Elemorts

Chapter I - Jayrock

A cacophony of screaming and wailing filled Jayrock's head as families poured out of the park, herded by the commandos.

The park was a one-eighty-acre expanse divided into thirteen different sections, each with multiple attractions. Everyone secretly believed searching for the bomb was futile. They could only cover so much ground in such a short time.

Intelligence reports said the terrorist was still on the premises. The only thing more futile than searching for the bomb was searching for the terrorist.

But Jayrock still searched. He scoured the rides in the Sandy Desert, the area designed after the most inhospitable regions of Grebros, the Lofty Mountains, capturing the immensity of the mountainous lands in the north of Grebros, and the Majestic Mesa, affording a spectacular view of the miniature canyons and ravines surrounding it. Neither he nor any of his comrades turned up anything. By now, he was wondering how much longer he would have to spend on this wild goose chase until he saw a ride go up in a blaze.

Just as Jayrock was about to take a look at the Dromedary Bumper Cars, he heard a familiar hoot coming from far behind him. He turned around to watch the Fun Grebrik Express approaching. He had seen it before coming toward the entrance and assumed it would stop there. Apparently, the train had completed its round and had begun its next one.

Jayrock's muscles tensed for a moment, and then he burst into a sprint. Only one place left to go to now, he thought.

As he raced back toward the entrance, he took out his transceiver. "Come in, command, this is Petrolons. The bomb is on the train. I am headed toward the operator's room to stop it. How copy?"

"Copy that, Petrolons," Sandywick immediately responded from the other end. "How did you discover it on a moving train?"

"That's exactly how, sir, it's still moving. It was supposed to stop and unload at the entrance."

There was a pause, but Jayrock could sense what was coming. "So, you're basically acting on a hunch?"

"It's not a hunch, sir. There are passengers, probably still on that train, waiting to be let out. Somebody obviously did not let it stop." Jayrock paused to catch his breath. "Could you please redirect a locomotive to pick me up — so I could get to the operator's room faster?"

Sandywick hesitated. "That's going to take a lot of time, Petrolons. You will probably get there faster if you just hurry. I'll direct one to move right alongside the train. They will jump in and defuse the bomb if it's in there. You just do what you can. Out." The transmission crackled off.

If Jayrock were not panting as he ran like he never had, he would have let out a sigh. He found himself hoping he would be in time to save hundreds of innocent children from certain death. And so, Jayrock kept running, his legs taking great strides as if of their own volition, his feet pounding against the concrete pathway.

Soon, he could make out the outlines of the restaurants back at the entrance. As he moved closer, his eyes rapidly scanned the buildings around the main avenue for the train station. He noticed that the train tracks disappeared behind the buildings on the right side of the road before reemerging.

Jayrock bolted toward a small alley between two restaurants on that side, to alight on the back. With the bright lights and the noise behind him, it was much darker and silent here. Ahead of him were vast undulating fields dotted with shadows of hardy plants.

Surrounded by a grove of date palms, a few feet in front of him was the station. It was a pillared structure with a flight of stairs leading up to a railed balcony. Where is the operator's room?

As Jayrock strafed to the left to catch a view of the fields beyond the station, he caught sight of a decrepit, boxlike, wooden structure tucked between two argan trees in the distance. It had two windows on the side facing Jayrock, and there was a faint, bluish glow coming from inside.