off. I looked in the direction of sound source and saw a big truck with a long trailer on the back of it.

Honing in on the sound, I heard one guy giving orders to the driver. "There's a load you need to pick up near Long Island. Get there and get back," he said.

"I need to get on that truck," I thought out loud. Despite my leg's condition, I still tried to get to the truck as fast as I could. Thankfully, I made it just in time. I managed to find a spot on the back of the truck without anyone seeing me.

As the metal, motor monster of a vehicle left the desolate environment, I heard someone yell, "Dang it, Jimmy! You let 'em get away!"

Poor Jimmy

***

For a good thirty to fifty minutes I've been riding on the back of this truck. It's driven along the outskirts of New York City. I gazed at the lights the city emitted. They blend in well with the stars in the sky. Though the stars were beginning to fade away into the rising dawn, they still persisted in amazing me. Once we were far enough from the city, we came to a stop. By the looks of it, we stopped at a gas station for trucks like the one I'm on.