The human brain begins to develop memories around the age of 3 years old.
However, many people might be able to recall a few memories from before that age, and Grace Fleming was one of them. Her first memory was from when she was still in her crib. She specifically remembers being anxious to get out of bed one morning, and instead of waiting for one of her parents to come get her, the small toddler had decided to crawl over the bars herself and landed painfully on the ground with a thud. The impact to her head must've temporarily knocked a conscious into her, she would joke.
The act of practically getting flung over the fence by her parents just now was like a slightly more painful reenactment of the memory.
It was the only way she could live, they said. They couldn't all make it to the train together. She was smaller and faster than them, at the young age of 9 years old, which meant that she had a better chance of getting there quickly and could squeeze through the crowds. However, her parents couldn't. If they tried to go with her, they'd slow her down, and none of them would make it.
She had to go alone.
Little Grace tried to protest, tried to encourage them to come with her, but their fate had already been sealed. They refused, and told her to run.
Run now.
Run as fast as you can. Get on that train. Yes, that one, the big one. Go now, you'll be okay, it's going to be okay.
The little girl was about to open her mouth again, to try and protest further, but another voice had interrupted her.
"Departure in 10..."
"Grace! GO!"
The girl had no choice now but to run. Partially because she knew her time was limited, and partially because crowds of people were pushing her around and gradually beginning to tear her away from the fence.
The train wasn't all that far away from her, so if she ran and squeezed and fought enough, perhaps she could make it before the countdown was finished. Luckily her parents were right in their assumptions that her youth would make it easier for her to slip through the crowds attempting to hurry on board.
Though the heavy snow and cold slowed her, biting at her skin and bones, she was still slightly faster than the others, and swifter too. But the issue was, she didn't have nearly enough strength as the adults did, and they weren't afraid to use brute force. It didn't help that violence was starting to break out around her, spiking even more panic and outrage, which caused people to knock the child around and bruise and hurt her.
But the slight injuries had to be ignored. Her primary focus was making it to the train. The problem was, the front of the train was the most crowded and heavily guarded.
"3..."
Shit. Grace was running out of time. If she had any chance of survival she had to let pure instinct guide her. Without a thought she slipped through people no matter how hurt she got or how many times she fell or how many times she flinched from the sounds of gunshots and screams. She had to block out the fact that bodies were dropping dead around her, she had to keep running. There was no looking back or stopping.
"2..."
Finally, she had managed to climb her way up the steps that lead inside the train and away from the cold, scrambling away from the angry mob that was quickly incoming. Grace panicked and hurried into a more desolate corner where less people were violently barging in.
"1. Departure."
Instantly, the doors began to close, shutting out the rest of the mob and muffling their screams and shouts. A series of sounds like puffs of steam, clicking gears, and rumbling followed the closure of the doors, and soon, the train began to move, leaving everyone outside behind.
Grace sat there frozen with fear. So much was going through her head. What will happen to her parents? Where are we going? What's going to happen to those people outside? Where am I going to stay?
As if she wasn't scared enough already, a group of people covered in heavy gear stormed into the car she and a large crowd of people were in. They reminded her of a villain's goons from the children's shows and movies she would watch back at home—an army full of uncanny, intimidating soldiers, wearing armor or uniforms that no weapon could penetrate. Just like the characters, the energy surrounding them was as cold as the air outside.
But unlike the innocent cartoons, made to be more child friendly and goofy, these soldiers were armed with real weapons that they didn't seem hesitant to use. A lot of them, actually. Firearms, spears, axes. Grace swore she could even spot a bit of blood on some of them.
The other difference was that many of these soldiers had their faces completely covered behind odd black masks, making it unable to read any expression on their face. Somehow, it made them even more terrifying, even more inhuman. Everything about these guys felt off to the child and she found herself subconsciously slinking further into her corner to hide from them, only watching their next moves.
"HURRY! GET TO THE BACK!" A man shouted, urging the people behind him. Chaos broke out the moment he cried out, beginning with the soldiers raising their weapons and stabbing and injuring the people before her, with stowaways screaming and fighting and pushing their way to safety. Bloodshed quickly ensued, with violence so unhinged that it seemed as if no one cared to realize that the lives they were ending were the only lives left. Some people were even thrown off the train before her.
The 9 year old kept trying to scurry back at the traumatic sight, but she was quickly running out of room. She was trapped here between the corner and the soldiers with nowhere else to go. However, the mob was continuously being pushed further back to the end of the train, so she hoped that they'd be able to make it into a different car without spotting her so she could escape safely.
And her wish almost came true.
Almost.
"Wait, stop," one of the masked soldiers spoke, his voice muffled and dark. Grace flinched. She hadn't heard one of them speak yet, and their voices were just as unnerving and mysterious as the rest of their getup. "It looked like we missed one. Look."
To the young girl's horror, the man pointed at her, hiding behind her cold metal shelf. Grace's blood ran cold, and she filled with anxiety as a group of about five men marched over to her, getting into a formation that was like an arc, leaving her trapped in every direction with people in front of her and the wall behind her. One held a gun, two with spears, two with axes. She wondered if the one with the rifle was a leader of some sort.
The men pointed their weapons at her. "Hey, kid... do you have a ticket?" The middle one, the same man with the gun, asked. His voice was just as stern as he spoke to her as it was when he spoke to the adults. It became clear that these soldiers were not afraid to harm her, even if she was just a mere child.
"I-I-I... u-um... I don't... I don't know..." Grace stuttered weakly and quietly. The little girl's heart was pounded at an alarming rate.
"It's a simple question," the leader said, his tone harsher than before. "Do you, or do you not, have your ticket?"
Grace wasn't sure what to say. Frantically, her eyes darted around the room, looking for anything or anyone to help her. She could hardly see around the men due to their bulky uniforms, but when she looked by the gaps between their legs, she unexpectedly locked eyes with another child. A younger one than her, a boy, hiding behind some boxes on a shelf. Somehow he looked even more terrified than she did and he wasn't even being threatened. Grace looked away before any of the guards could notice that she was staring at him. She didn't want him to be found too.
"I... I-I don't..." she whispered.
Following her response the soldiers looked at each as if they were silently communicating something behind their blank static masks. They were quiet, and so was she, and so was the boy, and so was the mob, as they had already been shoved off somewhere else by the rest of the dark army. Everything was silent. For Grace, it was the most suspenseful silence she would ever encounter, as she knew what they were plotting in their cold heartless minds.
She knew that they would feel no remorse killing her, and the rifle pressed against her forehead proved it.
Tears freely flowed down Grace's cheeks, even with her now screwed shut eyes, trying block out the sight in front of her and brace herself for the shot that would inevitably be fired. She still hoped, still hoped that someone would find her, that maybe the boy across the car would get someone, that maybe something would happen that could distract the guards. But her hopes must have gone unanswered because she heard the rifle pressed up against her head make a click sound.
And then she heard a loud SLAM sound.
After that slam, she didn't hear or feel the gun go off, although she still braced herself seconds after she noticed that. But soon more than just a few seconds had gone by and there was still no impact, so she curiously and fearfully opened a singular eye, trying to find out why things had suddenly stopped.
Someone new had walked into the room that caused the men to lower their weapons and turn their heads. It wasn't a soldier. Instead it was a woman, one with tied-back black hair and a uniform that comprised of a teal jacket and skirt. Curious at the new individual, Grace opened both eyes to get a better look.
Her green eyes seemed tired and puffy as if she had been crying. In fact, her entire demeanor seemed saddened and pained. The look on her face, the way she walked, her general energy.
But that sad look instantly morphed into some mix of disgust, horror, and anger.
"What the... WHAT THE FUCK? What do you think you're DOING?" She shouted. The soldiers glanced from Grace to the woman, nervous and at loss for words.
"Uh... she doesn't have a ticket, ma'am," the one with the gun said, using his rifle to gesture towards Grace.
"So you're going to kill her?!"
"Well, I mean, yeah- you heard what Mr. Wilford said," he tried to reason, his voice more wavered and high-pitched. The woman marched over to them absolutely furiously.
"So you're telling me that you'd shoot a child without any kind of hesitation? Get the hell out of the way," she shoved one of the guards out of the way to get a closer look at the little girl.
"B-but, Mr. Wilford said—"
"I don't give a FUCK what Mr. Wilford said," the woman yelled with pure anger and irritation. "You know what Mr. Wilford says? He says get the fuck out of here! We're not... we're not losing any more kids today."
"Wait, did he actually—?"
"GO!"
A few confused looks were exchanged from the men, but hesitantly, they decided to leave the car, leaving the woman and the little girl alone.
It was at the sense of perceived safety that the girl finally started to break down panicking. Sobs, pants, struggling breaths began to attack her as thoughts raced in her head about what could have happened and what might happen next. For Christ's sake, she was just about to be shot by some terrifying Squid-Game-esque guards just now.
"Oh, uh, hey," the faculty member in front of her stammered. "Hey, I'm going to need you to calm down, okay? It's alright. I'm not going to hurt you."
Grace wasn't seeming to calm down much. If anything, she was flinching harder when a hand tried to touch her.
"It's okay. My name is Melanie Cavill, I'm the Head of Hospitality on this train. Do you know what hospitality does?"
"U-um..." Grace squeaked. "They... they help people...?"
"Yes, exactly," Melanie smiled. "They help people. That means I'm here to help you, alright? Can you tell me what your name is?"
"It's... Grace... Grace Fleming..."
"Thank you, Miss Grace. Now, are your parents here with you?"
The child looked down at the ground. "No... they're... they're still outside. Mommy and Daddy."
Melanie visibly tensed. Her voice became choked up from the emotions she desperately attempted to suppress.
"I... I see."
"I don't know where I'm going to go," Grace said fearfully, finally making eye contact with Melanie for the first time.
"Hmm... well, here's the thing. We were actually going to set up a school on board in a few days here. Perhaps, if you'd like to join classes, I can let you stay in one of our living quarters until we open up? You could be our first student," Melanie offered, gently taking Grace's hands once she figured she had enough trust to do so. "I'll show you around the train, too. Don't worry, we'll help make you at home here, okay?"
"I..." Grace sniffled. "O-okay. Thank you, Miss Cavill," she smiled at little. Melanie smiled back.
"Of course. I'll take you to one of the rooms we've been saving for our students. Come with me~"
~~~~~
"Come, now. Nearly there."
The small group of most likely only 200 people struggled to push their way through the heavy chilled winds and dangerously low temperature. Some had collapsed due to exhaustion and frostbite already, actually. The chance of survival was next to none in temperatures of this kind.
Which is exactly why Wilford wanted these people on his train.
If they could survive these kinds of conditions, they must be extraordinary assets for his plan.
Halfway through his journey, he noticed that one of his most prized members was falling behind.
"Alexandra? Is something the matter?" He asked, turning back when he noticed the girl had stopped. He noticed that she was staring off towards Snowpiercer's track.
"I'm worried about going too far," she admitted, her eyes still fixated on the track ahead. "If mama comes back, I don't want her to find me missing..."
"So would you rather wait back at the station for an entire revolution?" Wilford said in a joking yet rude manner. "You'll starve by the time Snowpiercer comes back. No, you'll freeze before then, actually. You'll be better off coming with me."
"But... mommy's probably worried about me," Alex said sadly. Wilford chuckled.
"Oh, come on! You saw it yourself. She left you. Cared more about some train than her own daughter, hm?" He remarked. "If she's willing to do that, then I doubt she's worried about you. Now come on, keep walking."
Alex frowned with great sadness. Could Wilford be right...?
Oh well. There was no time to dwell on it now.
Big Alice was just up ahead.