The train whistle blew three times.

"WHEP. WHEEEEEEP. WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP."

The train slowed to a stop. I peeked out of the window and looked out in amazement at the city in front of me, in front of the train.

It was three days since I left Samantha at the compound with Hart. I still felt guilty about leaving her, but I couldn't just let her die. Besides, if someone got on my trail, I couldn't let a dying girl drag me down on my flight, even if the person was my cousin.

I was dressed in a black attire... black ripped jeans, black t-shirt, and a black leather jacket... some of which were Dauntless clothes, some of them were from my clothes I got at Hart's compound. I was in the engine room, and the food I had barely kept me alive. During those three days I had only eaten three meals, while at HArt's army we did get at least two meals a day. I didn't know how much food I would consume during my train ride.

The first day, I had struggled to hide myself on a less-than-crowded train. All the seats were full, and even if there were some open, I couldn't risk myself being seen. I had squeezed under some seats, just barely out of sight, until the third stop. Most of the people left (I think we were in Los Angeles) and I was able to move for a bit until people came on. Then I had found the engine room just in time to hide myself before they entered. Even then I was at risk, but the engineer didn't look at where I was hiding by some miracle. Or maybe he saw me and thought I was a conductor's helper, or maybe I just blended in with the coal.

The second day I managed to snag some food from the diner car. I found the kitchen and grabbed food when the chef wasn't near the oven. I needed to restock, anyway. That day was the closest I had ever been to discovery.

The engineer was cleaning out the spoiled coal (we had just been through a heavy rainstorm) and putting in fresh coal. First the engine room was unattached (it was a 30 minute stop at the Hollywood station) and all the coal was cleaned out. Unfortunately, I was tumbled out with the coal and quite banged up.

Then the coal was set afire.

It was everything I could do to not scream. I slowly backed away from the flames and hid behind a bush, and by some miracle the engineer didn't see me. The coal that wasn't aflame he threw away, and then he took out the flame and put them back in. I crawled in with the coals, and then he shut the door. My bag of food and clothing was safe, he must have missed them somehow. They were slightly burned, but they were otherwise in good shape.

This third day, the train was bustling with excitement, or rather, the people on it. I didn't understand, however, until the train stopped and I looked out the window.

We were in New York. We were in New f-ing York.


I got out of the train almost immediately.

I somehow blended in with the crowd and stepped out of the station into New f-ing York. There were TV's everywhere, on the sides of buildings, and people were everywhere, taking pictures. The streets were crowded, and there was a mother nearby yelling at her children. Nothing like I'd imagined it to be, but there I was... in New York.

I walked around for a while, taking in the sights, until my legs felt like they were going to fall off. Then I found a nearby MacDonald's and walked up to the man working at the counter.

"Excuse me?" I asked him shyly. "Can I have a McDouble with a mango smoothie? And a medium fry?"

"How old are you, girl? Only high schoolers can walk in here and order without adult supervision." He started looking around for an adult.

"I'm..." I searched my brain for my age. I was sure my birthday had passed somewhere during my time with Hart. "I'm seventeen, sir."

"That'll be ten dollars, little one. Cash or credit?"

Frick. My mom gave me my credit card as a present for my seventeenth birthday, but I didn't know if it had been activated or not. I also had my drivers license. "Erm... credit."

"I'll need to see your license." He took my offered credit card and license from my bag and swiped them. He handed them back to me after looking at them carefully. "Okay, your order will be right with you. For here or to go?"

I looked around... the tables were mostly empty, but I couldn't take my chances. If Hart connected my disappearance to the train, any of his army could be here any minute. I couldn't risk the lives of these people, and especially couldn't risk having to be taken back there and killed. Besides, I needed to continue my search for Tobias. Mostly, I needed sleep, which I'd barely had during my time on the train. "To go, please."

"Okay, Beatrice. Right with you." He went to the back of the kitchen and returned holding a little paper bag. "Enjoy!"

I grabbed the bag, nodded, and ran out of the MacDonald's. I found the train station again, and my train had left already. A new one was there instead.

I went around the crowd, making sure no one was watching before slipping under the rope to get to the train. I crawled into the engine room and relaxed.

"Next Stop... Boston!" The conductor shouted, and the train rolled out of the station. After I'd eaten, I slipped into the first peaceful sleep I'd had in days.