You asked for it; now it’s here! The Book of Ell, Chapter 2 (first draft)! Woot!

Minor scariness alert, this one is more intense than scary! Let me know what you think!

Chapter 2

 

 

The first thing to return was Ell’s hearing.

At first, the noises were a confused jumble, barely registering in her shell-shocked brain. Gradually, they became more distinct; the crackling of a fire burning nearby, the sound of a light rain drumming on the metal above her, the rumble of distant thunder.

Then the smell hit her, and she gagged, fighting the urge to throw up. The lingering odor of smoke and ozone permeated the air, as well as a sickly aroma she couldn’t quite place. Something about it reminded her of the surgery back home, where she had gone after a nasty fall from the third-story roof of the hospital.

She tried to move, and was pleasantly surprised to find that she could. Everything hurt, but nothing seemed to be fractured or cut. Her lungs drew air, then expelled it painlessly; no broken ribs. She ran her hand over the place where her head had struck the wall. Aside from a thin trail of dried blood down one cheek, it was as if she had never hurt herself in the first place. In other words, there was far too little injury for someone who had just survived a train wreck.

Something clattered nearby, and Ell opened her eyes, peering into the dimly lit interior of the train. She was lying flat on the ground, which was actually the right-hand wall of the passenger car; it had come to rest on its side. The car itself was a twisted husk, pitted and blackened from the fire that must have raged while she slept. A corner of her grey dress was still smoldering, glowing as she moved. A quick series of slaps sufficed to douse the embers.

Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Mei, jittering behind a crushed seat. The shadow was trying to stay in the one ray of light provided by what appeared to be a burning suitcase. Noticing Ell, she waved frantically, her fingers spelling out gibberish in her panic.

“Don’t worry, I’ll be right there! Don’t try to move.”

Ell got to her feet, steadying herself with one hand. The handcuffs had broken during the crash, which was a stroke of luck. One cuff still dangled from her wrist, a single link of chain swinging from its base. She worked her way through the rubble, stopping beside Mei.

“Hold on, I just need to get some light. Daddy taught me how to make a torch, so I’ll put one together for you!”

Glancing around the destroyed train car, she finally saw what she wanted: a metal pipe, protruding from the headrest of one of the leather benches that hung from the cieling. The flickering fires outside the train illuminated it in eerie contrast, throwing a black silhouette across the rear of the coach.

Ell walked over to it, glass crunching beneath her shoes. She grasped it with both hands, pulling as hard as she could, but the pipe was stuck fast. The seat itself swayed, held in place by a single bolt. Ell took a step back, just in case it broke free and fell, but she was not to be deterred from her objective. She tried again, this time gripping the pipe in one hand and placing the other on the headrest as leverage…

Her hand hit thin air, about eight inches from the seat. For a brief second, the world seemed to tilt, and she saw a balding man staring back at her, his eyes blank and unfocused. He was upside-down, held in place by a misshapen length of metal across his knees. Rainwater from the damaged ceiling dripping from his lower lip, ticking out a steady cadence on Ell’s shoes.

The metal pipe had gone clean through his head, jutting from his face like the horn of some demented unicorn.

There was blood on everything. On the man’s suit, on the pipe, dripping from his hair, coursing over the seat, pooling on the floor…

And then he was gone, flickering out like a candle in the rain.

Ell remained on her feet, unmoving, eyes wide and unfocused. She was paralyzed, unable to speak, unable to breathe. Her brain had been knocked for a loop; all conscious thought halted as she tried to comprehend. Thoughts rushed in like a tide, only to flow smoothly back out, leaving nothing but empty space. Emotions boiled up, even as she fought them back, refusing to acknowledge any sensation other than complete, utter blank.

Time ticked by, the seconds measured by the rain, falling drop by drop onto her cold fingers.

Then Ell was back, ripping the pipe free from the dead man who wasn’t there, who couldn’t be there, who she would never, ever, allow to exist in her world. She turned away, shaking the rain and the red… the rain off of her torch-to-be. Light was all that mattered now. Save Mei. Save herself.

Tearing a strip of fabric from her sleeve, she wound it tightly around the end of the pipe. Elm Hope’s uniforms consisted of two layers, a waterproof exterior and a thick cotton interior. She peeled the layers apart, tossing away the rubbery exterior. The cotton was wound tightly about the pipe; an excellent fire starter.

Mei was still in the corner, the suitcase blazing steadily beside her. She had calmed down a great deal, and was now bobbing beside the fire, watching Ell work. Ell smiled reassuringly, dipping the makeshift torch into the flames.

As the fabric began to burn, she lifted it up, illuminating the battered shell that had once been a rail car. Mei fluttered into view behind her, now a more proportionate size.

“Okay, Mei. Now we got some light.”

The torch sputtered, growing dim as the cotton burned to embers.

“Well, shoot. It was a good idea, too. Hold on.”

Tearing a chunk from a low-hanging seat cushion, Ell drew out a mass of stuffing, piling it on the floor. A thick tree branch had become lodged in one of the smashed windows, and it took only a gentle tug to dislodge it. Ell broke it apart with a swift series of cracks, adding it to the pile. She dipped the remnants of the torch in the heap of kindling.

It took five minutes for the wet wood to finally begin to burn. White steam curled about the roof, drifting through ragged holes into the storm beyond.

“You still there, Mei?”

She waved her hand experimentally beside the fire, and smiled as Mei waved back from the wall.

“So, we’re okay. Well, I bumped my head, but other than that, we’re okay. Everything’s good now.”

The shadow on the wall stretched out an arm, the fingers forming spindly letters in crooked sign-speak.

T-H-A-N-K Y-O-U.

“Hey, I wasn’t going to leave you to die. Anyway, don’t thank me yet. We still gotta get home somehow.”

Mei signed out another phrase: S-C-A-R-E-D.

“I know, Mei. I am, too. But if anything happens, I’ll protect you, okay? We can’t stay in here. We need to find help.”

After a moment of thought, Mei nodded.

“Good. I’ll carry you if you want to sleep some.”

Once more, Mei nodded. Fluttering a hand in front of her face to signify a yawn, she gradually lost her shape, merging with Ell’s shadow on the wall.

Ell smiled. “Good girl.”

Moving slowly so as to avoid disturbing Mei, Ell re-lit her torch, this time using a collection of twigs and cushion stuffing to fuel the burning end. She made her way to the place where the train had been split apart, peering out.

The night loomed before her, a curtain of fog and misty rain concealing whatever might lie in wait.

Far off, deep in the oblivion of night, Ell thought she heard a faint, faint voice, whispering the words of some old lullaby she had forgotten the words to long ago. Then it was gone, and all that remained was the hiss of rain.

“Well, ah… It seems we shall look for help in the morning, Mei.”

The shadow did not appear; Mei was fast asleep.

“Okay. Here we stay.”

Ell propped the torch against a wall, out of reach of the glistening sheet of water outside. Leaning back against one of the leather cushions, she yawned. The wound on her temple was beginning to throb, but she ignored it, drowning all feeling in the deep abyss of sleep.

 

The rain shower continued to dwindle, the patter of water on the train roof becoming all but inaudible. Eventually, the droplets ceased to fall altogether, leaving a cool breeze in its stead.

The train had derailed on a steep hillside, sliding down into the ravine below. Burning debris littered the hill, popping and crackling in the wind. The soaked grass shimmered in the dancing light of the fires, the dewdrops twinkling like a million garnets.

The bulk of the wreck lay at the very bottom, its warped frame partially submerged in the rushing river that cut through the valley. The engine had somehow remained atop the tracks, standing watch over the scene of the disaster. An inferno coiled about its bodywork, like some macabre funeral pyre, casting an orange glow across the scene.

Morning crept into being, dawning grey and bleak through a cover of clouds. A low fog drifted through the tall grass, grey wisps coiling through the wreck. A solitary sunbeam played across the landscape, only to flee back to the safety of the overcast sky.

Ell shook her head in dismay. “What a mess. It’ll take a lot to fix Daddy’s train. Oh, I hope he won’t be mad…”

Absently, she ran a hand through her hair, twirling with a lock around her index finger. There seemed to be no way out of her train car without wading into the river. The frothing stream was swollen from the night’s rain, over two feet deep at its shallowest point. Ell watched with disinterest as a whole tree floated past, its branches stripped of leaves by the current.

“What do I do, Mei? We can’t stay here.”

Mei didn’t answer. The pale light made the shadowy girl blurry and indistinct, her thin form barely showing up on the scarred floor. Ell tipped up her heel, allowing the shadow to sift under it. It was Mei’s location of last resort; the lightless space beneath Ell’s shoes. Mei hated to go there, as she felt it was degrading to a shadow of her stature. Ell found this sentiment ridiculous, but she had respected her friend’s wishes. Today, however, there was no other choice.

“Sorry, Mei. The sun is hiding. I wonder if-”

The floor beneath her lurched to the side, knocking her off balance. The train car was shifting, the rushing torrent dragging it from its resting place. Ell covered her ears as the train roof grated against the stream bed, vibrating the floor and ratting the seats above her head.

Then it was over, at least for the moment; the car turned parallel to the river, its ends digging deeply into the rocky banks. Ell was thrown against the wall, her breath leaving her in a short gasp. She staggered forward, half-crawling, half-running, as the train struggled to resist the current.

In the end, the deluge was too strong.

With a groan that seemed to shake the universe itself, the decimated train car came loose. The sudden lurch sent Ell face-first into the frigid river.

The cold was shocking. It was like being rolled from one’s bed into a bathtub filled with ice-cubes. Water was everywhere, in her eyes, in her ears and nose, creeping down her sleeves. Her head breached the surface just long enough for a breath, then she was under again, pinwheeling beneath the waves.

A rock appeared; more of a boulder, really. Ell struck it head-on, the impact cracking something in her chest. What pain there was paled to insignificance in the swirling, freezing vortex that now threatened to suffocate her.

She rose again from the torrent, coughing out the stale air. Her numb fingers caught hold of a floating log, and she clung to it in desperation. The river tore at her clothes, trying to drag her back, to crush her once and for all in the icy depths, but she would not let go.

In the end, she must have passed out. The next thing she was aware of was sand between her fingers, and the gentle lapping of waves near her feet. The cloud cover was breaking up, warm patches of sunlight playing across her back.

She lifted her head, squinting against the light. Mei lay beside her, awake but unmoving, her round eyes staring up at the sky. Ell sighed in relief.

“Hey,” she rasped, reaching out her hand. It hurt to speak, to breathe, but for now, she was just happy to be alive.

Mei didn’t respond at once, watching the clouds roll by. Eventually, Ell let her hand drop, smiling and shaking her head. “You do love the sky, don’t you? Well, fine. I don’t care. Enjoy it all you want.”

Getting to her feet, Ell took in her surroundings. The river had deposited her on a tiny sand-bar, mere feet from the grassy shore. An evergreen forest rose before her, glistening with raindrops in the sun. She reached out, giving one of the branches a shake. Droplets showered to the ground in a shimmering shower, pattering softly on the pine-needle carpet.

“So pretty here…”

A pebble bounced off her back, and she turned in surprise. Mei was standing on the beach, one foot in the water, signing one word over and over: H-O-M-E.

Ell sighed. “I know, Mei. I want to go home, too. It can’t be too far, right? We were only in the train for a few hours. We just have to find a road or something, and we can walk back.”

Mei nodded, a jack-o-lantern smile filling her face. The grin would have terrified most people, but Ell was quite used to it.

“Let’s go. I don’t want to be out here when it gets dark again.”