Disclaimer: Not mine. No profit.

Warnings: Hints of incestual feelings, which should come as no surprise to anyone. : )

Trust

"No soul is desolate as long as there is a human being for whom it can feel trust and reverence."- T.S. Eliot

Violet ignored the hot dog vendor's dubious stare as she made her purchase. Her clothes had dried considerably on the trolley ride, but she knew that she appeared bedraggled and unkempt, at best. What does it matter? We'll be free of this place soon enough.

She scowled at the bills in her hand, recalling the questionable source of that money. Even though she was only buying food for her half-starved family, spending it made her feel dirty somehow, as if she were profiting from ill-gotten gains.

She was a jumble of mixed emotions, torn between relief and indignation. When they'd left the trolley, Sunny had looked up with wide eyes, and asked for something to eat. What if I couldn't get food for her? What would I have done?

Angrily, she pushed the thought aside. She didn't know how Klaus had managed to get the money, but the answer couldn't be good. I'll ask him later.

Balancing three hot dogs, she headed back to the bench where her brother and sister were waiting. The train station was far bigger and more crowded than she had expected, and she had to peer among the rows and rows of seats to find Sunny and Klaus.

"There you are," she said, sitting down with them. Though she disliked junk food, Violet had to admit that the hotdogs smelled appealing. It just goes to show what hunger will do… She wasted no time in passing them out.

" I thought we'd lost you for a minute there," Klaus said, after gulping down a few bites.

"It was better that he didn't see all of us together," she said tersely, handing him the rest of the money. "I think you should hold onto it."

Her brother nodded silently. He could feel her unhappiness, doubt hovering like a dark cloud in the air between them. But now was not the time for a discussion.

"This is really good...I think it's the best food I've ever had," Sunny chimed in, unwittingly breaking the strained atmosphere. She beamed at them with a smear of mustard on her face, for all the world like a normal child, cheerful and lighthearted.

Her mood was infectious, and her brother and sister found themselves smiling slightly. It took so little to make her happy.

"You were hungry," Violet said, thinking she should check the inside of the suitcase; it was not waterproof, after all. She wrinkled her nose at the unpleasant thought of mold growing on their blanket and clothing.

"Did you find out how much the tickets cost?" Klaus counted the money she'd thrust into his hand, wondering how much they had left.

"No, I didn't," she said, with her back to him. "We won't be buying tickets."

"What do you mean?"

"We're going to hitch a ride in one of the baggage cars. "

"Vi, are you sure about this?" He could remember reading stories about Rail Riders in the Great Depression. "It's very dangerous. People have died that way." Or worse, he thought, hesitant to mention the grisly details in front of Sunny.

"We don't have much choice, Klaus." Violet lowered her voice. "We need to make that money last as long as possible. She stared at him pointedly. "It can't be much worse than what we've already done."

"Okay," he sighed, feeling guilty and exposed under her gaze. She distrusted him, and the knowledge was a heavy weight in his heart. I'll agree to anything, if she'll stop looking at me like that.

"We should get on board just when the train starts moving, to avoid the security guards," he said.

"Aren't you forgetting something?" Sunny asked, a bit too loudly. "We haven't decided where to go yet!"

The elder Baudelaires looked at her, and then at eachother. Their little sister was correct, of course.

Klaus and I never used to be so distracted, Violet thought agitatedly. Leave it to Sunny to set us right. "What would we do without you?" She ruffled her sister's hair.

As luck would have it, at that moment an announcement blared over the loudspeakers.

"Attention passengers: due to circumstances beyond our control, all departures will be delayed by forty-eight hours. We appreciate your patience and apologize for any inconvenience."

"This doesn't make sense. " Klaus said incredulously, "There must be at least twenty trains scheduled to leave the depot. How can they all be delayed?"

"Didn't you hear?" For the first time, the Baudelaires noticed the white-haired, bespectacled man sitting across from them. "There were a series of collisions," he said helpfully. "Five all at once, as I understand it."

They glanced uneasily at eachother, but the man went on chatting, like an old friend discussing the weather.

"It seems to be a problem of operator errors. Most of the tracks have been temporarily shut down."

" Operator errors caused five separate collisions at the same time?" Violet looked at him skeptically.

"That can't be," Klaus said, shaking his head. Who is this guy? We shouldn't be talking to him, or to anyone.

He caught her eyes briefly. As if they shared one mind, they rose together. He grabbed Sunny's hand, and Violet picked up the suitcase.

"We don't know you," she said curtly. "So please leave us alone."

"Wait, don't go," the stranger said, sounding surprised, as though his feelings were hurt. "I know something else you might find helpful."

They disregarded him, ready to bolt, but his next words stopped them in their tracks.

"There is one train leaving today. The Sixty-Seven, going north."

"How do you know about all this?" Violet returned, her voice rife with suspicion.

"Why, I'm the engineer," he said amiably, showing them his blue-and-grey striped cap as proof.

"And you're telling us because...?"

"Forgive me," the man said. "But I couldn't help overhearing your little sister. If leaving the city is what you're after, and one place is as good as another, now's your chance."

"Why wasn't your route disrupted?" Klaus couldn't believe what he was hearing, and a twinge of warning prickled in his mind.

"Mine is a freight engine. We run on different routes than the passenger trains, you see. It's nothing fancy, I'm afraid, but there's room enough for three people. We push off in an hour."

"No thank you. We're not interested." Violet walked brusquely away, with Klaus and Sunny at her heels.

"I don't trust him," he spoke under his breath, once they were safely out of the man's hearing range.

"Neither do I, but we can't stay here."

"So what happens now?"

"I want to get on that train," she said. "But we'll do it our way, not his."

Three heads peeked around the dingy, brown side of an empty passenger caboose, watching the security guards inspect the cars of Engine Sixty-Seven.

"Won't they see us?" Sunny whispered to her brother.

"Don't worry," he reassured her. "They'll only check the cars that are about to leave."

"We'll run alongside it," Violet said, a plan whirling like clockwork in her brain. She looked at Klaus." One of us will have to get on first, with the suitcase."

"I think it should be you," he told her. Those stories of people being maimed or killed were suddenly too real.

"I'm the faster runner. I'll have a better chance if the train picks up speed too quickly."

"Besides," she added. "You're stronger than I am. I'll hand Sunny to you, and you can pull me in, if need be."

At length, the guards finished making their rounds. Cars screeched on the tracks, lurching forward, beginning to roll. And the Baudelaires sprang into action.

Hurriedly, Klaus released the latches on the wooden door, sliding it open. He flung the suitcase inside, and jumped in after it.

"Come on," he took hold of Sunny as Violet lifted her. The train was gaining momentum, wheels shrieking in a rapid spin, and he looked again for his elder sister.

We're going too fast... "Violet!" His voice was lost amid the din. In a few seconds, she would be too.

Gripping the side of the doorway, he leaned out as far as he could, striving to reach her.

With a final burst of energy, she lunged for him, felt his hand close around her wrist as she clutched his. And all at once, they were falling into the freight car together, sprawled in a tangle of arms and legs.

For a long moment, the two of them lay there, unmoving, dazed and breathless.

"Vi?" He tried to sit up. "Are you all right?"

"Yes," she laughed, the wind blowing her hair about wildly. "We made it."

He had to smile at the sight of her, flushed and almost giddy with elation.

"Are you?"

"What?" He blinked.

"Are you all right, Klaus?"

He could only nod, suddenly, starkly aware of her body pinning him down. She was still holding onto him for dear life, her face mere inches from his own.

"Hey," Sunny's voice startled them both. "Will you please move so I can shut the door?"

Only after ensuring that Sunny was unharmed did Violet bother to survey their surroundings. The car interior was dark and dusty, filled with cardboard boxes, steel drums, and various parcels wrapped in burlap. Bars of sunlight shone through a few wide slats in the wood door, making it possible for them to see.

This will do, she decided, her thoughts returning to the water-damaged suitcase. Almost everything needed to dry out. Klaus and Sunny helped her to sort through their clothes, draping the articles over boxes, and wherever they could find room.

"It will all get dirty," Sunny touched the top of one container, her finger leaving a clean streak on the grimy surface.

"Dirt will wash off," Violet said. "What we need to worry about is mold."

"Uggh," came the reply. Suddenly dirt didn't seem so bad.

The old, navy blue, woolen blanket was hardly damp, Violet noted, as she stretched it over a pile of packages. It seemed black in the dim light.

"Wool is naturally water-resistant," Klaus had told her on the ferry, and apparently, his judgment was as sound as ever.

At the image of her brother on the ill-fated commuter boat, her mind reverted back to the cash he'd miraculously obtained from somewhere. And her heart sank twice over. Klaus, what have you done, and why didn't you tell me?

Surreptitiously, she observed him playing with Sunny, as they made a game of throwing a wet shirt at eachother. It's one of his, at least, Violet caught herself smiling again.

My family, she thought with a flood of warmth. What would I do without them? Her baby sister, always a bright spot of hope. And Klaus...I wouldn't be here now, if it weren't for him.He's never failed me, never given me a reason to doubt... She could feel a lump forming in the back of her throat. I do trust him, with my life... But he didn't tell me about the money... He doesn't trust me.

She tried to swallow her anguish, to be composed and rational, but the thought hurt her more with each passing second.

It was time to ask him.