Day turned into night which gave way to dawn. A sight Sasha had seen countless times. As such, while the others enjoyed watching the sun rise and fall, and watching the stars dance and twinkle around the silver moon, Sasha opted to sleep instead. Marco often checked on her, trying to talk and see how she was doing. Sasha, however, was not interested in that either. She derived a lot of her fun nowadays from being a thorn in people's side. She thrived in meeting new people just so she could get under their skin. Only then does their mask come off and she can see who they really are. To Sasha, Sir Galath is a vandal, Lexi is a firecracker, Marco is a frustrated mess, and Octavian is a well of sorrow. That is who they are and yet they strive so hard to deny and hide. And for people like Sasha, they become irritated by vampyrs that show themselves. This was the way things were for as long as she could remember. So, for the past four hundred years, she began to think that maybe she was the oddity. But as always, as quickly as these thoughts came, they vanished. Sasha reasoned, why bother learning to survive social dynamics if she was going to outlive society. So, she decided to sleep till something occurred. Till everybody is forced to show their hearts in the face of life and death. Luckily for her, and only her, Sasha did not have to wait long.
As the morning gave way to high noon, the group saw the train station in sight. Sasha and Octavian were the first to hear the distant hums and whistles of the trains. But only Sasha could see the distant figures shuffling inside what appeared to be a horse stall as they approached. It was more of a feeling than experience that told her that whoever was up ahead meant them no good. A feeling that started to make her head throb, but she managed to shake the pain off. Instead focusing less on the feeling and more on the excitement of whatever may be in store for them.
"Welcome strangers," Greeted a young man with messy brown hair and a smile only a mother would trust. "Are you here for the train or passing through?"
"Greetings friend, may I ask who is asking?" Octavian questioned with a faux unassuming smile.
"Ah yes, my apologies friend," the young man responded, clasping and shaking his hands as if he had truly forgotten to introduce himself. "I have been so used to going straight to business that I often forget proper introductions. I am Phineas Caldwell, a hired hand at Cassidy's horse stall, which is just right over there." The young man pointed towards their left. The group collective looked in that direction to see a sizable horse stall almost filled to the brim with hay, horses, and other hired hands.
"As you can see, we are quite busy, which prompted my abrupt introduction for which I am again, sorry." Phineas shook his hands again, lowering his head slightly in a fascinating display over dramaticism.
"It is alright, friend," Octavian reassured, keeping his smile up and dismounting from his horse. He then brought the reins over to Phineas while everybody else dismounted as well.
"How much for a week's stay?" Octavian asked as he passed along the horse's reins.
"a week… hmm…," Phineas thought for a second, prompting Octavian to slightly lean his head to the side. "We are a bit packed now and expecting more… I should give you Cassidy's usual price but… I'll cut you a deal. Instead of ten, I'll take five leaflets for each horse."
"My, how generous of you. But may I ask why are you giving us such a gracious deal?" Octavian wondered.
"Because I adore the twilight of autumn in your eyes." Phineas answered.
"Telling old tales?" Octavian quizzed smoothly.
"Only if you are willing to lie."
"Is this flirtation?"
"This is rebellion."
"Wonderful," Octavian fainted relaxation. "Then shall we speak more over a drink?"
"Why, of course," Phineas smiled wide, giving away his excitement "I will let my peers know I will be on break and join you shortly."
"Perfect, see you then." Octavian waved as he started leading the others towards the saloon.
The group parted ways with Phineas and while the exchange was entertaining, Sasha still felt underwhelmed. For years now she has tried to learn how to enjoy the smaller forms of tension, but it hard because even she admitted being addicted to the that thin line between life and death. And the higher the tension the thinner that line becomes. Fortunately, if anything, one thing Sasha did learn was patience. Instances of peace always gave way to chaos and vice versa. All she had to do was wait and inevitably, something would go awry and then the spiral downward begins. And just as that came to mind, Octavian turned his head to the side and said,
"I think he is a spy. Be on guard."
"How can you tell?" Marco asked concerned.
"Yeah, he said the code right." Lexi interjected confused.
"Almost. They said "lie" not "lye" it's a subtle difference in speech used to catch spies and our good friend Phineas fell right for it. Also, how many horse handlers have you seen so eager to brush behinds and shovel excrement?"
"Then what's the plan?" Lexi asked.
"I will meet with our new friend, while you two find a way to sneak aboard the train." Octavian ordered readily.
"What about our disguises and work orders?" Marco inquired.
"We are too compromised for that now," Octavian shook his head. "Besides, our new friend could already have them by now. So, to keep on schedule we need a way onto the train out of sight and I need to convince Phineas to not ring up anymore goons or authorities. Everybody in agreement?"
"But wait, if he already suspects us and we just exchanged the code, how are you going to convince him otherwise?" Lexi asked.
"I can be very persuasive with or without my voice," Octavian smiled. A confident smile that fooled everybody except Sasha. Though it was not the smile itself that gave it away it was the rhythm in his voice. Octavian was not lying specifically, but he was hiding something and given her knowledge about his kind, Sasha could already guess what it was. And while not much, it was enough to make her chest prickle with excitement. Because for as long as she has lived, she only ever experienced their phenomenon twice. "So, unless you have any other questions are we all in agreement?"
"I object to the current plans," Sasha spoke out. "Instead of finding an exit route I want to tag along with you." Everybody was shocked, even Octavian's usual smile turned into a serious frown.
"What," Sasha questioned, throwing her hand on her hip. "You need someone capable to watch your back if things go south."
"I appreciate the concern Sasha but given your aptitude for chaos, I fail to see the need for your support."
"Oh, don't give me that," Sasha brushed off with a swish of her hand. "You and I both know how capable I can be when I want to."
"And why do you suddenly want to be now?" Octavian narrowed his gaze.
Sasha walked over to him, leaned in on him close, and whispered, "Because I know, and I want to hear it."
She then then pulled back and gracefully looked Octavian face to face as she held his shoulders. Effectively blocking Lexi and Marco's view of his face as she knew the reaction she would get out of Octavian. That of fear and guilt. A delightful response from the normally cheery leader. Sasha soaked as much as she could in before Octavian quickly fixed his expression into his more cheerful side. Though Sasha could still feel the tremble in his frame and voice, and for now that was enough.
"As you wish," Octavian whispered pulling away. He looked over towards Lexi and Marco and said, "It seems Sasha is as good a sweet talker as me so I will be requiring her assistance. Will you two be okay on your own?"
"We'll be better now." Lexi smirked. Sasha wanted to make a comment about how it would have hardly been hard for one so thin to sneak around but she was able to resist the urge.
"Yeah, we'll be fine. Just… Sasha," Marco looked at her with an odd mixture of confidence and pleading. "Take care of him, okay?" Sasha was almost offended by the request, but she let it slide and simply nodded her head. Marco smiled and gave them his own approving head nod before leaving with Lexi for the train station.
However, before Sasha and Octavian left for the saloon, he whispered to her, almost threateningly, "I don't need to say to keep it a secret, right?" Sasha beamed with invigoration as she could already feel a wash of love, anger, sorrow, and joy. She wondered how often he truly used his real voice because if it were not for her own uniqueness, she would already be on her knees.
"Don't worry one-bit pretty boy," Sasha laughed softly. "I won't say a peep."