Elsa opened the swinging door, and found a gap between the passenger car and the caboose. One could easily make the jump if they were capable or determined enough, but to fail would mean falling off the train. Not confident that she could make it, Elsa put her arms on either side of the exterior doorway to help keep her balance, the ticket pressed against the exterior under her left fingers as she looked down at the iced-over connectors attaching the passenger car to the caboose. Feeling a little dizzy from seeing how fast the train was moving, she looked up, watching through the window on the door to the caboose as Honeymarren handed her extra cup of hot chocolate to the boy.
"Why don't you come in there with the rest of us?" Asked Honeymarren.
"I don't really like being around a bunch of people." Said the boy as he sipped some hot chocolate. "Besides, I'm only here to see Santa for myself so I can put some suspicions to rest forever."
"It's his crucial year, the same case with your friend, Elsa." Said The Conductor.
"I see." Said Honeymarren.
"Well, thank you for the hot chocolate. And really, I'm fine here. Don't worry about me."
"Can I at least get your name?"
"Uh, Kristoff."
"Well, Kristoff, before I head back, I need you to check your pockets." Said The Conductor.
"That's where you'll find your ticket." Said Honeymarren.
"Sir, I never use these things. If there was something in them, I would know. And right now, there's nothing-"
Kristoff stopped mid-speech when he felt something in the right pocket of his blue gray robes. He pulled out his own golden ticket.
"Maybe this really is a magic train." He said as he handed it to the Conductor.
The Conductor took out his ticket puncher and punched two letters into it in seven seconds. Kristoff looked at it as it was handed back to him.
"O-N. As in, like, the word "on", or part of another word?"
"We shall see." Said The Conductor.
As Elsa observed the event as it unfolded, she finally decided to head back into the passenger car and wait for Honeymarren to come back, but a sudden gust of wind blew the ticket out from under her fingers. Elsa gasped.
"No! Come back!" She yelled as she desperately reached out for it.
The ticket was blown to the side of the passenger car. Elsa shoved the sliding door aside and sprinted down the middle of the passenger car as it was blown across.
"What are you-"
"Ryder, I'll explain later!" Elsa said without stopping or looking back at him.
Eventually the ticket hit the very last window and got stuck in the gap between the upper and lower parts of it.
"I have you now." Said Elsa as she climbed onto the seat and lowered the window.
But before she could grab it, another unexpected wind gust came and blew it out of the window.
"No!" She yelled as she reached for it with all her might, but the wind was too strong and it blew far out of her reach as the train turned toward a bridge through the mountains they were now passing through, blowing its whistle several times as it did.
The ticket was blown dozens of feet into the air before the wind finally stopped. It slowly descended, moving back and forth in circular motions before finally coming to a rest atop a layer of untouched freshly fallen snow in a thin forest.
The Polar Express raced down the tracks that cut through the forest, catching the attention of a pack of wolves. The wolves took off running down the mountain, making the ticket go airborne again as the train passed over an even longer bridge. As the ticket started descending toward the water below, an eagle swooped down and caught it in its mouth. It flew under the bridge and down a waterfall, heading towards its nest atop a thin, stone pillar. The baby eagle waiting there crumpled up the ticket as it tried to eat it, but when it proved to taste awful, it spat it out. The crumpled up ticket landed in more snow, rolling into a snowball that raced down the hill until it broke into pieces after hitting the top of a stone tunnel.
As it slowly descended, the Polar Express raced through and came out the other side, and the ticket got caught on the pilot. It was then sucked under the train, where it briefly hit a mysterious man resting on a hammock underneath one of the passenger cars. It blew off and found itself right outside the passenger car where everyone was as Honeymarren and the Conductor re-entered. It slipped inside right as the swinging door and sliding door were closed, going completely unnoticed as it got stuck on an air vent. Elsa sat in the front-most seat of the passenger car by the window where she last saw the ticket, hoping that the train would magically give her a replacement.
"Young lady, forgive me. I believe I have neglected to punch your ticket. May I?" Asked The Conductor.
Elsa shut her eyes tightly upon hearing this, hoping the train would work its magic, unaware that the ticket had found its way back.
"I left my ticket right here on the seat. But it's gone."
"You mean, you have lost your ticket?"
"She didn't lose her ticket. I did." Said Elsa as she got out of the front-most seat and started towards them. "I was trying to return it to you, but the wind blew it out of my hand." The Conductor sighed. "You can have my ticket." Said Elsa as she handed hers to Honeymarren, only for the Conductor to yell and snatch it before she could claim it.
"These tickets are not transferable." He said sternly as he handed it back to Elsa. "Young lady, you will just have to come along with me."
Elsa and Honeymarren exchanged worried looks with each other as she and the Conductor closed the sliding door behind them.
"You know what's gonna happen now, don't ya? He's gonna throw her off the train!" Said Ryder.
The other kids exchanged worried words with each other as Elsa watched as they reached the end of the caboose.
"Yeah, he's gonna probably throw her right off the rear platform. It's standard procedure, that way she won't get sucked down under the wheel. They may slow the train down a little bit, but they're never gonna stop it."
"Stop it? That's it! I have to stop the train again!" Said Elsa as she reached for the emergency brake.
"No, please! Don't do that again!" Yelled Ryder.
Before Elsa could pull it, she noticed something shiny and thin getting pulled into the air vent as other kids protested. She reached into it and pulled it out, finding an unpunched ticket. She turned around to show it to the others with a surprised look on her face.
"What are you doing still standing here?! Go!" Commanded Ryder.
Elsa ran back to the swinging door, once again facing the gap between the passenger car and the caboose. Holding the ticket in her mouth, Elsa didn't hesitate to jump forward this time, successfully landing on the caboose. She pulled the swinging door to it open and ran through it as fast as she could, holding the ticket in her left hand with a firm grip. She reached the end of it and threw the door that led to a small deck open, hoping to find them, but all she saw was the wilderness, falling snow, and tracks that went on for miles. If they were there, they were long gone. Needing answers, she ran to the only possible witness, Kristoff.
"Where'd they go? What happened to them?"
"I don't know. They went out there and-"
"Please, she's in big trouble! You have to help me!"
"Woah there, feisty pants! No need to yell at me!"
Kristoff looked at the window next to him as an orange glow appeared on the mountain wall they were passing through. The Conductor's shadow appeared.
"I think they're on the roof."
Honeymarren's shadow appeared behind The Conductor's a moment later.
"Yes! Thank you!" Said Elsa as she ran back to the deck.
"You're welcome?" Said Kristoff, who was more than a little confused as to why Elsa was in such a rush.
Elsa grabbed the side of the ladder to her right and steadily pulled herself over the deck's rails and onto the ladder. The train was going right next to a mountain, and she was only feet away from the rocky walls. Elsa faced forward, trying to ignore the hazard as she pulled herself toward the roof. The ladder ended and changed to hand-grips mounted on the roof. She grabbed onto them as the mountain finally ended, and she saw Honeymarren and the Conductor walking away. Elsa got onto the roof and stood up.
"Hey! I found your ticket!" She shouted, but the wind was too strong and drowned out her voice. They kept moving forward, unaware that Elsa was only a few yards away.
"Hey! Wait! I have your ticket!"
The light of the Conductor's lantern disappeared, and she realized that they didn't hear her.
"Ugh! Stupid wind!" She yelled as she started walking through the snow on the roof to follow them.
Reviews:
Solfics - I appreciate your suggestions and constructive criticism. I will try to add even more interactions and make it feel like more than just swapped out characters. It'll be extra work, but it'll be worth it if it means satisfying viewers like you. ;)