Chapter 14: Cami's Great with Disguises and Sam's Great with Travel

Cami

When Cami tried to sleep for the first couple hours, she kept having nightmares. She dreamt her familiar nightmare of falling, but every time she had the dream there was a different person shoving her off the cliff. The first time it was Sam, then it was Sly, then it was Carmelita, and then it was a shadowy figure that Cami knew was the mastermind who took her parents. Each time Cami woke drenched in sweat and panting. She eventually managed to fall into a dreamless sleep that she woke from when loud noises sounded outside the train.

Cami jolted up. She had overslept and people were getting ready to unload the luggage car. She scrambled to cover her tracks and destroy all traces of her little nest.

Cami jerked her head around to the door as she heard the sound of something she dreaded. Cami saw the door unlocking. She dived behind three large, heavy bags as quietly as she could. Cami's heart was hammering in her chest as she heard bags being pulled out of the car.

Cami now faced a dilemma: either wait until she was caught or pull off some amazing escape that only happens in movies and video games.

She heard someone groan. "This one's really heavy, can you give me a hand?" A train worker asked.

Cautiously, Cami peaked around the bag. She saw a badger with his back to her. Now was Cami's chance. She stepped uncannily lightly as she quickly jumped over bags to the other side of the car. She opened the door and shut it as quietly as she could, but someone had still heard.

"Hey!" She heard from inside the luggage car. Cami sprinted up the ladder on the side of the next car and slid out of sight on the top.

"What was it, Franz?" Another voice called.

"Nothing I guess." Cami recognized the voice of the badger. She heard footsteps and the sound of the door opening and shutting.

Cami rolled to the side of the train car. She looked at the ground and immediately regretted it. She put her head back down on the car. It was too high and this time there was no Sam to help her through it.

Cami lay there shivering for an indeterminable amount of time. Well you have to face this eventually. Cami's mind said in Sam's voice. Come on, you have to do it. Are you really going to let a little height make you quit? Now, that'd be embarrassing.

"Ugh, why do you have to be right?" Cami mumbled to herself. She picked her head up once again only to immediately put it back down. It was still too high. Cami decided to do something stupid. She rolled off the car. She landed on her hip and she rolled over onto her back. Cami then leapt up and ran from the train, her hip burned as she ran, but she had to keep moving so she would get caught.

Once Cami disappeared into a crowd, she stopped running and rubbed her thigh. She knew that it was bruised and she should be glad it was nothing worse. Cami knew where she was heading; she was looking for a hotel downtown and right by the oceanfront.

Cami weaved through crowds, painfully aware of her lack of a disguise. Though she used the signs around the city to find the oceanfront, it took her hours to navigate the city. When Cami saw the ocean, she couldn't help but sigh. She had always loved the ocean and the sea breeze.

Cami then ran. She ran as fast as she could to the water. She dodged people and cars, but she ignored every rude comment and honking horn. Once Cami's feet touched the sand, she kicked off her shoes and dug her feet into the sand. The anxiety and grief that had sunk into her since her parents went missing slipped away as Cami dug her feet into the sand. Cami walked to the edge of the water and dipped her feet in. The waves moved the fur on her feet into interesting patterns. Cami shut her eyes and allowed herself a moment of bliss.

Cami opened her eyes. Well, now we need to get to business, Cami. The voice in her head said in Sam's voice.

She stepped out of the water and walked along the beach. Cami skimmed the seaside for the hotel. She saw many villas and the lucky little shop, but every hotel she found was not the one she was looking for.

"Cami, you are an idiot." Cami said to herself. "He's a diver, maybe he's in the water."

Cami then alternately looked from the shore to the ocean. Many people were at the beach and either sunbathing in the hot sun or swimming in the water. There were some little kids playing in the sand. A little dog-boy was digging a hole and a couple little dormice-girls were building a sandcastle. Cami wished she was one of the little kids playing in the sand without a worry in the world. She quickly brushed aside that thought. It was stupid to wish that.

Then Cami saw it: the hotel where Dimitri was staying. It was big and expensive-looking. Cami jogged towards it. When she had gotten back on pavement, Cami sat down on a bench and wiped the sand off her feet and pulled her shoes on. She tried to make herself look presentable before she went into the hotel by combing her hair with her fingers and straightening her clothes.

When Cami looked as good as she was going to be under the conditions, she walked confidently into the lobby. The lobby was empty except for the receptionist and a cat woman who were both wearing a suit. Cami tried not to let herself feel painfully conspicuous. She walked right up to the reception desk and smiled charmingly at the badger-man working there.

"Hello, I'm looking for Dimitri." Cami said as casually as she could.

The badger frowned. "You one of his fangirls? 'Cause you and all your little buddies need to stop coming here. I'm not giving you his room number and I'm not telling you whether he's here or not, so go." He pointed to the door.

Cami bit her lip. "I'm the daughter of one of his old friends, Alberto." Cami read his nametag. "I need to speak to Dimitri, it's urgent."

"Save it. I'm not letting a fangirl into his room, so clear off kid." Alberto made it clear he was done talking.

Cami, recognizing defeat, started walking to the door. When she was sure neither the receptionist-badger nor the cat-lady was looking Cami slipped through a little unassuming door. She found herself in a rather large closet of employee uniforms. Cami blinked at her own luck and pulled on a bellboy's uniform over her own clothes. She was careful to cover the shock pistol. She shoved her hair up into the hat, hoping to be taken, at a distance, as a boy. Cami pushed the uniforms to the side looking for another way out of the closet. She knew that if the receptionist suddenly saw a bellboy that looked very similar to a girl who inquired about a specific celebrity, the receptionist would get suspicious.

Then Cami saw something that was both good and bad. There was an air vent. It meant a way out, but the difficulty lay with getting up to it and opening it without anyone hearing. Cami knew the air vent was out of reach, so she climbed onto the rack of uniforms. Balancing precariously, Cami took one of the debit cards out of her bra and used the thin side to unscrew the vent cover. She caught the screws as they fell and then the vent cover. She dropped to the floor silently, stashed the vent cover and screws in the back corner, and slipped the debit card back into her bra. Then Cami climbed back up the rack and slid into the ventilation shaft. It was remarkably un-dusty and free of spiders and cobwebs.

Wow, this is one clean hotel. Cami thought as she crawled her way through. She needed to get out of this and find a way to get to the receptionist's computer. Cami crawled until she saw another vent cover. Cami silently approached it and peered into the hallway. It was empty from what Cami could see from the floor. She had to bend the vent cover to get out. She straightened up and brushed the dirt off herself.

The hallway was empty of people, as Cami had believed. She started to walk to where she believed where the lobby was when a voice startled her.

"Oh, thank goodness you're here." A cat-man dressed like a chef was hurrying over to Cami. He was pushing a cart laden with food.

"Uh." Cami then remembered she was supposed to be a boy. "I mean, uh." She said in a deeper voice.

"Never mind. I'm glad I found you. I need you to take this food to room 778." The cat-chef said quickly. He didn't seem to notice Cami was female. "Get there as quickly as possible, but don't let the food look bad. Got it?" Cami stared at him dumbly. "Good. Now go!" The cat-man pushed Cami into an elevator. He pushed the button for the seventh floor and waved good-bye as the doors shut.

Cami felt the elevator go up. She looked at the cart of food. There was enough for a party of five or more. She might as well look like she was actually working here, besides she needed time to think of a way to get at the computer. The elevator doors opened on the seventh floor and Cami pushed the cart out into the hall.

She scanned the door numbers only half-paying attention. She was thinking of ways to distract the receptionist for as long as possible. It would have been so much easier if Sam was with her. She stopped in front of the door numbered 778.

Cami knocked politely. "Room service."

A young female wolf opened the door. "Oh, thank-you. Could you bring it in?" The wolf-lady gestured for Cami to come in.

Cami, feeling very confused and tense, pushed the cart into the room. There were five people in the room.

"Oh, yay! Food!" One badger-lady said getting up off the floor.

"Yum." A cat-lady took a plate of sausages off the cart. The group looked all in their early twenties.

"Thanks. Here." The wolf-lady handed Cami a tip.

"Oh, thank-you, ma'am." Cami said trying to disguise her voice. She quickly walked out of the room.

The door shut just as Cami caught a snippet of conversation. She heard mention of a 'master key card'. Cami placed her ear to the door.

"He probably didn't use one because he was being polite by knocking on the door." The wolf-lady said.

Do I really look that much like a guy? Or am I just really good with disguises? Cami asked herself.

"Or maybe because he hasn't got the authority to have one. Maybe only the senior staff gets them." That voice sounded like the badger-lady.

"I wish we had one." Cami couldn't identify the voice.

"Why?" This was the female wolf.

"Because then we could go see Dimitri!" The unidentifiable voice said with a squeal. "I heard he's at this hotel!"

"No way!" Badger-lady said. "You can't be serious! I've always wanted to meet him! Do you think we can find him? Where would he be?"

"I don't know; I wish I did." Unidentifiable said wistfully.

Cami pulled herself away from the door. She heard all she wanted to hear. Apparently there were fangirls here and the receptionist had been dealing with a couple. Cami managed to get down to the fourth floor before someone spoke to her.

"Hey, what are you doing here? You need to help with the preparations for the party. We're shorthanded as it is, so everyone needs to help. Get down to the kitchens." A chubby dormouse maid shoved Cami into the service elevator and pushed the button for the kitchen. "Don't let me catch you woolgathering again, young man."

The doors slid shut leaving Cami dumbfounded. "Am I really that masculine? REALLY?" She said to herself once she had found her voice.

The door slid open to show the cat-chef-guy with another cart of food. "Good, take this to the top floor and then come back down here."

He pushed the button for Cami and the door rattled shut. "Wow…I'm going to be stuck doing this for awhile." Cami said quietly.

Sam

Sam had not slept well. He was too worried about Cami and he had vivid nightmares about her getting hurt all night. He knew it was very early in the morning, but the train was slowing down. Sam knew someone was bound to come in here very soon, so he slipped out the door and jumped off the train. He, luckily, fell into a patch of grass.

"Ugh." Sam said as he rubbed his arm. He had fallen onto it when he jumped. He straightened up and looked to the lights he could see. There was a town there.

Sam followed the train tracks until he found a little road that brought him into the town. The only lights on in the town were the streetlights and the occasional porch light. Sam knew he needed to find out where the train had brought him and try to find a way back to the city to try to find Cami, but he needed to find a place to find some information. He walked around the dark buildings, but nothing was open. He saw a store called The Taste of Germany.

"I'm in Germany?" Sam asked himself. "Well, that's inconvient."

Sam kept walking around looking at any and every sign to see if he was really in Germany. After about an hour, Sam came to the conclusion that he was actually in Germany and he had found a place he could hide until the town's stores opened up. The hiding place was a little mossy area in a nearby forest that was off the beaten path. Sam took off the remnants of his disguise. He shoved the fake facial hair and the glasses in his pocket. His slacks and button down shirt were both dirty and wrinkled from sleeping. Sam knew he was going to have to get some new clothes, but for now, he had to wait.

A couple hours later…

Sam emerged from his hiding place around eleven o'clock. He walked down the street, ignoring all the curious and suspicious glances from the people, until found a multitude of clothing stores. Sam, knowing his tiny budget, had to make every single cent count. He found a shirt and a pair of pants that was as cheap as he was going to find in this limited selection. He paid for the clothes and also received a very curious look from the cashier.

Sam changed into the new clothes in a public bathroom. He tossed the disguise clothes in a nearby trashcan once he was sure the shirt covered the shock pistol. He couldn't carry them with him without arousing suspicion.

Sam searched the town for a library or an Internet café. He ended up having to ask directions from a very confused couple pushing a baby carriage. They gave him directions to the library and hurried off. Sam supposed he looked like a dangerous hooligan.

The library was a large sturdy building made out of granite and it looked quite old. The doors were open and the librarians and patrons were milling around inside. Sam looked over his shoulder before entering. He found himself a little corner where a public computer was running; Sam booted it up. First, he double-checked that he really was in Germany (he really was, in a little village outside of Berlin). Second, he checked how to get back. He found there was no such train that was going to get him directly back to the city where he last saw Cami. He needed to take at least two high speed trains to get there by noon tomorrow, and he needed to get on the first of them in Berlin.

Sam looked at the clock in the corner of the computer. It was twelve-thirty and the train left at two o'clock. Sam quickly got directions to Berlin and wrote it down on the paper that was provided. He shoved it in his pocket with the glasses and fake moustache. He deleted the history on the computer just to be careful. He knew enough from his parents both being cops that a competent hacker could retrieve the information easily, but the average person couldn't.

Sam looked over his shoulder again for anyone he recognized from anywhere. Seeing no one of interest, Sam got up and walked out. Once he was out of the library, he read over the directions and tried to memorize them. Once he had, Sam slipped it back into his pocket and took off running.

Sam calmed down with the steady movement and the blood rushing all over his body. He didn't even notice when his muscles started burning. The running felt good to him, he was getting closer and closer to Cami. He didn't care when he had to backtrack because he missed a turn, just moving around felt good. His muscles had cramped up from hiding and stretch them like this was great. He pretended he was playing in a soccer game and that he had the ball. He needed to keep moving and keep the ball away from the other team.

Sam stopped to catch his breath when he saw the 'Welcome to Berlin' sign. Sam then realized that his lungs and calves were burning. Sam gasped and sat down on the side of the road. Sweat ran down all of his limps and dripped off his forehead into his eyes. His tail was sopping wet and limp.

Sam pulled himself up after the pain in his throat and legs went down to a more bearable level. Sam found a bubbler nearby and a drink that was so long that he had to stop to breathe four times. He splashed water on his face too.

Off in the distance, Sam heard a clock tower ring. It was one o'clock. He had some time to kill. Sam's stomach growled at him. He needed food. Sam looked at his money; he didn't want to run out. His stomach growled more insistently. Sam looked around for something, perhaps a sign declaring 'FREE FOOD', but no one is that lucky. He started walking down the street. He was careful to watch for pursuers and any signs advertising free food.

After about fifteen minutes, Sam settled for a couple candy bars that he got out of a vending machine. He munched on them as he found a spot that he could hop the train. When the clock tower sounded, Sam also heard the train's horn sound. Sam, now an expert on hopping trains, waited for the train's head to pass and jumped onto a protruding pipe. He had no idea why the pipe was there, but it held his weight and that was a good thing.

Sam shimmed around the train car until he found a door. He had looked through a window when he was getting to the door and it was a passenger car, by some miracle no one had spotted Sam, except a wide-eyed little pup. Sam could not go in there.

"Great, now that Cami's gone, I have to do the stupid things." Sam said as he jumped across the gap between cars.

He could almost hear Cami's teasing tone. "I do stupid things? Of course, I do. I'm the little sister, it's my job, and your job as big brother to try to stop me and fail miserably. Come on! Try to stop me!"

"The one time I do something stupid I have no one to tell me to not do it." Sam muttered to himself as he scooted around the next train car at high speed. "What does the little sister do when the big brother does something stupid?"

"That depends on how stupid it is, what did you do Sammy?"

That last bit of Cami's dialogue in Sam's head wasn't imagined; it was a memory. That was what Cami had said to Sam when he had kicked someone who had bullied Cami. The bully had a bruise on his face for a week.

Sam had gotten to the back on the second car. He jumped the gap again to the third car. A quick look through the window told Sam that the car contained goods and stuff for the voyage. Sam picked the lock and slipped in. The car was rather small and it was mostly carrying food and some bags. Sam assumed that this was the crew's luggage.

Sam shifted some of the bags and tried to make himself an out of sight place to stay while he waited for three o'clock. Once it was three, Sam had to jump off the train and hop onto another. He wished he had a watch, but he knew the area that he had to get off.

Sam kept looking out the windows feeling very paranoid. He was also feeling very lonely. Sam had tried to not think about it, but it was hardest when he had to wait. He worried endlessly about Cami. Every second seemed like an eternity to Sam: an eternity of worry and fear. A couple times someone came into the car for something and Sam tried to make himself as small as possible and held his breath. Luckily no one disturbed his hiding place.

Sam was so edgy and nervous that the hair on his tail stood on ends just like Cami's when she was nervous. He suddenly jumped up. He it was time to get off the train. Sam jumped over to the door and opened it. The wind blew hard into his face as he shut the door behind him.

Sam faced the speeding land and gulped. He jumped into the green underbrush. Sam groaned and did not get up for a couple minutes. He had multiple small cuts and bruises. Sam pushed himself up and inspected the damage.

"I really need to find a better way to travel. I can't keep jumping off trains." Sam snorted as he looked at the little cuts on his hands. They weren't serious and he had a couple bruises on his arms and legs and one on his tail, but he was fine.

Sam pulled out the shock pistol and made sure it was fine. Seeing that it was, Sam stuck it back in the holster and covered it with his shirt. Sam jumped to his feet and ran to the nearby town. That was where the train was leaving.

Sam jogged into the town and received many strange and concerned glances. He ignored most of them, but he still kept looking over his shoulder for anyone that shouldn't be there.

Sam found the train station very quickly. He went inside to find out if the train had come by yet. A stationmaster told Sam that it would be here in about ten minutes and that no other trains would be preceding it. Sam walked out of the train station thinking that was easy. The tough part was getting on without anyone seeing him. Sam followed the tracks for a while until he was out of sight from the train station. He hid behind a bush and waited.

The train was late. Sam sat there for about twenty minutes before he heard the train coming down the tracks. Sam jumped out of his hiding place when the head of the train passed him. He jumped onto the speeding train. Sam landed right between two cars.

"You know you're life's weird when you can jump a train easily." Sam muttered to himself as he checked the cars on either side of him.

The one to his left was filled with people and the one his right was filled with cargo. Sam started to pick the lock on the car to his right. The lock was picked in about two minutes.

"And when you can pick a lock easily." Sam added as he opened the door.