Rust was on a train.
He had had enough of his old life, enough with the mockery and the hypocrisy and the hate. This was why he was on the train, leaving his hometown, going to who the hell knows where.
The conductor's voice rang through the halls, "Last stop, everybody off!" The train doors clanged open. Rust looked at the small man in seated across from him, seeing if he would get off. He didn't move. When Rust inquired why, he said, "I'll be fine. You just worry about yourself." Rust was unsatisfied, but left the train anyway. He was sure a crazy like that would do whatever he wanted anyway, despite any suggestions by anyone else.
He stepped out of the train alone, and looked at his surroundings. This place was broken down. The landscape was empty, the houses were broken down, and the nature that did exist was unruly and wild. The perfect place for an outcast like him.
He saw a figure coming toward him on the horizon. He was startled, and reached for anything that might be a weapon in his pockets. Before he could grab anything however, he saw that the shape was smaller than it would be for a thug, and thinner. He took his hands out of his pockets and walked towards it.
Before long, he reached a young woman. She had long, blonde hair, a youthful face, and seemed entirely out of place. Her clothes were clean and pressed, and bright yellow. She introduced herself, "Hello, Mayor! I'm Isabelle, and I'm your new secretary!"
"Mayor? I think you're mistaken. I'm no mayor."
"Sure you are! Now come here, the residents are dying to meet you!
She led him to a large, run-down, office building, where several people were waiting outside, as he denied repeatedly that he was the mayor. She paid no attention to his objections.
"Citizens of Nowhere," she declared, "this is your new mayor! Mayor, introduce yourself!"
All eyes were on him. Among the crowd, he noticed an old, strikingly bony and pale woman, a large asian man with oddly red eyes, and a girl with so much makeup, it seemed as if she were compensating for something.
"Well, um... I'm Rust. But I'm not your mayor. I just came here to get away...not to accept any kind of new responsibility."
"WELCOME MAYOR RUST!" the crowd screamed in unison.
"Well, we better get our new leader settled in, so I'll lead him to his house. He'll meet with all of you later, ok?" Isabelle said. The crowd agreed, and Rust found himself being led to his 'house'.
"Look, I'm not the best candidate for mayor, alright? When's the next train out of here?"
Isabelle turned to him, a surprisingly angry expression on her face.
"Look. I get that you didn't sign up for this. But these people have been waiting for a mayor for the past month, and I can't bear to tell them that no one's coming. These people are all outcasts, and they just need somebody, ok? And you came here to get away, right? What's the harm in taking this on, too? I promise you won't regret it. Think about it, they'll have someone, and you'll have someone. Have a heart!"
Rust was stunned. She made some good points, it's not like he had anything to go back to, anyways.
"Ok," he said. "I'll take the job."