Sigh . . . I really have no life . . .

So . . . they're on their way to Resembool, and then it's off to the Briggs Mountains! And Karmyn learned how to use a nib pen . . . I don't actually know what sort of pens they use in Amestris . . . but I figured a nib/cartridge pen would make sense . . .

The story writes itself! I really have nothing to do with it, except for the fact that I type the words . . .

Enough blabbering. I have to get this chapter done. And then the next chapter is an Elric Intervention, and . . . I'm still blabbering, aren't I? I should just tell myself to shut up . . .

Self! SHUT UP!

There we go. Now then.

-o-O-o-

26 December, 1916

"About how long does it take to get to Resembool?" Karmyn asked, having put away her report for the time being.

"From Central? Approximately ten to fifteen hours," was the response she was given by Ed. She sighed.

Ten to fifteen hours! She moaned in her head, that means I have at least eight more hours- possibly thirteen- to spend on this hard bench. Oh, well. It's not like I can change anything about it. She shifted in her seat and took out a clean sheet of paper. Picking up her pen, she began to sketch Ed, who was looking out the window in the seat across from her.

She was bored. She had never done well on long plane trips back in her old dimension. She remembered the trip to Cambridge University that she had taken with her mother. She shuddered at the thought. Finishing the outline of the person across from her, she put the pen down once again. Standing up, she stretched.

"I need to use the bathroom," she told them. "Where are they?"

Ed was so involved with the trees flashing outside the train car that he didn't answer. Seeing this, Al answered for him. "They're located in the middle of the train- you should be able to find them in the next car."

"Thanks," she said, and headed off that way. I remember now why I never liked walking on trains, she thought as she traveled down the aisle. They always gave me a weird feeling. Crossing between cars was the worst part. Unlike the trains back in Boston, there was no walkway between them. There was nothing to prevent someone from falling off. Backing up against the door of the train car she was on, she looked to make sure that they were on a straight track. Swallowing her fear, she ran forward and jumped.

For a heart-stopping moment, she thought that she wouldn't make it. She had realized as she jumped that she had forgotten to take into account the fact that the train was still moving forward. Considering that she was on the back half of the train, and was trying to move forward as well, the train was moving much faster than she was, and moved out from under her.

Luckily, her toe caught the back end of the car in front of her, which allowed her to reach forward and grab the railing, preventing herself from falling. A minute later, she found herself standing firmly on the car, and she heaved a large sigh of relief. It would have been horrible if she had died within days of arriving in Amestris. Breathing hard, she brushed at the hair that had fallen in her face. She was certain that she looked terrible at the moment, the wind having wreaked havoc upon her loose blonde locks, sending them flying every which way.

Doing her best to straighten them out, she opened the door to the train car and stepped inside. She was grateful when she saw that the restrooms were just inside the door. They weren't much more than rooms with toilets, but they did the trick. (A/N- I know, toilets would need running water and all that . . . but can you just live with it? I'm not about to look up 'train bathrooms,' alright?)

When she finished, she stepped outside, nearly running into a man who was also waiting for the bathroom to open up. He was tall, with slick dark hair and eyes. He was wearing a blue military uniform, she noted. Looking into his face, her breath caught in her throat- and not in a good way. More like a this-guy-seems-creepy-and-I'm-scared way.

"Uhm, excuse me," she mumbled, moving her gaze down to the floor.

He smirked. "Oh, sorry," his voice was like the rest of him, oily and smooth. She shuddered as she passed him. It was probably just her, but there was something wrong with that guy.

Making her way out of the train car, she once again found herself at the coupling between them. This time, she took the smarter route. Bracing herself, she placed one foot forward, on top of where the two cars were connected. Leaning over, she grabbed the railing of the car across from her with one hand before quickly following with the other foot and hand. With the railing secure in both hands, she stepped over the open space between the cars without any mishap. Drawing a shaky breath, she re-entered her own train car and made her way back to where the Elrics were sitting.

She slid into her seat next to Alphonse, pressing her palms firmly onto the wooden table in front of her. That was not what I was expecting when I went to use the bathroom, she thought. Definitely. Not. She shuddered as she remembered the gleefully malicious glint that shone in his eyes (A/N- you all know the one . . . *cough*Kimblee*cough* but it's not him . . .). She wondered how a man like that could even get into the military- they'd do more harm than good!

Edward was once again asleep. Not that it surprised her- she knew that he usually slept through train rides. That he had been awake for an hour was in itself a miracle. She wished she could be so lucky as to have the ability to sleep on a train . . .

Al must have noticed that she was so tense, because a few minutes later, she felt an elbow poke her side. You okay? He mouthed to her. How many times was he going to ask that question? Oh, well. It wouldn't hurt to tell him.

Leaning closer, she whispered, trying to keep from waking the snoring Ed. "I nearly killed myself hopping train cars!" she exclaimed quietly, "Does that count as okay?"

"Oops," Alphonse whispered back to her sheepishly, "I forgot about that . . ."

"Apparently," she muttered. "Anyways, that's not really all that important . . ."

"Really? What-?"

"Karmyn Dallas?"

Karmyn nearly fell out of her chair at the new voice. Jerking around, she looked up to find the same creepy guy from earlier now standing at their booth . . . and he knew her name! Panicking, she managed to squeak out, "Yes?"

She could've sworn that his eyes glowed. Not literally, of course, but . . . still. "You dropped this," he told her, holding out her wallet.

She gulped, taking the wallet from his hands, opening it; she made sure that everything was still inside. "T- Thank you," she said, seeing that everything was still in place. "I appreciate it."

"No problem," he said, giving her a jaunty salute before turning around and walking back to his own car.

"Was that what you were talking about?" Alphonse asked once he was gone.

"Y- Yeah. I ran into him as I left the restroom," she explained. "I don't like him . . . he feels creepy."

"Draw him out," Al suggested, "Maybe we can ask Brother about him once he wakes up."

"If he ever wakes up," Karmyn muttered, beginning to do just that.

-o-O-o-

And we meet Mr. Creeper . . . hehe. As for the short chapters . . . Gomen. As I said, they write themselves. If they wanna be long, they will be. If they wanna be short, they'll do that too. But, there's gonna be at least another chapter of train ride . . . so it's somewhat okay that these chapters are short, right?

I'm too lazy to write out anything else, so-

Sayonara!