A/N: Just a brief warning of a vivid night terror, and some gore in this chapter. Let us begin.
The stench of blood, and the wails of the wounded and dying filled the air. It was pure Hell. She felt pure agony as she laid on the ground, bleeding out, and screaming. The all too familiar stench of many rotting corpses replaced the scent of blood as the wailing grew silent. She saw many dark figures emerge from the smoke of the battlefield. They were sobbing, forever suffering in the void. Their armor had corroded over, and rotted away, as well as their flesh. Maggots wriggled their way around the reanimated corpses, feasting on their cold flesh.
They reached out for her. Some grabbed her by the legs, begging for mercy. Others were wailing in agony, or sorrow. She felt a cold hand wrap its bony fingers around her neck, and began to squeeze.
Dusk woke up with a start, and wildly looked around, shaking. She sighed. It was just another night terror. She looked up at CB, who was sound asleep. She noticed he was holding her like a teddy bear. That might have explained how she felt being grabbed. She felt him tense up, not a good sign. She closed her eyes, and purred. The well being of the caboose was far more important than some petty nightmares. She felt him slowly relax.
She opened her eyes, and looked up at him. He needed someone to comfort him, something to look forward to when he comes home. He was almost like a child to her. She laid her head down on his arm, and was surprised to feel, what she thought was, a pulse. These machines were living breathing creatures, just like her possessed machines at home. She had much to learn about this world. She struggled to stay awake. She needed to rest, but she also needed to watch over CB, the precious caboose that wiggled his way into her heart. Her whole body felt heavy, as if she was made of iron. Her body yearned for sleep, but her mind screamed at her to not give in. Before she knew it, she had drifted back to sleep.
The next morning, she woke up, when she felt CB climb out of bed. She yawned, stretched, and jumped out of bed to follow him. CB had a quick breakfast, fed her, and headed to the bathroom to take a shower. Dusk titled her head to the side, perplexed. She had heard Coal talking about a communal shower of some sort, but it seemed the sheds were equipped with one. Perhaps, the older sheds lacked them, and instead of wasting even more money on remodeling every shed, they built a communal shower to save a little pocket change. She laid down on the rug on the living room floor, and rested her head between her paws.
CB had dried himself off, and headed back to the living room. He sat down on the couch, and pulled the bag out from underneath the couch. Jinx lifted her head to look at him for a few moments, and her tail twitched. Something had her agitated. she stood up, and left the room. CB shrugged it off, pulled the book back out from the bag, and noticed a small pocket on the interior lining of the satchel. Curious, he unzipped it, and reached inside. He jumped when he felt something cold, and hard on his fingertips. He grabbed a hold of it, and pulled it out, revealing a white glowing crystal. Perhaps this was an ovarail. The light it was giving off indicated it was filled. Maybe he could use it to summon this Nightmare Dragon. He gingerly placed it on the couch cushion beside him, and dug around in the pocket again.
His fingertips brushed against something that he thought was made of glass. Carefully, he grasped it, and pulled it out. It was vial filled with a deep red liquid: blood. All he needed now was a piece of chalk or maybe charcoal. He could find the latter in the older part of the train yard where the steam engines hung out at. He gathered the materials, the book, and headed out the door.
A/N: Oh boy, CB's up to no good. This chapter also foreshadows the appearance of a new character, which I hardly use. The next chapter will be up shortly, until then see you later!