Chapter 2: The Tropical Car

The first thing I heard as I started to wake up was a loud beeping near my head.

"Ugh, five more minutes." I groaned, still half asleep.

After a moment I lifted myself up and rubbed my eyes. There were a few strands of blonde hair hanging in front of my nose so brushed them to the side.

I was sitting in a king sized bed with brown covers inside a two person hotel bedroom with dimmed lights. There was a second bed to my left, a small kitchen area ahead of me, Two doors leading to the exit and a bathroom respectively, and dark curtains covering large windows. A little more awake, I looked at the nightstand to the right of the bed and saw a tablet beeping with a clock ringing on the screen and a single brown fingerless glove next to it. My tablet's alarm was going off.

I reached over to turn it off, but as I did I took notice of the writing under my hand. I turned it around and stared blankly at the unchanging number on my palm. A black 337 sat upon it. The same number it's always been. I closed my eyes and sighed, then grabbed the glove from the nightstand and put it on over my number before tapping the tablet's screen to turn it off.

My tablet was programmed to wake me up exactly nine hours after I fall asleep, which I'm not even sure how it can tell, though I can't be that surprised. After all the one who made it has always been a wiz with all kinds of tech. That's actually why I don't try to mess with it. She might've taught me a good bit before I left but there's no way I'd be able to fix it by myself.

Before I went on my own, I used to travel with a woman who knew a great deal about the train. At first the only reason she let me tag along was just to study and find out more about me, but over time she started to act as a mom to me. Actually I suppose she technically is my mother, but I guess I was more or less created than born. Besides, I don't think she'd feel comfortable from me calling her that. I still remember the surprise on her face when I accidentally called her mom a year after I went with her.

I smiled looking back at that memory, but figured it was time to get up and start the day. I turned in the bed and placed my feet on the floor next to my black boots. I then stood up and walked over to the kitchen part of the room.

'What to make?' I thought to myself, 'I think I'm feeling pancakes today. Yeah! Plus I doubt I'll be able to find another normal oven anytime soon.'

The small kitchen had a classic black and white tiled floor, a fridge, a wooden counter with a black top, some cabinets, and a stove. I made my way over to the countertop closest to the fridge where my brown satchel was sitting, and pulled out a small bottle of pre-mixed pancake batter and a nonstick frying pan. I think homemade pancakes are superior to the processed stuff, but I figured this'll do. In fact, I would've gotten the ingredients for homemade but I don't really know how to make pancakes from scratch, plus I didn't have any recipes on me. Probably for the best anyway, I mean my bag can only hold so much.

I went over to the stove and placed my frying pan on it before turning the dial to a lowish medium heat. As I waited for the pan to heat up, I looked in some of the cupboards for the essentials I'd need. Something to flip the pancakes with, somewhere to put them, and most importantly… A fork to eat them with. After a moment of scrounging around I found everything I needed then reached for the bottle of pancake mix.

I undid the lid and was just about to pour some batter on the hot pan, until I heard beeping coming from the nightstand again.

"Are you serious?" I asked a little annoyed.

I let out a sigh as I put the bottle down and walked over to my tablet. I wasn't really enthused about it because I figured it was just gonna be another thing broken nearby. My tablet was connected to the train, and would tell me if there was anything close that needed maintenance. I wanted to ignore it, but it was part of my job.

But as I'd find out, It wouldn't be as simple as that. When I looked down at my tablet and read the alert, my eyes widened in shock, and in fear.

In bold green letters it simply read, "Anomaly detected."

My heart sank from reading that, because I've only seen this exact alert once before. I quickly looked down and examined the belt I was wearing. It was a black belt with a buckle of One on the front. The black band had a steady red wave on it indicating that it was still working.

"Oh thank god!" I said with the biggest sigh of relief, but then realized something after a moment, "Hang on, if it's not me," I said picking up the tablet, "Then what is it?"

I tapped on the tablet until it showed a top down outline of three train cars. The one I was currently in, the one ahead of me, and the one I just came from a couple days ago. A blip had just entered the latter of the three.

"Whatever it is, It's traveling down the train cars." I sat down again on the bed and started to put on my boots. "I just hope I can get there before it ends up in this car."

When I first left home I thought I'd be prepared for pretty much anything, but I was proven wrong the second I stepped aboard this train. Each car was different in it's own way, and they were all completely random. For example I've been going through train cars going toward the engine for about half a day now, and I've already seen some pretty crazy stuff. I've seen things like a candy cane forest, a bowling alley made entirely out of ice, and even a giant robot fighting arena. This whole train felt like it was ripped straight out of a video game or something. Honestly when I first got here I was terrified, I had no clue what this train was or how I actually got here in the first place.

But after ignoring the fear and continuing to look for Emily, I started to get used to the train's weirdness. I mean I'll still be surprised by the randomness of it of course, but I expect to be surprised, y'know what I mean? Although some cars are not as inspired as others, and I thought the car I was currently in would be like that. Though I'd be eating my words in a bit.

It was a black empty dome shaped room with a floating green crystal ball in the center. When I first entered, I simply walked past the crystal ball and immediately made my way to the opposite car door. I put my hands on the handle and tried to open the exit. Unsurprisingly it didn't budge.

"Of course, another puzzle." I said with a sigh.

At this point I knew most cars had puzzles in them but I still tried to leave right off the bat. I didn't want to waste any time. I turned around and looked at the crystal ball.

"Alright, let's get this over with."

I walked to the center of the room and looked down at the ball. Upon further inspection I noticed that this ball had a pattern of tons of hand outlines on it. They were all right hands. Just then one of the outlines started to glow and a number appeared on the palm. It was faint, but I could make out the number 274. The same number I had on my hand.

I lifted my arm up and looked at the glitchy blue number. It was obvious that the car wanted me to put the number on the crystal ball, but I wasn't sure it was a good idea. After what happened with that video of the robot, and something else that happened earlier with a soda machine, I was worried that it could mess something else up. I didn't want to, but I knew the door wouldn't open if I didn't.

I cautiously reached toward the ball with my right hand. I noticed when my number was closer, the crystal ball started to turn blue, and when my hand actually made contact, the entire ball began to glow and the room itself turned a blinding white. The room was kinda dark before so I instinctively shut my eyes from the sudden brightness. When I opened them again, I felt a little confused. The walls and floor of the entire room now looked like TV static.

"Whoa, is this a car a big TV room or something?" I said in awe.

Soon the screen-like surfaces changed and now showed a familiar scene. It was a long white hallway with hundreds of vending machines on the walls stretching out to both exits. I was in this very car just a couple hours ago but this car made it look like I was there again.

"Nope, this seems way cooler than a TV car." I said.

Normally I tried not to give a second thought to any of the cars, but whenever I come across an interesting car like this one I can't help but be impressed. I looked around amazed until I heard a voice behind me.

"Oh come on!" the voice said annoyed.

I turned around and was surprised to see myself standing in front of a soda machine repeatedly pushing one of the selections. I now knew exactly what this car was about. It lets you look back on past events. Although knowing this, I wasn't excited for what I was about to see again.

"Yeah of course this happens!" my past self exclaimed. "It doesn't matter where they're from, all vending machines are evil."

When I was walking through this car earlier I saw a soda flavor called Lunar Pop on this machine, and I wanted to try it. Except when I put a dollar in it, the machine just took it and didn't dispense anything. I watched past me try the other selections and give the soda machine a few shakes, until she gave up and kicked it in defeat. I did have other stuff to drink in my bag, but it was still super annoying.

"You win this round train." she said pointing to the machine.

My past self sighed and leaned against the soda machine with her right hand. The glow from her number could be seen on it.

"Whatever, I should be moving on any…" past me started to say until she noticed the glow of her number under her hand was different. It was flickering. "...way?" She pulled her hand back and looked at her palm and just like with that video, it was glitching again.

And so was the soda machine. When my past self took her hand off the machine, parts of it started to flicker. Kinda like textures struggling to load properly in a video game. Past me looked at it wondering what was happening when suddenly the soda machine glitched out and was now sitting upside down.

"What the heck!?" my past self said as she took a step back.

Then the soda machine was right side up again, then upside down, then back up. It began to rapidly glitch between the two as it slowly moved to the right while clipping into the neighboring vending machine. All the while the soda machine itself started to spark and leak soda onto the floor. Past me had no idea what to do, or even if she could do anything, so she quickly turned tail and sped toward the exit.

This was not one of my prouder moments, and watching it only made me feel embarrassed. I just had no idea what was happening there. I mean how would you even begin to un-glitch a real life soda machine? I bet my aunt would know. She's pretty good at coding.

Just then the room was static again. I glanced back at the exit hoping it had opened, but nope, still shut. I waited for a moment until the room changed again.

This time I was standing in some kind of bank. There was a line that went up to the bank tellers, some counters with free pamphlets on them, a clock on the back wall, and an unmanned hot dog stand sitting in the corner. I knew for a fact this was still on the train because the people inside looked like huge pencils.

As interesting as this was, I was a bit confused. I've never been in a car like this before. I couldn't help but wonder. Was this supposed to be the future, or…

Suddenly from the entrance of the car, two girls who looked a couple years younger than me, and a corgi with a crown burst into the bank and quickly shut the door behind them. One of the girls had pale skin, a long orange ponytail, and glasses. She was dressed in a grey skirt and boots, black leggings, a green hoodie with patches on the elbows, a brown backpack, and a single brown glove on her right hand. After closing the door this girl noticed that the group had gained the attention of everyone in the car.

"Sorry everyone." she said with an awkward chuckle.

All the pencil people looked at them for a moment before returning to their business. The orange haired girl sighed with relief before the other girl walked forward. The second girl would look identical to the first if not for her shorter hair, lack of backpack and glasses, and the fact that she was completely chrome. I wasn't sure why, but both of the girls seemed familiar to me.

"Oh man…" said the chrome girl.

"Aw, yeah," responded the orange haired girl, "This is such a boring car to see first."

"Are you kidding? This is so cool! Do you think they'll let me open an account? Will I get a checkbook?" This girl was extremely enthused. It was like this was the first thing she's ever seen.

"Look!" she said as she ran over to a counter and picked up a pen. "Aah! It's those little pens

on chains! I used to get so motion sick when I'd have to reflect in these."

The chrome girl then stopped and looked at the bottom of her boot. There was a red swiss army knife stuck to it. She grabbed it and put it on her arm before the orange haired girl walked up.

"Here." She took the knife and slid it upward, leaving a small mirror still attached. "Now no one can keep you trapped ever again."

"Heh, thanks Tulip."

"Wait... Tulip?" I asked confused.

Hearing that name made me take a double take. I now immediately recognized the orange haired girl, but I could hardly believe it.

"Aunt Tulip!? She… she was here? But how, why?"

Knowing my own aunt has been on this train before, it just... I was just stunned. I focused back on the conversation but in the back of my mind I knew I'd have to ask Tulip about this when I got home. Which I was happy to know for sure was possible.

"Now, come on," Tulip said, walking past her chrome counterpart, "We'd better keep moving."

"Nah, hard pass." said the chrome girl, "I spent my whole existence living your life. I'm going my own way now."

Tulip was quiet for a moment. She then smiled and held out her hand for the chrome girl to shake.

"Okay." she said as she shook with a smile of her own now.

Just then the room began to static over like the video of the robot. I looked down and saw the blue orb start to flicker.

"Oh no… not now." I said worried.

The scene around me switched again. It was still the bank car, but Tulip was gone and the chrome version of her was laying on three patted waiting chairs reading an application of some sort. The scene looked like it was some time after.

"Welp, I'm bored." she said as she crumpled the paper. "Guess Tulip was right."

I looked over at a clock on the wall, and it looked like about thirty minutes had passed.

"Well whatever, I should probably go live my new life now."

I would've taken my hand off at this point, but it was seriously bothering me how familiar this girl was. She looked just like Tulip but that wasn't it. There was something else about her that was screaming at me, but I couldn't think of it. I watched as the chrome girl got up and started to make her way to exit. She walked up to the door and reached for the handle.

But then she stopped.

The girl's hand trembled slightly and she now had a brief look of hesitation on her face. Something was holding her back, like she was afraid of what was on the other side. She pulled her arm back and held her hand to her chest.

"W- well, I probably haven't seen all this car has to offer yet." she said with a nervous laugh, "I mean I haven't even opened an account yet. Plus I still need to try that guy's hot dogs."

I looked over and saw a pencil man setting up the hot dog stand, then I looked back at the girl.

"Heh… yeah." she stepped back some until she fully walked away from the door. Just then I realized why this girl was so familiar, her face, her voice, it all clicked for me right in that moment. But, it was impossible.

"Wait, is that…?" I started to say. "N- no... there's no way."

I reached my other hand toward the girl almost certain of who she was.

"Mom?"

Suddenly the room turned to static once more, only more abruptly than earlier. I looked down and was instantly worried. The ball was now flickering far worse than before and many of the other hand outlines on it individually started to glow green. I tried to pull away but my hand was now stuck. I was now panicking. I had no idea what to do so I shut my eyes and prepared for the worst, and after a moment…

Nothing happened.

I opened my eyes and the room was dark again. I looked down at the ball when it suddenly dimmed and fell to the ground with a thud. I was gonna question what just happened, but behind me I could hear a clicking sound. I looked and the car doors had opened. I took that as my cue to leave and sprinted out of that car and into the next.

After rushing inside I ran a couple feet forward before tripping on now loose terrain. I fell face first into some sand. I then raised myself up and spat out some that got in my mouth.

"Ugh, gross!" I said as I stood up and dusted myself off. "Now where am I?"

I looked around and saw a vast desert before me with nothing but rolling hills of sand and a faded blue sky complemented by a blinding sun. There was a light breeze in the air that had a slight salty scent to it. I could already feel the heat of this car, so I quickly took off my hoodie and tied it around my waist.

"Guess I should look for the exit then." I said holding a hand over my eyes.

As I walked across the sands I thought back on what I just saw in the previous car.

"That girl... there's… there's no way that was Mom… right? I mean last I checked Mom isn't chrome. That other girl was definitely Tulip so… maybe she was a weird clone of her or something. But the way she talked, she sounded like she knew Tulip for a long time, so… Ugh! Why is this so confusing? Physical puzzles are bad enough train, why do you have to give me brain puzzles too!?"

I sighed and looked down at my feet. Then I suddenly noticed some shadows on the ground near me. I looked up and saw three birds in the air circling me.

"Heh, sorry guys, I don't plan on being anyone's dinner today." I said confidently.

At first I thought they were vultures, but I was then corrected when I heard the unmistakable cawing of seagulls. I couldn't help but think of how weird this train was until I noticed something past the seagulls. In the sky I could see various holes of different sizes that led outside the train car. I could see the dark clouds through some of them. They looked like they were made from outside the train, like something burrowed it's way into the car. I didn't know what these cars were made of specifically, but they were still metal.

"What in the world did that?" I asked myself.

Just then I thought I heard sand shifting behind me. I turned around, but didn't see anything.

"Heh, probably just my imagination." Despite saying this, I was starting to feel nervous. I quickened my pace.

A few minutes passed, and after I was a bit calmer I actually came across something. It was a broken trunk of a tree sitting halfway above the sand. I noticed the leaves, and even though they were dried up, I could tell that this was a palm tree. There were a few shriveled up coconuts near it.

I was about to question it but I heard the shifting again. But this time when I turned, I saw it. Something was traveling under the sand, and it was following me.

I continued forward, and started to jog hoping to lose whatever it was. Unfortunately It could tell that I knew it was there, so it gave up being stealthy and started chasing me. It didn't matter if I tried going faster, it would always match my speed. For a moment I turned my head to look back at it, but in doing so I managed to lose my footing and fall forward.

I got to one knee to try and get up but as soon as I did, the thing burst out from the sand in front of me and pinned me to the ground. I wasn't sure what I was expecting to be under the sand, but this certainly was not it. The creature pinning me had four legs, a dark body, a pair of bug-like wings, and antennae waving around on its head. It looked like a mix of a cockroach and a large dog. I stared wide eyed at the disturbing creature.

"G- Get off me!" I screamed. "Someone help!"

I tried to struggle but the creature had a hold of both my arms making sure I'd be going nowhere. The creature then opened its mouth filled with little tentacles and started to inhale. I wasn't sure what it was doing but I started to feel weaker, as if it was stealing the very life from my body. I could hardly call for help anymore as it was happening.

"H… help…" I said weakly.

Fortunately though it didn't last long, because out of nowhere an arm had smacked the creature off of me. I gasped for air the second it was off. The creature was flug a few feet away and something now stood in between us. As I started to stand back up I looked at my rescuer and saw a tall bulky person with a shell on their back. That was honestly all I really noticed because I booked it the first chance I got. I did not want to be in this car anymore.

"Nope." I said running off.

I began to sprint, but I didn't get far. From out of nowhere I started to have an intense headache. I could hear some commotion behind me as I held my head. It got so bad that I fell to my knees yelling for the pain to stop, and after a while I started to black out. I fell to my side on the hot sand where I saw the shadow of someone approaching me. I looked up and saw a woman with short blond hair, and light brown skin wearing a black face mask and visor glasses. As the woman stood over me, she took off her glasses and looked down at me with dark colored eyes. She was the last thing I saw before losing consciousness.

After passing out, I remember having a dream, or a vision even. I couldn't see anything, I was in an area filled with nothing but pure darkness, but after a moment I started to hear a distant conversation between that chrome girl, and a voice I didn't recognize until the very end. I tried to follow the voices to their source but they came from all around.

"I guess I'm gonna explore the train, I don't think I can go with Tulip anymore even if I wanted to, so I'm going to go on my own adventure."

"Well, would it be ok if I come with you?"

"Don't you want to go home?"

"There's… nothing for me back there."

"...Okay, you can come with me."

"Thank you. If I'm gonna be stuck here, then I'm glad it's with a friend."

"Oh wow, I haven't even asked your name yet."

"My bad, I should have introduced myself. I'm Mike"

"I'm Tu… well, I guess I don't have a name yet."

With that, the area became silent again. I looked around hoping to find something, until an orb appeared in front of me. It was that same orb from the previous car, and the hand outlines started to glow brighter and brighter until...

I groaned a bit as I woke up. As I opened my eyes I could see a white ceiling, I was inside somewhere. I sat up and saw that I was in some kind of hotel room and I was sitting in a neatly made white bed with brown covers. There was a second bed to the right that looked like it was just slept in, and just past it was a chair with my hoodie and backpack sitting in it. Across from me there was a kitchen with a bottle and utensils near a stove. To the side of the kitchen was two doors in a hallway looking area. The door furthest back was probably the exit and the other leading to a separate room on the left was most likely a bathroom or something.

"Where, am I?"

I looked to my side and saw a curtained window. I got out of the bed and walked toward it. I pulled back the curtain only to see it was boarded up. I noticed that the wood covering it looked old and worn down. This was not done recently. I sighed as I walked back to the bed and sat down

As confused as I was, I did feel safe enough to explore my thoughts once again.

"What was that dream?"

Usually when I dream, I only really dream of completely random stuff. They were always vivid and meant nothing. But… this one felt different. It felt almost real. Less like a dream, and more like a memory. It reminded me of the car I just broke, the two people's voices were very clear and I could remember their conversation word for word. It also didn't really help that I knew exactly who those voices belonged to.

"Dad… he was here, and if what I heard actually happened then... that girl really was Mom. They were both here on the train and knew about it all along."

I felt a bit of anger as I spoke my next words.

"If they knew about this place the entire time, then why didn't they-"

My words were cut short when I heard the turning of a door handle ahead of me. From the furthest door, that same woman I saw earlier stepped through. She noticed I was up.

"Oh good, you're awake." she said in a friendly manner as she removed her mask and visor. Without it, she looked a lot younger than what I was expecting. Well, young for an adult that is. She looked to be in her mid-twenties.

She wore a uniform like outfit. She had black boots, light grey pants, a black shirt, a fingerless brown right glove, and a black belt with a red wavy line and a buckle that looked like that robot from the video. As she closed the door behind her, she took off a brown satchel bag with a pin resembling her belt buckle on the strap and held it in her hand.

"You're that lady I saw in the desert, who are you?" I asked cautiously.

"My name's Hazel, I saw you in trouble earlier so I brought you here."

"Okay, so where exactly is here?"

"It's the same car if that's what you mean. This is just a safe place to hide from the ghoms during the day cycle." She walked over to the kitchen portion as she spoke. She put her bag on the counter, before heading to the stove.

"Ghoms?" I asked confused.

"Oh sorry, I sometimes forget not everyone knows about them. That thing that attacked you, that was a ghom."

So that's what it was called. A ghom. Though talking about that encounter made me remember something.

"What happened to the other person who knocked it off me, the tall one with the shell?"

Hazel stopped. She just held a bottle of some kind of batter for a moment before pouring it into a pan then answering.

"That was… a friend of mine, but she's not here right now. She kinda just comes and goes every now and then to help."

"Okay…" I wasn't that quick to trust this lady just yet. I mean, yeah she saved me, but I didn't know why she saved me. As we talked she was using a spatula to put stacks of something on a plate to her side.

"So," I started, "Why did you help me back there?"

"Well it's kinda part of my job to help passengers of the train, and even if it wasn't, I was not just gonna sit by and watch someone become ghom food."

"Does that make you a steward or something?"

"Nah, I'm more like a… an apprentice engineer. I mean, there was a steward at some point, but it apparently went missing years before I started."

I looked down at the floor. I wasn't sure what to make of Hazel. She seemed nice enough, but… I don't know.

"So with the interrogation out of the way," She said, causing me to look back up at her, "What's your name?"

"...Meg."

"Well Meg, I hope you like pancakes."

Sometime after eating a plate of slightly burnt pancakes, Hazel offered to escort me through the desert when the sun went down. For obvious reasons, I did not refuse.

Later, we left the apartment and were standing in a dark and torn up hallway. There were piles of sand and debris obstructing all but two areas, the door to said apartment, and a stairwell right at the end of the hall. I was a bit confused because when we got there, Hazel went up the stairs instead of down. I decided to just follow, and after climbing a couple stories we arrived at a door at the top of the stairs.

"Uh, why are we going to the roof?"

"Well, let's just say that I wouldn't call it a roof anymore."

"Wh... How does that even answer my…" I started to say until Hazel opened the door.

As we stepped out I could immediately see what she meant.

"Question...?" I said shocked.

We were standing on a stone flat roof, surrounded by miles of desert coming from all around. The building we just came from was almost completely buried under the sand, leaving a single stone platform with a door just above the surface.

After that, Hazel led me in what I could only hope was the right direction. I was worried that more of those ghoms would show up, but I was reassured when Hazel told me they don't really come out in colder areas. Since I felt the need to wear my hoodie this time, I felt a lot better hearing this.

As we walked I started to notice ocasional stuff that was completely out of place. There were a few more dead palm trees, a table with an umbrella attached to it, and a deflated beach ball. All of which were halfway buried in sand. I couldn't help but wonder what this place was.

"Do you know what this car's deal is?" I asked.

"Not sure. I've only been here for a few days, but if I were to guess I'd say that this car used to be some kind of tropical resort. Now it's just a ghom nest."

"Wait, you mean it wasn't always like this? What happened?"

"The ghoms happened. Ghoms do nothing but consume energy, and everything on this train is made with a special type. Every puzzle, every denizen," She looked back at me for a moment, "Every number."

I looked down at my palm as she continued.

"My guess, this car was so nice that it made enough passengers stay here to attract the ghoms."

"Hang on," I said, "If that's true then how did the car turn into this? What happened to the people here?"

"A car's contents are decided with these special little orbs, if the energy inside them is altered or even removed, it can drastically change a car. As for the people…" Hazel said looking down at the sand, "I'd rather not think about it."

The silence hangs in the air for some time until Hazel tries to lighten the mood.

"Say Meg," she says, "What brings you to this train anyway?"

"Huh, what do you mean?"

"Well every passenger is here due to a problem they may have. It can range from an over inflated ego, or coping with the loss of a loved one. But they all stem from a major event in their lives. I'm sorry if that's too personal, I'm just trying to-"

"No, it's okay," I interrupted, "I don't know about any of that, but I'm here because I'm trying to find someone, and she's here on this train. I can feel it."

"Trying to find someone?" Hazel asked as she glanced at me with a curious look, "Huh, that's a new one. Actually, I'm kinda looking for someone myself. An old friend. How about you?"

"...My best friend, Emily… She went missing over a week ago. I left home to go find her and wound up here."

Hazel turned to me again and looked like she was about to say something, but then noticed what was now ahead of us. A red double door with a golden handle.

"Ah, the exit." she said, "Aren't I a great guide or what?"

After making it to the end of the car, Hazel opened the door and turned to me.

"Hey Meg, before anything else, would it be alright If we traveled together?"

"What? How come?" I asked.

"Like I said before, It's my job to help passengers, and since we're going the same way I'd like to help you find your friend and get you both home. whaddaya say?"

She held out a hand. I just stared at it for a moment before reaching out and shaking it with a small smile.

"Alright, sure."

She gave me a nod then turned to the exit.

"Well then, we should get moving." she said before walking out.

"Right."

I was about to follow her, until I started to get a headache again. It was nowhere near as bad as before but it still hurt. After the pain had passed, I had a weird feeling. I turned around and saw something. I saw a little girl standing barefoot in the sand. She had light brown skin and long blonde hair with a leaf in it. She had on a black collared shirt, a grey sweater vest, a blue tie with matching shorts, and a pink bracelet on her right arm.

"What the… who are-" I was about to say until Hazel called from up ahead.

"You coming Meg?"

"Oh, yeah be right there." I said turning to her.

When I turned back to the little girl, she was gone. I stared blankly at where she once was, until I shook my head.

"Wow, I must actually be imagining stuff now, cause that girl looked a lot like… Uh, nevermind I should go catch up with her."

I turned around, and followed Hazel to the next car.