Out Of The Past

Part XIII A Voice In The Darkness I

Walking around her new cabin space, Josie was still a bit in awe of it.

While still not as opulent as some of the cabins she had seen in first class on Snowpiercer, it was a definite step up from her quarters in the medical car.

Wilford had surprised her just the past week with the gift.

"You have done very well in your recovery, Josie," he had told her, "and I can only imagine staying in that small, cramped room in the infirmary was getting monotonous for you. Such a well-educated, clever mind as yours needs proper stimulation. Proper nurturing." He added as he gestured to several books that were on the shelves of her new cabin. "Here you will have the space and time to pursue what interests you. Keep your old skills sharp. Learn new ones. Why, with your medical background you could be very useful to the doctors Headwood. They would love to have you as an assistant."

Josie didn't bulk at the offer as others may have thought she would. While the Headwoods, a quirky couple if ever there was, set her teeth on edge sometimes, they had been exceedingly kind to her during her time in the infirmary. Always trying to keep her pain at bay and, when she seemed to grow bored, allowing her to help them in their lab. And while some of their experiments she found questionable, many of them were also fascinating. Their work on growing new skin, for instance, or enhancing the regenerative properties of one's own cells were likely years ahead of their time. They also seemed fascinated at using her medical knowledge as a veterinarian. Stating that her knowledge brought a whole new edge to their theories of skin regeneration.

Quirky? No doubt.

Brilliant? Unquestionable.

But Josie had backed off of doing anything to personalize the cabin. As much as she relished the extra space, she still held out hope the improvement in her living conditions was wholly temporary. That soon she would be allowed to go back to Snowpiercer. To see her old friends and to get the answers to questions that had haunted her for months.

It was only a few days after she had been in her new cabin that Wilford came by again to 'see how she was settling in to her new home'.

The words grated on her. Big Alice wasn't her home. Snowpiercer was. And that was where she wanted to be. Wilford had promised this to her, and she wasn't going to let him forget it for a minute.

"But this is only temporary." She said as more of a statement than a question. "You said I would be going back to Snowpiercer."

Wilford gave her a small sigh. "When you are ready, my dear." He reiterated again. "And why are you so eager to go back there? What is waiting for you on Snowpiercer? All the people who forgot you and left you for dead?"

"My friends are back there on that train." Josie fiercely defended. "And they haven't forgotten me. They wouldn't do that."

"Then why haven't they asked for you? Come to the border at the very least to ask to see you?"

"Because they don't know I am HERE!" Josie fired back. How could this man possibly imagine she did not see the gaping hole in his logic?

Again a soft sigh. One of disappointment or pity Josie wasn't sure.

"Your own lover has taken up with your arch nemesis. What more proof do you need?"

This was not a new piece of information for Wilford to feed to her. She had been hearing it from him for several weeks now. At first only as vague innuendo until he came out and laid it fully on the table to her, suggesting that Layton was now in some sort of relationship with Melanie. But Josie had scoffed at it then just as she did now.

"Andre is not with Melanie." Josie answered in an even more determined voice. "He would never do that."

This time the tone was definitely pity. "My dear Ms. Wellstead, if you don't believe me, go ask around the train."

"So I can hear the same lies?"

"Why would anyone on Big Alice lie to you?"

Josie paused for a moment, unsure of what her answer would earn her. "Because you told them to." She finally stated.

An ever deeper, more dramatic sigh answered her. "I have tried to shelter you from any unpleasantness while you were recovering, my dear." He stated. "But based on your current attitude, I suppose perhaps this was a mistake. But I must say, I am disappointed. After all Big Alice has offered you; a home, care, security, friendship; you STILL cling to some illusion of your former train being concerned about you."

"Because you offer me no proof otherwise." Josie answered.

Wilford paused for a moment as he studied her, a slight hardness coming to his stare she had to school herself not to shrink back from.

"Very well, Josie." He stated in a slightly harsher tone. "You'll have your 'proof'. You will be allowed to return to Snowpiercer sooner than I think it is wise. But since you need this confirmation from it seems others than those who have cared for and provided for you these past months, and that seems the only way to give it to you, I'll make the arrangements."

Josie's anticipation instantly came to the forefront. "When?"

Wilford seemed to consider his answer for a minute. "This week." He finally replied, then turned and left the room.

For several minutes after he left, Josie simply stood in the center of the cabin, unable to think of what to say or do.

One week.

He had said one week and she could go back to Snowpiercer.

Back home.

Back to Layton.

One week. Then she would learn the truth.

Back in the main engine room of Big Alice, Eliah was quietly going about her own duties when Wilford stormed in. From experience the Second Engineer knew it was best not to ask questions. He prowled around for a few moments, checking several readings, then continued in the same manner to his private quarters behind the engine room.

Sitting at the helm, she pondered the situation, drumming her fingers over the helm board as she thought it through. Yes, she knew the rules. She knew it was best to leave it alone. But her curiosity, her father had always told her, often led her astray. And not always for the better. Her father had tried to quell this particular trait in her, while her mother had covertly fed it all it needed to stay alive within the child.

Getting up, she walked over to the door and activated the panel to open it. Of anyone else on the train save Alex, she was the only one who could get away with such a bold intrusion.

Two eyes quickly settled on her through a narrowed stare.

"This had better be important." Came the instant warning.

Eliah strolled casually into the room a few feet, stopping just far enough from him to give herself room to move should the encounter take a sudden turn against her.

"I suppose that depends on what you consider 'important'." Came the usual stoic reply.

The two eyes continued to rest on her. "You test my limits far too often, Ms. Elson. One day that rashness may cost you more than you are willing to pay."

"The Snowpiercer woman is still giving you problems."

Eliah was aware there was someone on the train from Snowpiercer, but Wilford had kept the person's identity a complete secret. She had only found out about the person a few weeks ago, and despite her best efforts to find out anything about the mysterious passenger, Wilford had only told her that Snowpiercer had discarded one of it's passengers because they were injured and the resources to heal them exceeded what the train's leaders felt was a fair exchange. While she knew this was likely a lie, Eliah accepted it until she could prove otherwise. But the woman had been kept in the medial car under close guard, so she could never get close enough to talk to her.

Wilford's expression slipped from his look of irritation to one that he was just able to quickly school behind one of minor annoyance. But Eliah didn't miss the brief expression of surprise that her guess had hit it's mark.

"That wasn't a lucky guess." Eliah quickly explained. "That woman has been irritating you for weeks now. Personally, I fail to see why she is even still on Big Alice. Why not send her back to Snowiercer?"

Wilford pulled himself up in his chair as he faced his Second Engineer.

"Your lack of understanding, my dear, is due to your lack of foresight." Wilford explained, earning himself a raised, questioning eyebrow from the woman in front of him who stood with her hands held behind her back. "This woman is a tool. A pawn in the ongoing game between myself and Melanie."

"And in the game, the purpose of a pawn is to be sacrificed when needed." Eliah replied in a flat, emotionless manner.

Wilford gave a small laugh. "Ah, my dear, have you not played enough games with me to know a pawn can serve a very different function? Indeed, while they are mostly fodder on the chessboard," He added, "they can also prove quite useful as a distraction."

"A distraction for who?" Came the curt question.

"Females." Came the bored answer. "You fail to see the potential of interactions because you assume we men will always fall to our baser instincts."

"You have been spending a great deal of time with the woman." Came the same short reply.

"When you are trying to gain someone's confidence, that is what one does, Ms. Elson."

"Confidence for what? She has been one this train for months. Isolated from her own people. What has it gained you? Her loyalty? One single ounce of information that would have been useful to us? She is nothing more than a drain on our resources."

"She needs time to become comfortable here, my dear. To see us as her new family."

"That takes interaction with others on the train. You have kept her too isolated. Immersed only as much as you have allowed her to be into our society."

In truth, Eliah had hoped Wilford would have allowed the newcomer more freedom after all this time so she and the others working with her group could have better sniffed out where the woman's loyalties lay. To Eliah, she was a wild card, able to be played either way. She simply wasn't sure what the game Wilford was trying to use her in was. He had spent a considerable amount of Big Alice's resources helping the woman heal from her injuries. She was far to valuable to be a simple spy for him on Snowpiercer. He had to have other plans for her.

"My plans for this woman don't take a great deal of manipulation or preparation, my dear. She is going to do most of the work for me herself. That is why I have decided to send her back."

Eliah said nothing in reply, though she was surprised by the decision. She had advocated getting the woman off the train as quickly as possible, covertly for her own safety. But Wilford had always bulked at the idea. Why was he suddenly wanting to send her back?

"And once she is on Snowpiercer?" Eliah dared to press for information. "Then what?"

A hard gaze met her question. "And what business of yours could that possibly be?" Came the suspicious question.

Eliah immediately backed off. Sometimes Wilford, liking to see others impressed with his cleverness, would divulge his plans. But the more devious they were, the less he would say.

"You're quite correct, sir." Came the meaningless apology. "What possible business of mine is that?" She executed a small bow. "My apologies."

Wilford considered the offered apology, then gestured to his door. "Don't you have duties you should be attending to then?" He stated.

"Of course, sir." Came the same emotionless reply as Eliah hurried from the room. It wasn't that she was afraid of the man or what he might do. She had lost that fear a long time ago. But she knew Wilford liked to think people feared him.

'Common old blowhard' was what Eliah referred to Wilford sometimes as when she spoke of the man to her father. Jackson had cautioned his daughter one should never underestimate their opponent. But Eliah could rarely muster one ounce of fear for the leader of her train. Referring to him more often as 'Tits on a boar hog and twice as useful'. Earning her a deep frown from her father, met only by her own pleased smile.

The next day, without much else to do since she was no longer in the Headwoods lab each day, Josie lay on the sofa in her cabin reading one of the books Wilford had left there for her. While it wasn't exactly to her taste, it beat sitting around staring at the walls.

But suddenly a voice she had never heard before called out in the cabin, seeming to come from nowhere and everywhere.

"Ohhhhh, look at the lovely little ducky! Swimming 'bout in her new pond. Isn't she the happy one now?"

If the voice expected Josie to react she sorely disappointed it. Laying on the sofa reading, she only raised her eyes from the book to look quickly around the cabin. But not seeing any sign of anyone else in the cabin, she silently went back to her reading.

"Little duck's not a sociable one then." The voice went on. "Doesn't want to have a little rabbit and pork?"

Josie frowned at the message. "What?"

"A little Frank and Pat?" The voice asked. "Little chat-chat?"

"I don't talk to people I don't know," Josie answered, finally catching on and raising her eyes slightly, "or see."

"Good rule. Good rule." The voice answered. "But why would ya' think I be trying to sell ya' pork pies when I'm the one that came to you?"

Josie slowly put her book down and got off the sofa while the voice was talking. When it stopped, so did she, looking around and listening intently for any sound.

"You could still be an enemy." Josie offered. "Trying to seem a friend."

"Not know your enemies, little ducky." The voice answered as Josie listened carefully, then began prowling around the cabin again, trying to locate where the sound came from. "But strange you being suspicious of me when your the one prowling around. What's the matter little ducky? Afraid?"

"Of a voice? Hardly." Josie replied. "And what do you mean 'Not know my enemies'?"

"Who's an enemy then, little ducky?" The voice asked. "And who's a friend? Don't think you know the difference."

"I know enough not to trust someone who hides."

"Good. Good." The voice answered. "Maybe little ducky would like to find me? Then we could be friends? Maybe we can play a little itch and scratch?"

Josie cocked her head slightly. The voice seemed impossible to triangulate on as it echoed around the room.

"What 'itch and scratch'?" She finally asked.

"Seek And Find.'" The voice answered.

Ah! The voice wanted to play a game. "All right." Josie agreed. "How do we play?"

"Easy rules." The voice answered. "You seek me out. Find me, and you get a reward. Not find me, then it's my turn."

Josie wasn't sure how that would work as the voice was just that. Just a voice. How did one 'search' for that. "What's your 'turn'?" She asked.

The voice almost sounded sinister in it's answer. "My turn is I get to ask a question. You have to answer."

"All right." Josie agreed again after considering the rules for a few more seconds, trying to keep the voice talking. "How do I find you?"

"Clues." Came the short answer. But then the voice continued as Josie took a step. "Are far away from me now. Need to come closer."

Josie moved to the other side of the cabin. Wherever the voice was coming from, it seemed it could not only hear her, but see her also.

"Goody, goody." The voice rewarded her movement. "Doing better."

Josie frowned at the tone. "Now what?"

"Now come closer." The voice taunted.

"What direction?"

But the voice remained silent this time.

Josie gave a small sigh and began to move in the same direction toward the other side of the cabin.

"Goody, goody." The voice rewarded her.

Josie kept moving until she came to the wall.

"Too far!" the voice admonished her. "Passed reward by, ya' did. Maybe not so smart, little baked bean." The voice suddenly became positively giddy with delight. "My turn!"

Josie gave a small sigh. "All right. Ask."

"Tell me your name." Came the rapid fire question.

Not wanting to give the voice that answer, Josie side-stepped it. "That's not a question. So I don't have to answer it. And you can't asked the same question twice."

When the voice spoke next, it was with clear indignation. "Makin' the rules now, Ducky? Maybe I should just leave? How's that for a question? Should I leave, Ducky?"

Josie hadn't expected that turn. "No." She answered a little to quickly. "I'll answer a question. But you can't asked that one again."

The voice stayed silent for a few minutes, leading Josie to think perhaps it had left.

"Well?" She asked.

A slight chuckle answered her. "Like you, Ducky. Will keep playing. Have question."

"Which is?"

"Tell me, little Ducky, who's a friend on this train?"

Josie thought for a moment. "The Headwoods." She finally replied. "The Headwoods are my friends."

The voice remained quiet for a few moments. "Wilford not a friend?" It asked.

"You asked your question." Josie protested. "You don't get another until your next turn."

The voice chuckled again. "Smart little ducky. Stay alive that way."

Josie wasn't sure she liked the ominous tone of the voice's last comment. "What does that mean?"

"Time to play." Was all the voice answered. "Are too far."

Josie gave a deeper sigh this time. Apparently she would have to play by the voice's rules regardless. She backed up several steps.

"Goody, goody!" The voice called out. "Closer now."

Josie looked around. Her position put her near a small end table with a lamp on it.

"Now what?"

"Now maybe find something ya' looked for before, but didn't find." The voice told her. "Looky, looky, pretty little ducky. Get reward."

Josie looked around her. She had considered the possibility of hidden devices in the cabin when she first moved in. As soon as Wilford had left her alone, she had run the entire room, looking for any hidden microphones or cameras, but found nothing.

"Look for what?" Josie called out in an irritated tone.

"Adam and Eve ya' be alone in the cabin, 'ey?" The voice replied. "Think old man Wilford be fore and aft, do ya'?"

Josie gave an exasperated sigh. The voice's cockney wasn't the easiest to understand, but she had had enough friends that spoke it to at least be able to make out some understanding from the context. "I searched the cabin before." She stated. "I didn't find anything."

"Because ya' looked with ya' eyes!" The voice answered firmly.

Josie thought for a moment, then began running her hand under the edges of the sofa, the end tables and any chairs near her, using her actual hand. While the robotic one had tactile abilities, they were not nearly as sensitive as her real one.

Within a few minutes she suddenly stopped, her hand currently having been searching under the edge of the side table the lamp sat on. Giving a slight tug, Josie came up with her prize. A small microphone that had been tucked underneath in a corner of the small table.

Josie expected the voice to reward her with some sort of congratulations. But instead it remained silent.

"Nothing to say now?" She asked triumphantly.

"Got plenty to say." The voice answered. "But more interested in what you have to say. And if ya' be smart enough to listen. Have a nice little Frank and Pat, you and I."

Josie held up the microphone. "How do you know someone else hasn't been listening?"

"Because I know." The voice answered confidently.

Dropping the small device on the table, Josie walked back over and sat once again on the sofa.

"All right. You want to talk. Talk."

The voice went silent again.

"Well?" Josie asked.

"Not here." The voice suddenly replied.

Josie was about to asked where when a knock sounded on her door. Sure the intrusion scared the voice away, Josie gave a disappointed sigh as she got up to go answer the knock.

Opening the door, she didn't get a single word out before a bag was thrown over her head and pulled down to cover her arms as she was simultaneously shoved backwards, taking her completely off balance.

On the ground Josie didn't have a second to even think or react before her arms were secured with a rope.

"Congratulations, ducky!" One of the men said. "We be your reward then."