The Express

            Zack, 7th grade

The train was rushing down the track, and the outside blurred together as we passed down the countryside. I closed my eyes and took an inhaled deeply. The calm atmosphere enveloped my body and mind. The train seemed to be determined to get to Chicago.  I, unfortunately, was not. I don’t know why but I signed up to volunteer for the Humane Society. We go from place to place fighting for the rights of animals who are abused, mistreated or in this case being forced to fight. The latest situation was dog fighting on the south side of Chicago that had not gotten a lot of press. The problem is we suspected the dog fighting syndicate had paid off certain local law enforcement and so my job is to help rally some people into protesting the animal cruelty and lack of response.  “Wow” I thought “.  “I’ve gotten myself into quite a mess”

            The train stopped and a tinny voice announced over the speaker,”We have to make an unscheduled stop.  The train to Chicago will not be able to reach its destination due to a health emergency.”  Nobody in the passenger cars suspected the seriousness of the emergency.  The conductor of the train was dead.

The PA clicked off. There were moans and groans as passengers expressed being inconvenienced.  The trains slowed to a complete stop at the station. The doors automatically opened and people filed out without a second thought. I slowly got up and left, the news was puzzling.  Why would the train not continue to Chicago after the health emergency, whatever it was, it hopefully had been taken care of?  Not my problem I thought.  I walked to the booth to get find another train.

“Hey, are there any trains going to Chicago?” I called.

She looked back with an annoyed expression like I was wasting her time.  She said “Nope, not until tomorrow.  Next in line”, she barked.

I felt fatigued.  With nothing else to do I set off to find a place to sleep. I waved down a taxi and asked him to drive to the nearest hotel.  The cab smelled of old sweat.  The city’s architecture was very interesting as it rushed by. The cab stopped at a cheap hotel and the driver turned around.   The driver had dirty brown hair and a week’s growth of beard.  His face seemed familiar…. so familiar. Oh my god, I almost cried aloud but snuffed it under my arm.  He was the organizer of the Midwest dog fights, Ricardo Moretti. He was wanted in three countries - Brazil, Mexico and the United States, and a man feared in the crime world. I quickly pulled out a wad of cash, peeled off a twenty, and stuffed it in his meaty hand.  He stared right through me, and I wondered if he knew he had been recognized.  I didn’t stick around to find out.

I memorized the number of the cab and tried to pull out my phone, only to realize that my coat pocket was slit. He had taken my phone. I looked back at the cab, only to realize it was following me.  I ran into an ally where he couldn’t follow. Another car pulled up on the other side. Suddenly I felt a jolt to the back of my head.

 \/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\ whistle, whistle, the train’s whistle rang. I woke with a start after a moment and realized that it was all a dream. I felt the sweat on my face; it had all seemed so real. Then the train stopped and the PA announced “We have to make an unscheduled stop.  The train to Chicago will not be able to reach its destination due to a health emergency.”

The PA clicked off and moans rang through the still air, but I just stopped cold…… how peculiar I thought. I walked off the train wondering if all the trains for Chicago had already left, like in my dream.

I walked to the booth to get my ticket,

“Hey, are there any trains going to Chicago” I called.

She looked back with an annoyed expression like I was wasting her time.  She said “Nope, not until tomorrow.  Next in line”, she barked.

That is strange it was just like my dream.

I went to find a hotel but this time I didn’t call a cab.  I didn’t take my chances. I went into the nearest restaurant and to find where a hotel would be but there, sitting down at the booth was Ricardo, browsing through the menu while smoking a cigarette and reading the newspaper. I walked quickly out of the shop pondering everything that had happened in relation to the dream and why that didn’t fit until I saw him pull up to the curb in a bright yellow taxi. I walked away as quickly as possible without making a scene. I stopped at a new shop and walked in. I quickly looked around to make sure I wasn’t going 2 make any new friends. I saw many books, from what I knew about the place so far I thought it was a book shop. I squinted in the dim light of the room to see if there was anyone there. Hello I called into the book littered room. “Quiet a small shrill voice called out, this is a library not a subway”. I walked up to the small man who apparently had called out to me. He was sitting on a very tall stool with a look of contempt on his face so I walked up to him trying not to look to uncomfortable and asked him the location of the nearest hotel was. He leaned over and spoke in a soft warm voice “the best place to go is the motel off St. Marcus Street.

Outside it had started to drizzle and before long it had become a torrent. I walked and walked and when I arrived at the hotel I was drenched to the skin. I asked if there were any rooms available. They said yes they had one for 100$ a night, I figured the animal shelter might pay for my expenses if I told them about my experience. I walked to my room which was on the second floor of the motel building. I put my luggage on a rack, ripped my soaking cloths and set off to take a much deserved shower. The hot water seemed to melt my troubles away. The conductor dying, the dream, and meeting Ricardo all seemed to be a distant thought, but however hard I tried they were still there waiting and watching for the opportune moment to strike. I quickly dried off and put on an undershirt and sweat pants (cut off at the knee) and plunged into bed and I could only wonder what horrors would wait for me in sleep.