Chapter Four

Father Anderson angrily threw open the flimsy doors that separated the train cars. He had destroyed the vampire responsible for wreaking havoc on the train before any ghouls had arisen. Anyone killed who the freak had drained aught to be dead. When he saw what was going on in the car his eyes blazed with fury.

Everyone in the car was now dead or in the process of dying. The ones the vampire had drained had attacked the surviving passengers with such ferocity and speed that Anderson wasn't sure they were even ghouls.

Their rotten and twisted faces all lifted from their meals and gazed at Anderson and the promise of fresh meat. They collectively left their victims and clogged the isle with their bodies as they moaned hungrily.

Without the vampire to control them they've lost any semblance of sense they might have had with the freaks guidance. Anderson grinned. "I guess my funs not quite done yet." He said as he drew two bayonets and charged the mob of ghouls. He was a flurry of stabs and slashes as he hacked his way up through the isle, felling ghoul after ghoul as he went. When he was finished, he was standing at the opposite end of the car spattered in blood and other fluids.

He realized that the next car up was the engine. He guessed that the vampire had taken out the driver, which might account for disturbance earlier. He walked up to the door and noticed that the lock had been forced. He swung the door open and looked into the engine room. Sure enough, there was the conductor all rotted and twisted standing in the middle of the car. With a flick of his blade, Anderson decapitated the ghoul. He looked around the engine room for a brief moment until he spied a glass window labeled "Emergency Brake". He smashed the glass with his fist and yanked on the red lever. A loud screeching sound filled the car and the train lurched forward slightly as it slowed. "Well that takes care of that." He muttered. "Wouldn't want a train wreck on top of a freak show now would we?"

He walked back into the car he had slain the ghouls in. Suddenly a shrill scream emanated from the car he had left that little heathen girl in. The scream was followed by even more screams along with the sounds of gunfire. Torhu burst through the door, her eyes were wide and filled with tears and she looked like she was going to be sick. "S-sir." She stammered as she ran into him and stopped. "T-there's a woman back there…she's got a gun."

Anderson rolled his eyes. How many freaks were on this train? He grabbed Torhu by the shoulders and shuffled her into one of the side seats that didn't contain blood or a dead body. "Sit still and keep your eyes shut. There's nothing up ahead, I checked. I'll be right back."

Torhu nodded and wiped her eyes. She heard the priest walk into the other car and tried to do as he had told her. Instead she looked back towards the door. She did however take care not to look at the piles of twisted bodies on the floor of the train. She chuckled slightly through her tears as she remembered what people said about it being hard not to look at a train wreck. This sure was a wreck alright.

She heard more gunfire accompanied by a mad cackling. She covered her mouth when she heard the laughing. That poor, brave man. She thought. The cackling continued over the bursts of gunfire and slowly she realized that was in fact Father Anderson doing the laughing. "But that can't be." She said quietly. She couldn't see what was going on in the other car but from the sounds of things whatever was happening didn't make any sense.

"This can't be real." She said to herself. Neither can people who…The thought from before was cut off by a new one. People who turn into animals when hugged I can believe. Vampires…I can see that. But this? No. "It's a dream." She said smiling. She choked back a fresh set of tears and smiled wider. "I'm on a train sitting next to a strange man in a strange country. I was worried about getting on the right train on time and this is just a nightmare I'm having because I'm so worried."

Having convinced herself she was dreaming, she calmed down a little. She dared a few glances at the mess on the floor and had to resist the temptation to vomit. "Certainly is a vivid one." She said looking anxiously at the door to the car Anderson had gone off in. The train had stopped, when it had done that she wasn't sure. She kept her ears open for more sounds coming from the car she had left and heard nothing. Had Father Anderson gone into more cars? Perhaps he had simply disappeared. This was a dream after all.

Suddenly the door slid open and Father Anderson stormed into the car. He was covered in blood and gunk and was frowning. "I hate to say it lass, but there's too many ghouls for me to be messing around with on this train."

"What?" Torhu asked not sure she understood.

Anderson sighed. "I think I got rid of all the vampires. I don't know why there are still ghouls up and about but I know that everyone on this train has been turned into one. What's more is these ghouls happen to be nastier than the ones I usually deal with."

"Oh," Torhu said. "That does sound bad. Good thing this is a dream."

Anderson raised one of his eyebrows. "Eh…yes, a dream. Dream or not you don't want to be eaten do you?"

"Well, no." Torhu said.

"Then we need to get off this train. I managed to contact some people and they're on their way to take care of it. I'll be helping them mind you, but for now you need to get off this train."

Torhu nodded and smiled. "Okay. I'm not sure I like it here anyway. Maybe I'll dream I'm back at the Soma house."

Anderson smiled with one side of his mouth. "The freaks will pay for this." He said flatly. "I swear it."

He grabbed her by the arm and led her through the door into the small section between the cars. "Let's go."

End Chapter Four