Final hours - Part 1

--- 30 hours left ---

"Fancy meeting you here again." Perros looked up, again seeing Luma putting down a wooden cup of water.

"How are you holding up? Do you need anything? Do you CRAVE something?"

Perros slowly raised his head. Exhausted, hungry, and still all bruised, he spoke softly.

"I have nothing to say to you." Perros said in a hurt tone.

"You have lied to your people. You have lied them about me. You won't get away with this..."

Luma thoughtfully gazed into nothing, narrowing her eyes.

"Honey, this is the second time I've heard something similar from you." Luma turned her sight to Perros.

"One thing is lying. Although I do intend to make good on my words... The other thing is you. Chained here, all bark, but no bite... Don't make promises you won't fulfill, it creates an impression you're an idiot."

"And I'll say it in advance, don't blabber about your friends saving you... Don't you remember what happened the last time you trusted someone?"

Turning around again, Luma retreated into the shadows.

"Enjoy the last hours of your life. Tomorrow is your D-day. I hope you're ready..." Luma's voice echoed through the space.

"What do I crave?" Perros subtly smirked.

"Your death..."

--- 25 hours left ---

"That should be the train station." Tio looked into the distance.

In the remote lay a small decaying wooden structure resembling a house.

"So we'll take the train... Across the SEA? That seems a bit impossible, not gonna lie." Esco said.

"Exactly. Despite the fact that I haven't ridden it yet, I'm quite excited." Tio smiled.

"And as I said, it is one of the inventions from the minds of the bright scientists in Old York. Don't ask why or how, just be glad it works."

Slow but surely they approached the station, and as soon as they were a few minutes away, a train appeared over the horizon.

"See, we'll even make it in time." Tio triumphally said.

"Yeah, we'll have good places to sit." Esco said sarcastically.

"Shut up and behave, these people don't know you... yet." Nazo said seriously.

"Ay, ay, substitute cap'n." Esco said jokingly.

When they stopped at the station, the train was already stationary. A person was approaching them steadily.

"Look, there's the conductor. Quick, put your guns in your bag, they're prohibited on the train." Tio opened a larger sized bag between them.

"Morning, gentlemen, I assume you plan to board the train." The conductor swayed on his feet.

"Animals are only allowed on the train with muzzles, however, given that you are the only ones boarding the train at this hour, I'll let it slide." He looked at Esco, smiling haughtily.

"Thank you sir, but we also have a bag with us... So, do we pay extra for it?" Nazo asked.

"There is no need for that. Given our dimensions, this still qualifies as carry-on luggage." Conductor leaned closer to their bag.

"You can pay for your tickets on the train. Mind if I---" The conductor quickly grabbed the handle of the bag, but so did Nazo.

"That's all right. I can carry it myself." Nazo plucked the bag from the conductor's hands.

"Seems pretty heavy to me. Would you mind telling me what you're carrying in that bag." The conductor asked suspiciously.

"Ehm..." Nazo unsurely sounded.

"You know, just basic stuff for a parade." Tio took over.

"A parade?" Asked the Conductor.

"Esco here is going to participate in a animal parade near Old York." Tio smiled.

"Sit boy." Tio looked at Esco.

"I. said. SIT." he said through his teeth.

Esco growled and despite his reluctance did as Tio told him.

The conductor looked at his watch and sighed.

"I'm sorry, gentlemen, I'd love to lay eyes on your dog here, but if you want to get on the train, you ought to do so at once." The conductor turned and headed for the train, as did Nazo and the others.

"It's them. Keep your eyes peeled." The conductor whispered to one of his colleagues.

--- 22 hours left ---

"This ride is endless. There's nothing to see outside but the sea." Esco got bored.

"We haven't been on the road even an hour." Nazo rolled his eyes.

Suddenly a wave hit the side of the train.

"Oh, crap---" Nazo urgently stuck his head out the window.

"You don't look well, cap'n." Esco laughed.

"Shut the---" Nazo couldn't even finish the sentence.

Esco's laughter echoed through the carriage. A few seats behind them was Bruno and in the next line was Tio. Koon took a spot in the back where he could fit his wheelchair.

"What's on your mind? You've been awfully quiet since we got the station." Tio leaned toward Bruno.

"It's just... what you said about Koon... that we should watch our backs around him." Bruno said worriedly.

"We've been with this guy for over a year now, and to think he's been plotting something all this time doesn't seem right. He's been acting weird since you showed up at that saloon in Tera, all secretive, maybe it's true... what you said."

"Don't take it that way. Don't make my words a burden to you. Maybe he's changed... those words were just my opinion of him... of him I knew back then." Tio subtly looked back.

"Listen..." he took a deep breath.

"I don't want to be your life coach or anything, but... You have to make your own picture of people, and the only one who can help you do that... is time. With time, a person's true colors come out. So, as long as you didn't see them shed blood for you. Don't take 'em as a friend."

"Wow, that's---" Bruno was interrupted by one of the conductors.

"Inspection of luggage." Conductor stood behind them.

"We've already told your colleague that there's only stuff inside for the show." Tio took the lead.

"Then you don't mind if I look inside." The conductor stepped closer.

"Do you?"

"I guess..." Tio bend down and paused as he unzipped the bag.

"It can't be helped." he smiled as he stuck a shotgun barrel into the conductor's face.

"NO---" Tio pulled the trigger.

The wagon froze, they couldn't believe what Tio had done.

"Are you insane?" Bruno raised his voice, but Tio ignored him.

"Hold it, old man, this wasn't the plan." Esco jumped up on the backrest.

"They weren't part of the plan either..." Tio knelt down and took the conductor's card.

"'Undercover spies'?" Esco sounded surprised.

"Undercover, my ass." Tio threw the card away angrily.

"Luma sent them... she knows we're coming."

"So what now?" Koon stepped closer.

"Wouldn't you like to know, huh?" Tio glared at Koon.

"She must have had an hunch we are coming. But we could've gone there by boat, hell, even swim. Though she's a resourceful woman, she could have dispatched more people..." he thought.

"So?" Esco asked.

"We take over the train." Tio tossed the shotgun to Bruno and the rest of the weapons to others.

"Take this as your training... Kill anything that moves, but let at least one live. If possible, driver would be the best choice..."

"Bruno, you take front. Esco, will go with me. We will take the back." he pointed.

"Nazo... you stay here with Koon" Tio sighed.

--- 15 hours left ---

"T-That's the l-land! I swear they don't know you're c-coming." Driver stammered in dismay.

"I hope so." Bruno picked him by his collar and tossed him into the sea.

"You didn't have to do that." Esco spoke up behind him.

"Well, but I did... Let's get back to Naz and Koon." Bruno headed for the center wagon.

When Bruno opened the door of the middle cart, he saw Koon and Nazo, but he couldn't see Tio.

"You look better, Naz." Bruno smiled slightly as he walked around him.

"Thanks---" He rushed his head out the window again.

"Was he here?" Bruno asked.

"Yeah, but he ran off somewhere... Tio refuses to tell me anything." Koon rolled his eyes.

"Here. Put this on." Tio quickly closed the door behind him.

"When we get to the station, we can't get caught. Which means we have to cover this whole mess up."

"Meaning?" Esco looked at the clothes Tio had brought.

"Meaning, we'll have to BE the conductors." Tio unbuttoned his shirt.

--- 12 hours left ---

"So you're telling me there were no passengers at all?" The officer asked incredulously.

They stood side by side and collectively they shrugged their shoulders.

The officer rubbed his face and sighed.

"Sir, it's midnight and our shift is over. We ought to get home." Nazo said and left, followed by everyone else.

"Have great rest of the day." echoed around the corner.

"Yeah, you too. Wait..." The officer came to a realization.

"You weren't in a wheelchair before, Hopkins!" he rushed after them.

As he came around the corner, he saw only a cloud of dust behind them as they hurried away on a cart.

"Damn you!" The officer shouted into the distance.

--- 6 hours left ---

"That's it, right?" Nazo squinted his eyes into the distance.

"Should be. We'll see once we get there." Bruno thoughtfully said.

Tio also looked into the distance and confirmed.

"Gear up. We're approaching Old York." Tio handed them the equipment, except for Nazo.

"Take the whole bag... Proceed as planned."

Nazo placed the bag beside him on the driver's seat.

--- Old York ---

"Hey, hey you. Psst..." Female voice echoed through the dark.

"At least call me by my name... Is that too much to ask for?" Perros said in an offended tone.

After several unsuccessful attempts to open the door to Perros' cell, she finally managed to get it open. Her footsteps echoed in the shadows until she got close enough and stopped.

"You're in even worse shape than before." She said and chuckled.

Perros grunted and lifted his head. To his surprise, it wasn't Luma.

"Anna?!" Perros sounded in surprise.

"What are you doing here? I'm already chained up, as you can see..." he rattled his chains.

"That's... what I'm here for." Anna humbly said.

"I want to get you out. And I'm truly sorry for what I did... I was just following orders."

Perros slowly shook his head in disapproval.

"Go away, please. I don't trust you, nor do I want your help." Perros said disappointedly.

"But---" Perros interrupted Anna.

"Go. Away." Perros said in serious tone.

Even though she didn't want to, Anna turned and left as quickly as she had appeared.