The train was at a stop late at night. Stars twinkled in the sky and served as a weak light source against the dark sky. A dog’s paws padded across the metal train interior. Finn lifted himself up, over the side, and into the train cart before turning around and helping Cassidy inside. He squinted towards two boys, the only other passengers in this space with them. “Would you look at who’s jockin’ our style now!” He exclaims, but in an loud hush. They were sneaking onto a train, after all. “We’re trendsetters, Cass!”
No matter how quiet Finn thought he was being, Cassidy felt he could be even quieter. She raised her index finger to her lips and shushed him. Her attention turned back to the brothers. “Hey.” She greeted softly. “We peeped all those cop cars back there.” And it was a sight to see! It took at least five minutes for Finn to fully convince her he hadn’t done something more illegal than normal.
“Peep it we did.” Finn confirmed, thinking back to the same moment of watching police cruisers rush over the icy road and in one specific direction.
“That’s a ton of activity for a small town.” Cassidy observed, sitting down across from them. “Do you mind if I sit?” She was already sitting but she had no problem getting up and sitting on the other side of the train if need be.
Finn still seemed amused to even see them again. “Good thing you two booked it before you caught a bad case of the police.” He fanned in front of his face, like he just caught a whiff of an awful smell. “Terrible sickness to have.“ He raised his index finger, remembering something. “Now that you’re here, It’s only right that we fully welcome you to the Finn and Cass Express.”
Cassidy rolled her eyes. “I don’t call it that.”
“She doesn’t call it that.” Finn waves her off. “But she should. And you will, unless you want us to kick you right outta the cart.” He pointed towards the open space they had crawled in through.
Cassidy felt the need to clarify. “Joke.” She said.
“Obviously. So, again, welcome. Open arms, open hearts.” Finn seemed to mime what he was saying as he said it. Arms open, arms closed. “How’s about a quick run down, uh... Cass?”
Cassidy was glad to explain the ropes to new hoppers. She wanted to save them as many scraped knees and sprained ankles as possible. “If you don’t’t already know, conductors usually switch shifts every twelve hours.” She explained.“Sometimes that means the train won’t move for twelve or a different conductor hops on and takes it from there.” She shrugged softly. She didn’t exactly have access to the train conductor’s handbook, but from what she’s observed, that was true. “Either way, these are the best times for bathroom breaks and supply refills.”
“Amazing, thank you.” Finn clapped. “Now that that’s outta the way, let’s get nitty and gritty.” He sat down next to Cassidy as he paused for dramatic effect. “Let’s talk about you boys and Seattle.” Their faces were all over the news and he wasn’t going to waste an opportunity to learn the ins and outs about what went down straight from the source. That was assuming they were the source and all those fires in the area weren’t just random happenstance.
Cassidy shook her head, sparing Finn a glare that told him to be cautious, to be empathetic, to be considerate of the fact multiple people died at the scene of the... accident, which she figured it was. “You don’t gotta if you don’t wanna.” She told the Diaz brothers.
“But if you don’t wanna just remember... kick!” Finn made a flicking motion with his index finger and thumb, miming a kick. When Cassidy pushed him, he clarified. “Joke.”
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