Chapter 13: Alone

Cami stayed frozen on the spot even after the train disappeared from view. She was numb. Cami fell onto her knees. Sam was gone. Even worse, Cami had all the money and Sam had the directions. Besides, Cami had no idea where the train was heading. She also knew that Sam wouldn't get a chance to jump off the train until it stopped and by then he would be far away.

Cami pulled herself up and looked at the train station. She walked in and talked to the stationmaster. She described the train to him in an attempt to find out where the train was heading. Cami walked out feeling worse than when she had entered. The stationmaster had been no help whatsoever. Cami then remembered the eagle who had chased Sam here. She looked back out by the train tracks to see the eagle on his cell phone again and his buddies were getting up.

A sudden rage rose inside of Cami. She wanted to attack, to hurt the people who drove her brother away. Cami shoved that feeling away. She knew that it was stupid and dangerous. Instead, the less numb part of Cami's brain devised a plan and made her walk back towards the safehouse. She slipped in and changed into something she could move much easier in. Cami slipped the cash and debit cards into her bra for safekeeping. She took her notebook slipped the file inside it along with Sly's note. Cami ripped a page out of her notebook and scribbled a note to Sam. She was sure to make it vague enough that only he would understand it.

See you at the place you found, partner.

Cami knew it was best to travel light and leave all her other clothes here. She slipped out the basement window and left the note right in front of it. Cami hoped she was doing the right thing. She was careful that no one saw her come out. Cami now needed to find out where Dimitri was.

Sam

Sam's hands were starting to hurt from gripping the side of the train too tightly. He hardly noticed it. He was still staring back where Cami was. Sam knew he couldn't jump off the train, the trees were too close and if he did he would be seriously injured and that wouldn't help anybody.

Sam slowly edged around the train car so he could stand in the luggage compartment. He refused to think about Cami until he slipped into the luggage compartment unnoticed. Sam sat down, hugged his legs, and wrapped his tail around him. He knew that he was in a very, very bad situation. Cami was alone in the city with all the supplies and the enemies. Sam was stuck on a train heading to who-knows-where. He was alone.

"Nice job, Sam, real nice job. Jump onto the train! What could go wrong?" Sam asked himself savagely.

Sam pulled out his meager supplies: one shock pistol and holster, a hairpin for lock picking, some currency, and the clothes on his back. Sam was frustrated with himself.

"Okay, fine, first things first. Fine out where this train is heading and get back to Cami." Sam tried to calm down. He suddenly realized something; Cami would leave that city as soon as possible since she saw the people who chased after him.

"Dang, Cam. Why are you so careful?" Sam growled at wall. "And why am I talking to myself? Because you're lonely. And now I'm answering myself. Brilliant."

Sam looked around the luggage compartment. He could go through the bags and get some more supplies. Part of Sam wanted to do it; he would be better prepared for what was coming, whatever it was. But there was another part of Sam that rejected the idea completely. He couldn't do it. Sam sighed and wrapped his tail around himself and lay down. He couldn't do anything until the train stopped, so he might as well try to get comfortable.

Sam tried to plan what to do after the train stopped. First, find out where he was and try to get back the city. He knew that Cami would leave the city as soon as possible, but he was also certain that Cami would leave him a note or something hinting where she was heading. Second, find Cami. Third, find Dad and Mom. Finally, end this odyssey. If only it was as easy to accomplish as it was to say. Sam lay down on his side and stared at the wall. He was only thinking one thing: I should have never done that.

Cami

Cami went into a nearby library and used a computer that was hidden from the front door, but she could still see everyone who entered. Quickly as she could, Cami found out where Dimitri was (in coastal Italy) and how to get there. She was about to get up when she saw the boar, eagle, and dog walk in through the door. Cami shrunk down into her seat. She looked at her tail. The powder was coming off and she could easily make out the stripes. Cami looked at her reflection in the computer screen, the powder was coming off on her face too. Her raccoon mask was visible.

Cami peeked over the computer to see the dog getting closer to her hiding spot. If she moved now, she would surely be spotted and it wouldn't end well. Cami had no choice but to pretend she was not there. Cami brought up a random page on the Internet and pretended to read. While she pretended to read, she strained her ears to hear anyone coming closer.

"What makes you think that the girl's here?" Cami heard right outside her little cubicle. She leaned down closer to the desk.

"The boy was alone when he jumped onto the train and he looked horrified when he stared back at the city. Besides he was alone when we found him, he had no time to warn the girl. She should still be somewhere in the city." A second voice replied.

"Where is that train heading anyway?" The first voice asked.

"West." The second voice said simply.

"Can't be anymore specific?"

"No, no one there could tell me anything about where it was going." Cami heard someone snort. "Useless bunch of morons."

"Yeah, well. How do you expect to find the boy?" The first voice asked. Cami hardly dared to breathe as she concentrated on listening.

"Find of the girl, she'll tell us where he went." The second voice said simply. Cami felt angry as he said that. She would never betray her brother like that.

"No one here has seen her. Where should we go now?" A third voice had joined the group. Cami pushed her head even lower.

"You two go check out all the restaurants and every place a person could just hang out, or be a possible meeting place." The second voice ordered.

"What about you?" The third voice asked. He sounded like he was challenging the authority of the second voice.

"I'm going to check all the possible places they would stay. They need a base of operations." There was a sound of footsteps and the second voice was gone.

"Why is he in charge?" The third voice asked the first voice.

"Because the boss chose him." The first voice said simply. "Come on, let's get out of here." Cami heard more footsteps. She kept her head down for as long as she could. Slowly, Cami peeked over the computer. There was no one in sight.

"Okay, get out of this place as fast as possible." Cami whispered to herself. She sat back down and found the fastest route out of town. Cami wrote the directions down and deleted the 'history' on the computer just to be safe. She stood up and tried to appear normal as she walked towards the door.

"Oh, excuse me, miss!" A librarian called to Cami.

"Yes?" Cami said. She tried to look politely puzzled.

"Three men were looking for you, earlier." The librarian said helpfully. "They went off that way." She pointed to the left.

"Oh, thank-you." Cami said as nicely as she could manage. She tried to not run to the exit.

Coming out into the bright sunlight, only made Cami more paranoid. She needed to get out of here. Cami stayed in very crowded streets as she made her way out of town. There was one close call when she caught sight of the dog. He however was busy talking to someone. Cami backtracked and went around him. She kept looking behind her as she made her way out of town. Slowly, the crowds and buildings thinned as Cami kept walking. She tried to stay out of sight by going through everyplace that could not be seen from the road.

After an indeterminable amount of time, Cami found the train tracks. She looked both ways for the train. Seeing nothing and hoping she was early, Cami sat down in the bushes. She almost started talking, expecting that Sam would be listening when she stopped herself. Tears leaked out of the corners of her eyes and Cami buried her face into her knees. It felt good to cry, just to let everything out, but Cami couldn't stop no matter how much she tried. The sobs and tears kept coming. Cami looked up at the sky that was turning pinkish-red as sunset approached.

Cami sprang up as she heard the train sounded from not far away. She hid where the train driver wouldn't see her, but where she could get to the train quickly. The wind caused by the train ruffled Cami's hair as it passed her. She quickly emerged out of her hiding place and jumped onto the speeding train.

Cami held on so tight that she could no longer feel her hands. She only concentrated on holding on for a good deal of time. Then she realized that she needed to find someplace safer to be. Slowly, Cami edged her way to the nearest door. She opened it easily and slipped inside. Shutting it was much more difficult since the wind was howling through the open door. Once it was shut, Cami turned to see a little wolf-boy. His eyes were wide with amazement.

"Are you a secret agent?" He asked in awe. Cami stared dumbly back at him in shock.

"Oh, nevermind. I get it! You can't tell me because it would warn the bad guys! I won't tell anyone. Bye-bye!" The little wolf-boy scuttled off, leaving Cami dumbfounded.

After a moment, she moved along the train avoiding every train official and occasionally moving into different cars when no one was looking. She was very careful that no one saw her after the little wolf-boy. Eventually Cami found her way to the luggage car. She made herself a little nest out of sight in the corner of the car.

Cami looked up at the darkening sky at the window as she curled up. She hoped Sam was all right.

"Goodnight, Sam, wherever you are."

Sam

The sky was slowly darkening. Sam had been watching the colors of the sky change for the past hour. The train had not slowed down once. He wondered where it was taking him. He turned on his side and shut his eyes.

"'Night Cami, wherever you are."