Well, I don't think it has enough action to quell my hunger, but it does have plenty to make you go "Aaaaaawwww" 8D enjoy ...
--
Lucas and Claus weren't as lucky as Kumatora, Duster, Flint and Boney: They found a farmer who straight away pointed them to the Train station: It wasn't exactly a town, but it was a nice spot to rest. At least it had people populating the station.
When the four got there, Boney and Kumatora set off to look for food while Duster and Flint sat on a bench.
"So now what's the plan of action? We've gone so far north that I think we'll hit the ocean in a few days."
Flint sighed, and shook his head "I just don't know, Duster. It seemed like the boys disappeared without a trace. Without their scent, we've no way of tracking them."
Duster faced Flint, trying to look happy "Hey, cheer up, Pal!" Duster said in an upward tone, "We haven't lost yet!"
Flint looked to the evening sky and let his eyes wonder. Lucas was sure determined to find his mother … if she's still alive, that is. He couldn't believe that it already had been 5 days since they left from their town, and already they had covered a lot of ground. How ahead would Lucas and Claus be?
"DUSTER! FLINT!" Kumatora yelled across the platform.
The two boys got up and faced the princess. Kumatora waited a couple of seconds before speaking to catch her breath. "I just talked to the teller … He saw Lucas and Claus!"
"What?!" Flint yelled, getting closer to Kumatora "They were here?!"
Kumatora nodded "Apparently, they and another girl bought tickets for a place called 'Hometown', a couple of days away from train!"
Flint's heart was raised a few levels: The boys were at least okay, AND they already made a new friend. But it still didn't stop the fact that they were still missing.
Flint nodded "We'll need to buy tickets for Hometown." He said matter-of-factly.
"On the contrary, Flint," Kumatora said, holding out three tickets, "I have the tickets. Pets ride for free too!"
'That's good news for me.' Boney said happily.
"The teller said the next train to hometown will arrive shortly. Soon we'll be back on Lucas's and Claus's trail again."
Flint smiled. Kumatora was right, they may have not caught up with the two, but at least they knew where they were going again.
"We'll have them home before they know it." Flint said, looking at the horizon.
--
'Lucas …'
Lucas turned. He knew that some one was calling him; he just couldn't see the person that voice belonged to. But he knew who it was.
'Mom?' Lucas said, looking around.
'Lucas … please, forget about me …'
'Mom, I'm coming to get you. We'll find you soon, we will!'
'No … you must forget about me; you have a greater importance right now …'
'What?' Lucas said, still searching around for his mother, 'what do you mean?'
'Just forget about me Lucas …' Her voice said, trailing off.
'Mom! Wait, where are you?!' Lucas said, running around, desperately looking for her.
'Forget … me … the evil … it is coming …' She said, right before the darkness started to surround Lucas.
Lucas started running in one direction, hoping to find his mother 'Mom … please! Where are you?!'
'the evil … the evil …' She repeated.
'MOM!! MOM, DON'T LEAVE ME!!'
--
Polly shook Lucas slightly, concerned. Lucas stirred and stared right at Polly, who had tears in her eyes.
"Lucas? Are you alright?" Polly asked, concerned.
"I … I guess so …" Lucas said, shaking his head.
"You looked like you were having some seizure: you kept staring off into space with empty eyes, mumbling something about your mother." Polly whispered.
That hit Lucas hard: He was having a vision after all. And if he was right, that meant his mother was in danger.
Lucas looked back at Polly, who was crying silently "Hey, wh-what's wrong?"
Polly sniffed, "Well … I went up to go use the ladies' room and I … I saw a monster!"
Lucas got up and stared at Polly, confused. "What?"
"I-it was a giant … thing … It looked almost human but … it just wasn't …"
Lucas looked into the isle of the cart to see that every passenger was sleeping. Could it be that Polly was just dreaming?
Never the less, Lucas couldn't take any chances. He shook Claus awake, and then ventured out into the isle.
"H-he was right in the room …" Polly said, whispering, "I was so terrified."
Claus yawned "Maybe it was just a really ugly lady." He said, unfazed.
"What ever it is, I just want to make sure we can sleep peacefully." Lucas said, venturing to the end of the hall where the rest rooms were.
Polly stayed back the further they got to the rest rooms. Noticing Polly's fear, Claus set her down on a couple of empty seats, "Just hide here, me and Lucas will take care of everything."
Polly nodded "B-be careful …"
Claus nodded the joined his brother again. Just to make sure, they looked into the men's room and saw there was no sort of life in there. Then they both faced the Ladies' room.
"… So … you gonna open it?" Claus said.
"What, no way! You do it!!" Lucas replied
"No way! That's the girl's bathroom, I can't look in there!" Cluas said, backing away from it, "It's probably filled with cooties!"
Lucas rolled his eyes, "There is no such thing as 'cooties', Claus. You're 14 years old now, get with it."
"Then you open it, if you're so 'grown-up'." Claus spat at him
"You're the older brother, you do it!"
But just as the boys started to fight, the Rest room door swung open, a devilish-looking person in its path. The boys both screamed as the haunting figure slowly closed his arms around the two boys. They thought that their screams would awaken the passengers, but they were dead wrong. They, too, were actually one of the demon-children that stood in the ladies bathroom. Lucas hid under a couple of seats, covering his head.
"LUCAS! GET OUT HERE!" Claus yelled, trying to dodge the demons. No answer came, so he was left to fend for himself.
Claus felt helpless, confused, and even scared. What was more frightening, the lights were out and he was becoming stressed that the room he had around him became smaller and smaller. He hyperventilated, not knowing what to do. Finally, he became so frightened, he awakened a power from deep within his body …
A giant lightning attack shocked the group of demons around him, and they all vanished into dust. The passenger cart was empty, save for Lucas and Polly, who peered out from the chairs to see what happened.
Claus fell to his knees, looking at his hands. "What … what was that …?"
Lucas didn't know whether to answer or not, but he knew this meant one thing: The powers that Claus had all those years ago were finally coming back to him … which meant …
"Claus? Are you alright?" Polly said, scared as she rushed for Claus.
"I … I'm fine … really …" Claus said, at a loss for words.
Lucas hesitantly approached Claus, not knowing what to say. "C-claus … I'm sorry I wasn't of much use … I …"
"You must be rubbing off on me, bro." Claus said, snickering "I never knew I could use that power too!"
"Y-yeah …" Lucas said, nervously. It seemed like Claus still didn't remember what had happened long ago, which is the way he wanted it. "But Claus, remember: That is a VERY dangerous power."
"But it saved us, right?" Claus said.
"He has a point there, Lucas." Polly piped up.
"Well … whatever." Lucas said, going back to his seat.
Polly faced Claus and smiled "You were really brave, Claus. And amazing too, using that power of yours."
"I … I just learned I could use it." Claus said, blushing a bit.
Polly faced outside, noticing it was close to dawn "We'll be arriving at Hometown soon, Claus." She said, "And soon, maybe soon, we'll see your mother."
"Or maybe a lead to her." Claus said. "H-hey … while we're up, m-maybe we can grab a little breakfast?"
Polly giggled a bit then smiled "I would love some breakfast." She said, smiling.
"G-good! Because I really could use a nice omelet by now …" Claus said, smiling.
--
Duster woke up, the sun barely over the hills. He wondered why he would wake up at such an early hour, but he didn't question about that any further … maybe it would be best to go back to …
He noticed he felt a hard … something on his shoulder. Curious, Duster looked over to see Kumatora resting on his shoulder, sleeping. He felt himself blush as he saw this, feeling a bit happy but at the same time, foolish. He admitted to himself, he had always felt a little … happy when Kumatora was around, but her presence made him feel a bit uneasy and nervous: he just thought it was because Kumatora was always lively, and you never knew what will come out of her. But she was asleep, and still he felt a bit lightheaded. Could it be that he …?
Duster heard Flint stirring, and closed his eyes again. The last thing he wanted was a snappy remark about the two in their current position. He heard Flint get up and walk away, sighing in relief. But he still had no idea what to do about Kumatora on his shoulder; he was stuck in that position until she woke up.
Just as if on cue, she yawned and stretched her arms. Duster closed his eyes again, making sure that Kumatora wouldn't know he was awake the whole time. Kumatora then slightly shook Duster until he opened his eyes. "Huh, that was the quickest I've waken you, Duster."
"Well, uh …" he said, stumbling for words. "I guess I have trouble sleeping on a moving train."
"Ugh, tell me about it" Kumatora said, getting up, "I couldn't sleep peacefully with the constant motion: it made me feel sick …"
Duster stretched and sighed, then looked out the window "We're still far away from Hometown, huh?"
"We'll get there soon, Duster, don't worry."
"What if we missed Lucas and Claus already? What if they're already there and already had moved on?" Duster asked.
"Then we'll just get on the road again, following them still. It's better than giving up." Kumatora said, still stretching.
"You're right" he said, getting up. "And at least they've gotten themselves a little girlfriend."
Kumatora chuckled a bit before sitting down again, "I think it's a bit cute."
Duster got up and stretched "Hey, I'm hungry, do you want a bite to eat?"
Kumatoa looked sideways, then faced Duster "Where's Flint?"
"Mm … probably just walking around the train a bit. We'll see him again, don't worry." Duster answered
"So … just the two of us?"
"If you don't count Boney" Duster said, motioning to the sleeping brown dog on the seat.
"He'll be alright here …" Kumatora said, "Plus I don't think the diner cart will allow pets in."
"So it will be just the two of us …" Duster said, laughing nervously.
"Yeah …" She said, leading Duster out of the cart, "Just the two of us."