ICEBREAKER

Part IV - Into The Unknown

Soon after Bennett left Layton came back to the engine room to see how things were progressing

"So far, so good?" He asked as he took the helm chair next to Melanie's.

A concerned stare answered him.

"Uh-oh."

Melanie gave a slight sigh as she shook her head. "It's not as bad as it might sound." She advised.

"Give me some sound and then I'll let you know."

"We have obstruction on the track ahead."

"And that look of yours tells me that it's not Santa and his reindeer coming to bring us all presents."

Melanie turned back to the front of the train. "We reasoned out it may be a train car. Maybe more than one."

"A train car? What would a train car be doing on an unused track?"

"You remember that Wilford warned us off this track?"

Layton nodded.

"Bennett and I think maybe this was the reason."

"So we didn't run into another train car?"

"In a manner of speaking. Alex told me once that soon after Wilford left Chicago, he began to realize that his search for Snowpiercer may not take the short amount of time he thought. And while his train wasn't as large as Snowpiercer, it still housed a considerable population. She said Wilford began to reason that if he was going to be successful in hunting us down, he was going to need to...lighten the load, as it were."

Layton stared back at her for a moment. "So he would just leave train cars full of people stranded for no reason other than that they were ...inconvenient?"

Melanie nodded.

Layton gave a deep sigh as he turned back to the front of the train. But Melanie already knew where his mind was.

"It isn't the same thing." She stated in a quiet voice.

Layton kept his eyes fixed on the track ahead of them. "Then why does it feel like it?" He replied in the same tone.

Melanie turned back to the console and began typing in information to the train's mainframe. It was still an uncomfortable subject for either of them. Still an act both regretted.

"I should never have made you do that." She finally said. "You weren't ready to face that decision yet."

"It was a lesson that had to be learned." He replied. "You showed me without question what it was going to take to run this train. To truly lead it." He turned back to her. "You didn't ask to teach me that lesson. I asked to learn it. The minute I took control of Snowpiercer."

Melanie turned to him for a moment. An expression as somber as his tone stared back at her.

Even with Layton himself acknowledging it was a hard, but necessary lesson, somehow that simply didn't make it any easier for either of them to each accept their roles in the tragedy.

Getting up, Layton laid a hand on her shoulder.

"Let me know when we get close to...whatever that is out there."

Melanie only nodded in reply as she turned back to the console.

Several hours later, Layton was already aware they had come up to whatever was blocking track even before Melanie informed him of the fact. Sitting in his office, he could feel the train start to slow.

Within a few minutes he was in the engine room again. Melanie and Bennett were already at the helm, preparing the train to come to a stop.

"I'm betting Wilford has already called." He stated, coming up behind them.

"We told him the truth." Melanie replied to the unasked question. "That something was blocking the track and we needed to slow down, possibly even stop until we could figure how to clear it."

"And what was his answer to all that?"

Melanie turned to him. "Back up."

"Back up? That's it?"

"He said the Scalers likely had the main track repaired by now and we should simply go back to it and continue on."

"And?"

"His idea has merit." She answered, turning to him. "He's probably right about the Scalers repairing the main line. And it is a cleaner, faster, safer route."

"But?" Layton asked.

Melanie turned back to the front window of the train with determination. "I'm more interested in what's out there." She replied.

Layton answered her with a slight frown. "So am I." He stated. "So let's see what other dirty little secrets the illustrious Mr. Wilford left in his wake."

Watching out the front window, within a few minutes Layton could already begin to see the object while they were still several miles from it,

"Oh m...just how big is that thing?" Layton asked in a slightly awed tone.

Snowpiercer was the largest train he had ever seen. He still remembered when he and Zarah had run through the gate with the others, he had found himself pausing for a second as he first laid eyes on the behemoth.

'How had anyone managed to build such a thing?' was his sole thought even as Zarah grabbed his hand and pulled him after her towards it in the mad rush to save their lives.

Whatever was blocking their path on the track positively dwarfed even his memory of that first sight.

Looming on the track, it stood like a solid mountain that had been place directly in their path. If the object was a train car, or even several, it looked as thought it had been there long enough for the snow to bury it under several meters of drift.

"That doesn't look like any train car." Bennett stated, typing furiously over his keyboard as Melanie sat stone still looking out the window as the train drew ever closer to the object.

"What are the readings?" She finally asked quietly, never taking her eyes off the looming mountain before them.

"It has a solid core." Bennett answered her. "Whatever it is, it's large and it's metal." He stopped for a moment, then turned with the same awestruck look Melanie had as he scanned the horizon. "The snow is no more than a few meters deep." He finally whispered.

Layton turned to him. "What does that mean?"

Melanie never turned her eyes from the front window. "What it means," she answered him slowly, "is whatever that is, we're looking at it's actual size."

Layton caught the look that quickly past between the two engineers just before Melanie pulled herself suddenly from the helm chair.

"Javi, prepare for a full stop." She called out.

Layton was already following her out of the engine room as the Third Engineer answered the order.

"Slow down, lady." He stated, grabbing her arm. "What's going on?"

But Melanie shook his hold off. "I don't have time to explain." She stated.

Layton quickly followed after her, surprised when she stopped at the first cold lock off the engine room and opened the door.

"Now just...Melanie! Slow down!" He stated firmly, following after her and watching as she immediately made for one of the suits hanging on the wall.

"We don't have time." She replied, quickly starting to get into the suit. "Once the train stops, we'll have limited time to get over there and figure out what our options are."

"All the better reason to take a few minutes to make a plan."

"We already have one."

"Which is?"

Melanie leaned out the door, "Javi! How close are we?"

"Six kilometers and closing fast." Came the reply.

"Slow by two thirds and prepare to stop."

Layton felt the train give a slight jar as it cut back it's speed.

"Melanie, what are you planning to do here?"

"What does it look like?"

Layton suddenly grabbed her by the arm and force marched her out of the cold lock. "Nothing I'm going to sanction, lady!"

Melanie shook off his hold. "Layton, we don't have time..."

"Then make it." He turned back to Bennett. "How soon before the train needs to come to a full stop?"

"Seven minutes."

He quickly turned back to Melanie. "You have six minutes to tell me what you are planning to do here."

"Why six?"

"Because I want one minute to tell you why your not going to do it."

Melanie fixed her stare on the man. "Can you start an engine from a long, hard freeze, Mr. Layton?"

"Is it anything like what happened in the wheelhouse?"

Melanie paused as she shifted her eyes off of him for a moment. The memory still did something to her she wasn't quite comfortable with. "It's...similar." She finally replied.

Layton went over to the intercom and lifted the receiver.

"Hes, we need you in the engine room immediately." He spoke in a solid voice.

Melanie turned to him as he walked over to a locker in the back of the engine room and began rummaging through it.

"What are you looking for?" She asked, walking over to him.

"We needed explosives then. We might need them now."

"We!?" She stated in disbelief. "Layton, you are not going out there."

"And you're not going alone. So who's going to go with you? Bennett? That will leave the train with one engineer. And you yourself said it can't sit for very long. It'll take several minutes just to get to...whatever that is. So the chances are, Snowpiercer will have to backup for several miles, then come back to pick us up."

"Pick me up, Layton. You're not going."

Layton placed himself in the doorway of the cold lock. "Then, lady, neither are you."

Bennett turned his helm chair around. "Then what about me?" He stated. "After all, I'm the one with the nuclear background."

Layton suddenly turned to him. "Nuclear backgrou..."

But Melanie was already heading him off. "Layton's right, Bennett. We can't have both of us off the train. It's not a good idea. And if we have to reverse, we need two engineers. That'll be you and Javi."

Just then Hes came lumbering into the engine room. "Had best be important." He stated. "Got the apprentices working on some new skills. Best not to leave them alone too long. They get...creative."

Layton quickly turned to the man. "Hes, I'm turning the train over to you."

The man stopped short. "Me?"

"You're the third-in-command."

"But what about...?"

"Ms. Cavill and I are taking a short trip off the train to check out an obstruction on the track. I need you to assume leadership of the train." He stated as he turned and headed into the cold lock.

Melanie quickly followed after him. "Layton. You are not going out there! I can handle this alone! It's simply too dangerous for..."

"...you to go alone." He stopped her in mid-sentence. "That's why I'm going with you. So finish suiting up."

Melanie turned an exacerbated look to Bennett, who was already getting out of his chair. "I'll see that a sled is ready to go." He stated, walking past them. "Meet you two cold locks down."

Melanie stared after him. She knew this was his unquestionable way of letting her know he agreed with Layton's assessment of the situation.

She turned back to meet Layton's pleased smile. "Shall we, Ms. Cavill?" He stated, gesturing to the cold lock.

Once they were both suited up, they met Bennett two cold locks down where the sleds were housed. Already packed for travel with supplies, a few of the apprentices were loading up the other items Bennett thought they might need on a small trailer attached to the back, including Layton's box of explosives.

Melanie quickly stepped up to Hes, who had followed them to the cold lock. "This could take a while." She told him, giving him last minute instructions. "Javi and Bennett should be able to back the train up once we stop. Run it in reverse for an hour, then slow to a stop again, and come back to pick us up."

Hes gave her a quick nod past a worried look now that he had been brought up to speed on all that was going on.

Looking things over, Layton turned back to Hes himself, giving the blacksmith a pat on the shoulder and a small smile. "Mr. Jacobs, you have the train." He stated plainly.

Hes returned the tentative smile as he watched them get into the cold lock. "Aye, sir. Will keep her good and safe until you return."

Watching the cold lock door slide shut, Hes waited until they were both securely seated on the sled and gave him a thumbs up before he picked up the intercom by the door.

"Mr. de La Torres," he stated carefully into the receiver, "bring us to a full stop."

"Full stop." Came the quick reply.

Hes held onto the bar by the cold lock door as the train came to a stop.

"Open cold lock door three and extend the ramp." Hes added.

Standing at the window, Hes watched as the outer door opened and, powering up the sled, Layton launched it into the snow just outside the door.