Chapter Ten: The One-One Car
Randall ended up dropping off the trio on top of the Tape Car and then left.
"How are we even going to get in this car?" asked Brooke.
Suddenly, right in front of them, a deer rocketed through the roof of the car, leaving a massive hole on top of it.
"That's strange, even for the train's standards" said Zac.
The passengers and the Corgi jumped through the hole, somehow landing safely in the number-printing area of the car without a scratch on any of their bodies. However, the main screen in front of the passenger loading area was cracked, a lot of the circuits were broken, and there was chrome goo all over the room.
"I'm not even going to ask" said Brooke.
"I am" said Sad-One. "What are you guys doing here?"
"We came for answers" explained Zac. "About our numbers, about why we're on this train, about why a cat is a passenger on this train".
"How did you guys even get here?" said Sad-One.
"I thought you would be helpful to us," explained Oliver "because you were helpful to Tulip".
"Miss Tulip and I are very good friends, though," said Glad-One, "and she didn't really need my help to figure out her problems. Just like you guys don't need help with your problems. You guys are both at 16!"
"But why are we even on this train in the first place?" said Brooke.
"You don't remember my video, do you?" said Sad-One.
"This is a train where you sort out your problems" said Glad-One.
Brooke was taken aback by that statement.
"The numbers are made by the train based on your life, in order to help you have the most personalized experience we can offer!" continued Glad-One.
Brooke looked down at her number.
"If you want to go home, get your number down to zero and poof! Away you go!"
Brooke all of a sudden had a very determined look on her face.
"You can't spell 'escape' with 'companionship'!"
Brooke took a look at One-One, then back at Zac and Oliver. She all of a sudden had her biggest realization yet.
"I'm on the train because… I've been treating everyone in my life badly. I've pushed Savvy, my once best friend, away from me, I've been dating popular boys simply to keep up my social status, I use my female friends only for my personal gain as well, and I even treat Gigi like dirt because my parents treated me the same way. But I shouldn't be like my parents, I should be my own person. A better person. A friend."
Zac added onto this by saying "I'm on the train because I'm not as good at interacting with my peers as I need to be for my job. It's not as complex as Brooke's reason, which is probably why my number is smaller, but it's why I'm on the train".
Suddenly, both of their numbers got down to zero and their exits appeared right next to each other on the train.
"Wow," said Brooke "I can't believe I have to leave these people on the train behind to go home. I was just starting to really like them".
"Me too" said Zac. "Me too."
"The goodbyes are always the saddest part" said Sad-One.
The group quickly shared a goodbye hug before they all went their own separate ways, except for Oliver, who was sitting next to One-One as well. Oliver was clearly teary-eyed, just like everyone else.
"You know," said Glad-One "just because you didn't do as much as these passengers doesn't mean you didn't help as well. Now let's get you home. One-One brought over an extra passenger memory pod and used it to send Oliver back to Corginia.
Brooklyn Hayes had just arrived at school. It was her first day back at class in over a month.
"Savannah, follow me behind the vending machine" said Brooke.
"OK…" said Savvy. Clearly she was nervous about seeing Brooke again, but she followed her over there anyway. Maybe it was a gut feeling she had.
"Listen, Savvy, I'm really sorry for what I did over the past few years."
Author's Note: Thanks for reading my first published fanfic! I left some hints throughout the story regarding when it's supposed to take place in the Infinity Train timeline. Here are some hints, the deer rocketing through the Tape Car at the beginning of this chapter is important, as is the description of the inside of the Tape Car, Zac's number when this chapter starts and (to a lesser extent) the descriptions of Zac and Oliver's looks in the first chapter.