Chapter 10: The Exit

Everyone sat on the gray floor, the researchers facing the people being studied, with a crystal wall separating the two parties.

"Since I've started the whole domino effect," Amelia said, "I'll go first."

Simon prepared to take notes on his tablet. "Sure, go ahead."

"The train came to me because I couldn't find a reason to live after my fiancé Alrick died. Instead of learning to deal with my situation, I usurped the Conductor and used the train's technology to make a copy of my hometown and to try bringing Alrick back. I used my memory tape and ghoms as bases for my experiments of recreating my fiancé."

Simon's eyes went wide. "You used ghoms?! That's right up there with the Amelia who used denizens as bases, and the Amelia who used humans." He turned to look at Grace. "Wait. Do ghoms count as denizens?"

Grace shrugged. "They don't originate on the train here. No idea if it's the same in their universe."

Amelia said, "They're just native wasteland wildlife here. Anyway, after my 33 years of failed experiments, a girl named Tulip Olsen stopped me and made me see the errors of my ways. I started working for the Conductor to make amends. But my past actions led to some terrible consequences. My universe's Grace and Simon started a cult that worshiped me and led to the deaths of countless denizens. Also, when he was ten, Simon got accidentally mixed into my experiments. I scared him and his denizen Samantha away with a ghom I made out of a porter. I still need to check for confirmation on Grace's involvement with my scanner. His – and probably her – interference resulted in three shapeshifting, turtle denizen-human hybrids: Hazel, Jam, and Alrick. Grace and Simon met Hazel, then all three of them met me. The Conductor managed to put Grace and Simon on the right path, then those two became part of my team, along with Hazel. Simon gave up his number so Hazel could get off the train with Grace, then he died trapped in his own tape because I told him to face it alone." She took a moment to breathe.

Simon finished taking notes that far. "Trapped in a tape sounds like a crappy way to die, but it could have been worse. Much, much worse."

"After Simon died, I found out that Jam here," she pointed at her son, "and Alrick, who looks exactly like my fiancé, were being attacked by denizens because they thought Jam was Simon. Jam's on my side now, but Alrick … He's probably in the locomotive, trying to take over the train right now."

"In the what?" Simon asked, looking puzzled.

"I guess that's what they call the engine in their universe," Grace said.

"Yes, the engine," Amelia said. "Alrick believes he is my fiancé, but in reality, he's my created son and uses the name of a dead man. Jam and this new Alrick went through much suffering as a result of my past actions. If I hadn't boarded the train, there would be no cult, and many people who have died because of that cult would still be alive today. And since I wouldn't be there to shoot Tuba's children with a code injecting gun, they wouldn't be ghoms for the rest of their lives either."

Tuba hugged all four of her kids.

Jam said, "Samantha would still be alive too if she hadn't met me. She tagged along on the journey to stop my brother, probably because I reminded her of my father. I … got her killed after crash-landing because I didn't check how much battery I had before jumping from cube to cube in a car."

Simon finished taking notes. Then he looked at Jam and Amelia. "Okay, I see why the car has trapped you."

Jam and Amelia stared back at him, awaiting the explanation.

Simon smiled at them. "You and many other people who enter this car have this mentality of 'the grass is greener on the other side' after seeing the positive 'could have beens' from other universes. What those like you fail to see is that things could have been worse for them or for others. Amelia, you wish our counterparts got the same fates as us, right?"

"Well, you do seem better off than most of the ones from my side," Amelia said, frowning.

"Sure, we seem happy now, but who knows what might happen to each of us in the future?" Simon said. "We could get eaten by ghoms, or slip and fall to the wheels, or even … die due to some horrible disease. And let me tell you, if you get sick on this train, you're very likely to croak if you don't find a doctor with good hospital equipment and medicine."

She nodded. "You're right."

"And you," Simon said, pointing at Jam. "You regret that you got your universe's Samantha killed by accident. But you know what? Her fate could have been worse. She could have fallen ill and agonized for a whole month with nobody but a ten year old child to take care of her before she'd finally pass away." His voice became shaky while his eyes were getting watery. "I held my Samantha's paw in her last moments. After she was gone, I tried to survive on the train alone. I could have died in a desert car if it wasn't for Grace, who carried me out of there to safety and offered me food and water." He brought out a handkerchief from his chest pocket and wiped his tears off, then blew his nose.

Grace hugged him.

He put his handkerchief back in his pocket before being freed from Grace's arms. "Stop thinking that the world would be a better place without you! Try to make it a better place with you. And don't keep dwelling on your failures. Things happen. Get over it! You can't always make things better, but try to do so while you still can, okay?"

Amelia and Jam nodded.

"And don't forget to cherish every moment with the people close to you," Grace said. "If there's anything we've learned from this car, it's that the future is often unpredictable, no matter how similar some of these universes are."

"Then let this universe hit me with all it has!" Amelia said.

"Yeah!" Jam said. "We're ready for it! We'll do everything we can to calm my brother down and save the train!"

"What if you fail?" Grace asked.

Jam swung his right fist. "Then we'll pick our sorry butts off the ground and deal with whatever new situation we end up in!"

"Agreed," Amelia said. "As long as we're alive, we can always find ways to make our world better, and to become better people ourselves." Her number went down to 11.

Grace smiled at them. "That's the spirit!"

The front and rear hexagons started to go back into the ceiling.

"Looks like the car thinks you've learned your lessons," Simon said. "Good luck." He and his team waved at Jam and Amelia until the hexagon fully went into the ceiling.

Amelia opened the car's door and saw five ghoms atop the locomotive. They were guarding the broken door below them. "Jam, get ready for a sprint. I think I have only two more shields left on my belt."

"I'm ready," Jam said.

The Steward lay on the ground, all tied up in a blue net, trapped behind the desk with the many computers and their monitors – one of which looked like a corgi.

"Give up, One-One!" Alrick said, towering over the Conductor. A curved glass shield sticking out from his armor's neck protected his head at the front. "Your Steward couldn't even put a scratch on my anti-bullet shield. Mostly because it cannot aim even if its life depended on it."

One-One scowled at him and spoke in his Sad-One voice. "It wasn't supposed to aim for you. Those were warning shots. If I wanted you dead, I'd be writing your obituary right now."

Alrick gently pushed One-One away with his left foot. "Well, you lost. The train is mine now." He lowered his glass shield by pressing both of his armor's triangular buttons at the same time.

"Why do you have to ruin it for everyone?" One-One asked as Glad-One.

"Because everyone ruined it for me," Alrick said, crossing his arms. "So either build a car where I can live in peace away from everyone, or I'll send you away and make my own train."

"That's not how this train works!" One-One said as Sad-One. "You're supposed to grow as a person, not hide in your shell for the rest of your life!"

"I'm tired of being hurt by everyone! She should have just left me to rest in peace! I didn't need to be brought back only to suffer because her resurrected new boyfriend killed a bunch of people and decided to travel with me, pretending he was my brother!"

One-One changed to his Glad-One voice. "What are you talking about?" He received a swift kick that sent him rolling into the front wall of a car under construction.

Alrick glared down on him. "You're in on it too, aren't you?"

"Alrick!" It was Amelia, struggling to get a ghom off her back while traveling between the new car and the wall to her right. Once she reached the more spacious area, she threw the ghom to the floor.

Jam entered while unwillingly carrying three ghoms on his back. "Stop this madness, brother!" He shook off the ghoms after getting out of the tight space.

"Why do you two keep following me?" Alrick asked, clenching his fists and glaring at him. "Do you really enjoy seeing me suffer?"

"We're here because we don't want you to suffer!" Jam said.

"So you've decided to kill me."

Jam raised his eyebrows. "What? No! Brother, we're here to explain–"

Alrick put his right hand in front of him. "There is nothing more to explain. Go away! Let me build my own world. You can stay with your lover and with all those enemies you've made, you murderer!"

"I am not a murderer!" Jam yelled. He stomped the floor with his right leg. "I'm tired of being judged for crimes I did not commit! I'm a thief, and I'm also a neglectful person who accidentally got someone killed, but my father's actions are not my own!"

One-One split up. Sad-One went between the brothers and said, "It's my fault. The cult started because I couldn't stop Amelia from taking over the train. You two suffered because the cult killed denizens. And now I'm about to lose the train again because I refused to harm someone to defend it." His eye frowned. "I'm no good at my job. So many people got hurt because of me ..." He walked past Amelia and went between the new car and the wall, heading for the exit.

The four ghoms in the room watched him, hoping for an order to go in for the kill.

"Where are you going?" Amelia asked. "One! Come back!"

Sad-One was already at the door. Glad-One and Amelia came after him.

"I do not want to be the Conductor anymore," Sad-One said. "I do not want to see any more of my failures." He went outside, where a single ghom kept trying to enter the locomotive but always hit the wall instead of going through the door. Sad-One looked at it. "Even this unfortunate creature reminds me of how I failed at what I was supposed to do."

"One, we have no time for this!" Amelia said.

"You don't have to stick around," Sad-One said, staring over the edge of the locomotive. "I can fall by myself."

Her eyes went wide. "What?! One, don't!"

Glad-One rushed in and pushed Sad-One back toward the door. "Don't leave me!" He looked into Sad-One's eye. "If you go, then there won't be a One-One anymore. It will be just One. And one is the loneliest number."

Amelia grabbed Sad-One and hugged him. "You silly half-peanut! This was never your fault! How were you supposed to know that a grieving widow would break your stuff and take over your train? You didn't even have the means of looking into other universes at that time."

"I suppose you're right," Sad-One said. "But how do we stop your confused turtle son from taking over the train?"

"We make him face the truth," Amelia said.

Inside, Jam and Alrick were having a fight, punching and kicking each other. Jam held back, but Alrick for once was going all out on the hits.

"Go to hell!" Alrick said while throwing punches at Jam.

"I'm already in it!" Jam said, blocking several punches with his arms. "Why else would my own brother be doing this to me?"

Alrick tripped him, causing Jam to fall on the back. Then he rested his right foot on Jam's chest. "We never were brothers."

"We are brothers!" Jam said. "What we never were is Amelia's boyfriend!"

"So, you knew she was playing us from the start," Alrick said. "Why did you choose to stay with her when you could have gone with me?"

"She was playing no one! She is our mother! She created us!"

Alrick got his foot off and kicked Jam so hard he ended up rolling on the floor. "She brought us back from the dead! That doesn't make her our mother!"

Jam got back up and raised his fists, ready for round two.

"Jam! Alrick! Stop fighting! Right now!" Amelia said.

Alrick chittered, then screeched and pointed at her. The four ghoms surrounded her and were joined by the fifth, which had trouble maintaining its balance as it arrived.

Sad-One and Glad-One could do nothing but sit and watch.

"I can order them to turn you into a pile of dust if I want to," Alrick said, breathing heavily. "Take your lover and go away. I am barely holding back from becoming a murderer myself."

"Alrick, he is not my lover!" Amelia said. "I haven't been in love with anyone ever since my fiancé died!"

"I was your fiancé!" Alrick shouted while pointing at himself.

"No. My man is dead. You are not him."

Alrick stomped the floor with his left foot. "I don't believe you!"

Amelia smirked. "I think you and Jam have the same father."

Alrick grimaced. "What do you mean, you old hag?"

Amelia laughed at him.

"Explain, you devil of a woman!" Alrick said, swinging his right fist at the air.

"Listen," she said. "You have the number 337 on your right palm, right?"

"Yes. Your coworker told you that. What else did he tell you? My shoe size? Oh, wait, you knew that and more about me before you've met him." He grinned smugly at Jam.

His brother said, "That wasn't you, dude."

Amelia scowled at Alrick. "Jam is not my coworker. Simon is dead as a doornail too."

"Yeah, right," Alrick said. "As dead as I am."

"Do you know what that number represents?"

"That I am your property?"

"Not exactly," Amelia said. "It means you were created using my memories. Alrick has never boarded this train. Therefore I had no way of getting his memories. So I ask you this: do you have any memory that doesn't include me?"

Alrick searched his mind for a moment before saying, "No. But that's because you are all I used to care about."

"Now here comes the harsh reality. How many memories of me being alone do you have? Do you remember me mourning? Do you remember me boarding the train?"

Alrick's eyes widened, appearing even bigger due to his glasses. "I ..." His jaw dropped.

Amelia attacked his mind again. "Do you remember receiving the phone call?"

Alrick looked terrified.

Amelia raised her voice. "Do you remember how it felt to hear that news?"

Alrick's eyes were gaining some tears. "I can't … This is … It's impossible! I ..."

Jam went face to face with him and said, "Brother, I know it's confusing. I have the same memories. It's as if I am her, but at the same time I'm not. Because the reality is … we are her sons."

"Even so," Alrick said, clenching his right fist, "I can't help but notice … that you are her favorite!" He used his jets and swung his right fist into Jam's chest.

Jam got sent flying through the door opening of the unfinished car and landed onto a patch that had exposed orbs. Some of the orbs cracked upon impact, causing pieces of the new car's front wall to disappear and allow a large chunk of it to slant forward.

Alrick had an evil grin on his face before realizing he was in danger. The car's wall was falling toward him, so he took a few steps back before trying to jet away. Too late. The heavy chunk of metal came crashing down, trapping the lower half of his body and crushing it in spite of the armor. He morphed into his tortoise form and screamed out loud, causing the ghoms to huddle together behind the desk with the Steward.

"Alrick!" Amelia yelled. She rushed to his left side and put her right hand under Alrick's head.

In spite of the pain radiating from his chest upward, he smirked at her. "This is what it took ... for you to care?"

"You … You fool!" Amelia said, her eyes tearing up. "I started caring from the moment I've learned of your existence! You are my son! I chased you all the way here because I care! Look where your recklessness has led you!"

Alrick morphed back into his human form while crying too. His voice was a whisper. "I'm sorry, mother."

Amelia's number made a sound, but she couldn't see what it changed to. Her palm was still behind Alrick's head.

Jam came out of the unfinished car. "Brother!" He jetted and landed to the right of Amelia and Alrick, then tried to grab the thick metal chunk. "Mom! Help me lift this off Alrick!"

Alrick shut his eyes tight and grimaced while hissing.

"Stop!" Amelia shouted. "You're only causing him more pain!"

Jam took his hands off the fallen wall chunk. "But ..."

Amelia shook her head and sniffled. "We can't save him."

Jam put his hands on his head. "What?! Y-you can't be serious! He's still alive and conscious!"

Alrick tried to say something, but his body was too weak to even let him use his voice. All he could do was move his lips and hope Jam understood his message.

Tearing up and turning green, Jam placed his right hand on Alrick's chest and said, "It's okay. I forgive you, brother. I forgive you."

Alrick's eyes poured the most tears while he gave a strained grin. He took in one last breath and slowly let it out through his mouth. After that, he remained completely silent and still.

While Amelia and Jam sobbed next to Alrick's body, Sad-One said, "Well, guess who's writing an obituary today?"

Glad-One scowled at him.

The five ghoms took off through the door of the locomotive, one by one, screeching as they flew toward the sky.

The gang stopped by the Le Chat Chalet car, where they participated in a funeral for Samantha. The cat lay with her eyes closed, inside a tiny, full-couch rosewood coffin. She was dressed in a blue, elegant overcoat.

The first to speak was Frank. "Samantha and I have been together through thick and through thin. It pains me to know that this is goodbye. I never expected it to be so sudden, but I understand why she died this way. Her guilt over losing her adoptive son got the best of her, so she chose to protect his son. She may not have been the most honest person, but her heart was in the right place. Farewell, my dear Samantha." He touched her nose with his, then stood in line with Jam, Amelia, and One-One.

Jam, having regained his default color for his human form, found himself being pushed, a bit roughly, by the bear's paw.

"It's your turn," Frank said. Behind his dark glasses, he was glaring at Jam.

Jam stared at the cat's face. It looked almost as if she could wake up at any time – but he knew it would never happen. "I've only known Samantha for less than a day," he said, "but she treated me as if I was her son. I know why, and I appreciate that she learned from her past experiences and tried to be a better person. She even forgave my mom for how her treatment toward my father indirectly led to his demise. Samantha was a good person, and I wish I got to spend more time with her. I wish I had been more careful so she would still be with us today, but I can't change the past. Rest in peace, Samantha."

After he rejoined the line, Amelia stepped up to deliver her speech. "Samantha and I didn't start off on the right foot when we met. But after we became allies, I saw her as a nice host, and a mother who tried her best to make up for her past mistakes. I can relate to her now more than ever, as a grieving mother. I wish we had more time to become proper friends, but life doesn't always give us the opportunities we would like. Rest in peace, Samantha." Her number went down from 3 to 2.

One-One was next. He split up into Glad-One and Sad-One.

Glad-One said, "We didn't really have a good history with Samantha, but we commend her for trying to be a better person."

"And for giving me the opportunity to write two obituaries on the same day," Sad-One said.

Glad-One scowled at him again. "You really like writing those, don't you?"

"It's one of the few things I enjoy doing."

"Right. Where were we? Ah, yes. We wish you a peaceful eternal sleep, Samantha. Ultimately, you were a good cat."

Frank closed the lid of the coffin and lowered it into the ground before covering up the hole with soil and snow. Samantha's grave was at the base of the tall fir tree nearest to the front of her chalet. Frank had engraved her name in the tree's trunk.

"Well, time to get back to our car and head for the turtle people's town," Glad-One said before merging with Sad-One into a sphere again.

At their destination, Amelia discussed with an old priest tortoise to arrange for a funeral for her deceased son. She, Jam, and One-One participated at it in front of the incomplete church while the priest said the prayers.

Alrick had a half-couch pinewood casket, open to show only the upper, still intact part of his body.

It was time for the relatives and friends of the deceased to hold their speeches.

Jam was first in line. His face turned green as he began to speak. "Alrick, at his core, was a good person. He was my brother, and my only friend for many months until we've met our mother. After that, for the most part, he refused to accept his true identity and kept believing he was someone else. By the time he accepted himself for who he was, it was too late. But I am grateful for getting the chance to mend things between us in his last moments. Rest in peace, brother. I'll miss you." He broke down crying, turning into a softshell turtle again.

Amelia hugged him and patted him on the back. Then she let him go and stepped up as the next person to hold a speech. "Alrick was … my son. We didn't get more than mere minutes together without conflict, but those moments I will cherish. I regret not checking on the last car I've made. Perhaps if I had met him just after he and Jam emerged, things might have gone differently. But we live in a world where that didn't happen, and this was his fate. The one silver lining I see in all of this is that he finally listened to me, and died as himself. Now, with this funeral, I pay my dues as mother to him, and hope he can rest in peace after all the suffering he went through." As she started crying, her number went down to 1.

Jam went to hug her, and they stood like that, comforting each other. He changed back into his human form while resting his head on her left shoulder. She rested her head on his armored left shoulder in return.

One-One split up for the speech. Glad-One was first to talk. "Alrick was a confused and tormented person, but there was a spark of good in him."

"Too bad he let jealousy consume him," Sad-One said. "He could have had a future bright as a candle ahead of him, but he chose to douse it with a flood of anger."

"We hope he has found peace wherever he is now," Glad-One said. "Such a pity we had to lose him right after his change of heart."

"That's life," Sad-One said.

Two tortoise soldiers closed the casket and lowered it into the ground with ropes, then buried it using their sporks as shovels in the church's front yard. There was a tomb stone with the name Alrick Hughes on it at the head of the grave.

"Bye, brother," Jam said.

"Farewell, Alrick," Amelia said.

Jam looked at her. "What do we do now?"

"Now," Amelia said, looking at the 1 in her palm, "we figure out how to get you off this train. So far, we know of one method that worked."

Jam caught her hand between his palms. "I will not accept that solution. Either we both go or I'm not going."

She smiled at him. "Then let's get brainstorming."

At first they chose to go with a hand mirror. Jam had to get out of his armor to put the plan into action.

He held the small, rectangular mirror on his right palm and saw his own reflection in it. "Hold on a second! Is that … me? How?!"

Amelia said, "Samantha's reflection might have something to do with it." Then she put her numbered palm above the mirror to have her number reflected. "Is this acceptable, One?"

One-One frowned. In his Glad-One voice, he said, "No, I'm afraid the train wouldn't buy it."

"Okay, my turn," Jam said to Amelia.

They returned to One-One with Jam having painted the number 0 between fancy ticket edge brackets on his left hand, all with lime green.

"Is this passable?" Jam asked.

"That's just paint," One-One said as Sad-One. "It would never work." Then he switched to his Glad-One voice. "Come on, Amelia! Think! Think!"

Amelia sighed. "What else do we have left? Jam's not made of reflective material, we cannot find silver spray anywhere, paint won't work … Hmm, if I could get some lenses, I might be able to create a system that could project my number onto his skin."

"You're overcomplicating things!" Sad-One whined.

"You're right," she said. "Perhaps a camera obscura would be easier to build, as it requires fewer materials."

"You can tell she's an engineer," Glad-One said. Then Sad-One took over. "You don't need to build anything! The solution is in the palm of your hand! You just need to acknowledge it!"

"My number," she said, looking at it.

"I will not take her number!" Jam said.

Sad-One sighed. "For your exceptional case, you don't even need one."

"Then give him an exit!" Amelia said.

One-One switched to his Glad-One voice. "That's not possible. He doesn't have a number."

"Then how is he supposed get off the train when he does not need a number and needs a number at the same time?"

"He doesn't need a number," was all One-One could give her, in Sad-One's voice.

"Then what does he need?" Amelia asked. At that moment, her eyes went wide. "He needs an exit. If my memory tape thought he and Alrick were me, then … if I get my exit, he might be able to use it too!"

Her number changed to 0, and a door formed in front of them. It opened to reveal a view of her former house.

One-One smiled through his eyes at her. As Glad-One, he said, "Yay! You figured it out!" Then he switched to his Sad-One voice. "I guess this is goodbye."

Amelia hugged One-One. "Thank you for everything. And don't be sad; maybe we'll see each other again in the future. You never know when some new problem pops up."

"One-One," Jam said, "thank you for being kind to my brother, even when he showed you his worst side."

"I do my best to avoid increasing the death count on the train," One-One said as Sad-One.

Amelia placed him on the ground, then grabbed Jam by the left hand. "Are you ready to see what became of Earth?"

"I sure am!" Jam said, smiling confidently at her.

They walked through the door together, then the exit disappeared. Amelia's harpoon pack, watch, belt, and tablet were left behind, since they were train technology. She was allowed to keep her gray suit with the One insignia on her chest as souvenir.

They popped up in front of Amelia's former residence.

"Will it be weird that I am wearing an academic dress during September?" Jam asked. "I left my hat in the car where I was born, so the attire feels incomplete."

"There is a lot of weirder stuff we'll have to explain," Amelia said. "An academic dress is nothing compared to that."

Jam chuckled. "People will think I'm a wereturtle or something."

"Try not to transform in public until the world is ready for it."

"So, uh, is this where you live?" Jam asked, staring at the all too familiar house.

"It's where I used to live. Thirty three years have passed, so it isn't mine anymore. We'll have to find somewhere else to live. But first, let me check my e-mail."

She brought out her e-mailing machine and checked Hazel's last e-mail.

Sender: Hazel Hughes
Subject: Simon might be my dad?!

I'm not sure what to think of that news. And are you implying that Grace could also be my mom?

Grace said she did mess with your machine. She also saw lots of ghoms in cages back then. You never told me about that. What were you doing with them? We want to know more.

Love, Hazel & Grace.

"Well," Amelia said, "time to give them the full explanation and hope they won't be too shocked. After that, I'll have to think of some believable but completely false story to explain my disappearance and your existence to the police. It will have to hold until we can bring out the truth." She started typing away.

Two months later ...

Hazel finished folding a paper crane. She gave it to Grace and said, "This one's for you. I've made two different origami designs for mom and my brother."

"Thank you," Grace said. The crane fit in her palm. "It looks so cute!"

Hazel smiled. "I knew you'd like it! When will mom and Jam arrive?"

"Well, they said it would take them about half an hour–" The doorbell interrupted Grace.

"Yay! They're here!" Hazel yelled, rushing to the door. She opened it and saw Amelia in a black cardigan, black pants, and shoes of the same color. "Mom!" She hugged Amelia's waist. "You're here!"

Amelia bowed toward her and returned the hug before planting a kiss on Hazel's head. "I missed you so much, Hazel!"

"Hey, sis!" Jam said, waving at her. He still had his 337 number on his right hand, but his appearance was very different from the one he had during his arrival on Earth. His hair was cut short, save for the tall crest decorating the middle, from forehead to the back of his head. His chin had a blond goat patch beard. Instead of his academic dress, he wore a light blue, unbuttoned denim jacket showing the black sweater underneath, and light blue jeans. On his feet he wore white sneakers with black laces.

"Brother!" Hazel said, preparing to hug him as well.

Jam caught her and picked her up, hugging her at his chest. "I finally get to meet you! You look cuter in person!"

"You look nothing like Simon nowadays," Hazel said.

Grace looked at him, trying not to laugh at that giant crest of his. "Hi, Jam!"

He put Hazel down and said, "Hi, Miss Grace!"

"Just call me Grace. Hazel's right; you don't look like him anymore. Well, except for having eyes similar to his."

He looked to the side. "I'm sorry. I didn't want to hurt you by reminding you of your deceased friend."

"No, no, it's not a problem," Grace said. "I mean, what if he had a twin?"

Jam frowned.

Then she realized she was the one hurting him. "Oh. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to open old wounds."

"It's okay," Jam said. "I know you didn't intend to remind me of my brother."

Grace pointed at the room behind her with her thumb. "Come in. Have a seat on the couch or something. I'll go bring some cookies."

"Thanks," Jam said before he and Amelia went into that room, dragging their luggage behind themselves.

Later in that room there was a wooden table with a large plate full of cookies of the raisin and chocolate chip varieties.

Amelia had an origami daisy in her hair. It was the gift from Hazel. Jam received an origami deer, and he made it rest atop the front part of his crest. Hazel sat on the left part of the couch, Jam in the middle, and Amelia on the right. Grace sat in an armchair to the left of the couch.

"I'll have to get these two DNA tested," Amelia said while pointing at Hazel and Jam. "Assuming they have DNA. I know Jam is, for the most part, Simon's son, but don't go dating him until we figure out if you're his second mother or not, Grace."

"Mom!" Jam said, scowling. "I just met her! No, I'm not counting online chatting as meeting people. And besides, she's still mourning her friend and I'm still trying to figure myself out."

Amelia chuckled at him. "I was joking with that last part, rooster! Don't get your wattles in a twist."

"I think we should go to Lake's talk show first," Hazel said. "It will make it easier to explain human-denizen hybrids to the world that way."

Grace looked at the floor. "I don't know … How are we supposed to tell the world about what happened on the train? Amelia and I don't have the cleanest train records."

Hazel pouted. "But people can learn from your mistakes! Come on! We can stop future bad things before they happen if we let everyone know what denizens are!" She reached out and grabbed Grace's right arm while still being half on the couch. "Please?"

"Well, okay," Grace said reluctantly.

Hazel looked at Amelia. "What do you say, mom?"

Amelia looked at her now empty right palm. "I ..."

Jam grinned and said, "I'm going, and I'm dragging all of you with me, whether you like it or not! Because all of your stories are worth sharing with the world!"

"Fine, I'll tag along," Amelia said, though a hint of anger could be spotted in her tone.

"Yay!" Hazel said, bouncing on the couch. "We're going to meet Lake and Jesse!"

Amelia nodded. "We sure will, but first Jam and I need to rent an apartment. We plan on staying in the U.S. permanently since we don't have a stable residence in the U.K. and you have already settled in your school here. Jam can work from anywhere on his laptop since he's a graphic designer, and I can do the same since I am a programmer."

"You can stay with us until you get your own house," Grace said. "There's plenty of room here."

Hazel raised her hands in the air, the 337 number still present on her right palm. "Yeah, let's be one big, happy family!"

"I suppose we can be a gang again," Amelia said, smiling. "This time without the fear of supernatural creatures trying to eat us."

They all laughed, relieved to acknowledge that they were finally together in a less dangerous world.

THE END