ICEBREAKER
Part III - An Unexpeted Encounter
The engine room once again held a collective breath as the train approached the switching signal and made first contact with the new track.
No one expected the transition to be smooth, and the track did not disappoint. As soon as Snowpiercer's front wheels made contact with the foreign track, it seemed to rebel against being forced off its familiar rail. The front car shook in protest as several of those in the engine room had to grab hold of something to stay on their feet.
"That's to be expected." Bennett quickly called out. "Everyone remain at your stations."
Bennett's own senior engineering apprentices quickly returned to their duties while a few of Melanie's apprentices looked to her for guidance.
"Everything is fine." She advised them. "Continue to monitor the train for any abnormalities. Specifically any readings that veer off normal in relation to the wheels. A little slippage and disengagement is no cause for alarm. Anything more report immediately."
Past a few apprentices quickly shoving their instruments into Melanie's hands with worried whispers, the transition seemed to go smoothly. Melanie quickly glanced over each reading handed to her, then reassured the apprentice giving it to her that the readings were all within normal limits.
In his chair at the helm, Bennett continued to track the small Scaler proceeding them up the line.
"The Scaler is gaining distance fast." He reported to Melanie. "That's a good sign. It shows the track is stable so far. A good predictor for the rest of the line."
"Just keep in constant communication with it." Melanie advised. "Without it, this trip will be a great deal more dangerous."
"We'll have to build up speed soon." Bennett reminded her. "To get the batteries recharged."
"Keep it steady for now." Melanie replied. "Until we have a feel for the track. Big Alice should clear the switch in fifteen minutes. Wilford should be calling about then."
Right on schedule, the phone on the console rang.
"Yes, Joseph?" Melanie answer it.
"It's Ms. Elson, Ms. Cavill." Came the voice of Wilford's Second Engineer.
From her words and tone, Melanie could only guess Wilford was either directly behind her or standing close by enough to hear the conversation. And so she put on her usual attitude towards the woman in his presence.
"What can we do or you, Ms. Elson?" Melanie asked in a tone Layton always swore could complete with the temperature outside.
"Mr. Wilford made note that we cleared the switch. He wishes to know how things are going at your end of the train."
"So far the track is smooth. The Scaler is already running five miles ahead of us and reports no problems. It is also scanning the track ahead of it by several miles and reports no issues."
"Thank you for the report." Came the curt reply before the line when silent again.
Bennett turned to Melanie with a questioning stare. "That was a bit unusual. Why didn't he just call himself?"
Melanie turned back to her console with a small, pleased smile. "Because 'Crow' was never a dish Wilford much cared for the taste of." She answered.
For the next 24 hours, Melanie swore Bennett never left the engine room, and the little track Scaler running ahead of the train was his new best friend.
Keeping in constant communication with it while he watched Snowpierer's battery levels climb, Melanie half doubted he even breathed until the light on the battery readings went from red to green.
"Batteries at full capacity." He announced with a false calm in his voice. Sitting next to him, beginning her second shift since the train began traveling on the new track, Melanie glanced over at his tired and worn expression,
"Will you finally go to your cabin and get some sleep then?" She asked. "If anything happens, we can deal with it now."
Bennett gave her a tired nod as he wiped his hands over his face. "I just wanted to make sure." He replied, his tone as weary as he looked.
"And now you are. So go to sleep." Melanie instructed him again with a bit more force.
All but pushing himself out of the helm chair, Bennett was practically dragging his feet to get to the door of the engine room. But just as he made it there, an alarm suddenly screeched from the console.
The alarm was like a shot of adrenal for the Second Engineer as he spun around and planted himself firmly back in the helm chair next to Melanie within seconds.
"What's happening?" She asked as Bennett began reading through the track Scaler's information being sent back to the train.
Bennett was silent for a few moments as he looked over the reports. But finally he turned to Melanie.
"Track obstruction." He stated in a tone that echoed the worried look on his face.
Melanie fell back in her chair in relief. "Well, that's no prob..."
But Bennett silently handed her his laptop, turning it so she could see the reports flashing over the screen.
For several minutes Melanie simply sat staring at the screen.
"What the...?" Melanie fell back into a stunned silence.
"What ever that is," Bennett answered her, "It's twice the size of our engine."
Melanie turned a worried stare to him. "Could it be a landslide?"
Bennett shook his head. "This is mostly flat land. Even the snow drifts couldn't have piled up this high with the winds leveling them off after a few feet." He added, turning back to the front window. "What ever it is, Melanie, we're going to be meeting it head on."
"Is it moving?" Came the anxious question.
Bennett looked over the reading again for several seconds. "It's showing that it's stationary."
"How much time do we have?"
"The Scaler is over an hour ahead of us now. So we have at least that much time. How long can we stop the train?"
"Not more than a few minutes before the train starts to tap the batteries again. And if we have to run in reverse as far as we've come..." She gave a tired sigh, turning to the front window. "How soon before you get more detailed information from the Scaler?"
"It shouldn't be long. It's already sending back some detailed analysis of the obstruction." Bennett went back to the reports paging rapidly over the screen.
"What if it is just snow?" Melanie asked. "Maybe the winds blew something small but solid onto the track and the snow started to pile around it?"
Sitting silently in his chair, Bennett continued to read over the reports. Finally he turned to her, his expression warning her ahead of his words.
"It's not snow." He repeated his assessment from before. "What ever it is, it's solid, and it's large."
For several moments Melanie sat silently staring out the front window, thinking over the information Bennett had given her. But suddenly she sat up straight in the helm chair.
"A train car!" She suddenly reasoned out.
"A what?"
"Maybe it's a train car. Alex told me as Wilford culled his population, he would dump cars in order to conserve resources. This could possibly be one of those cars."
"Sitting in the middle of nowhere?"
Melanie thought for a moment. "Maybe this is the reason he didn't want us to use this track." She stated in barely a whisper as she turned back to Bennett. "He didn't want us finding clear evidence of his handiwork."
Bennett paused, then nodded. "That would explain his reluctance."
"And if it is a train car, moving it shouldn't be too difficult."
Bennett didn't share her enthusiasm for a simple solution. "Melanie, this thing is huge. It's bigger than our engine."
"Could it be more than one car?" She quickly reasoned.
Bennett considered the possibly, but finally shrugged. "I suppose that's possible."
"Then we should still be able to move it."
"But move it where?" Bennett pointed out. "This is a one way track."
"We'll just have to push it until we come back to the main track. We'll be in Moscow. There are plenty of small side tracks there. Or," she added with a slight shrug and a smile., "We could always set Hes' apprentices loose on it. I swear those boys are like pack of ants when it comes to stripping something."
"Well, we had better come up with a solid idea soon. We'll be on whatever it is in a few hours." He replied past a long yawn.
"Well, there's nothing more to do here than wait. Why don't you go try to at least get some sleep for a few hours?"
Bennett got up from his chair with a tired nod and finally left the engine room.
