Chapter 20:

The Morning Express

In the locomotive, everybody got to work on getting the train ready. Gallus turns the handle as Smolder tossed a log into the firebox and Ocellus pulls a handle.

"Get out of here, everyone! Head for the hills! Whoo!" Silverstream cheered, rushing by the boxcars and breaking the locks off as the Griffons rushed off.

Soon, every Griffon ran off to their new-found freedom.

In one of the empty boxcars, Brain, Crain, Drain, Rico, and Wesley were still dazed as the side door closed and latched so they won't get out. They would go to jail for crimes as well as Slim once he is caught.

The wheels of the locomotive spun as the whistle blew, and Lucky Jack removes the pin, that was connecting the tender to the other boxcars, and soon the train started to move forward.

"Whoo-hoo! Let's get it on!" Silverstream cheered as they started moving forward.

"Kids Rule!" Gallus cheered as the train rolls off.

"Wait! Where's Yona and Sandbar?!" Ocellus asked, noticing Yona and Sandbar are missing.

"Don't worry, Ocellus. We're right here!" Sandbar said as he and Yona run alongside the train.

"Sandbar, Yona, quick get on the train!" Smolder yelled, not wanting them to be left behind.

"Yeah, we need you guys' help!" Gallus shouted, wanting the two to come home with them so they can stop Slim as a team.

"Yona and Sandbar know!" Yona said while she and Sandbar kept on running along with the train.

"We're just gonna make sure our families head to the hills safely. Good Luck!" Sandbar shouted as he and Yona ran off to go help their families. They would be back though.

"Bye, Sandbar! Bye, Yona! Thanks for all your help" Ocellus shouted, waving her hand at them.

Meanwhile, ahead of them, a water tower shook as the train gains speed and rushed across the tracks. Everyone thought that the ride was going smoothly. But up ahead of them, a passenger train was coming from the opposite direction.

"Oh, no! It's the Morning Express!" Gallus gasped, seeing that they were in a collision course.

"And it's heading right for us!" Ocellus yelled, seeing the train is heading right towards them.

"Wait, there's a switch up ahead!" Lucky Jack said, looking ahead and pointing.

Ahead of them, there was a 2-way track with a switch.

"But you'll never get there in time, Lucky Jack!" Ocellus said, knowing that Lucky Jack won't get to that there switch in time to change the tracks.

Gallus thought for a second and then got an idea as he turned to Silverstream and said, "But you can. Silverstream you think you could help Lucky Jack reach that switch?".

Looking ahead at the switch and getting what Gallus's idea was, Silverstream said, "You bet I can. Hop on, Lucky Jack!".

"Come on, Kiddo!" Lucky Jack said as he hopped on her back and Silverstream jumps off the train and ran ahead of it.

"Let's ride!" Silverstream said as she quickly gets ahead of the train to reach the switch and Lucky Jack spun her rein like a lasso, getting ready.

"Yee-Haw! Ha ha!" Lucky Jack yelled as the two trains drew closer and he and Silverstream near the switch as both trains were too.

They soon got near the switch and Lucky Jack swung the rein out as they caught the switch and as it was pulled, the track was switched connecting to the other track. But the rein was still caught on the handle, and Silverstream and Lucky Jack were pulled back and hit the ground as the switch was back to the main track.

The handle snapped loose and was tossed into the track as the train ran over it.

"Whoa!" Lucky Jack gasped as he recovered and saw the missing switch.

"Oh! Gotta find a replacement! Gotta find…!" Silverstream said, looking around for a new lever while seeing the situation was starting to look bad until she saw Lucky Jack's peg leg and got an idea.

Quickly, Silverstream grabs him by the bandana and placed him over the handle as Lucky Jack's peg leg slid into the slot. And promptly, Silverstream pushed Lucky Jack down as the section switched back to the other track. It was interesting to see it work

Both trains were near each other as The Young 3 saw it was gonna be close, and then at the last second, the train raced onto the other track narrowly avoiding the head-on collision.

"Roadhogs!" the train's engineer yelled.

The Young 3 continue on down the tracks. But while they were grateful that they hadn't smashed into another train, they were a bit worried when Silverstream and Lucky Jack didn't rejoin them. Had they been hurt? But then they looked back to see Silverstream trying to get Lucky Jack free, but the Jackrabbit seems to be really stuck.

"See you back at the shelter, guys! Good Luck!" Silverstream shouted to her friends, knowing they weren't going anywhere.

The Young 3 smiled as they continued on heading home.

"Happens all the time," Lucky Jack said as he continued to pull himself free. And they had no doubt that it did.