I made it onto the early train, but only because it didn’t depart on time.

  Forlorn faces told me that everyone heard the raging gunfire, and maybe even some shrieks. Chances of a breach were slim, but they all grew up with stories of what happened when the defences did not hold.

  I was more worried for the departure to be postponed. Didn’t relish having to stay the night in a town I didn’t know well – especially after the stunt I just pulled.

  The delays excruciatingly plagued me even after the take-off. Roughly halfway, a whirling rubbery mass besieged the tracks. Train halted. The on-board sentries couldn’t engage an animal this big in fears of it damaging the precious steel lifeline. Leaving a humongous corpse on it was undesirable, as well.

  “… Informed, and we will await for assistance here,” speakers announced and nobody had the decency to as much as groan, so I filled in.

  This was as abysmal as the times I had to abandon the ride and complete a journey on foot – because that’s exactly what I was about to do.

  All this holdup, even before the first interchange! Rest of the day was bound to be filled with mind-numbing delays, crammed in between the moments of sporadic rush. Connecting routes adjusted accordingly. Sometimes.

  It was makings of a long day.

  As the train maintained its stoic face-off with the calamity, the panicking passengers made me wonder whether I’ll reach my destination at all. Some cried, other stuck their heads out through the windows to waft their delicious fear all over the swamp. The third group took potshots at the curious fauna inspecting the dallying can of delicacies, hence starting a frenzy.

  I hated being around people. Sentiment tripled in life-or-death situations.

  My own unease was on the rise, too. Invasive species were commonly nocturnal, so this show of hands was unusual. I neurotically checked my paralysed, tightly wrapped arm. It couldn’t have done anything unsavoury to call its buddies this time.

  All this activity couldn’t possibly be happening because I failed to locate the rest of their quartered buddy. It was impossible for these strange organisms to be impatient. They didn’t operate on human parameters.

  However, it has been nearly a year.

  I heard the heavy rumbling of engines before anyone saw the army trucks. Perhaps this purgatory won’t take an eternity.

  Murmur among the passengers gave me a new jolt of queasiness.

  The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  “Black?”

  “Why are they in black?”

  Jurrojan army in charge of Safe Zone Three and the surroundings was adorned in greys.

  “What’s that emblem?”

  Without them telling, I knew. I had the copy of it in a pocket!

  Whilst everybody was busy gawking, I was going to use the opportunity to clamber out on the opposite side. Didn’t want to chance it – even if they were here coincidentally. The ravenous wild beasts were a safer bet.

  Didn’t get the chance to act.

  A crippling screech plopped me down onto the seat. Reached for my ears, but only a single hand came up to muffle an unbearable noise. I pressed a side of head to the shoulder. It hardly helped. My brain felt scrambled. Ears could have been bleeding for all I knew. I couldn’t tell. Didn’t have the faculties to.

  When the unexpected assault stopped, I was a complete mess. Could hardly catch breath. Eyes, nose dripped fluid. Ears still rang. The fingertips were red. Nobody paid me any heed, looking all happy and boisterous. Kalantans must be performing laudable miracles and doing humanity proud. Other people didn’t seem to be affected. Fight was still going. I felt the vibrations rather than hearing them through the persisting tinnitus.

  Got up and shakily slunk towards lavatory. At this point, I didn’t care if Raktkalis’s men packed me up and threw inside a trunk. I could not run and everything was acceptable – as long as there was no more of that sound.

  It was so awful. I still wanted to vomit. I did. Curled up by the barely cleaned public bowl and shook, lamenting ever crossing paths with that psychopath afresh. Each encounter stripped me of more and more. And he wasn’t even here!

  He wasn’t. The voice issuing the commands belonged to someone else. More importantly, I wasn’t deaf! I would be overjoyed, had I had the strength. After all, without my hearing I would be nobody. Grim prospect I didn’t even dare considering.

  Rubbed red fingertips together. Damage to the animals inside my head wasn’t permanent. Or they healed faster. I simply didn’t know. Never got whacked with ultrasonics quite this badly.

  Slowly recovering in my less than ideal corner, I followed faint sounds of battling outside.

  “Higher! Aim higher!”

  Soldiers drove the mammoth away and proceeded to batter it with various other tricks. Some were efficient, others less so.

  The passengers loved their spectacle.

  “I’ve never seen that before!”

  “Yeah, me neither. Must be testing new weapons.”

  Did I need to see?

  “I’d rather they didn’t do it here.”

  They worried for nothing. Hardened veterans were perfectly capable of multitasking. Structure of national importance, and everyone on it, would be fine.

  “Petuk! What are you doing? Chase down that digger!” a command completely unrelated to the primary threat has been issued. The man was shouting, but was otherwise calm.

  They had to be running a simple practise drill over there now. Sergeant Kaulakis must have preferred the company of wild beasts to the one he was assigned to guard. And frankly, it was reasonable.

  Was there anyone left to babysit Raktkalis? His troop was split up three ways, and heavily penalised last night. The brat was just asking to get jumped.

  Knowing him, that was the plan.

  The loudest engine slowly yanked its burden forward. I lurched, but my stomach remained where it was, and I got nauseous again. Screak of metal against metal split my head in two. Days when I had the honour of meeting Raktkalis somehow all were like this.

  Disembarking in my final station of the day, I felt only marginally better. Some passengers settled on the benches, others splurged to rent a nook upstairs.

  Haven’t yet decided upon my sleeping arrangements, I just meandered behind a column to check my usual digital venues out of habit. I already had my hands full with Raktkalis, but flipping the information I already possessed? Easy money.

  Found a message.

  “Return it.”

  I smirked like a madwoman. The ridiculous slight yielded quantifiable results! That dismissive princeling felt outraged enough to actually write. The horror, the tediousness! After the day I’ve had, this felt like a balm on my soul.

  As funny as this was, he likely was pissed off beyond measure. Raktkalis wouldn’t have broken radio silence otherwise. Abrupt words were a command – unmistakably so.

  This was not about the coffee.

  I might have overlooked something incredibly important. Missing document was bound to cause trouble – diplomatically, or bureaucratically. It was a proof of identity, among other things. I had to hope princeling had no ceremonies to attend. The private joke might become very public then, and it would get blown out of proportion. Or in direct accordance. Stealing the crest was serious offence. I even posed as bastard of their line to use the damn thing in the imported goods shop.

  I did not want to go back on the list of most wanted.

  I chewed on my lip nervously. He did indirectly ask for a small distraction to lighten up an almighty lord’s day. Or was this closer to how I sent him off to get slaughtered?