By the time the sun began to set, Arthur was sick and tired of sharing a tiny train compartment with "his royal highness." More like his royal pain-in-the-ass!
Every statement turned into an argument, mostly about the cat that Freddie had snuck onto the train. Arthur bristled at Freddie's smug confidence, but he couldn't insist that Freddie ditch the cat… at least, not while he was still pretending that the boy might be royalty. Despite the physical similarities, it was obvious to him that the young man was nothing like the sweet boy he had known years ago. He could see that he and Yao had a great deal of work cut out for them.
After yet another argument, Arthur took a breather by walking from one end of the train to the other. He ground his teeth in frustration. The blond teenager was exceptionally good at riling him up and he didn't understand why. It should have been easy to ignore the prattling of a thoughtless young man, but Arthur couldn't push the boy out of his thoughts.
As he neared the luggage car, he could smell the burning coal that powered the steam engine. He wrinkled his nose. It was easy to see why the dining car was at the other end of the train. Arthur turned around and began his leisurely stroll back to his shared compartment.
The porters lit lanterns along the train corridors as the sun set outside. Arthur moved around one of the porters and opened his compartment door, glaring as he discovered that the annoying feline had stolen his seat by the window. Freddie lazed in the other window seat, meaning that both seats had been claimed by aggravating, annoying creatures.
Arthur strode forward. "Shoo, shoo!" he yelled at the cat, trying to reclaim his seat and earning a swipe of claws for his trouble.
"Hey, stop bothering Hero!" Freddie complained.
"He's not paying for a ticket. He doesn't deserve a seat, much less a window seat!"
"A hero always gets what he wants."
"Yeah? Well… Hero is a stupid name."
"No it's not!" the other man retorted, sticking out his tongue.
"Yes, it is!" Arthur tried to move the cat once more and discovered that it was impossible to lift a cat that had sunk its claws into the thick fabric covering the seat. With a long-suffering sigh, Arthur gave up and took the empty seat next to Freddie. He glanced across the dimly lit compartment to find Yao giving him a slight smile while the former Jack added another mark to a tally on a small piece of paper. "What's that?" Arthur asked irritably.
"Just keeping track of the number of times you were bested by a feline."
Freddie laughed. "You're gonna need a bigger piece of paper."
Arthur rolled his eyes. "Shouldn't you be checking our travel papers before we reach the border, Yao?" He would have gone himself, but Yao was better at gauging when bribery was an option and the right amount to bribe.
Still chuckling to himself, Yao tucked the slip of paper into his bag. He grabbed the rest of their papers and slipped out of the compartment.
"We're close to the border?" Freddie asked, his earlier mocking tone replaced with a sense of wonder. He pressed his nose against the window and gazed out at the snowy countryside. In the dusky gloom of twilight the hills and fields outside were bathed in various shades of dark blue.
Even from his aisle seat, Arthur took a moment to appreciate his last glimpse of Spades. "Yes," he replied, "but it's probably too dark to see the white line that marks the border."
"Really?" Freddie's eyes widened. "I thought that was just on maps!"
Arthur managed to keep a straight face for five seconds before bursting into laughter at the young man's gullibility.
Realizing his mistake, Freddie pouted and looked away. "Shut up!"
"I'll stop talking if you stop talking," Arthur snarked back.
Freddie crossed his arms. "Fine!"
Arthur rolled his eyes. "Fine!"
They sat in tense silence as the twilight countryside rolled past. Caught up in their own irritation, neither noticed the menacing green lights that appeared from the East and disappeared beneath the train. Arthur had expected the silence to be relaxing, but he felt on edge. He would never admit it, but he was almost relieved when Freddie broke the silence a moment later.
"You gonna miss it?" Freddie asked, still gazing out the window.
"Miss your talking? Hardly."
"No. Spades."
Arthur shrugged. "Not really."
Freddie turned to look at Arthur, a surprisingly sympathetic look on his face. He opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted as Yao burst into the compartment. The cat jumped up from his seat and Yao grabbed his bag. "We need to hide," he hissed.
"What's wrong?" Freddie demanded as he stuffed his cat into his bag.
"The travel papers aren't blue anymore," Yao explained quietly.
Arthur grabbed his own bag and led the way through the corridors, walking quickly while trying to look like he was simply searching for a better compartment. They drew a few stares from passengers as they hurried toward the front end of the train. Fortunately, there were no Soviet Spades officials in sight. They would still have a little time to come up with their next plan.
The luggage car was cold and filled with the smell of burning coal. Arthur shivered as he looked for hiding spaces. If they were caught… they would almost certainly be thrown from the train. He just hoped that the snow was thick enough to cushion their fall.
"I thought you said you were good at forgeries!" Freddie complained, glaring at Arthur.
"I am! They keep changing the paper to make it harder!"
"Hide now. Fight later," Yao reminded them.
Arthur took a deep breath. "Right."
"Okay." Freddie nodded. "I accept your apology."
"That wasn't an apology!" Arthur shouted as Yao buried his face into his hands.
The train jerked wildly and all three stumbled and nearly fell onto the floor. Luggage spilled all around them, covering the floor in clothes and parcels. A horrible screech of metal filled the air. Arthur whirled around, watching as the door that led to the rest of the train fell off its hinges… revealing that the rest of the train had disconnected from the luggage car. Without the engine to power it, the cars slowed and fell behind, disappearing into the distance.
"Holy shit! What just happened?" Freddie demanded.
"I don't know, but I think we can stop worrying about the travel papers," Yao replied, shouting to be heard over the sound of the wind howling through the open door.
Feeling the train rumble beneath his feet, Arthur steadied himself against the wall and frowned. At this rate, the train would derail. He pushed his way through the luggage to the front of the car. Acrid smoke filled his nostrils as soon as he opened the door. Seeing no other option, he jumped from the luggage car to the engine car and pulled himself up the ladder to the bed of coals behind the engine room. Struggling to maintain his balance, Arthur stumbled forward and swung down into the engine room.
There was no one there.
Arthur looked around desperately. The coal fire was red hot, giving the train far more power than it needed. Not knowing what to do, his eyes lit upon the brake and he felt a rush of relief. He grabbed the brake and pulled it with all his strength. He leaned backward, nearly landing on his ass when the shaft broke in his hand. "Piece of shit train!" Arthur shouted in frustration, kicking the brake. He winced in pain. His foot hurt and the train wasn't slowing down.
Glass shattered all around him and the fires spit embers at him. Arthur covered his eyes and struggled to breathe in the waves of heat. Forced out by the glass and heat, he climbed back to the luggage car. "There's no one driving this train!" he shouted, earning shocked looks from Freddie and Yao. "We need to disconnect it!"
All three glanced down at the heavy iron hook connecting the two cars. The pin that was holding it in place had somehow melted into the rest of the metal.
Arthur tore through the boxes of train equipment looking for a tool. He grabbed a wrench, only to see that Freddie had found a stick of dynamite and matches. Arthur's eyes lit up with relief. That would do the trick!
The taller blond stuck the dynamite into the melted metal and they all raced for cover behind the pile of luggage. Arthur huddled next to Freddie and Yao.
With a loud boom, the dynamite exploded. The car shook, but thankfully stayed on the tracks. Arthur breathed a sigh of relief. "What do they teach you in those orphanages?" he asked.
Freddie opened his mouth to response, then gaped in shock as he stared at the track ahead of them. Arthur turned around to see what had caught the other man's attention. The track led to a bridge… but the center of the bridge was completely gone. Judging by the distance, they had only a few minutes to escape the train before it plunged into the dark gorge below.
"We've got to jump!" Freddie shouted.
"After you!" Arthur yelled back, gesturing to the snow banks on either side that were rolling past at break-neck speeds.
"Arthur!" Yao tossed a hook and cable to Arthur. As the train continued to hurtle forward, Yao moved to attach his end of the steel cable to the front of the train. Immediately understanding Yao's plan, Arthur raced to the back of the train with the cable in hand.
"What are you doing?" Freddie cried, kneeling at the edge of the car and watching as Arthur hung from the end of the train and stretched his arm out to reach the tracks below.
Too busy to explain, Arthur took a quick breath and steadied himself. With a burst of desperate speed, he stretched out and hooked the cable onto the wooden railroad tie below. He instantly let go, but the tug backward was enough to make him lose his grip with his other hand. He dangled helplessly and time slowed to a crawl as he saw a piece of flaming debris bouncing beneath the car straight for him. A second later a strong hand grasped Arthur's wrist and pulled him to safety. Heart beating fast, Arthur watched while the debris flew through the spot he had been just a moment prior and then crashed into a snow bank.
"That could have been you," Freddie said, his flat tone belied by the worry in his eyes.
"I… if we survive this, remind me to thank you," Arthur grudgingly replied.
They moved away from the edge of the car and braced for impact. Yao, practical as always, had gathered their bags into a neat pile. He handed the squirming, yowling bag to Freddie. The train jerked as the cable grew taut. The rails pulled off the ground with a loud screech, sending the luggage car spinning in a half-circle. Clothes and tools went flying. Arthur dodged and struggled to stay upright. As the car began to slow down, he took a deep breath. They didn't have much time before they reached the broken bridge.
"End of the line!" Arthur cried, leaping into the snow bank and praying that they were slow enough to spare his neck. The snow engulfed him completely, knocking the breath out of his body. He heard two thumps near him.
Arthur blinked and unsteadily climbed out of the snow bank that had cushioned his fall. It was cold and dark outside, but at least he could see Yao and Freddie walking towards him. Even the stupid cat looked unhurt.
The first leg of the journey had gone terribly and a queasy sense of foreboding warned Arthur that there would be many obstacles in the path ahead. But for now… they were alive and they were out of Soviet Spades. The reward was worth it, Arthur told himself, as he grabbed his bag and started walking toward the lights of a small town in the distance. It would be worth it.
