Hephaestus

Part I - And It All Started With A Hex Nut

The evening started off pleasantly enough as Layton sat on the sofa of the cabin he shared with the train's head engineer, waiting for his roommate to return so he could start dinner for them.

He always waited until at least 8PM to see if she was coming back that night or not. If she wasn't, usually by 8 he would get some sort of cryptic message, delivered unusually by one of the Apprentice Horde (as he had come to call her students in the engine room), telling him what her plans were for the night.

These messages could range from something as short as 'Not in tonight' to a five minute explanation that he would swear the apprentice engineer was delivering verbatim.

That group really needed to get a life outside of the engine room, he often told himself.

But almost at eight o'clock on the dot Layton heard the front lock unclick, hopefully signaling his roommate's arrival.

Ready to engage her in a discussion about what they could do for dinner, he watched instead as she entered the cabin without so much as a word or even an acknowledgement that he was there and plowed her way through the room straight to the bedroom and closed the door after her.

In their months of living together, the two had come up with some interesting, if not totally unspoken rules.

This was likely the best known between them.

They both had their share of rough days. But they also agreed that it wasn't fair to take those days out on the most convenient source...each other. So instead they had come up with a sort of signaling device between them that basically stated in no uncertain terms to the other "I don't want to talk right now.".

This was it.

No talking and a beeline straight for the bedroom.

To attempt to usurp the rule and try and get the other person to explain anything opened up the field for fair game verbal abuse, said the rules.

So Layton settled back on the sofa. Whereas Melanie could hold a grudge better than anyone he knew, her bouts with frustration usually didn't last too long. And so he set his internal timer to approximately fifteen minutes. If she didn't come out sooner, he would eventually have to go into the bedroom, if not solely based on wanting a soft, warm place to sleep that night.

He had hit the snooze on that internal timer three times before he ventured over to the closed door to the bedroom. Putting on his best game face, he hit the door mechanism and braced himself for whatever came.

Inside the room, Melanie was laying on her back on the bed on her side. Her feet still on the floor and her arms crossed over her chest, she lay simply facing the ceiling with her eyes closed.

Based on the fact that her body extended partially into his half of the bed, Layton decided he was going to have to delve into things with her if he was to get any sleep that night.

Bracing himself with a nervous smile, Layton walked over to her side and stared down at her for a few moments.

"OK. New positions." He stated. "That's what keeps relationships fun and exciting. I'm game."

"Shut up, Layton." Came the stoic reply.

Layton didn't back down. "With abuse! It just keeps getting better."

And arm reached out and patted the bed next to her. "Lay down and I'll show you abuse, Mr. Layton."

"Does it come with chains and a whip? Or should I just get out my handcuffs like the last time?"

He congratulated himself that the comment earned him the smallest of smiles. Sitting down, but careful to stay out of reach, he lowered himself onto the bed next to her. "So, hard day at the office?"

Melanie gave a long, exasperated sigh. "You have no idea."

"OK. So who do I have to go slap? Bennett or the engine?"

"Either or neither. Take your pick."

"Then I'll take Bennett. At least he can't kill me."

Melanie opened one eye as she looked at him. "Bennett and I spare with Till and Roche at taekwondo twice a week in the gym."

Layton sat back up and turned to her. "OK. I'll listen to the whole story and then decide."

Melanie continued to stare up at him. "You sure you want to hear this?"

"Try me."

Melanie turned back to the ceiling, closing her eyes again. "Bennett told me tonight he thinks the train is failing."

Layton swore every muscle in his body tightened despite Melanie's rather nonchalant delivery of the statement. "The trai...there's something wrong with the engine!?"

"Not the engine. The engine is perpetual. I could put it on four wheels and two axels and, as long s it could replace it's physical components, it would circle the globe endlessly. The problem IS the physical components. Things LIKE the wheels and the axels."

"Meaning?"

"Components wear out, Layton." Melanie answered him, pausing as she gave a deep sigh. "The train is simply getting old."

"It's seven years old!"

"But it's constantly being used. Non-stop. Nothing is meant to do that."

"The engine is. And your brain." He quickly added.

A well aimed arm swung out and hit him in the side.

Layton laid back down on the bed next to her. "OK. We have the problem. Now it's time to find a solution."

Next to him on the bed, Melanie held a small hex nut up to him. "Can you find me another one of these. Because currently, THAT is the problem."

Layton took the small piece of metal from her and looked it over. "That's a hex nut."

"Congratulations. You passed your 'man test'. But what I need is about 10 more of them."

"What about the supply cars?"

"Have you been to the supply cars lately, Mr. Layton? Because a lot of other people have. And quite regularly."

"Meaning?"

"Meaning over the past seven years, we've dwindled our replacement parts for the train down to almost nothing."

"So basically what you're telling me," Layton put in as he rolled the small bolt around in his fingers, "is this train has a few screws loose?"

Melanie snatched the hex nut back. "If you're not going to take this seriously..."

Layton rolled over on his side to face her. "OK. You're right. So talk to me. How bad is this right now?"

Melanie stared back at him. "It's bad. But not because of a few missing hex nuts, Layton. It's...rivets. Nails. Old panels that have worn out. Pipes that need replacing. It's...circuits in the engine room. Parts for the engine itself." She gave another worried sigh. "We've only lasted this long because of the spare parts we did have. Now...," She turned back to the ceiling, "...I don't know what to do."

Layton stared over at her for a few moments. He couldn't just see the worry in her expression, he could hear it in her voice. She truly saw no way out of this. No solution. Seven years of struggling, sacrificing, and worry, all brought down because of a hex nut.

He hated hearing that tone in her voice. He had always told her 'You care more for this train and everyone on it than you do for yourself', and it never showed more clearly than in moments like this. He knew she wasn't thinking for one second how this crisis stood to effect her. She was thinking about how it stood to effect every other person on the train, including him.

But laying on the bed next to her, staring at the ceiling himself, Layton gave a small smile as a plan began to form in his head.

Suddenly pulling up, he stepped in front of her. "Well, I do."

Melanie turned to him. "Really?"

"Yeah. Really." He replied. "You've been thinking on this long enough and your brain is tired of it. Lets just go to bed and sleep on it for now. Maybe we'll come up with a solution in the morning."

"Just like that." She asked incredulously.

"No. But sometimes a good night's sleep does wonders for helping you look at a problem differently."

Melanie sighed once more, but gave up even wanting to argue with him. Maybe he was right. Maybe she had been worrying over the problem for so long she had dug herself into a rut about it and couldn't see over the sides anymore to get a new perspective.

Maybe she did just need a good night's sleep.

At 6am the next morning Layton was woken up to a considerable amount of noise coming from Melanie's side of the bed.

Squinting against the light just starting to come in the bedroom window, he pulled himself up as he turned to see what she was up to.

Watching her for a few moments, he watched as she literally seemed to be tearing her side of the bed apart. Searching though the blankets, over the floor, the nightstand, the drawers. Every place she could find.

"Melanie," he finally asked, "what are you doing?"

His roommate didn't even stop to answer him.

"Looking." Was the only answer he got as the rummaging went on.

"I can see that. My question is more along the lines of 'for what'?"

This time she did stop as she turned to him. "The hex nut. The one I showed you last night. It's gone."

Layton could hear the panic starting to seep into her voice.

"All right. All right." He stated, trying to calm her down a little. "We know it has to be in this room, right?" Where did you put it last night?"

"On my nightstand!" She answered in an irritated tone. "I left it right by the alarm clock"

"All right." Layton added. "Then logically it has to be at least on your side of the room. We've already narrowed to search down by half. Now, how important is it you have it back right now?"

Melanie thought for a moment. "It...it wasn't vital. It actually had a crack in it. It was stabilizing one of the circuit boards in the engine room. Bennett took one from a wall panel to replace it." She turned a near panicked look to him. "But this is exactly what I was talking about last night, Layton. We can't just keep taking things from one place to put them somewhere else. It's painting ourselves into a proverbial corner."

Layton took her by the shoulders to steady her. "All right. The nut didn't just walk away. But you've looked enough. Go change and I'll look around and see if I can find it. If not, we'll both look tonight. It's here somewhere and we'll find it."

Giving the floor one last quick brushing look, Melanie allowed herself to be directed out of the room.

While she was in the shower, Layton got dressed himself. He didn't bother wasting time trying to get her to eat breakfast. Months of living with the woman had taught him when she was stressed, short of liquefying something and injecting it into her would get her to eat anything.

He gave her a few more minutes of re-searching the room, this time focusing on the carpet around the nightstand before reminding her she was late for her shift and he would look some more before heading out himself.

With a disappointed, if not worried look, Melanie left the cabin to head for the engine room.

As soon as he heard the cabin's front door close, Layton walked back into the bedroom to his side of the bed and opened his nightstand drawer. Reaching in he pulled out the small hex nut and held it up between his fingers, a small smile forming on his lips.